We start with Ellen being passed over for promotion and being sidelined yet again by the patriarchal boys club, who run the company she has spent years pouring her life into. The hopes of Ellen and her partner Samantha are dashed as a result, and Samantha chooses to leave Ellen. A good read with a few laughs along the way.

A fun concept that has been done before, and unfortunately this one was a little clunky and read a little young for what I expected (like YA).

When the day Ellen has been looking forward to for months turns into the worst day of her life, she braces herself for what’s next. Lo and behold, somebody starts blackmailing her about it! I love a novel with a sapphic theme as an incidental as opposed to being the main plot point but unfortunately for me, it was the main plot I didn’t love. It seemed both too jumpy with too many holes, with the conclusion feeling rushed. That said, it was a nice, easy read.

After being overlooked for promotion yet again, the consequences are dire. With mounting rent arrears, she risks losing her home, and without a pay increase, her dream wedding remains out of reach. To make matters worse, she’s forced to socialize with her self-entitled new team leader, causing her to miss out on a concert—a birthday gift she had been looking forward to.

Her frustrations boil over, leading to a struggle that sets off a chain reaction of manipulation and self-preservation. As uncertainty looms, each decision impacts the next, weaving a complex web of consequences. This gripping thriller captivates not just through its tension but also by grounding its narrative in relatable social dynamics, making it resonate even without the backdrop of violent chaos.

3.5/5.

http://thesecretbookreview.co.uk

Ellen is fed up of staff who started at her firm after her, being promoted in her stead. When one of them oversteps the boundaries she lashes out and he ends up dead. She manages to get rid of the body, with help, but someone knows about it and it appears she is going to be blackmailed.
I found the characters interesting but, have to admit the plot got a bit complicated towards the end. Nevertheless a good read

Overall I enjoyed reading The Light and Shade of Ellen Swithin. Good to see the patriarchy, in particular some really unsavoury misogynistic arseholes, get their come-uppance. I mean what female[-identifying] office worker hasn't fantasised about whacking a leering or roaming-handed male colleague with their laptop? Seriously? Make that not roaming hands but grievous sexual assault and the gloves are well and truly off.

If I were to be less forgiving, I’d have to say that the plot is outlandish, the characters a bit two-dimensional and the ending, well, pretty hard to follow, to be honest.

3* because it’s a good read, but some may view that as a generous rating given the basic unlikeliness of the whole thing. You’ll be hard pressed to suspend your disbelief. But as an entertaining way to knock back a few hours and vicariously murder a misogynist, go for it!

#TheLightandShadeofEllenSwithin #NetGalley

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for providing an ARC. All my reviews are 100% honest no matter how I acquire the book.

The right set of circumstances and a seriously bad day are all it takes to turn Ellen Swithin into a killer. What began as the best day of her life, was going to turn out to become one of the worst. In the aftermath, Ellen will forge unexpected alliances, uncover corporate secrets, and out-fox both peers and senior management. She is about to uncover exactly what she is capable of in order to survive and thrive.

Funny and engaging it's a great read.

The pace is good, some unusual twists to an intriguing story – but I found the pitch and ‘passion’ didn’t quite work for me, even though the author throws energy and enthusiasm into the writing. Too many stretches of credulity and plausibility made it tricky for me to properly engage - I wanted to sharpen my red pen and write questions, comments and suggestions on the side of the page!
It is an easy read, so perfect for the beach or plane or a lolling in the garden. Do read other reviews, too.

I loved the idea of a professional setting being used juxtaposed with murder, I enjoyed Ellen's character and understood her frustration (although murder is extreme)

Murder and mayhem in the executive suite

Surrounded by boors (both male and female) and passed over for promotion, is Ellen willing to do anything to claw her way up the corporate ladder? In an entertaining thriller, jam-packed with dark humour, Coutinho has given us another in the current trend for women taking charge through murder. Ellen, however, remains conflicted throughout, so she retains our empathy, whilst entertaining us with thoughtful deaths and a cat-and-mouse affair. Threats loom on every side and the plot stays taut to the end, and the innocent are saved.

A highly commended three and a half stars, rounded up to four.

I really wanted to love this book but it felt like I was trudging along... it should have started with a kill and then eased into the story. The build up was kind of boring and it really took me out of it. I do love women killers so I still would give the book 3 stars. Thank you for the opportunity for the ARC!

I feel sure that with some good editing and pruning out of the tortuous overlong metaphors there is a really good story in this book just waiting to be told. However, in its present form I found it difficult to connect with any of the characters or care about what they did or why. I wasn't sure if the author expected readers to be surprised by the misogyny in the workplace as it certainly felt like a well worn trope rather than any new observations.
Sadly it wasn't for me but hopefully I'll be in a minority, and many others will enjoy it.
Thank you to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book.

2.5, I suppose, really, as there were spots where the prose wasn't all that bad.
I hate giving a low rating to an author who obviously tried hard, and this might have been a far better book if the editor was awake whilst working on it, but overall this was such a hard slog to get through that I feel I should spare other readers the tedium.
The core idea was good, and the story started out reasonably well, but got bogged down in two basic, but intrinsic, aspects: prose and logic.
In some parts of the book the reader is overwhelmed with filler (I do not need to know the order in which a protagonist puts on every item of clothing in the morning, unless it's germane to the plot; it wasn't), and in others is left rather confused, particularly at the climax, which was rushed and not enough explanation is given as to how the antagonist was foiled.
And logic, one of the most important things in a murder mystery, oh how it irked!
The first accidental killing was all over the place, and made even worse towards the end (I won't spoil - ha ha - the surprise); the keeping of the victim's phone (really?? has the author never seen a police procedural, ever?); the fact that the protagonist realises her long-standing neighbours are related to/know both the victim and the antagonist (that never came up in conversation before?); the fact that a protagonist who is so shy they can't even stand up for themselves at work can merrily go on to murder more people...these are just the main points. I won't even get started on the cliches of toxic masculinity, as they were mere caricatures that almost made me sympathise with the nasty men.
Overall, not an enjoyable read, irritating, boring, illogical and not a sympathetic character in sight.
My thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

Passed over for promotion again, the impact is devastating. Not able to pay rent arrears means losing the home. No pay increase means no saving for the wedding that keeps getting put on hold. Having to socialise with new team leader, who is a self entitled idiot means missing her birthday present to a concert.
A struggle and lashing out in anger has massive repercussions. Manipulation, uncertainty and self preservation lead to more decisions. Follow the twists and turns as one impact's directly the other.
Enjoy I did

Ellen Swithing is to discover just what she is capable of when the chips are down in DG Coutinho's darkly humorous storytelling. Whilst this was indeed light, fun and entertaining reading in some parts, often emulating the real life contemporary misogyny that women face, additionally it managed to irritate and get on my nerves too, the humour did not always work for me. Ellen's life is not going well, her partner has left her, and after years of service, she has continued to be and endured being overlooked when it comes to promotion, with the men climbing the career ladder being nowhere as good as her. As if this is not enough to make her gnash her teeth, the bully Noah is a sexual predator. It is all too much, pushing Ellen to discover exactly what she is capable of, smouldering inside her is a killer just waiting to pop out.

Let's just say that Noah deserves the laptop case that ends up in his neck, but will this turn out to be a one off act? Perhaps not, as chaos, more murder, and mayhem follow, including the problems of eviction, blackmail, romance, cats, unexpected twists and turns and so much more as becoming a killer, just fits like a comfortable glove on Ellen. There are aspects that kept my attention and other occasions when I was reading as fast as possible, desperate to get to the end, as the main character increasingly struggled to hold my interest. I think there will be other readers to whom this will appeal more, so please do consider reading other reviews. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I loved the premise of the book and think it could be a lot better than it currently is with some vigorous editing. The writing felt rushed, and the environment seemed bent to serve the storyline. While all of the misogyny described is unfortunately indeed something women deal with in the workplace, their portrayal seemed a bit forced and cliche. It was a bit like a checklist the author was working through of awful things in the workplace and they all had to occur in their most obvious form within the timespan of a couple of hours.

There were also a few statements that made little sense to me, such as the protagonist making puppy eyes to assure her partner. How would puppy eyes assure anyone that somebody will stop taking cr... at work? It seemed a bit of a stretch that the house owner has her deadline for buying the flat on the same day as her possible promotion which for some reason comes with a bonus in cash on the very same day (maybe it is a practice in other countries, I have never heard of that);. I think the events could have been spread out while still showing the tense situation the character is in.

I am a bit sad because I liked the story and feel it could be a great book with some editing and smaller rewrites.

Sadly not the book for me. I didn't enjoy the writing style or the characters.

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read.

With thanks to netgalley and the author DG.Couinho

Sadly The light and shade of Ellen Swithin, was not for me, I didn't seem to care about any of the characters at all, 1 star for me...sorry

Although I did enjoy this book it didn’t leave me craving more and the characters won’t stay with me for very long. Whilst empathising with the main character initially I found myself disengaging from her as the book progressed. Overall a fairly good, fun read.
Thanks to Net galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review and to the author for the imaginative story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book with no obligation to review.

I was disappointed in this book, it just seemed to lack something although I'm not sure what.

The description of office life, the cliques. the "inspirational" manager, the sidelining of women on the basis that "you are just SO good at what you do, we can't risk moving you", the ignoring of women's ideas until they are parroted the next minute by a man all ring depressingly true.

I didn't feel any connexion with the characters though and actually got a bit confused at the very end with the Fiona double crossing. I kept nodding off over the last couple of chapters and had to read them multiple times.

Go Ellen though, it IS murder out there.