When their Mother is murdered and their Father is arrested on suspicion of killing her, Daisy and Alice go to stay with their Grandmother, who they have never met, after she had a falling out with her daughter many years ago.

This gripping and sinister thriller is narrated by The Grandmother, Yvonne, and The Father, Vince.

Vince is a one time petty criminal who is trying to turn his life around and do the best forms daughters. Yvonne is a sweet old lady who just wants to take care of her granddaughters.

For a while, despite the creepy and sinister undertone, I just couldn't see where this was going to go and then, OMG! THE TWISTS! I actually froze when the first big twist hit, totally stunned and was just staring at the page in disbelief! From then, I felt like I was on a rollercoaster as the shocking truth unravelled and took my breath away!

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Jane E. James and Joffe for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This book ended up being a bit different from what I thought from reading the synopsis. The POV from two different people can work sometimes but this one felt a bit weak on the side of the father, as if it wasn't really his voice and personality coming through. The grandmother, however, you feel that you can see her personality. As such, by the end of the book I had to question why she wanted the girls so much and why she did some of the things that she did. There were other smarter avenues for her to pursue but then there wouldn't have been a reason for the book. I wasn't very familiar with the situation of council housing and living solely on benefits so the comparisons between the two circumstance were interesting. It was meant for you to think about your position inlife and the choises you make. All along there were little bits of shockers meant to keep you tantalized. by the end, the story picked up and moved faster. I did not like the final scene. I also felt that there were some holes and questions that went unanswered. However, it did make me think.

Thanks net galley for an early. Copy of this book, which I did enjoy.
I met my grand daughters for the first time under terrible circumstances, did not even know I had grand children, their mother my daughter had been murdered.
A social worker.brought the children to me, the social worker must have thought I was a sweet old grandma who would welcome two little girls. I was not that sweet which the children would find out.
I am sure their father killed my daughter, his name is Vince my daughter should never have married him in the first place he drunk smoked and hit her.
Had not seen my daughter for many years, and now had to decide what I was going to do with my two grand daughters

I suppose I'm rating this a bit lower than others. This book was just OK for me. The author has been a hit or miss with me. This was average. Not bad, not great. I found it slow and I guess I wouldn't mind except the ending fell flat with me.

Scarlet is a single mom to 2 girls. Her husband left her for Leah who has since given birth to their new child. Scarlet gets murdered and Leah will not let Vince (Scarlet's ex husband) take in the 2 girls. Therefore, they go to live with their only relative, a grandmother they have never met. This grandmother has lots of secrets. Yvonne, the grandmother, was estranged from her daughter Scarlet. Alice is the younger child. Daisy is the older one. They are trying to adjust to their mom being gone, and Yvonne faces a lot of turmoil in her once very peaceful life. In the meantime, we hear about Vince and Leah and their new baby. Leah is quite the witch. Vince and Leah live in a housing estate and are not employed so for Vince it's impossible for him to take care of his other daughters.

I found the characters all very unlikable, even the children. The writing was good and flowed smoothly. The book alternates from 2 POV's, Vince and the grandmother, Yvonne. There are a lot of twists once you are pretty far into the book.

I enjoyed this book at the beginning although it felt more like fiction rather than an amazing thriller. The last half of the book the story picked up and had a bunch of twists and turns and you finally find out who killed the girls mother at the beginning. I would say it was just ok!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Well well well… my expectations are high when I read one of this authors stories and I must say she exceeded those expectations in this gem of a read.

When two little girls end up living with a grandmother they have never met so many lives changes. Now my review is gonna be vague as I don’t want to spoil the experience for anyone. I will say I was delighted with all the twists and turns and pretty much read this in one sitting.

I’m already looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I thought The Grandmother was ok. I was interested in the characters and the storyline was ok but the ending is what killed it for me. Was just a ok, is that it.....

Woah! This is one crazy ride into psychological fiction! A truly unique book that will stay in my memory, and very much have Jane E. James on my radar for future reads.

This book starts on the aftermath of the death of troubled Scarlett, who has, unfortunately, met an untimely end due to presumed murder. Amongst suspects is her ex husband, Vince, and much of the narration is from his perspective. The other dominant voice in the narration is 'The Grandmother'. Scarlett and Vince have 2 daughters, and as Vince has shacked up (and had a baby) with a new partner, Grandmother, Yvonne, takes the girls in. The story that unfolds reveals not only the murderer, but a host of other craziness to boot (all of which is highly entertaining!!)

Such a good read, well deserving of a 5+* rating!

My thanks to netGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

My overall opinion of The Grandmother by Jane E. James is that the book isn't bad. For most of the book, it felt more like general fiction than a thriller. That said, it heats up towards the end and delivers some twists and turns that thriller lovers need.

The grandmother and the father aren't likable characters, but they aren't really meant to be. Thanks for the advance review copy.

The Grandmother kept me on the edge of my seat. It is told from two points of view, which I enjoyed as I got two sides of the story.
The granddaughters come to stay with their grandmothers as there is so where else for them to go after their mother is murdered.
It is quite an adjustment for both. The suspicion is that the father is the killer.

The father is trying to get things together so that he can regain custody. The grandmother will go to any lengths to prevent that.

The two points of view are smooth and easy to follow. Each side left me completely unsure of where the book was going and whose truth was the real deal. Every time I figured it out a big bump in the road showed I was wrong.


The writing is conversational and flows nicely. I appreciated the way the author kept me guessing and so involved I couldn't put the book down.

Thanks to netgalley for this ARC

This was a twist-filled and suspenseful book! It kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat! A domestic thriller with a grandparent focus that was quite intriguing!

This book is so twisty and hard to put down. A thriller that is actually thrilling and heart pounding. Who is actually who and is everyone lying? Or is everyone telling the truth? The ending will tell you everything but also open up another can of worms.

Highly recommend.

The Grandmother is a fast paced read that does indeed have that jaw dropping twist .

Crazy meets crazy and I love crazy .

Two sisters Daisy 9 and Alice 7 are sent to live with their grandmother who they had never met after the suspicious death of their mum.

Vince their dad has to clean up his act in order to get custody of the girls and for the most part he tries.

Now for the Grandmother.

Well Yvonne is not your typical Grandmother.

She is hiding the biggest secret of all.

The girls are leary of her and rightly so.

I trusted no one but hope for the best.

Twists and turns, secrets, lies and suspicion keeps the pages turning quickly and the end will surprise you.

This was my first Jane E James book ( where I have been) but it certainly wont be my last as I race to catch up.

Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for a fantastic read and introducing me to the author Jane E James.

Yvonne was estranged from her daughter but upon her death was determined that she would have custody of her grand daughters rather than their dead beat dad. Vince however is determined to get his daughters back no matter what it takes.

I struggled with Vince’s chapters. His narrative voice didn’t seem to really fit his character and was a bit jarring. Yvonne’s chapters felt more true to her character and were easier to read because of this.

There were multiple twists and turns to keep you guessing where the book was going.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

What a fantastic read I couldn't put it down.

Time to read less than a day
Thrilling and full of twists

5 stars

Very intriguing book with lots of twists and turns. I very much enjoyed it and thank you for the opportunity.

This book started out pretty good....a little slow, but still good. The ending was crazy! Nothing at all like expected. I feel like it could have been so much better, but, I'm not a writer. There were a lot of twists and turns, it wasn't all tied up in end, in my opinion.
Thanks to netgalley, the publisher and author for the chance to read this advanced copy, for a fair opinion.

Daisy and Alice are sent to live with their grandmother, Yvonne after the death of their mother, Scarlett (was it murder?!). They have never met their grandmother as she was estranged from her daughter, but she has a lovely cosy home and some money.

We alternate between the "grandmother" and the "father" - the later being the girls father and ex son in law of the grandmother as we try to work out who killed Scarlett. Yvonne is dropping hints that she is not the lovely old lady she makes out to be and we have a few twists and turns throughout.

It was well written and I enjoyed the alternating POV's - the contrast from Yvonne's lovely home and fresh baking, to the dire housing estate added a nice element. It was nicely paced, and I enjoyed the different characters. 4 stars.

A new author for me, and now I'm dying to read all other books by Jane E James. I LOVED this one. It was quite a sad story of a mother being killed, but a truly gripping read, twists, unlikeable characters..I just couldn't put it down!

What a fantastic thriller this was it was such a twisty read which kept me hooked throughout. There was so many twists and turns I didn’t know how it was going to end and wow what a jaw dropping ending it was. It was well written with well developed characters I absolutely loved it and I will definitely be recommending it to everyone especially anyone who loves a very twisty thriller. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this fantastic book.