Holly Watts has changed direction with her latest book. This is standalone about a group of university friends who reunite after 20 years but one of them Lily has died. The title refers to the revealing of predictions they each made with some accurate predictions and others suggesting unexplained events that have occurred. The lying starts and each of them become suspicious and their reunion turns sinister…The truth of course is revealed. I didn’t gel with the characters and found the old Cambridge University trope a tad tiring. Loved her previous books but just couldn’t get into this one I’m afraid.

If you can’t trust your best friends, then who? That is the question that Journalist Maggie has to ask herself when she meets her old University pals for a twentieth anniversary get together. And it seems that, when it comes to this particular group, trust is something hard earned and easily lost. The get together is already tinged with sadness following the recent death of one of their group, Lily, but given that she had tried to contact Maggie just before she died, the fear in her final message makes Maggie wonder if Lily’s death was really a tragic accident after all.

It’s a strange old world, University and the people we meet in Holly Watt’s latest novel are a very strange and diverse bunch. If it weren’t for the fact of that it is their reunion that introduces us to them, you’d be forgiven for wondering whether any of them could truly have been friends to begin with. Money and influence for some, just getting by for others. And so much tension between them all that aside from the nostalgia that Maggie clearly feels about her former years, I would wonder just why she stays at Wintercross at all and doesn’t just run for the hills.

I like how Holly Watt has framed this story, using the premise of the friends reuniting to read a bunch of predictions they had made about each other twenty years earlier and agreed to read together. It adds extra conflict to what turns out to be an already tense situation. Nothing explains the former, and present, dynamic between the group – Maggie, estate agent Ollie and his soon to be ex-wife Elizabeth, high flying lawyer, Ayda, the former actress turned bar staff, Jude, Tech Guru, Ivo, and brothers Rory and Finlay – than understanding all the petty jealousies and barbs that they wrote about each other in their youth. Some of the predictions simply came true. Others appear malicious and intended to cut deep. And then there are those which seem all too prescient and designed to spread distrust and fear.

There is an underlying mystery that feeds through the story, and the author uses the setting of the sprawling estate, the relatively remote location, and a mystery death nearby to build the suspense. Mix in the overwhelming sense of unease that oozes from Maggie, that suspicion of her friends that is fed and enhanced by the increasingly erratic behaviour of Jude, and the clear evidence that the group are hiding something from her, and there were some many question s floating around my head, I really needed to know what was going on. It all links back to a tragedy from their past, and is fed by the overwhelming sense of entitlement felt by some of the characters. To that end, Maggie really stands out, a woman from far more humble beginnings that it makes you wonder just how she ended up in this particular dysfunctional clique.

This is a creeping, atmospheric thriller, where the sense of threat slowly builds, but the understanding that deep dark secrets are being kept is ever present. Holly Watt has created a group of characters it was almost impossible to like, although I did feel a small amount of affinity for Maggie at times, and empathy towards Jude at others. It is a tragedy that slowly builds to a high stakes, increasingly tense showdown, and a reveal that has a certain amount of tragic inevitability about it. There is a certain kind of sociopathy that comes from some of the character which the author has portrayed perfectly, friends sacrificing the happiness of each other for personal gain. To see how that works out for them, you’ll need to read for yourself.

I’d like to thank Bloomsbury Publishing Plc and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Last Truths We Told’ written by Holly Watt in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

A group of nine university friends write down their predictions for the future, to be opened at a reunion to be arranged in the future. Twenty years later they meet at a manor house and each person reveals their predictions and whether they achieved them. One of their friends, Lily, isn’t present as prior to the reunion she appeared to be frightened then tragically fell in front of a train during rush hour – suicide or an accident?

‘The Last Truths We Told’ is a mystery/thriller with an interesting concept. From the description it sounded the type of book I’d enjoy but there were a lot of characters involved that I found difficult to engage with. The story was slow and didn’t really speed up until later but by then I was so bored that I’d lost interest in the characters and the plot and was glad to reach the end. This is the first novel I’ve read by this author and although it was okay it’s not one I’d remember or want to read again.

I was granted an ARC of this book on NetGalley and I really liked the concept of it. 7 university friends get together for a reunion weekend 20 years on, where they all share the predictions that they once made about one another’s lives. On the face of it I thought I would really enjoy reading this, however it unfortunately didn’t live up to my expectations.

Nothing of excitement really seemed to happen until maybe 75% of the way through and I didn’t feel desperate to read on at any point throughout the book. The last 25% or so was more fast paced, however I still wasn’t blown away. Maggie’s character started off strong for me and I thought I would become very invested in her, but my opinion of this soon changed and at parts I found her to in fact be quite tedious.

I did enjoyed the way that the ending unraveled and I felt that no questions were left unanswered, however overall I didn’t love this book.

Set in a country manor on Dartmoor , a group of Cambridge University friends get back together after 20 years to read through the predictions they made about each other, only one of them is missing. The tension is there right from the start and old grudges rise back to the surface as the prefictions are read out. There are also a lot of secrets. My one criticism is that there were too mamy predictions and that part dragged on.The characters aren't particularly likeable, apart from Maggie, who seems sad and lonely. However, the writing draws you in to their complex and complicated friendships right until the end. Absolutely gripping.

Secrets Will Out..
A weekend reunion of old University friends brings secrets out of the woodwork in this well written, slow burn suspense. All those years ago, these friends made predictions of exactly where they would be in twenty years time and they have now gathered - some predictions have materialised and some have not, but one of the group is missing. Who among this group is lying, who is telling the truth and who is hiding something? Carefully and carefully plotted with a slow reveal of secrets, a well crafted cast of characters, an atmospheric backdrop with an underlying vein of menace and a deliciously executed denouement.

An absolutely cracking thriller from the excellent Holly Watt. Having very much enjoyed her series set in the world of investigative journalism, I was very much looking forward to this standalone, and it doesn't disappoint. As usual, the writing is excellent, the characters are fascinating and the plot intriguing. While they were at university nine friends made predictions about each other and they have come together twenty years later to reveal what was said. Many truths emerge and some revelations are shocking. Brilliant!

This has had great reviews from lots of others so I think i’m in the minority but I just didn’t enjoy it. I found the pacing off and very slow to get to the point which in this genre of book is very hard to pull off slow, tense pacing and I don’t think it managed.

I ended up skimming pages to get to the end and I wasn’t particularly bothered about any of the characters or what had happened to them. I’ve seen it’s had comparisons to Agatha Christie but as a huge fan of hers, this was a miss for me unfortunately.

How do you predict what your friends will be doing in 20 years time? A group of university friends write down their thoughts which are saved for a reunion 2 decades later. Some have been more successful in terms of wealth or relationships but all have issues to face . They question friendships and loyalties as each prediction starts a new chapter and reveals old tensions and new intrigue. A nail-biter of a novel that maintains suspense throughout.

I liked the concept of this, a group of university friends made predictions of where they would all be in 20 years time. 20 years later and it is time to reunite and see who was correct, but is all as it seems? The plot was slick and as the it progressed, clearly full of secrets as well. I was gripped by it and keen to keep reading to unearth what would happen next. I did find the writing a bit confusing and it was not always clear what perspective I was reading from. However I persevered and it did become clear.
I liked the characters, they are an interesting group with different personalities to discover. It was interesting to see their relationships at the beginning of the read and how this changes as the book unfolds.
Overall I was hooked by this read and would recommend it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing UK for an advance copy.

I really enjoyed this story about a group of friends on a reunion. Lobe these stories. Chalk Full of secrets and lies. Highly recommended xx

If you and all of your friends (minus the one that died), when you were 20, all wrote predictions on where you would be in 20 years, what would it look like? Passive aggressive? Naïve? Hopeful?
Or would they be riddled with desperation for the truth to come out?
The Last Truths We Told is about the unveiling of these ‘truths’ over the course of a weekend at an old haunt of theirs, an opulent manor owned by one of the men in the group.

I couldn’t put this down, it was so good. Ego’s at large, poignancy regarding who we are and what we could have been, and reflective of historical issues of patriarchal dominance and manipulation, even of those who are deemed intellectually superior. It just shows how nobody is exempt from coercive behaviour.

I would love to do similar predictions, even now, if only for 10 years. I’m all over it!

This is a good book, but a rather confusing one! It's told between now, then, and fiction, with the fiction being predictions that the characters have made. This is what made it confusing. There was no distinct indication between the real and the fake, and that was how I ended up giving the book 4 stars.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from Netgalley. Unfortunately after much perseverance, I couldn't finish this, finding it slow and the characters unlikeable. The concept was interesting and Watt juggles different narrators well, but unfortunately this didn't click with me.

The Last Truths We Told is a gripping and cleverly crafted read that delves into the intricacies of friendship, ambition, and the haunting nature of truth. Set against the backdrop of Wintercross, an ancient stately house in Devon, the story unfolds over a weekend gathering of nine university friends, who have come together not for a joyful reunion but to confront the shadows of their past.

As an investigative journalist, Maggie narrates this thrilling tale, reflecting on the predictions made about her friends’ futures—some have achieved great success, while others have settled into quieter lives. But the gathering is shrouded in tension, especially with the recent death of their friend Lily, whose unsettling behaviour in the weeks before her passing raises questions that must be addressed.

With an atmosphere thick with mystery, betrayal, and suspense, the book takes readers through the grand halls, secret staircases, and hidden corners of the Fitzwilliams’ ancestral home. The author masterfully weaves humour and intrigue into the narrative, ensuring that I was hooked from start to finish. The twists and turns kept me guessing, and the whodunnit aspect added an extra layer of excitement.

I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking a compelling story filled with secrets and revelations that will leave you questioning everything until the very end.

Read more at The Secret Bookreview.

I can just imagine going to a reunion and thinking about the promises and predictions I made at uni. In the novel theres a group of people who meet up again and think about the one who is not there. What happened? It's a slow reveal as we meet everyone and then try to work out why that one person is not there.

Had a Donna Tartt mood to it and the character study is quite something!

This was a really fun concept and I was gripped from the start. That said, it got a bit too much by the end, for me it could have benefited from being a few chapters shorter and more succinct.
3 stars.

Best friends from university, now in their early forties gather for a weekend to celebrate their enduring friendship and open the predictions they all made about each other twenty years previously. It was at a dinner party at the end of their final year at Cambridge when Maggie, Elizabeth, Ivo, Jude, Lily, Ayda, Rory, Finley and Ollie agreed to secretly write down what they thought each other would achieve – or not. Over the years, the friends stayed in touch. Elizabeth and Ollie married and divorced. Maggie, now a journalist, and workaholic lawyer Ayda became closer as did actress Jude and NHS doctor Lily. Ivo was a jet-setter multi-millionaire, Rory a high profile MP, Ollie an estate agent and Finley an army man. At Wintercross, Ivo’s lavish stately home in the remote wilds of Devon, the gang arrive under a cloud. Lily died tragically a few months before. She fell in front of a tube train during rush hour. The coroner decided it was death by accident or suicide. But Jude has her suspicions.
Events unfold from Maggie’s point-of-view, and as the close friends drink, eat, hang out and reminisce, everyone takes turns to read out predictions at random. The revelations range from kind and generous to uncomfortable, cruel and mysterious. Maggie is taken back to her college days and through various episodes, triggered by the game, we learn about each of the characters and how they become the people they are today.
Over the course of the weekend more truths are revealed than each of the friends bargained for in Holly Watts page-turner thriller. Her characterizations are polished, and she writes tension as well as she shows us the various friendship dynamics. This is a sophisticated crime thriller with an ensemble cast of complex and well developed characters, about ambition, lies, romance, jealousy and control – and the lengths a group of friends will go to, to protect each other and safeguard secrets. Highly recommend.

A group of University students made predictions for each other as to where they would be in 20 years time. Twenty years later they met up in the ancestral home of one of them for a week-end party and review although missing one, Lily, who had died. It took a while to sort out the characters and I found them rather boring to be honest. It did pick up with the reveal of the predictions although discussion of these were very choppy - sometimes two words, sometimes several pages of not always relevant material. Quite early on there was clearly something going on in the village with blue lights everywhere and Maggie, now a reporter, discovered that a body had been found. Phew, I thought, this is where the 'thriller' promised in the description came in. Wrong. Just back to the predictions amongst a lot of drink, frailties, nastiness, greed and revenge. Everything tied up in the end, including the odd body in the village but I'm afraid that I mainly felt relief at having made it to the end. The descriptions of Dartmoor were really good though, making the outdoor scenes feel real and sometimes spooky; and who doesn't love an old house, secret passages and mines. 2.5* rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Eight University friends reunite 20 years later and what follows is a pacy thriller.

They all made predictions as to where they would be in their later lives. Were they correct and what secrets would be divulged as their weekend develops.

I loved this book. It is a a drama filled read that is weel written with well developed characters and is a tale worthy of being a TV drama.

I did not guess the ending so for me this was really enjoyable read.