DNF. I found the book too slow, and there were too many characters to keep track of, so the reader spends more time on trying to untangle everyone rather than trying to solve the mystery, and I didn’t like the messages part, I’d have preferred just normal writing style

One Bad Apple is a school murder mystery set in Aberfal, a private English boys' school, where the murder of the headmaster shakes up the parents and teachers. Plenty of them had motive!

The WhatsApp chats among the parents added a fun twist, it’s literally what those of us who have WhatsApp school/after school club chats would have the parent’s contact detail's down as, and how the threads read - minus the cake incident and dead head.

This book is ideal for fans of cosy mysteries such as Marlow Murder and The Thursday Murder Clubs. It’s an entertaining read about school scandals and secrets.

This was not the book that ai was expecting. It felt a little YA to me and ai really am not a fan of those books. The characters were hard to keep track of, there were so many.

I feel that the story jumped around quite a bit and I struggled to believe the headmaster character in this day and age.

I wanted to enjoy this one more. Thanks to Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley for the chance to read this book.

Having read books by Jo Jakeman and enjoyed them this was great.

I couldn't put it down. Gotta love parents on WhatsApp

Thanks for the opportunity to review the book

Thank you to net gallery and the author for this arc copy I am not a massive fan of the cover for this book it’s seems a bit messed up and all thrown on there to if am been honesty. This was a good book but not the best book I have read it felt a bit slow and boring to me this book. I am sure other people will absolutely love this book and enjoy it more than me. I didn’t really like many of the characters there were okay but not the best. Overall it’s a okay book xx

It might be called One Bad Apple, but it certainly isn't one. I adored this book. absolutely. It's full of fun, yet solid, characters, leads you down plenty of blind alleys, and has just the right amount of humour to entertain you all the way.

Anyone familiar with playground politics or school gate gossip., will find this instantly relatable.

This sounded like a cross between Agatha Christie and Janice Hallett with a touch of real housewives thrown in I couldn't wait to take a bite sadly I was left with a bad taste. This just didn't work for me, I found in the most the characters were all very stereotypical there is no real attempt at developing them they were very flat, the plot had such promise never really took off, I did like the mixture of group messages and actual chapters but the layout within this didn't work. This was okay a quick read but nothing special it didn't stand out from the crowd or bring anything new to genre. It's a shame as it could have been great in the right authors hands.

This a typical YA mystery, good for fans of Karen McManus and Janice Hallett. Enter the world of private education.. scary enough as it is! Add in a murder, a lot of keeping up with the Jones' and gossip.

This one was very predictable but, a decent quick read that you don't have to think about too much.

This was an ok read, although it felt a little cliched at times regarding class stereotypes. I’m afraid none of the characters were really likeable for me either. I finished it and was pleased to find a twist at the end but not one for me.

A bit of a review of two halves, this.

First the good: the whatsapp mums' chat sections are entertaining and actually bring something to the story - too often I feel like this kind of element (e.g. sections of social media posts about a crime) is a bit gimmicky, but these were really well done. The private school setting had loads of potential, albeit I didn't think it was wholly utilised. The final twists to the plot were not ones I saw coming.

However, as an exploration of privilege it fell flat for me, 'beautiful rich people have problems too you know' being the main takeaway of the story. And I felt it somehow both wasn't in-depth enough, and kind of dragged towards the end - I think because of the lack of depth, I just didn't feel massively invested.

Nevertheless, an entertaining cosy-ish thriller.

An enjoyable school-based whodunit, One Bad Apple follows a group of mums at an affluent English high school who are rocked by the murder of the headmaster. While it doesn't rewrite the rulebook on domestic mysteries, it's a page-turner and a half, and fans of Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies will find a lot to enjoy here.

If you like books like pretty little liars you will like this book. Not bringing anything new to the genre but entertaining for what it is.

Wow! This book was brilliant! It really touched on the themes of elitism in private schools, bullying, familial conflict and is the embodiment of why I avoid class whatsapp groups like the plague.

A fast-paced quick read full of scandals and catty remarks, with a slightly predictable but fantastic end that leaves you feeling good. Read in one sitting as I couldn't put it down.

Perfect if you like Thursday Murder Club, Agatha Raisin etc.

A fantastic story about a suffering school, parents whatsapp group and a cheeky murder thrown in! Be prepared for the education and twists of your school life!

Independent boys’ school Aberfal has a reputation for excellence… even if the teaching staff and parents don’t always see eye to eye. Amidst the cricket matches and beautifully baked cakes lies a whodunnit of academic proportions. The headmaster is murdered in his study in what appears to be a locked room (study) mystery and the Year Seven school mums WhatsApp group is thriving with accusations and quite far fetched ideas. But does one bad apple make the whole barrel rotten? Read the WhatsApps, listen to the secret conversations and you’ll soon realise that all isn’t as perfect within the school gates and beyond. A really neatly paced drama which I think would work perfectly on screen.