Slightly over the top after the first few chapters but an interesting read

Erin Kelly is an author who I’ve meant to read for years – I’ve actually had her debut The Poison Tree sat on my shelf for longer than I can remember. I finally got around to trying this author when this new release popped up on Netgalley, and I loved it.

The story starts as Kit, a serial eclipse chaser, is leaving his pregnant wife Laura behind to see the 2015 eclipse abroad. The writer takes us back in time, to the first eclipse the couple watched. At a festival in Cornwall years earlier, the two witnessed their first eclipse together, but they also witnessed a brutal attack on a girl named Beth, which changed the course of their lives forever.

Weaving back and forth in time, with the eclipse as the backdrop, Kelly reveals an intricate story of lies, deception and betrayal. Beautifully atmospheric with well-developed characters, this book is almost more of a psychological drama than a thriller. It’s all about the relationships; the romantic relationship between Kit and Laura, the friendship that forms between Laura and Beth and the dark secrets that eat away at each of the characters.

This is a book where everything really isn’t as it seems, in a big way. Erin Kelly’s characters lives balance on a knife edge, with secrets threatening to tear their relationships apart at any moment. The author completely lured me into a false sense of security, she had me convinced that I understood her characters, who I could trust, and who I couldn’t. In the final part of the novel the rug was swept out from underneath me, and her characters cut so deep that she left me with a genuine sense of betrayal. Highly recommended – this isn’t your typical thriller but it is a brilliant, slow-burning, atmospheric roller-coaster ride of emotions.

Kit, Laura and Beth meet during the eclipse of 1999. Their lives become entwined in a way that none of them could have imagined.

This is a great story, one with twists that I didn't see coming and an ending that made me gasp!

Although it was told in flashbacks (and I have become tired of this) it was done in an engaging way and didn't detract in a way it can in other novels. You think you have everything figured out when another twist is thrown at you that leaves you reeling!

I really enjoyed this book and stayed up til 1am one morning to finish it. I highly recommend it.

I feel quite ambivalent about this book, hence the three star rating. Whilst I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot and found I believed in the characters I didn't feel the eclipse narrative added anything other than unnecessary complexity. I'm sure this will be a popular book and i can see it as a film but I was left with an uncomfortable feeling, which may be completely wrong, that Beth, a rape survivor, is shown as needing to hide her past and for Laura to lie about what she heard in order for the jury to find James guilty. I'm not sure this is a helpful message to send to other people facing a similar ordeal.

Well, it's been a long time since I've been so enthralled by a story. I could not put this book down. The story was compelling, the writing faultless and the fact that I had no idea where the story was going to take me had me begrudging every minute I didn't have my kindle in hand. The story follows 3 people whose lives are irrevocably changed during one weekend chasing a total eclipse in Cornwall in 1999. The writer goes back and forth between the 1999 incident, to 2015, and the fear rippling through Kit and Laura due to the infiltration of Beth into their lives. From the get go, I thought I had the story sussed, then we would be thrown another loop and I'd rethink my theory and come to yet another conclusion. This review is so difficult to write, the spoilers would be huge, just know that I lay awake at night trying to work out what was going to happen, if there would be a twist at the end and if so, what it would be. Nothing could prepare me for each revelation as the story progressed. I spent so much time feeling sorry for each of the characters at different points, thinking maybe they had been wronged. One thing is true, as Laura's dad's crossword predicted......
The wrong thing for the right reasons - six, five, four - Little white lie.
The question is, at what stage does a little white lie turn into a big fat lie?
If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would. Highly recommend. Suspense at its best.

My advice is to persevere with this book. I really wasn't sure whether a story about some people obsessed with eclipse chasing was my thing. When Laura and Kit, a young couple descend on Cornwall in. 1999 to witness an eclipse they had little idea that the repercussions of this trip would stay with them for life. A chance discovery of a young woman being raped led them through years of torture, lies and severe anxiety. The true version of events takes a long time to unfold, way beyond the initial court case. This well told descriptive story reels in the reader and with its various twists and turns becomes impossible to put down.

Wow He Said/She said was a fab book I read it in 24 hours I could not put it down.
It centres around a festival in Cornwall and what happens changes the lives of a few people involved. A great sensitive insight into rape and how it is handled by the criminal justice system and is he consequences that led from it. Just when I thought I'd sussed it another twist came that threw my ideas way out. A fantastic read that deserves more than 5 stars.

Laura, Kit & Beth

I am of two minds about this storyline. I really liked the way the book flowed and I couldn't put it down!
It tells the story of a couple: Laura & Kit who chase eclipses across the globe. During one eclipse festival a crime is committed and witnessed by Laura. The victim, Beth becomes attached to Laura and the creepiness that ensues is griping. However everything is not as it seems.
Lies are told, mistakes happen and all three lives hang in the balance.
The twist towards the end made me quite angry actually. I think Laura handled it badly and the ending was just awful. Laura acts like she is above reproach yet the lies she told do matter- even though the end result is the same. And the way she made Kit the fall guy turns me right against her and makes me believe she is not psychologically sound either.
90% of this book was great. The end... not so much.

This is a very good read, with a very clever plot. Kit and Laura attend an eclipse in 1999. Laura witnesses a violent act and the story flits forward 15 years. The book is about rape, lies, secrets and is a very good psychological thriller with plenty twists to keep the reader interested.Thank you Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreads.

4* from me. Top notch psychological thriller. Well written, great characters with interwoven stories. Will keep you guessing right until the end with a real OMG ending. One to recommend. My thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I'm sorry to say I was really disappointed in this book.I found the story line over-blown and the writing a little pretentious. I had been informed that Erin Kelly was one of the writers of Broadchurch (which I find compelling) so was very interested to read this, maybe I set my standards a little too high?

The story is told in different timelines (which would alternate and lapse which I found confusing) by Kit and Laura, who love the solar eclipses and travel to a musical festival revolving around an eclipse. There they come across Beth during what looks like a rape. The story then revolves around the charcaters involved, the court case and a lie told in court. I did not find the court case or lie convincing, I think the lie would have been picked up on during the case.
Beth then becomes "friends" with Kit and Laura and become a little obsessive.

To the author's credit, I did think Erin Kelly portrays the embarrassment and humilation the victims of rape are subjected to in court and the way the truth is perceived by different people. I also think she did a good job of showing what anxiety can be like for someone suffering.

There is a lot of information regarding solar eclipses and although I love space I found these parts really boring. I think Kelly was trying to do something clever with the darkness and light of the eclipse marking the darkness and light of the story but I am afraid it just didn't work for me.

The ending of the story does become more interesting with tensions rising to a crescendo but it is completely overzealous! Despite all of this, I would still consider reading this author again.

If you are looking for a story full of twists and love solar eclipses then this is for you!

It was never going to be easy to write a book about rape and still manage to turn it into a twisty and successful psychological thriller but Erin Kelly has done just that.
Kit and Laura are eclipse chasers (a world I knew nothing about) and after a disappointing cloud out at a festival in Cornwall stumble upon what appears to be a rape in progress on their way back to their tent. The police are called and after the trial Beth, the victim, becomes a close friend to Laura but is she as much of a victim as she seems?
I've already given a bit too much away with that synopsis suffice to say that nothing is quite as it seems in this book and no one gets away without a small portion of guilt. It is full of smoke and mirrors and has a fierce sting in the tail. Recommended.

Psychological thriller of the year! Absolutely outstanding. The ending is jaw-droppingly good. The plot is clever and unpredictable. Erin Kelly's writing draws you in while consistently entertaining, so it truly never lets you go. This atmospheric story is one of those filled with twists, secrets and lies. The four main characters are deeply complex and not particularly likable, but that is exactly why I loved reading about them. I would be surprised if He Said/She Said is not THE thriller of 2017. It's incredibly impactful, full of emotion, and it makes you think. You will be floored by this book. Make sure to check out He Said/She Said on April 20th.

Thoroughly enjoyed this, was hooked & loved seeing it from different perspectives, excellent read!

An enjoyable read - thank you to Netgalley for an early review copy.

Quite a long book, and once or twice I did think perhaps too long, but once I had got fully into it I really enjoyed it and loved the twists and turns in the story.

Alternating between present day and the events of 15 years ago that had led our main characters to change their names and keep themselves invisible from the internet.

I don't beleive I have read an Erin Kelly novel before but I will look out for her in the future.

I absolutely loved this book. Intriguing story right to the twist at the end.
Couldn't put it down. I highly recommend it and will be keeping an eye out for the author Erin Kelly..

He Said/She Said, on the face of it, is your typical “her word against his” case but as the story develops and you peel back the layers of the characters’ lives, you learn so much more.

It’s the story of two eclipse chasers, Laura and Kit, celebrating the great event in Cornwall and they interrupt what looks like a violent rape. They do the right thing and report the attack which goes to court. But by doing the right thing, their lives change forever in a way they never ever expected.

Within a couple of chapters of starting this book, I was hooked. I could tell that the story was building to something instantly but what it was, I didn’t know. The story arc of this psychological thriller kept growing and growing to the end – I really could not see where the journey that these characters would be taking. It kept me guessing throughout, the twists just kept coming right up to the last page and even the very last paragraph of the book – you think you’ve got it sussed and then bang out of nowhere, something else comes and slaps you round the face! Packed with intrigue!!

Erin Kelly’s writing draws you right in. I was there in the Cornish field waiting for the eclipse, in the court room, on the boat to the Faroe Islands and beyond. The time jumping between the present and the past really worked, perfectly placed chapters revealing an extra piece of the jigsaw to show why Laura and Kit are where they are in the present. The past is definitely playing a part in shaping their current lifestyle and their future.

This is the first book I’ve read by Erin Kelly, despite having both The Ties That Bind and The Poison Tree to read. Needless to say I will be reading more from Ms Kelly – this book has got her a new fan! If you like your psychological thrillers, you won’t go far wrong with He Said/She Said.

Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for giving me an advanced reader copy of He Said/She Said.

ERIN KELLY HAS DONE IT A-fucking-GAIN. This woman is a genius. She never disappoints.

I was a bit trepidatious about He Said/She Said: the title and its accompanying tagline ('Who do you believe?') so obviously aim to evoke a Gone Girl-style marriage thriller in which you don't know whether to trust the word of the husband or the wife – a trend that's surely been done to death by now (no pun intended). But this book does not behave like that. Yes, there are segments narrated by a husband, and segments narrated by a wife; and there are flashbacks to 1999/2000, interspersed with scenes set in 2015. But Laura and Kit are a united front, not least because they both live in terror of being found by someone called Beth. To escape this person, they have changed their identities, moved house, even challenged a private detective to track them down using 'the paper trail of our previous lives' (he couldn't). They are fiercely protective of each other, and the only secrets they keep are little white lies.

The backdrop to all this is that Kit is an obsessive 'eclipse chaser'; since childhood, he has spent his life travelling all over the world to experience total eclipses from the best vantage points possible. With Laura heavily pregnant, he is heading to the Faroe Islands alone to witness the 2015 eclipse. Their separation marks the opening of a schism, though how and why won't be evident until much more detail has been uncovered. As the story progresses, it becomes obvious Laura and Kit's history with Beth involves them doing something good for her – in fact, they saved her. How could their relationship possibly have soured to the point that they not only want to avoid her, but live in fear of her? What did Beth do? Who is Jamie, another person from the past Laura keeps tabs on? The plot deepens and thickens with every chapter. It's not even clear who the 'he' and 'she' are in the context of the novel: Laura and Kit, or Beth and Jamie? Or both?

I'm not going to go into the plot any further than that. I think it's enough to say that it had me absolutely hooked from the word go and I finished it within 24 hours. It has the atmospheric throwback scenes of The Poison Tree combined with the knockout twists of The Burning Air, and the fine characterisation of all Kelly's novels. It's a complete emotional rollercoaster, drawing you into Laura and Kit's lives, constantly provoking difficult questions and making your loyalties and sympathies shift. I lost count of the number of times my heart dipped or soared while reading He Said/She Said. If you're a crime fan, a psychological thriller fan, and/or an Erin Kelly fan, you're going to want to read this asap.

P.S. the ending is fantastic.

He Said/She Said is a well-written and entertaining psychological thriller with plenty of twists and strong characterisation. I hadn't come across the idea of eclipse chasing before and it gives an interesting background to the story. I really liked the way the author presents us with different possibilities of what happened and I didn't really know what the truth was until the very end. I kept thinking I knew, but was proved wrong! This made He Said/She Said an entertaining read.

Freaking fantastic! Those twists! I'm reeling from how good this book was. Seriously awesome stuff. This one is escapism gold!

I am almost speechless from the ending.

This is a well executed book that lacks nothing. The plot is clever, intricate and sucks you in bit by bit. You will feel so many different feelings reading this book. At least I hope you do - I did.

Kit and Laura. A young couple in love. Kit is an eclipse chaser - travelling around to the best world vantage points to see a solar eclipse. Laura's love for Kit has her share his passionate hobby. They go to a festival one day, to see an eclipse and what happens next eclipses their lives forever.

This is just astonishingly good. The characters are deep, complex, faulty - oh if only I could spill the beans for you all. But I won't. You need to journey with this book, from beginning to end to experience the intense story from start to finish. You will not believe where it takes you.

It's taut and so tense at times, like a great psychological thriller should be. Weaved in are moments of writing magic, prose that sweeps you into a world of imagination. At times it's sublime, other times it's harsh and mean and oh so very dark. But remember the eclipse? Light behind shade. All the brightness covered just for a moment.

I can't rave more - it's just a must read book. It will keep you guessing, second guessing and doubting all the way. Be ready for the twists and reveals. They come like a sledgehammer to the heart.

Utter brilliance. This book catapults into my Top Ten Reads of 2017, skipping the long and the shortlist. One of the best books I've enjoyed in years.