This book is very aptly named which I appreciated!

Initially beginning with a court room scene, the story follows a barrister as she finds her first love facing a murder charge and goes on a mission to discover what really happened. The book flows really nicely as it follows Justine and we discover more about her family and her past.

The characters are all well defined - Justine's parents, Max, Jake and Noah have been well created and feel like real characters. DS Rose and the reporter are also good believable characters. However I did not empathise with any of the characters except for Jake. He had a really rough ride throughout the book and Justine really lived up to the book title.

There are definitely a couple of twists that I would not have guessed. The last twist I think was unnecessary, and I thought the way the last chapter is written was slightly long-winded - I almost wanted to scan the familiar section.

I was a little disappointed that the whole court scene was missed out. Perhaps Hornsley has no knowledge in this area to write about it but I do love a court room drama and because the first scene is a court room and the main character is a barrister, I was hoping for more court based scenes.

Bad Blood by Sarah Hornsley (review) ARC releases 27th March 2025

2 out of 5

Take what I write with a pinch of salt. While I didn't enjoy this story I am confident it willl be a bit of a hit on release and will be front of centre in quite a few bookshops.

The best part of the book is Hornsley willingness to write a character who becomes more and more unlikeable as the story progresses. Justine is a narcissistic, sociopath who hypocritically dislikes people for making the same mistakes she makes. It is good that Hornsley doesn't just try to nuance everything but let's the MC speak for herself. Also, Hornsley should be lauded for the ending as there are some dark moments in the conclusion. A conclusion that revels in Justine's barbaric personality while tying up many points raised earlier in the book.

That being said the biggest problem I had with the book is the story we don't get. The skeleton of "Bad Blood" has so much potential but the best points are too often ignored for a formulaic and clichéd story.

Given the tagline "She's the prosecutor, he's the accused" there is a high expection that much of the story will either be court-centred or focus on experiences unique to Justine's line of work. Sadly, the story becomes so generic Justine could be a cashier at Tesco's and the majority of the story would remain unchanged. Instead of getting the story of a solicitor wrestling with whether to try the case or recuse herself we get a story about small town gossip and ghosts in Justine's closet.

It's frustrating when you read a book that has so much unreached potential, it's an ok book but there are better ones out there. I might enjoy "Bad Blood" slightly more on a second read but in the meantime I'd recommend reading "The Dry" by Jane Harper instead of "Bad Blood". Not an identical story but enough similarities to compare them and "The Dry" is a much stronger and better written story.

I’m sorry to say I struggled to finish this book. I found it very slow and I could not take to Justine or any of the other characters at all. I feel the plot just got ridiculous and as for the ending for Jake……what the hell was that??? Nothing plausible about it whatsoever. Not for me I’m afraid. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this early copy.

Really loved this book. Well written thriller with courtroom elements and family dramas. I think this book will be a top seller when it is released. It kept me engaged as I wanted to know how it would all come together. Thank you to net galley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Omg! Omg omg omg!! I loved the sound of this premise so was really excited to get stuck in and it surpassed every expectation. So many twists and turns, such an original concept and some very relatable and real life themes throughout. So vividly brought to life that it's impossible not to get sucked in

I would recommend this book to everyone, snuggle up with this book, a blanket and listen to the bad weather a perfect day for this amazing book

This book got off to a great start and just kept getting better. It starts with the protagonist, a female criminal prosecutor doing what she does best before landing her first murder case. Then she finds out that the accused is her ex-boyfriend - her first love no less!

Of course, she does some digging before she says she cannot take the case, and there’s revelation after revelation, and twist after twist. Even once you think you’ve figured out the story, there’s another shock in store. You know early on that the protagonist herself comes from a family where something is ‘off’, and the details of this are dripped gradually throughout the book. The tension ratchets up as the book goes on. The body count too.

I was there with the protagonist, urging her to get to the bottom of it all and wanting her to find the peace she sorely needs. By the end of the book you can feel the weight of what’s conveyed in the book’s title.

An exciting dark thriller with a wonderfully portrayed character in Justine who is all kinds of unhinged.

A narrative that twists it way carefully to a climactic reveal that is surprising yet also satisfying.

And with themes of domestic abuse, blackmail, murder amd the overpowering need to protect those we love deftly explored. This was a great read.

A book I enjoyed. The story was original and the suspense was there. The writing style was one I wasn’t used to so it took me a while to get into the book but around 50% through was when I started to really enjoy it.

I have no doubt that this book will be on a bestsellers list. It has a good hook, it’s well paced and the writing is good.

Personally, however, I found it tedious. The first half was good, but other than wanting to know the exact conclusion, I felt like there was nothing compelling me to finish it. I didn’t particularly care what happened to the characters and I felt like it just fell through, a little bit. I’ve read a lot of good thrillers and maybe it just simply doesn’t compare to those. The writing itself was good and the concept is pretty good - although that itself disappears pretty quick.

The book was so intense, gripping and unputdownable which portrayed lies, deception and hidden secrets by all the main characters with multiple twists. Just when I sort of figured the plot, there was a change in direction of the plot

The plot is brilliant with lots of twists with an unexpected ending. I love the story being told by each character referring to the past and present. Highly recommended

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in return for an honest review!

3.5 stars. Justine is a high flying lawyer until she is brought a case that sends her reeling, her ex boyfriend is charged with a double murder- Justine has to bring the case against him. But first, she needs answers.

This book was portrayed as a courtroom thriller but that is not the case, I personally would have enjoyed that but many other people will appreciate that. This is a multi-pov psychological thriller that focuses on family secrets and drama. Its full of really tense writing and the plot is paced well to convey that feeling in the reader. I think the POVs may be love it or hate it, but for me it really worked for the twists and pacing.

I really liked how the FMC was written and how her family comes into the narrative- she is exactly the kind of character that I love to read! It made the entire novel compelling and propulsive, readers and reviewers alike will love this!

The writing style was definitely comfortable and easy to binge, I read this in one sitting and will definitely be recommending this to people who love family drama.

Sometimes as a book reviewer a book comes along that really excites you , and for me these have included girl on the train,our house and now bad blood..
This is going to be absolutely huge.
Completely addictive and intoxicating this will have the reader hooked from page 1.
As a psychology student with an interest in forensic behaviour this is really interesting and as a reader it was just everything I needed .
Fascinating and complex characters that are relatable and flawed !
Families,secrets and lies all spill over into the present day and what happens when the two worlds crash ?
Unpredictable and well executed i really enjoyed this debut .
I look forward to reading more and thank you to hodder for my early. Access to review .

This is my first book by this author, so I didn't know what to expect at all. All I knew was I was drawn by the blurb and title.

A psychological crime thriller set in the U.K which introduces us to Justine. A woman with everything, she is a barrister with a doting husband and a beautiful home too. She is flying high in life...until the day she is given her first high profile criminal case.

Told from the present day and the past, this was a book which kept me guessing as the story unfolded. As well as flipping from past to present the story is told by various perspectives. I got to wrapped up in Justine's story I stayed up well past my bedtime to finish it.

What seems like a case that could make Justine's career turns into her worst nightmare. The way the author has woven the multiple people's threads together created a tense and twisty plot. I thoroughly.enjoyed the twists in the tale. They made me sit up and take notice, that's for sure.

A debut author who had me glued to the Kindle from start to finish, with characters like Justine, that I could invest in. My heart broke in certain points for Justine and her brother Max.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my gifted widget to write my honest review.

This is the story of a barrister who ends up prosecuting a murder case involving her ex boyfriend from her teenage years. Rather than a court room drama, it's more about the past and is a multiple PoV story told in flashbacks.

I struggled to connect with the writer's style and voice and kept finding myself drifting away from the text. There were some major plausibility issues for me too, which made me lose interest in the story.

The story did have some pace and there were twists there but ultimately it felt quite generic.

Bad blood is more of a family drama thriller, than a court room crime mystery. A lot of secrets and lies that I personally didn’t like and were quite predictable to me. Also a “me problem” is the multiple POV’s, I’m not against it but I feel like it’s the easy way to confuse the reader and provide more twists. Nevertheless, as a debut this is very impressive so I would recommend to a mystery thriller readers. Also, I can see it being adapted for the big screen, it read as a movie script or as something written to become a movie at some point.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with the ARC.

Great fast passed thriller with twists and turns. Really liked the writing. Looking forward to the next book by the author.

Justine, a barrister is thrilled to take on her first murder case only to find that the defendant is her first love, who disappeared without a trace. She knows she should step back but cannot believe that Jake is guilty; she also wants to know why Jake left her. As a result, her work-life starts to fall apart and even when her brother dies she cannot stop. Will she solve the crime or will she get more than she bargained for? This was a thrilling and suspenseful read with a cleverly woven plot.

This was a great twisty thriller with elements of courtroom drama which I love, thank you for the opportunity to read this arc! It was a good story told from multiple points of view, not too long so perfect to binge read. I would recommend this book!

2* Wow this 'heroine' gives barristers a bad name.

I couldn't divorce this book from the 'heroine' not recusing herself when she discovered that the case she'd be taking on was that of her ex-boyfriend she'd spent years searching for. An out-and-out dishonest barrister who could've not only damaged her reputation but that of her firm. Wouldn't happen IRL and I need a touch more believability in this type of novel, which in fact has very little to do with the law, and more going through the 'heroine's past deeds/actions/darkness.