Oh my goodness. This book had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. There were so many twists, so many little lies and omissions that you didn’t know who you could trust or what really happened. Every time I came to a twist I would go “called it!” And then a page later I would realize that I was incorrect.

The multiple POVs really twisted the story for me. Going back to the past as other characters spun a tale that you didn’t know whether or not you could believe what you were being told.

Overall, this story will be one I recommend for years to come. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read it as an ARC. I can’t wait to see what other people end up thinking about it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ .5

I love a psychological thriller and this being the first book I've read by this author I was intrigued... the storyline was captivating and the twists and turns had you second guessing everything you thought you know. Very well written.

I thought this would be a little more of a courtroom experience.

I liked this story and while it had twists none of them were unpredictable and in general the book tried to do too much, multiple pov’s and characters that weren’t fully fleshed out.

I think this would be an excellent start for people new to the genre.

When i read the blurb i expected something completely different than what it was. It ended up being a family drama thriller with lots of secrets, lies, and toxic ways to protect each other. It’s a very decent thriller for the people who wanna start getting into that genre.
The twists were predictable imo and not that twisty, i was expecting more to leave my jaw open but it didn’t get any close into doing that. Although it wasn’t what i expected it to be, it wasn’t bad either!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Bad Blood wasn’t the courtroom drama I was expecting, but it caught my attention from the first paragraph and kept me enthralled and intrigued to the very end.

Despite being told from multiple POVs and timelines, it wasn’t confusing or disjointed and it whipped along at a good pace with plenty of twists and turns. I thought all the characters were well written and Justine, while not being likeable, was complex and convincingly realistic.

I’m still thinking about Bad Blood several days after finishing it - that’s got to be a sign of a great book.

I must add that I absolutely love the cover of this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy of Bad Blood.

Loved this book. Kept me engaged and wanting to turn the pages. Very well written with great characters and POVs written in the past for some of them to give the reader more understanding. Short chapters which I love and a good pace. Didn't see a certain bit coming and then I thought well that's that then it just needs to conclude and then another surprise was thrown into the works! Brilliant book. Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC.

A really pacey thriller with lots of twists. The book is told from multiple people's perspectives and I did get a little confused occasionally.

Justice stone is a barrister that is given chance to lead the prosecution for a murder trial where an ex of hers is the dependent. Its not set in court all the time though and that's what I liked about this book. Plus, I didnt see the ending.

4.25/5 stars! I love a good thriller story. This is my first book by Sarah Hornsley. The premise was strong and really paid off. The time jumps in this book kept me enthralled from the start. I appreciated the multiple POVs and am looking forward to seeing what is next for this author.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

A decent read but the usual recipe. Mix a dysfunctional family with an ex lover and a murder, add a messed up main character. Throw in some twists and turns. Stir and mix. But really you know what you are going to get before it comes out of the oven. The recipe in this case spent to long in the oven and was overcooked. The longer it stayed in the oven the less interest I had in the finished product.

Thanks for the opportunity to preview and read this book! I enjoyed the storyline but felt it was longer than it needed to be. It includes descriptions that wasn’t required and didn’t really contribute much to the story. Got a bit confusing at some points trying to keep up with who is who but that could just be me. I’d read more from this author as the story was good.

Had high hopes for this one, sounds so interesting and I (wrongly) assumed it was going to be a court drama.
Unfortunately it was quite quickly clear to me that some of it was dragged out and slightly boring.
Justine is a character that I didn’t like and although very clever also pretty dumb.

I’m sorry but I just didn’t like this book.

Thank you Net Galley & Sarah Hornsley for an advanced copy.

Never having read anything by this particular author I was excited to get stuck in after being selected for arc courtesy of NetGalley. This was an average read it kept me interested but not gripped. The plot line for me I found predictable but that didn’t stop me wanting to complete the book. The characters I just didn’t gel with but all in all I am glad I have read it and would definitely try more from this author it just wasn’t a wow read for me.

I loved Bad Blood by Sarah Hornsley. When I first heard about it I was desperate to get my hands on a copy, so it went straight to the top of my TBR pile when I did. There is an intriguing premise to Sarah’s debut, which is what immediately hooked me when I read the blurb. We meet Justine Stone, a barrister, who has been given her first murder case. But she is shocked to realise that the defendant is her ex-boyfriend, Jake, her first love who she hasn’t seen for eighteen years. Despite once being close to Jake, Justine is desperate to take the case, believing Jake couldn’t hurt anyone, even though this might have disastrous consequences for her career.

I really enjoyed following Justine’s journey throughout the book. You can feel the emotion she’s going through as she is grappling with events that happened in her past, and I wanted to understand what had happened.

I loved the opening of this book, and I thought there was a brilliant first line which intrigued me right from the start. Sarah Hornsley starts the novel with a court scene. We see what sort of a person Justine is, and how determined she is to win cases and advance her career. Justine is also desperate to be given her first murder case, which is why she wants to take on the one her ex is involved in, despite the risks this may pose to her career if her connection to Jake is discovered. Sarah Hornsley does a brilliant job of exploring Justine’s feelings as she grapples with the news, and as Justine revisits how she felt about her relationship with Jake at the time, despite now being happily married. I really wanted to see how Justine’s connection to Jake was going to affect her work and if anyone would discover it.

The tension really ticks up a notch as Sarah Hornsley delves into Justine’s past, going back to the time when she was with Jake eighteen years ago in their home town in Essex. There are some devastating reveals along the way about an event that took place around this time. The truth is heart-breaking and shocking when it comes to life and it changes everything for Justine. It is clear to see just how much discovering what really went on back then affects her.

Bad Blood is a terrific debut, I really enjoyed it and I can’t wait to read what Sarah Hornsley writes next.

A double murder. A toxic past. A family secret.
There's no law against keeping secrets...

I really enjoyed this book, although there were some bits that dragged a little (I hate when there are constant vague references to a mysterious event. Just tell me!) and the odd bit was a little tricky to follow, as there was such a web of lies. But ultimately, Sarah Hornsley weaves a clever tale, with twists and turns throughout and a read that gripped me to the end.

Kept me guessing the whole way through! Full of twists and a really gripping story! Highly recommend! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC

I really enjoyed this book and didn’t see a lot of the twist coming which I always like about a thriller. I thought the way the author wrote about the past and the present throughout the book made it a lot easier to follow along with the storyline. And the ended was great I thought the book was finished but there was one chapter left which added an extra surprise.

Enjoyed this one, especially because of the Essex connection, where l come from. The best thing about it though was that it kept me guessing with twists and turns and reveals, so l kept wanting to turn the pages.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for one of the best books I have read so far this year.
As others have said I expected this to be a Court room drama but it wasn't.
Family secrets cannot always stay hidden and there were lots of twists and turns with this book and I really didn't want it to end. I have literally just finished it.
Great twist at the end which although I knew something was coming didn't quite see it being what it was!!!
I will happily give this 5 ⭐
Please, please, please can I have Sarah's next book.

It's always a bit sad when you have to leave a negative review, but for me, this book is not worth a “good” review. I was bored. From page 1 to 98, I was bored. I tried but I’ve recently decided life is to short to carry on with a book you don’t enjoy. So yeh, I finished on page 98.

Don’t get me wrong, it may have got really good after that and I’ve missed out, but I guess we’ll never know.

Justine Stone, a criminal barrister, is assigned her first murder case only to discover the defendant is her ex-boyfriend. She should recuse herself, but she decides to return to the place she grew up to do a little investigating instead.

A fast-paced book with a cast of well-rounded, interesting characters. The premise and the opening chapters really do grab the reader from the start.

I expected this book to head towards a courtroom dénouement, but that is not the direction the author chose to lead her readers. It’s as much about finding out the truth about Justine’s past as finding out how her ex-boyfriend has ended up accused of a double murder.

Character-driven, pacy, compelling and twisty, this family drama kicks off with a perfect premise and rachets up the tension all the way to the climactic end.