3 killers with motives and means…

Nicola is unbelievably talented and this thriller kept me hooked right till the end! It might be Nicola’s best one yet!!

Perfect for those who enjoy:
- Stories that keeps you guessing
- Compulsive and captivating reading
- Books written from different suspect perspectives
- Gripping thrillers

With thanks to Penguin Random House, Michael Joseph and Netgalley for an ARC copy in return for an honest review.

I often consider how fortunate the global thriller readership is that all three Moriarty sisters have taken up writing as it means an ample supply of riveting books for us! This one, a thriller by Nicola Moriarty, is entertaining and suspenseful in equal measures. It starts from a shocking point of departure – a woman lies dying from a gunshot wound – but the sympathy the reader has with this fictional victim of a capital crime is soon mixed with antipathic tendencies and a great many questions, as we get to know more about this complex, unlikeable female by the name of Harriet Osman. Among those with a grievance or two against her are long-suffering husband Malik, her daughter Farrah as well as best friend Tallulah, and also Tallulah’s mother Karen. The woman that Harriet considers her best friend – Victoria – also joins the line of suspects but the real line of investigation the reader undertakes, in my opinion, is not about who despised Harriet enough to want her dead, but a forensic investigation of how a privileged domestic set-up can turn so awry. A competent thriller that should satisfy Ms. Moriarty’s readership. My thanks go to NetGalley and to the publishers for the free ARC that allowed me to read this title ahead of publication and to publish an unbiased book review here.

Very different - kept me enthralled to the very end!

Everyone wants to be in Harriet's 'gang'; she has the magic ingredient which makes them all want to be in her friendship circle. But now she lies dying and is desperately trying to work out who put her in that position. Chapter by chapter, we find out all about her life - home, husband, daughter, friends and acquaintances. But who would possibly have wanted to end her life?

I can honestly say that I've never read another novel like this one. I was riveted and, I must admit, suspected everyone in turn. Who could have left someone to die? This is a complicated tale set during a heavy rainstorm and with a birthday party taking place. I suspected ever single character in turn and still managed to be surprised! A cracking five star read and easily earning my recommendation.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for this ARC.

Harriet is lying on the floor, mortally wounded. She knows she is going to die and she would like to solve the mystery of who did this, how and why before she dies.

She has three suspects in her mind - her husband Malek, her best friend and lover Victoria, and her daughter's best friend's mother Karen. The action starts on the day of her "surprise" 40th birthday party that she has heavily planned herself and invited everybody to. We get to know the three suspects and a lot of other people too - that first part feels quite slow because we have to get to know so many people.

We learn a lot about Harriet's personality, and while she is complicated, selfish and manipulative and treated some people horribly, she also has a good side. She loves her family even though she doesn't always treat them right.

This is a very suspenseful thriller, with many twists and turns and red herrings. I'm not very good at picking up clues just nodding afterwards ("oh yeah, she did say that!") but they are definitely there and strategically placed for people with a good memory. Even I know though that if persistent rain and a murdered young girl elsewhere in the country are continually referenced, you better pay attention to that.

The last part is almost hyperventilating with tension - everything seems to speed up and happen at once when Harriet's birthday party gets underway without her. There are so many questions that need to be solved and so many "something is not right" and "I have a bad feeling" statements uttered that the reader almost gets whiplash trying to keep up.

Throughout the narrative we encounter quite a few toxic men who think the women of this world owe them something. It is very clever of the author to intersperse the story with random statements of people at the periphery of the action who see things but choose not to get involved, to the detriment of others, like the guy who says nothing when a mate passes nude photos of his girlfriend around, or a neighbour who doesn't inform the partygoers of certain happenings they ought to know about. It seems that even the difference between Harriet surviving or dying hangs on someone not coming forward about something they've seen.

This is also an exploration of modern relationships with spouses, lovers, friends and teenage children, incorporating the LGBTQ+ community and things like open marriages and throuples, and the emotional pitfalls that lie therein.

Here's a life hack: never play Two Truths and a Lie with anyone, it will come back to bite you, especially if you have traumas in your past!

I think this book, though suffering from a few pacing issues, is cleverly written and incredibly entertaining. I stayed up late until I had finished it and would highly recommend it as a dramatic page turner with interesting, believable characters and friendship dynamics.

4.75 stars

This was an excellent thriller which had me gripped from the beginning to end. I really love a whodunnit thriller and there was so many suspects I really didn’t know who the killer was. It was such a fast paced thriller which definitely kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Highly recommended fantastic book. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy.

Firstly a big thank you for my early access in exchange for a review . Cleverly written with a fresh take on the narrative .
Characters you most certainly would find difficult to trust and some even like !

Secrets , jealousy ,lust ,lies ,friends and family are all ingredients for a special birthday party indeed

A great Thriller with the birthday girl lying dying on a floor who could have done it.

The 3 main suspects are introduced and each has a fair motive and a interesting story to tell, others are introduced via the story and several options to guess from. I absolutely love the story telling Nicola is an excellent writer and I can't wait to read more of her work.

The characters are really well created and the story flows from page one no boring lets get to know each other the just happens naturally. The 1st ½ isn't wasted setting the scene the story comes together very early and I loved that. Plenty of clues and twists an end you won't see coming I think this is one of my favourite books of the year so far. Just over 50 so far, but not all reviewed, but this one is a 10 star in my view. It deserves reading and a top rating

So as you may guess I love this thriller and no surprise will highly recommend it. Great characters excellent story more than worth while the read.

Harriet narrates to us from a pool of her own blood, while she dies she decides to work out who killed her.

This is a fun trope and I enjoyed Harriet’s narration. This is a very good read, maybe a little too slow and the ending isn’t perfect but it’s a great read.

Published 15 August 2024. At the beginning we find Harriet lying in a pool of blood, her life force slipping away. Not only does she have a major head injury, but she also feels that she has been poisoned. While still conscious, she tries to discover who her murderer is and the through the novel, through various POVs we meet the three most likely suspects - according to Harriet. Through her own POV she tries to find the reasons why each of these three might have attacked her as well as trying to remember where she is and how she ended up there. As we meet each 'suspect', we learn more about Harriet and what an awful woman she is. She's manipulative, she's selfish and she change switch moods on a whim. But, everyone wants to be her friend because they are afraid not to be. No wonder she is lying in a pool of blood - the only surprise is that she can only think of three people who might have wanted to murder her. After reading about her, I'd even join the queue. As I was reading, I was trying to pick out the clues but there were plenty of little twists and sub-plots to throw me off balance. To be honest, I found the ending a little disappointing - but I can't say why without giving too much away. However, I liked the characters - apart from Harriet - and had a good time reading this.

This was a very interesting story with lots of interactions between people that gradually built the storyline. Well described characters that brought the story to life. Very unexpected conclusion.

5* Couldn't step away from this, despite the unheathiness of the dynamics.

So, the blurb drew me in to what turned out to be a really good read, full of characters who could've been the murderer, and goodness, did the author do well with the tasty tidbits she dished out. I had my eye on one suspect in the end, but wow, that final bit in the epilogue? Didn't see that coming. I mean, it was kind of serendipitous/fortuitous but it wasn't out-and-out manslaughter, because, well, the 'murder weapon'. But, yeah, wow, though in hindsight, not all was well with that relationship.

Harriet was pretty awful, and had she lived, I think she'd have ended up lonely and far more damaged than she was. This was a good whodunit tale that had little side bits to it that had me feeling that maybe Harriet deserved what happened for all that she'd done to people, including those she genuinely loved. Well, as much as someone like her could love.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Michael Joseph Penguin Random House for my reading pleasure.

Harriet isn't a nice person. She's front and centre of everything and everyone wants to be her friend, not because they like her but because they're scared of her not being their friend.

And now she's dying, a pool of blood gradually spreading from the wound on the back of her head by an unknown assailant. As her life fades Harriet had one last goal, to work out who did it and make sure they don't get away with it.

From the opening pages this unique and intriguing novel drew me in, superb characterisation as chapter by chapter all of her suspects took centre stage, their narrative revealing why they might have done it. Superb writing and a compelling storyline this novel has bestseller written all over it.

Who killed Harriet? Seems like she had a fair few enemies!! This is a great read, drags you along at a pace which some great characters! I really enjoyed it and woken recommend it.

#EveryLastSuspect #NetGalley
Wow!!!
Harriet Osman is impossible to turn down. But someone in her life has finally snapped, leaving her face-down in a pool of her own blood. Harriet isn't one to die quietly though, and she is determined to reveal her killer before she goes. Was it her devoted husband, Malek, with a violent past? Her best friend and lover, Victoria, with a deadly secret only Harriet knew? Or the new woman in her life, fellow school mum Karen? The one with an impeccable reputation .or so she says. Bullying, friendships and games (in and out of the bedroom) combine with envy, lust and revenge, creating a darkly twisted tale of drama and suspense where the question isn't who killed Harriet, but why did it take them so long to do it?
This was an awesome read. I enjoyed it very much.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for giving me an advance copy.

An amazing book that I couldn’t put down. It starts with Harriet who is dying and wants to work out who is responsible. Then we read the stories of the three people she suspects it might be. If I was a character in this book I’d be suspect number one because I really disliked Harriet! A great book that held my interest and will be a read and read again for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for my honest and unbiased opinion.

With many thanks to Netgalley for this free arc and I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily

This is a very gripping and entertaining who-dunnit type story. The pace is rapid and the tension builds and builds ending with some quite genius twists. Set from the POV of the main suspects and a few bit players it sets the perfect foundation for the reader to guess what happened. Uniquely we also get the POV from a dying Harriet as she is also trying to work out the who and why. The characters are very good in this each with their own personality that the author does a brilliant job of portraying. A new author for me and I will be looking for more of her previous work. A brilliant 5⭐️ read

Who killed Harriet? That is the question posed by this fun, twisty thriller.

The first thing to say about this book was that it was written in a style which some people may not like. We learn at the start of the novel that Harriet is badly injured and the story moves on in three parts, each containing one of the main suspects - Malek, her badly-treated husband, Karen, her daughter's best friends' mum, and Victoria, her best friend - each with a reason to hate Harriet but who had a reason to kill her?

Funnily enough, Harriet is a largely unlikeable character so you may find yourself reading along wishing to know who killed her, but not yearning for justice. Each of the three suspects above, and many others, had understandable reasons to dislike Harriet. Her selfish nature is laid bare and she genuinely doesn't care who gets caught in the crossfire.

All in all this was a really interesting whodunnit and the format of the novel really worked for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House | Penguin for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an amazing story it sort of trickles along building up the tension until the very last paragraph when it simply makes you gasp, I had to re read the last page just to check id got the ending right. There’s an interesting mix of characters some nice , many not so nice! I was totally swept along all the way through. Excellent and strongly recommend

Thank you to Netgalley the author and publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review

This book turned out to be quite good with a fair few twists at the end but I did find the beginning dragged then things got muchfaster paced in the second half of the book. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters which didn’t help but I thought the overall story was interesting and I didn’t guess the ending so I would try another book by this author.

Harriet and Malek have an open marriage. However the openness is definitely one sided. Harriet has an appetite for extra marital liaisons, calling her relationship with Malek “ENM” - ethnically non monogamous. At the start of the story we find Harriet in a bare room, with a severe head injury, and appearing to be under the influence of some drug. Unable to call for help or move any part of her body, Harriet realises she is close to death. With the last reserves of willpower, she tries to remember what has happened during the day, and who would do this to her. Unfortunately for Harriet it’s quite a list!

The Prologue for this book was very interesting and I was hooked. For me though the first half of the book was very slow and meandering. It did pick up half way through and was a better, if somewhat ambiguous second half. Perhaps I missed something?

Normally I enjoy this author’s work, this one not so much.

It is well written and somewhat plausible, but just missed the mark for me. I am sure Moriarty fans will love it.

Thank you NetGalley and Michael Joseph/Penguin.