Amazing edge of your seat story you won't be able to put down this is a thriller which will keep you turning the pages long into the night

This is my fourth Helen Cooper thriller. By now, I have very high expectations of her work, and so far she hasn't disappointed me.

Best friends Alice and Chrissy live in a tiny Derbyshire village. Chrissy owns the village pub. They both have sons who are very close in age, who have grown up together and are also the best of friends. Until they aren't...

Leo, Chrissy's son, is in prison for murdering Robbie, Alice's son. The two women haven't had any contact for the two years since the tragic killing. Chrissy has since moved out of the pub. Her life has been miserable since Leo's been in prison. She has lost her son, her pub, and her best friend. Also, she has been receiving nasty notes suggesting she leave the village where she and her son are no longer welcome.

Finally, the day has arrived that Leo will be released from prison. When Chrissy goes to pick him up she learns that Leo was released before she got there. Leo is missing! The hunt is on, and the police are once again in the village...

Running throughout the novel is the mystery of why Leo and Robbie were fighting that fateful New Year's Eve in the pub. What led Leo to kill his best friend?

Georgie, who has recently moved to the village, embeds herself in Chrissy and Alice's family drama. She has led a consortium to purchase the Raven pub. What is her story? She seems heavily invested in Chrissy' s family history. Why?

This novel of family secrets shows clearly that the truth always will come to light eventually. In this case, the secrets span two generations.

Family, friends, neighbours. Who can be depended on, who will betray you? How far would you go to protect those whom you love?

This thriller is a novel of deceptions, secrecy, hurt, betrayal, loss, and forgiveness. The ending was very satisfying, giving the reader a sense of hope. A gripping read.

The only part of the novel that I feel let it down was the cover. Though very eye-catching, it led the reader to believe that the book was about a young child, rather than a young man.

Highly recommended to those readers who enjoy intelligently plotted thrillers.

It feels weird to say but I loved this read, it is very dark but also very emotive and it made for gripping, powerful reading. Chrissy and Alice are two friends, torn apart by the actions of their sons. As the book progresses it is clear that all is not as it first seemed and the characters have many truths to reveal. The plot is a lot more complex than I anticipated and I loved getting stuck into it and seeing what was going to happen next. I was completely hooked by this book and also thought Cooper portrays the extremely high emotions with sensitivity.
The characters are good too, they are all realistic and tell their part of the story well. This is dark and at times a difficult read but definitely worth it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy.

This was a fantastic psychological thriller by Helen Cooper. Absolutely gripping from start to finish. So many secrets that get uncovered throughout the book, it's hard to know what to believe. The twists and turns just keep coming. Would highly recommend.

This book was so highly anticipated and I was so glad to get a copy of this book
The book was a great gripping read. It had me questioning”what would i do” and would i have forgiveness in me.
The writing flew beautifully and it felt so effortless to read. The chapters ended on cliffhangers; which made me just want to instantly read the second
This is a great book about a mothers love, forgiveness, redemption and drama

This book was so highly anticipated and I was so glad to get a copy of this book
The book was a great gripping read. It had me questioning”what would i do” and would i have forgiveness in me.
The writing flew beautifully and it felt so effortless to read. The chapters ended on cliffhangers; which made me just want to instantly read the second
This is a great book about a mothers love, forgiveness, redemption and drama

Secrets Will Out..
Secrets will out in this drama fuelled novel of suspense where a tragic death leads to emotional turmoil. With a pacy and tension fuelled plot populated by a credible cast and a snappy narrative and unexpected twists throughout. Relationships are dug deeply and the ability to forgive explored.

A gripping book about loss and relationships that change with one action. A hell of a book and it doesn’t let up with the twists and turns. Superb read.

A quick book’ to read with a reasonable plot. I’ve read a few now where the parents are best friends then the kids do something catastrophic and there’s a huge fallout. So this one wasn’t the best of its type and only gets three stars from me.

#MyDarlingBoy #NetGalley
Alice and Chrissy were best friends. In 2021, on the night of their New Year Eve party, Chrissy's son Leo pushes Alice's son Robbie resulting in Robbie's death. The two friends' relationship then fall apart after the incident and Leo was sent to prison. Now few years later, Leo is being released from the prison. Alice sends an email to Chrissy, asking Chrissy not to send her son Leo to the pub and that it would be better if both mother and son leave the village. Chrissy ignores the threats that she is receiving from the villagers. As she goes to the prison to pick Leo up, she was surprised to learn that Leo has already left the prison. Chrissy gets worried when she receives a call that Leo has failed to show up at the parole officer. Eventually she finds out that Leo has been abducted. Who is responsible?
I loved it so much. This is her best till date.
Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Straughten for giving me an advance copy.

Oh Wow that was one hell of a book, I haven’t read a Helen Cooper book before but I definitely will read more now. This story is full of family secrets and betrayal, filled with unforeseen twists. I read this late into the night because I was instantly hooked and I couldn’t read fast enough. I loved the multiple POVs allowing you to build up a picture of that night and what actually happened if you like a fast paced domestic thriller the I highly recommend this one.

A story full of family secrets and betrayal.
I was invested from the start and thought the relationships were all written and developed brilliantly.
I really enjoyed this and was left thinking about it for days afterwards.

The book is gripping and unputdownable. There are secrets, mystery, betrayal and twists. The characters were mysterious. The vibe of the book is melancholic and suspenseful.

Chrissy and Alice are best friends and they host a New Year's Eve party. But the night turns their lives upside down and unthinkable happenings shatters their friendship as well. Robbie is found dead and years later secrets begins to unveil with buried truths, lies and betrayal. The plot was clever and I didn’t see the twists coming. The twists were jaw dropping and the ending was so twisted and messy.

Thanks to the Publisher and Author.

I have read all of Helen Coopers books so I couldn’t turn down an opportunity to read this one before release day!

A story full of family secrets and betrayal. Characters that have been through the worst parts of life. Best friends torn apart by tragedy. Suspense. Mystery. Twists and turns. It has it all. It’s not action packed but contains all aspects of a thriller I love. Another great read by Helen Cooper. I’ve enjoyed all of her books so far and will continue to read whatever she publishes next!

Thank you to @hodder @netgalley and @helencooperwriter for the gifted copy for review.

"My Darling Boy" proved to be an extraordinary read, filled with unforeseen twists that kept me flipping through the pages rapidly. I absolutely adored it..

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for my ARC.

Alice and Chrissy are best friends as are their sons Robbie and Leo. But on New Year’s Eve 2021 one of the boys will be dead and the other will be to blame.

Shattered friendships, secrets and twists, past endeavours coming back to bite, and emotion overload.

This was a fast paced read with a great plot and the reader can get a good feel of the characters in this small village.

Thank you to NetGalley , the author and publisher for my arc.

Alice and Chrissy were best friends. In 2021, on the night of their New Year Eve party, Chrissy's son Leo pushes Alice's son Robbie resulting in Robbie's death. The two friends' relationship then fall apart after the incident and Leo was sent to prison. Now few years later, Leo is being released from the prison. Alice sends an email to Chrissy, asking Chrissy not to send her son Leo to the pub and that it would be better if both mother and son leave the village. Chrissy ignores the threats that she is receiving from the villagers. As she goes to the prison to pick Leo up, she was surprised to learn that Leo has already left the prison. Chrissy gets worried when she receives a call that Leo has failed to show up at the parole officer. Eventually she finds out that Leo has been abducted. Who is responsible?

The book is divided into many POV'S--Alice's Chrissy's a woman named Georgie where in the end you will find her connection to the main protagonist, Leo. You can feel both the women's emotional trauma going through as mother--Alice for losing her son and Chrissy because her son went to prison. The book is well written and there are some twists and turns in the story which made the story a little bit more interesting. Not to mention Leo's meeting with a prisoner named Frank. The ending was unexpected and twisted and it was actually good. Though this in my opinion wasn't her best, still I enjoyed this thriller. Worth four stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Hodder for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Omg omg omg!! How amazing g was this book?! I loved every second. The plot was original, the characters well fleshed out. So many secrets and lies and twists and turns and I just couldn't get enough!!! It has alternating povs which not only progress the plot but also makes it all feel that wee but more hectic and fast paced. Loved everything about it

The perfect night: I had been so excited for our big New Year's Eve party. Hosting with my best friend Alice and our two beautiful boys - my Leo and her Robbie, who had grown up together like brothers.

A shocking death: But then I heard the terrible crash. I remember the flashing lights of the ambulance and how everyone then turned on Leo. Saying that Robbie was dead because of my son. Who is to blame? The boys had argued, but Leo still won't tell me why. I know he's keeping a secret from me. I need to find out the truth, need to clear the name of my darling boy before something terrible happens to him. But I also need to make sure no one finds out the truth about me.

Chrissy and Alice had been best friends until a terrible accident at a New Year's party happened. Their sons Leo and Robbie had had an argument just before Robbie's tragic accident. Leo gets a custodial sentence. When Leo is released from prison two years later, he's not at the gates waiting for his mother to pick him up. She discovers he has already left, he's disappeared, and that's when the secrets start to come out.

The pace is fast, and I was hooked by the end of the first chapter. The story is told from Chrissy and Alice's perspectives. There were plenty of twists in this psychological thriller. My first, but not my last read by the author.

Published 13th June

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Hodder&Stoughton and the author #HelenCooper for my ARC of #MyDarlingBoy in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly thankyou for this ARC NetGalley! 😍
This was a quick paced, exciting dark thriller. I didn’t expect any of the twists and turns and trust me there’s lots throughout. I didn’t want to put this book down and I was actually sad I had to last night so I could sleep to be able to parent 😂 I think there maybe could have been more story telling of the past and Chrissy + Alice’s relationship. I would have loved to know them and their friendship a bit more. But a very good read and highly recommend!