I loved Hailey’s The Silence Project. so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of her second novel, Scenes from a Tragedy. It proved to be very different, perhaps even better.

I need a moment here to talk about the author. It’s pretty damned impressive when an author can pull off a prize-winning, 5-star success as a début. Hailey not only follows up with a belter of a new novel, but it’s completely different to the first. This is no ‘riding on the wave of success with a weak, what-happened-next follow-up’ but an entirely fresh story. Hats off.

It’s easy to compare Scenes from a Tragedy with Killing Eve, and many reviewers have gone there. Easy, but lazy. The only commonality is that both revolve around a female psychopath.

A primer on psychopathy
It takes some time before the P word is mentioned in Scenes from a Tragedy. Many readers will quickly see that Izzy is a psychopath, but Carly takes a while to get there. While that might jar, I think it’s fair. I have known at least two psychopaths and seen for myself how reluctant people are to see the traits in someone they know. Partly of course because popular culture has taught us that all psychopaths are unstoppable serial killers. They aren’t. Most psychopaths don’t actually kill anyone. Scenes from a Tragedy is, among its other qualities, an excellent primer on what a psychopath is. Handy information to have if you happen to be living in the orbit of one of them. In short, they’re that highly manipulative, remorseless, devoid-of-empathy narcissist you know. Could be your boss or colleague, a family member… or a President or billionaire business leader. Yeah, you know the ones. A seductive but superficial charm is often part of the picture.

In this deliciously compulsive novel, our psycho is Izzy. The story begins when Izzy’s brother Danny and his copilot Luke die in a plane crash. Luke’s former fiancé, journalist Carly, decides to try to unravel what caused one of the pilots to deliberately crash the plane into a mountain. The narrative consists mainly of Carly’s accounts of her interviews with Danny’s sister and his wife, Grace.

As their stories unfold, the depth of Izzy’s perfidy is gradually revealed.

Reading Scenes from a Tragedy reminded me of how ill-equipped ordinary people are to deal with the narcissists and full-on psychopaths in their lives. Anyone graced with a normal dose of empathy finds it hard to get their head around that ultimate question: ‘But how could they do that?’, whether ‘that’ is their cruelty, or lying, or stealing, or refusal to accept responsibility for their actions, or whatever cold-hearted self-serving thing they have done.

It’s a hard question to answer. We may have sufficient empathy to make us want to treat other human beings comparatively decently but just not enough empathy or insight to understand a psycho. It’s a gulf that divides humans from non-humans. It’s easier to understand a wild animal than a psychopath. This inability to understand means that mostly we don’t see the psycho. Even if we see beyond the charm or social façade, even if we are unnerved and disturbed by the something that’s just ‘off’, we twist ourselves into knots trying to understand the incomprehensible behaviour, trying to apply a vision of normal human behaviour built on our own value systems to the actions of someone who exists entirely outside those systems. Trying to understand the lizard in a skin suit.

[It also strikes me that in reading The Silence Project, beguiled by all that I was reading into the mysterious character Rachel of Chalkham, founder of the Community, I may have underestimated her sheer narcissism. Maybe Hailey’s two novels have more in common than would appear.]

In addition to all of this, Scenes from a Tragedy is worth reading, even if you’re not utterly fascinated by psychopaths. It has a cast of well-drawn characters – both likeable and nasty – strong writing and great pacing. The way it’s structured, delivering the story from different perspectives, but filtered through Carly, adds depth and tension to the narrative. All in all, it’s a downright good read.

My thanks to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing an ARC. All my reviews are 100% honest and unbiased, regardless of how I acquire the book.

After being blown away by The Silence Project (seriously, that book rewired my brain), I had high hopes for Scenes from a Tragedy. And while it wasn't a plane crash, it didn't quite land for me either. The setup? Deliciously dark: a mysterious plane crash, a grieving journalist, and a family with buried secrets. It should have been a twisty, emotional rollercoaster - but I mostly felt like a slightly airsick passenger watching a Killing Eve-style docudrama unfold from 30,000 feet - sorry, baby.

That said, it is clever and unsettling, and that ending? Legit creepy. It didn't top The Silence Project for me, but Hailey's writing is always sharp and ambitious, and I will be on board for whatever she does next. I gave this 3.75 stars, and thank NetGalley and the publishers for sending me the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Unusual, nervy and genius thriller
—
I don’t say it often, but I’ll say it when I mean it: I think that this is a work of genius.

Not bolt from the blue, inspiration from thin air, unimaginable genius; but a product of hard work, of carefully shaped structure and deep thinking, to make something that is both technical and emotional, that lifts itself above the crowd (every year half a million new books in English alone) and gives the reader something that entertains, educates and plain smacks them in the gob.

Written unapologetically as a book-within-a-book, this is a why-dunnit, the facts of the thriller laid out in plain sight: an airline pilot, for no apparent reason, flies his plane into a mountain, killing both himself and his co-pilot. As disgraced journalist Carly pieces the story together, since the co-pilot happened to be the love of her life while they were on a break, the matryoshka doll starts to give up its secrets, the mind within the lies and manipulations that made a killer of an otherwise ordinary man. You’ll see the answer well before the end, and the horror will still linger with you long after you’ve closed the book again.

A wholly unexpected five stars.

While it doesn't lean into the mystery element of its crashed-plane conceit, Scenes From a Tragedy is far more an exploration of trauma, narcissism, psychopathy, and human darkness, through the lens of differing perspectives and unreliable narrators.

The novel’s book jacket suggests this might be a light, frothy read – but readers beware, this is in fact a dark, compelling and utterly addictive crime novel! Written from the point of view of Carly, a journalist, we find out what happens when she is sent to investigate a plane crash in the otherwise idyllic Lake District in Northern England. It is clear from the outset that rather than the spectacular landscape, it is the myriad relationships that will take centre stage in this novel. Firstly, there is the intimate relationship Carly had with one of the two pilots killed in the plane crash – she and Luke were girlfriend and boyfriend. Through her investigation of the other pilot Daniel’s wife, Carly gets to know his wife Grace and sister Izzy, whose versions of events feature in the true-crime-style interviews inserted into the novel. The character studies are all very expertly done and present a compelling canvas of several complex females, so I found myself reading on and on. Some readers might be put off by the novel’s extraordinary length – at 480 pages, it is quite a doorstop of a book – but Hailey’s writing draws you in quite effortlessly. I wish to thank the publishers and NetGalley for the free digital ARC that enabled me to read this book and to produce this review.

I expect to be hearing about this from everyone over the next few months. It takes the fake autobiographical style to a totally different place. We start with a plane crashing with two pilots on board, seemingly on purpose. From there, we follow a journalist as she tries to figure out why this plane crashed. As she speak to pilot Daniel's sister and wife, it become clear that something more sinister is going on. And that thing is his sister Izzy.

A searing story of narcissism and manipulation. How having someone like Izzy in your life can completely alter its course and your relationships. Not necessarily knowing how you end up making certain choices, except that Izzy's influence was there in the background. We also hear much from Izzy in her own voice, her perspective on her relationships and her brother.

But what does this all mean for why that plane crashed? Therein lies the mystery and I expect many people will love the journey of figuring it out. Having also enjoyed The Silence Project, I'll definitely pick up anything Carole Hailey writes in the future.

4.5 stars rounding up to 5I don't think I've met a psychopath in real life... yet apparently the statistics tell me that with a friends list of over 500 on Facebook, there's at least 5 lurking in there!
I spent last night reading until 2am to finish this book! I met Carole at a book signing a little while ago for The Silence Project / independent book sellers event and couldn't wait to get stuck into this.
This book starts with the what - a plane with only the pilot and co pilot on board that crashes in to a mountain, the who - the only 2 people on board who could have made this happen, what we learn through the book is the why. Told through a series of interviews and articles with journalist Carly Atherton we learn about the lives of the two on board and why this tragedy had occurred. Carly also happens to be the ex girlfriend of the co-pilot who has died. A really unique way of telling the story from differing view points, a new spin on the unreliable narrator! I don't think I've ever hated a character so much in a book (thanks to the great writing from Carole). I won't give any more away but safe to say i highly recommend this! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This was such a captivating read (though I actually listened to the audio, which was also 10/10) - telling the story of an investigation into a plane crash during lockdown, when empty planes were flown to secure their landing slots.

A plane has crashed with just two pilots on board, Luke and Danny. Journalist Carly was in an on/off relationship with Luke and is devastated by his death, vowing to look into what happened to make the plane crash. She speaks to Danny's elder sister Izzy, who has adored Danny from the moment he was born, and his wife Grace, who also loved him but sometimes have different recollections than Izzy.

The story is told through the three women's voices, going right back to Danny's birth and childhood up until the day of the crash. Izzy and Grace rightly both see Danny in different ways and both feel that they have the main claim to him.

The more we hear from Izzy, the more obvious it is that she doesn't play by the same rules as everyone else and will manipulate a situation to her advantage. We know this way before Grace does, and reading about the interactions between them when Grace is trying to build connections but Izzy blows hot or cold depending on the moment, you want to take Grace aside and warn her. And then there's poor Danny, totally blindsided by his overpowering sister, who treats him as an extension of herself and doesn't know who he is outside of that.

Its a really powerful utterly compelling story, with an ending that chilled me to the bone.

A thriller where we know from the beginning who might have been responsible but we don’t know why and this is what draws us along - the need to understand the motivation. As a character study, this is excellent. With a mix of articles, interviews and first person POV there is so much here. Our main character, Carly, is a journalist struggling to fina a job. When a plane crashes into a mountain in the Lake District she gets drawn into the tragedy because her on/off boyfriend, Luke, was one of the two pilots killed. There were only two people on the plane - Luke and Danny - and this is one of the focuses of Carly - the fact they were flying a ghost plane, an empty plane purely to keep landing rights open. Carly’s other focus is finding out why the plane crashed and she sets about interviewing Danny’s wife, Grace, and his sister, Izzy. And this is where it gets interesting. Both Grace and Izzy tell their own version of events so which one of them is telling the truth? I’ll leave it up to you to decide but as I read I began to really dislike Izzy. You get so caught up in the stories these two women tell that sometimes you even forget there was a plane crash. However, I was totally invested in finding out why the plane crashed. A dark story and an excellent read.

A stellar, suffocating, all-consuming thriller about the search for truth after a scandal in the sky.

Initially grabbed by the enticing cover, I then realised it was Hailey of The Silence Project fame, a dazzling debut and LoveReading Star Book in 2023. By page seven, I was in. All in.

The disappearance of an Airbus a320 somewhere over the Lake District jolts us straight into the action. A ghost flight with only two people on board, we soon find out that GFA578 crashed into a mountain killing the two pilots Captain Daniel Taylor and First Officer Luke Emery. Part of the Goldfinch Airlines fleet - the company Carly Atherton's brother Jamie is a pilot for. A Stansted to Glasgow flight. A plane Jamie should have been on but he tested positive for Covid so another pilot went in his place. And that pilot was Carly's boyfriend Luke.

Hailey cleverly takes you outside the action: "If this was a twisty psychological thriller then the reader might be presented with several questions - and the answers revealed at key points in the story. But however much I wish this story was fiction, it is not."

Consumed by grief, determined to find the answers of why GFA578 crashed, journalist Carly spends four years of her life dedicated to finding the truth. After choosing not to fictionalise the story Carly decides on a part reportage part narrative record of the strange but true events that led to that terrible tragedy. A cautionary tale by Carly Atherton. The search for why and how a one hundred percent serviceable plane could fall out of the sky. Via a series of articles in Planet Home, articles asking, in the face of a climate emergency, what possible justification could there be for a pointless 600km flight from Stansted to Glasgow. Shining a light on the travesty of ghost flights, how 500 empty planes a month fly over the UK, how 200,000 ghost flights per annum fly across Europe.

We grieve with her, for the chronically messy and unfailingly kind Luke. For the future they should have had. On the ropes, she's a journalist passionate about exposing inequality and unfair behaviour. Just this time, it's closer to home.

As breadcrumbs are intentionally and unintentionally dropped along the way, we start to see the lies and deceit uncovered. Account by account. Conflicting memory by conflicting memory. The mastery of manipulation.

This is a page turner if ever there was one, and a thoroughly deserving LoveReading Thriller of the Month. Gob-smackingly good with a thumbs-up from us.

We know from the offset there has been an horrific tragedy - a plane, carrying just two pilots has crashed into a mountain side, and the circumstances of that crash are being investigated by Carly, a disgraced journalist, who just happens to be the ex-partner of one of the pilots, Alex. Consequently, in search for answers, Carly seeks out family members of Danny, the other pilot, and she speaks to both Danny’s sister and his wife in order to try understand the events prior to the that fateful day. What entails is rather disturbing!

Initially, I have to admit that I didn’t quite understand where the story was heading and I wasn’t terribly convinced by the format of interviews retelling the past; I found them a little contrived and unrealistic. I really had to push myself to persevere with the first 20% or so of the book, but then suddenly, once I was over the hump, I was hooked - the crumbs we’d been fed, led us to an unfolding plot, it picked up speed and became an enticing, rather unique thriller. I love a good character driven novel, and add to that the revelatory study of a psychopath, there’s plenty to keep us turning over those pages.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC.

4.25* overall

2 pilots are killed in a plane crash, we know immediately who caused the crash but not the why and the drive to uncover that truth sits at the heart of this story. To uncover the real story journalist Carly Atherton, (who's ex, Luke, was the other pilot) has to dig into the past of pilot Danny Taylor to figure out what caused him to fly the plane into the side of a mountain.

Along the way she meets Danny's narcissistic sister, Izzy and his wife, Grace and has to read between the lines to work out what the real truth of their family situation was all whilst being consistently beguiled by the charismatic and utterly unreliable Izzy.

Everything in this story keeps coming back to Izzy and I struggled so much with her character. It takes a lot for me to enjoy a book when a major character is utterly unlikeable but Carole Hailey has managed it with this one. The truth as it comes out explains so much why she is such a focal point and makes it all worthwhile but I really did struggle along the way. What helped a lot was the break in perspectives when we heard from Grace, from Carly herself and the journal articles which make up Carly's research work on ghost flights.

Overall this is a fantastic, slow thriller that's highly character driven with a compelling story and structure. I loved the book within a book aspect with the interspersed journal articles and the switching narrative perspectives. It felt modern, fresh and was absolutely intriguing though felt a tad too long for me at points in the middle.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Books | Corvus Books for a digital review copy of "Scenes From a Tragedy" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

Trigger warning - narcissism.
I understand trigger warnings are controversial, but I wouldn’t want anyone to be triggered as I have been. This review does not contain spoilers, as narcissism is mentioned within the first few pages.

I loved Carole Hailey’s debut, The Silence Project, so was eager to read Scenes From A Tragedy. The book starts with a plane crash, both pilots died on impact, thankfully nobody else was on board. Investigative journalist Carly Atherton has a vested interest in this disaster, her ex boyfriend was the second pilot on the doomed flight.

I found the book to be completely absorbing. The intensity and menace was off the chart. The writing was so good, that I was “in” the pages, living alongside the characters; talking or shouting out loud to them at times. I couldn’t tear myself away from the pages, despite it feeling like I was watching a car, or maybe a plane, crash about to unfold. The characters were very much alive, fully developed in all their glory. My empathy for one character was huge, but the depth of my anger towards a monstrous individual was equally as strong.

The author has either been the unfortunate focus of a narcissist themselves, or has compiled a huge amount of research from those who have been victims themselves. Also from those who have been unknowingly groomed and bullied, into supporting the manipulative behaviour. Every element rings horrifically true, the honeymoon period of love bombing, followed by the decimation of gaslighting.

Scenes From A Tragedy is compelling, but it was a very hard, uncomfortable read for me. It is a testament to the author’s writing, to bring out my anxiety, to make me feel so strongly and deeply.

This is such a clever, addictive novel I devoured it in one sitting.

This is a twisty narrative but not in the usual way. You'll know who. What you won't know is how or why and trust me you'll not want to stop reading until you do.

Sometimes these things are a bit shallow in character but not this time. As much as it is a psychological thriller it is far more a character study. A dive into motivation and memory, manipulation and consequences.

I like a wildly entertaining book that also has something to say and Scenes From A Tragedy does all that and more. May end up being one of my books of the year.

I really enjoyed Scenes from a Tragedy! I liked The Silence Project, but this one was even better—it completely pulled me in, and I flew through it despite the 400+ pages. The family dynamics and psychological layers were fascinating, and Carly’s perspective as a journalist added so much to the story. I did find certain turns in the story so frustrating (in a good way… mostly!), but that just speaks to how thought-provoking and unsettling this book is. A gripping, cautionary tale that left me a little afraid of humanity.

I requested Scenes from a Tragedy from Netgalley because of how unique the story sounded, and I wasn’t wrong it was a fantastic read.

An empty passenger plane crashes into a mountain in the Lake District, and Carley Atherton’s hopes of getting back together with the man she loves disappear – Luke Emery was one of the two pilots on board. But she has work to do, as a disgraced journalist investigating the story might be the chance she needs to rescue her career. When she contacts the family of the other pilot, Daniel Taylor, she finds the two women he was closest to – his sister and his wife – have very different stories to share about Danny. This seemingly ordinary family isn’t quite as perfect as it may seem, and she may be becoming tangled up in the story she’s investigating. Sometimes the monsters are hiding among us in plain sight…

Every character was incredibly well written, the result being a very compelling novel. The play off between Danny’s sister and his wife was so cleverly done, and the chronological storytelling really puts you in his shoes in understanding what happened. The writing is so clever in making you feel things for certain characters, especially the ones you come to loathe. I hate one particular character but damn were they well written!

Carole Hailey has clearly put the work in on the research for this book, because her portrayal of personality disorders is fantastic. Completely chilling and very un-nerving. It elevates the drama and adds a disturbing layer of tension to the mystery.

To a certain extent you know exactly how the story Carley is telling is going to end – the plane crash and the deaths of Luke and Danny. The layering of the past and present, keeps you engaged in whether everything is quite as it seems and in discovering the cause of the crash. But this story is very much driven by its characters.

I was addicted to this book – I read it in 4 days (after spending most of February in a reading slump!). It’s addictively written, and perfect for fans of slightly disturbing mystery stories.

Thanks to the publishers and net galley for an advanced ecopy in exchange for a review. I really enjoyed this read. The book is told from narrator Carly’s point of view. Carly is a journalist and she is investigating a plane crash. She interviews and speaks with one of the pilots wife and sister.
The sister Izzy is a narcissist and very unlikeable.
I really like how the story unfolds from both Izzy and Graces point of view. I couldn’t stop turning the pages. Will be recommending to others

Well... this book hit the ground (sorrynotsorry) running, sucked me in from the off, held me captive throughout, spitting me out at the end, exhausted but wholly satisfied. I also read it in a day, only stopping for the absolute necessary. Tbh it practically read itself to me, the words flying off the page...
So, we start with an empty passenger plane which is on a ghost flight with only the pilot and co-pilot aboard. Both die on impact and, when we first meet her, journalist Carly Atherton is desperately trying to get hold of her brother who flies for the airline. She does eventually get hold of him but subsequently learns that he was supposed to be on that flight but went sick. Only to be replaced by his best friend who was also Carly's ex-boyfriend Luke, as co-pilot.
Carly's journalistic instincts are piqued by the whole concept of ghost flights -which I will leave you to learn about from the author - as well as finding out what happened to cause the plane to crash. Especially when confirmed there was no mechanical reason. So she starts to try and interview the deceased pilot, Danny's, family. Build up a picture... Initially, only his sister, Izzy, will talk to her, but eventually his wife, Grace, agrees, reluctantly, as she feels Carly needs another side to the story... and boy what a story it all turns out to be. Quite uncomfortable reading in parts too...
Playing out in the present as Carly conducts her interviews, alongside the official investigation, we also, courtesy of these interviews, delve back to the past. To see how Grace met Danny, how the two families combined and, most importantly, the relationship between the sisters-in-law.
Oh My Days... what an uncomfortable and compelling read this was. As well as the crash, we also learn more about Carly and Luke's relationship and what happened there. Speaking mostly to Carly's motive and determination to get to the truth. We also learn about her own fall from grace and how she found herself in the position she is in when we first met her.
Again Oh My! What a character we have in Izzy... so uncomfortable reading about her. But again, you need to discover this as the author intends. Suffice to say she is hands down one of the best worst characters I have read in ages. Probably also top 10 overall, no mean feat considering the sheer volume of this genre book I read.
As well as a tough read in places, it's also quite emotional. I already said I devoured it in a day but I do have to admit that, on occasion, once or twice, I had to take a wee break from it. I was so angry...
So hats off to the author for a cracking piece of characterisation.
All in all a blooming cracking read that I wouldn't be surprised remains in my top ten of the year. I wonder what she will deliver up for me for next time. And... if you haven't already read The Silence Project, also by this author, I would also recommend that too.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

‘Scenes From A Tragedy’ by Carole Hailey is a fascinating, challenging and totally addictive novel about so much more than the plane crash reported in its first pages… Told via narrative segments based on the recollections of two women who both lay claim to Danny (one of the two pilots on board the doomed vessel), first-person interludes from journalist Carly who is piecing there stories together, articles and a very revealing transcript, the book deeply explores corrosive relationships.

I was completely captivated from beginning to end of this novel, enthralled by Izzy and Grace’s stories and rooting for Carly to uncover the answers she desired and find her place within the journalistic community. Highlighting the environmental impact of ghost flights (passenger-less journeys to retain landing slots) was interesting, but the enthralling tale of the worst kind of family dynamics was what kept me reading.

I don’t want to give away too many details, but I truly recommend this to pretty much everyone… If you were obsessed with ‘Inventing Anna’ on Netflix, if you avidly read ‘Close To Home’ and ‘Making A Killing’ by Cara Hunter, or if you enjoyed ‘Gone Girl’ by Gillian Flynn, you won’t be able to resist this one!

This gets five stars from me because I was addicted, and won’t forget it for a while…

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Atlantic Books via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

"If you hurt me, I'll hurt you. Not right away of course, because where's the fun in that?" This chilling sentiment sets the stage for a gripping thriller that delves into the shadowy corners of human nature. When a passenger jet plummets into the Lake District, claiming the life of her ex-boyfriend, journalist Carly Atherton embarks on a quest for answers. What begins as a search for truth soon spirals into a descent into a twisted family drama, blurring the lines between victim and perpetrator.
The author masterfully weaves a narrative of suspense, drawing Carly into the conflicting narratives of the co-pilot's widow and sister. These divergent accounts paint a portrait of a seemingly average family, yet beneath the surface lurks a darkness that Carly is compelled to uncover. As she probes deeper, she unearths the unsettling truth: the bonds that unite can also become instruments of destruction, and malevolence can reside in the most unexpected places.
One of the book's strengths lies in its meticulous portrayal of psychopathic tendencies. The author's evident research lends a chilling authenticity to the characters, making them both compelling and unsettling. This dedication to psychological realism elevates the narrative beyond a simple mystery, transforming it into a study of the human psyche's capacity for darkness.
The narrative is a masterclass in suspense, keeping the reader guessing until the very end. The author skillfully doles out clues, ensuring you'll identify the culprit, but the "why" remains shrouded in mystery until the final, devastating revelations. Emotionally, the journey is a turbulent one, a rollercoaster ride that leaves you breathless and pondering the depths of human depravity. Scenes from a Tragedy is a must-read for those who enjoy psychological thrillers that leave a lasting impact.