Thank you for my copy of this book to read and review.

I really liked the sound of this so was really pleased when I was accepted for an early copy.

I did really enjoy the story, it kept me guessing and I had no idea how it would play out. I always enjoy books where there are chapters telling snippets from the past… this worked really well with the story building and coming together.

As much as I enjoyed this book, I felt some of it was a bit slow and dragged at times.

Secrets Will Out..
Justine Stone left town twelve years ago, now returns to seek justice and possibly avenge the past in this drama fuelled novel of suspense. Is she is to succeed, with a double murder case pending, she needs to dig deep into the past to find the truth. Secrets will out. With a propulsive and nicely paced plot, a cast of well crafted and credible characters and an intriguing premise, a gripping read.

A great story with alot of twists. Told from multiple points of view with a really great ending this gets a great recommendation from me

Firstly thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advance copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

The blurb from the back of the book makes you think you are going in a very different direction in this story but actually it turns out to be about families and secrets.

Told from multiple POV’s and in flashbacks to the past it does keep you guessing throughout and just when you think it’s all tied up another little twist.

Rounded up to 3.5 stars

A well written thriller
The plot was brilliant
Lots of twists and turns
GOSH - did not expect t the ending

rounding up to 3.5

a barrister is tasked with building up a case against her ex boyfriend who’s accused of murder.

as reader, i really enjoyed that the main pov was through the barristers side, rather than the actual person accused of the crime.

the plot mainly focuses on justine’s secrets / her past hitting too close to home on her current case, it is constantly full of twists and turns.

this book was a slow burner at times, and i wished it focused more on the legal aspects of crime. however, i did enjoy the emphasis on family secrets, and the past constantly haunting justine and her family, weaved throughout the book.

I absolutely loved this well crafted thriller, with its mix of small town and family dynamics. It is very much for fans of Sarah Vaughan but also has a flavour of Broadchurch.

With many thanks to Netgalley for this free arc and I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily. I like the occasional legal thriller so hence why I requested this book, however this was so much more than that. Moving at a blistering pace the author spins a web of intrigue, suspense and lies that at times completely throws the reader. This book will keep you guessing to the very end. This is an outstanding debut from Sarah Hornsley- very well written, with a lovely flow to the book and characters that will surprise you and finishing with a great twist. Brilliant.

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

This took me while to read. Despite it not being too long and having short chapters, I still felt like it dragged and was a bit slow. But still, the plot was interesting, and I did like the ending.

Dnf found it hard to concentrate on this one couldnt find the flow. I liked the idea of this but not so much the story. I also think the cover is not ideal it seems a bit random and misplaced to the body of the novel unconnected.

I think this book is going to do very well when it's released and personally feel the blurb doesn't do it any justice. I think it's got all the necessary points to be made into an adaptation (it really has it all) Sarah Hornsley is extremely talented and I look forward to reading what's next from her.

This book promised so much yet failed to deliver. First, the book was far from a courtroom drama, yet the cover suggests otherwise. It would have been nice to market the book as detective fiction rather than courtroom drama.
Also, the plot structure felt very awkward. The story was all over the place. Parts that should have come earlier/later and parts that should be omitted altogether etc. Maybe a future rewrite of the novel might eliminate that.

Family secrets and courtroom drama.
Justice Stone is a Lawyer who is given a case of a double murder who turns out to be her ex boyfriend who had changed his name, so Justice has to turn over the case to another lawyer, but she is determined to find out what happened and returns to her childhood home and her estranged mother who she hadn`t seen since her father died and her ex had disappeared.
The plot is brilliant with lots of twists and a very unexpected ending.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC and I give my honest review.

Not the book I was expecting from the blurb but that'd not a bad thing.

I found this book quite a gripping read with the lead character Justine being quite open yet mysterious at the same time... (I was as keen to know about events in her past as I was to find out more about the murders she was investigating).

Well written and suspenseful I highly recommend!

Contrary to what the blurb might make you think, this is actually not a courtroom thriller, which for me was a plus!

What it *is* about, is family secrets, toxic behaviour, and how the past tends to intrude its way into the present - as Justine Stone is about to find out.

A barrister who left her hometown years ago in order to escape certain issues, including the complexity of her family ties, she returns to prosecute her ex-boyfriend on a double murder charge. But before she can do that, she needs to make peace with the past.

And that is going to be easier said than done...

The plotline here is not entirely unpredictable, but this is an engaging story with plenty of suspense and a few good twists. The attraction element though didn't work that well for me. It gets 3.5 stars.

This is not the book I was expecting. Having read the synopsis I was expecting this to be a courtroom thriller however very little of the story takes place in court.

Instead, this is a suspenseful mystery with a twisty plot which I thoroughly enjoyed

For me, a very average thriller. I liked the concept and the opening chapters were gripping, but about 30% in it really began to lose its way. The relationship between the protagonist and the ex felt stale (I couldn’t fathom why it was meant to be such an earth-shattering unforgettable first love), the husband was basically forgotten about, the brother disposable, and I got very tired of the protagonist repeating herself over and over again. A couple of good twists, but if you’re an avid thriller reader you will have seen them coming a mile away. A decent page-turning read, but not the best considering the hype.