I decided it was time to catch up with Gillian McAllister's first book - Everything but the Truth - rather than just read her latest one, Anything you do Say. So here's a double review.

The books are two very different standalone psychological thrillers. Both are well written, intriguing and tense, with multilayered plots covering deep ethical and moral issues. In both cases, I found myself relating these back to me - 'What would I do?' and 'What would I say?'

Everything but the Truth is a tale of domestic noir set in our social media-driven society. Rachel is pregnant. Although she loves and trusts her boyfriend Jack, she hasn't known him that long. When she finds a seemingly suspicious email, Rachel wonders whether she knows him at all. What follows is a twisty journey into discovering more about Jack's past - and, as Rachel's obsession escalates, there are also big reveals about her own. The two of them appear to have been selective with the truth - not just with one another, but also perhaps with themselves.

In Anything you do Say, Joanne realises she's being followed after a night out at the pub. Convinced it's the man who was bothering her there, she lashes out in a panic - one of those split-second decisions that you come to regret. The man falls down some steps and lies motionless in front of her. And this is when the story not only begins, but also becomes interesting and intriguing, as the narrative splits into two - the big 'what if'. What if Joanna runs (the 'conceal' scenario)? Or what if she stays and calls for help (the 'reveal' scenario)?

I enjoyed reading these books, with both of them making me think and question.

Everything but the Truth is a love story filled with secrets and lies - a look at honesty in a relationship and whether it's necessary to reveal everything or just hope your past doesn't catch up with you. Is it better to not know the truth about people's pasts and just live in the 'here and now'? Funnily enough, I actually thought Rachel's own secret was 'worse' than Jack's.

Of the two books, Anything you do Say had the slight edge for me, probably because I often think about the 'sliding doors' scenario. The 'what ifs' of life. Whether choosing a different path would have led to a different 'now'. Both storylines in Anything you do Say worked well, with enough overlap to make them both believable but without repetition of two potentially very similar narratives. I found myself racing through this novel to discover Joanne's fate/destiny.

I look forward to seeing what's next from Gillian McAllister.

This is an good book, and one of my favourite reads of 2017. Take a chance encounter with a pest on a drunken night out, and a crime that amounts to self defence ....or does it. What follows was is a
fast paced story, with good characters. There are two possible endings at play here (think sliding doors) and the ending depends on the decision to conceal or reveal the truth. The author trips faultlessly between the two story lines. A read that i would recommend to all.

3.5 stars!!!

Joanna and her friend, Laura are out on their regular Friday night girls night out for drinks when an encounter with a stranger changes everything.
A man approaches them harassing Joanna in a way that makes her uncomfortable, scared and when her Laura and eventually leave to go home and go their separate ways
the sound of footsteps behind her quickens her heartbeat and terrfies her. Afraid that it's the man from the bar she runs but turns and with one action, a push the man is sent tumbling
down a flight of stairs. what does she do next? does she call for help? or does she run before anyone can see she was ever there in the first place?

this is story told in two different ways, one that Joanna called for help the other she did not and we watch as each event unravels from the choice she has made.
Throughout the book as the reader it made you think what you'd do yourself if you were in the same situation, it was very cleverly written, with complex characters and the writer clearly
likes to place us readers in the grey area where we are not sure what actually is true, but i guess it's depending on what you believe.

It was very much like the movie sliding doors in a way but i'd say two things i wasn't loving about it. Reuben, i didn't like his character i found him quite immature and very judgemental on everything and i'm not referring to the crime at hand. I also would have liked at the end if it was pretty straight forward and told you which story was the correct one, or that the author had decided herself which one was the correct one to give us some sort of
closure to the book.

Over all i liked the book and i'd read more from this author in the future

This books follows the same concept as Tim Firth's Our House musical; a choice has to be made one day and here the story splits into two paths, will Jo help the man she mistakenly pushes down the stairs or will she leave him and flee?
Each choice has unforeseen consequences, the 'right' choice causing as much damage as the wrong one. I found it moving that the stories moved back onto the same path at the end of the book; not something I was expecting.
This is an extremely topical novel in its look at how some men behave towards women and how this constant bombardment of sexual harassment can lead to an overreaction. I felt so sorry for Jo and think I would have reacted as she did in the initial event. How she deals with the results of her actions unnerved and tormented me. I felt stressed reading the book, imagining it was me ... yes, we even share a name, and rushed to finish it to make sure all turned out ok ... not that it necessarily did...
I hated reading it for this reason but it's actually a really good book

Wow. A simple act has terrible repercussions for a woman who has found herself in a situation many can relate to.
A dark alley,being followed by a man after sexual hareassment in a club,failing signal and crippling fear lead to misidentification and and accident.
Post accident,the story splits in 2,Reveal and Conceal so in effect there are 2 books in one.
Reveal is where she calls for emergency help and finds herself arrested,Conceal where she fless the accident yet cannot flee her guilt.
Both are equally plausible storylines and equally humane.
The switching between narratives could have been annoying or poorly realised in less skillful hands but added to the friction and the pace of the novel.
I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend this to anyone, the characters are so relatable and the situation so well drawn.
Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for letting me read this in return for an honest review.

This story deals with something that has probably crossed all of our minds at some point with either speculatively or in a real moment of potential danger. Our protagonist Joanna has a different ending to the one you might suspect after walking down a canal path alone, and it is this turn of events that leads us deeper into the story and the words “anything you do say …”

Completely missed the format until the 'Acknowledgements' at the end of the book - a bit slow! Many reviewers refer to 'Sliding Doors' with which I am unfamiliar but obviously helped those who spotted the construction. Had to read it through again in two sections to fully appreciate it and a third time to appreciate the overall effect. Every reading was worth it and shed new light. Loved Local Girl Missing but hadn't connected the author to that book. Wholly recommended.

A very interesting concept, looking at an incident from two viewpoints. One where the truth is revealed and the other where the truth is concealed. The characters were all very believable. A thoroughly enjoyable book with a very good ennding.

WOW, wow, wow! I loved this book! I have tried to write a review but I just can't do this book justice. It has a superb plot, starring me as the main character (if not me, then my twin)! Seriously I felt I was being quoted at some points in the book. The 'sliding doors' concept had me from the first Reveal/Conceal chapters. I felt it could have been anyone of us...just a simple mistake. how we deal with outcome of our decisions and how those decisions affect others. It would make an excellent choice for a Book Club, due to the moral dilemma and has great debate/conversation potential. Enjoy! I am now off to find a romance, light heated chick lit, as I have no finger nails left and my hair has turned grey. But it was worth it!

This book started off great guns: I started the book one night before bed "just to see how it is..." and found myself flipping the pages furiously and unwilling to put it down. It was less than halfway through that I then noticed my interest waning and by three quarters I could happily have abandoned it and moved on... but I still liked the idea of the plot and really wanted to see how it would all resolve itself.

Set in a sliding-doors fashion, the first chapter follows Joanna on her night out with friend Laura, from her selfie with a stranger through to unwanted attention from a man that leads to them leaving the club early. Walking back along the canal side, and still upset from her earlier ordeal, Joanna hears quickening footsteps behind her and a split second decision makes her do something that will have long-term consequences for so many. The following chapters are then alternate between reveal (she confesses) and conceal (she runs away).

Such a great idea for a book and one I was looking forward to enormously to see how the consequences of our actions can affect us so utterly. It should have been great. But I got bored: bored of Joanna, whom I found it was difficult to empathise with, bored of the plot which didn't seem to go anywhere for a huge chunk of the book and bored of waiting to find out how it would all pull together. If in fact, if it had pulled nicely together at the end (by way of a twist or something jaw-dropping) it would quite possibly have redeemed itself but I found the ending to not only be convenient in an attempt to wrap it all up but a bit of a damp squib.

I feel my main issue is that I couldn't connect with Joanna or any other members of the cast, at all. It wasn't simply that I didn't like her; I couldn't "get" her in either the reveal or conceal stories. That made it difficult to invest in the book overall as I was not engaged.

Verdict:

Not a bad book, just not a great one. I haven't read Everything But The Truth (McAllister's first book) yet but I do have a copy and I have heard great things so I wouldn't be put off reading this at all. 

Great concept, not so great execution.

I fijndbtgia book rather confusing and slow. Loved the concept but unfortunately it was not for me

Anything you do say Actually London doesn’t get smog any more - only heavy pollution on a still summer day unless it comes across the channel - or sometimes we Saharan sand... The last know smog was in 2016 in December and was caused by pollution, to get black feet - and I well remember getting them myself, in my hippy phase, when I walked London streets barefoot (!), you need coal or wood fires, which have been banned for a very long time. However, that very picky point aside, I liked this book. I liked the alternative universes where different things happened according to her behaviour at the crucial moment. How long did she hesitate? Did she try to help or not? And what did say when asked? So truly two books in one which can be tricky to both write and read as you need to keep two plots in your head at the same time. So kudos to the author for trying this style of writing.

Around this time of year I start to consider my Top Ten Books Published in 2017 along with many other bloggers, this year the list has been thrown into disarray with so many late entrants, including this novel. Anything You Do Say encompasses so many of the aspects that I enjoy: a moral dilemma, ‘sliding doors’ scenario, great characters who behave realistically and superb plotting all coming together to give a fresh feel despite the elements appearing in other novels.

Two friends meet for their regular Friday night out at a bar in London and meet a man who is slightly too pushy, deciding to leave they part ways and Joanna walks home taking the route by the canal when she hears someone following her. Now ladies, we’ve all been there – unable to tell whether the threat running through your head is real or imagined. What happens next will change Joanna’s life forever.

What do you do, I find myself thinking, when you think somebody is following you down a deserted strip of canal? When you could become a statistic, a news piece, a tragedy? Nothing. That’s the answer. You carry on. You hope.

Of course the title are known to all of us although I hope few of us have had them directed towards us:

The words are familiar, but it takes me a moment to place them. It’s not a hymn or a song lyric or a phrase. No. It’s a caution. The caution.

Joanna is a great character, you probably know someone like her. She works on the mobile library while she decides what she wants to do with her life. She avoids the nastier aspects of life by ignoring them; bills, decisions, babies are all put in a box to be dealt with later… or never. Her friend, Laura, has plans, big ones, she wants to be an artist and is far surer of herself by far than Joanna, not uncommon in a friendship pairing. In both scenarios that are presented following the late night encounter we see not only what the consequences of her decision has on Joanna but Laura and her partner Rueben and brother Wilf too but also Laura’s partner Jonty in a perfect example of the ripple effect.

With sparkling dialogue which is entertaining yet realistic I was drawn into the story before I’d finished the first page. I loved the friends, that pre-Christmas setting with Christmas trees sparkling inside the houses that Joanna passes as she walks home at the opening of the book is followed up with the changing seasons as we follow the two different outcomes of that night.

As much as I enjoy books with the ‘sliding doors’ aspect I won’t lie, it can sometimes be complicated keeping the two strands straight in your mind. Fear not, Gillian McAllister has a clear system for marking the two stories by using a heading and since the stories diverge from the start I didn’t have a moment’s confusion. What I did have, was compassion for Joanna, maybe that says something about my morals, but there was one particular moment when I had my heart in my mouth as things took a drastic turn for the worse and despite actually needing to be doing something else I wasn’t putting the book aside until my heart-rate settled.

I really enjoyed Gillian McAllister’s debut novel Everything But The Truth which I read earlier this year but this novel even surpasses that one. Usually when I read a book that I want my friends to read, I wait until I have posted my review – not this time – I have been urging many of my bookish friends to go get this book, now – especially as it is at an absolutely bargain price at the moment for the kindle. The paperback will be published on 25 January 2018. Whatever format you read, I urge you not to miss out but do beware, once started, you will not want to stop reading!

I am extremely grateful to the publishers Penguin UK who have provided me with a great selection of books this year, including Anything You Do Say, and Gillian McAllister who I sincerely hope is furiously writing another book for me to enjoy, this unbiased yet unashamedly gushing review is my thanks to them.

It's every woman's worst nightmare. Alone on a dark street, footsteps getting quicker behind you. Fight or flight? Joanna picks fight and finds herself staring at a broken figure of a man. So what does she do? Call an ambulance and face the consequences or walk away....after all no one has seen. This is the story of what happens in both cases. Think Sliding Doors if it had been a psychological thriller.

I tried to stop reading this book. It was going to quick. I wanted to know what was going to happen so much that I'd find myself skimming and then going back because it's too good a book to skim! No matter how much I wanted to know the outcome. Even with going back I finished it in a few hours. Now I feel like I've been stuffing Maltesers and reaching in the box can find nothing.....happy with a satisfying experience but kind of sad there's no more. It's a compelling and tense thriller, brilliantly written. An easy 5 stars.

I loved Gillian McAllisters first novel so was really looking forward to reading this. I literally couldn't put this new gripping thriller down, reading it in two sittings. An engrossing story superbly written with believable characters and plenty of action and intrigue. Alternate chapters tell Joanna’s story and the path her life would take depending on her decision. This is a great read, and I was sorry when it finished.
I will be recommending this book everywhere I go.

Thank you!

Firstly thank you to Net Galley & the publishers for an ARC in exchange for a fair review.
This book makes an interesting read. What would you do in a life changing situation? Fight or flight? Help or walk away? This story poses those questions and takes us along both paths.
The narrative is written from the perspective of Joanna whose decisions we follow after an incident where she pushes a man down a flight of stairs in fear.
Overall, this is a well written, thought provoking book about the consequences of our actions and is certainly like nothing I have read before.

This did take me a while to get into it with the reveal/conceal sections but once I did I was gripped. It's totally different to the other psychological thrillers I've read this year so would definitely recommend.

This book was ok I found it a little confusing when it went from reveal to conceal.

Joanna and Laura are enjoying a Friday night out in their usual bar when a man approaches them and is very pushy in his sexual overtures to them, especially Joanna. On her way home, after she's parted company from Laura, Joanna senses this man is following her. She is very scared and calls her boyfriend but the line is bad and she loses the signal after telling Reuben of her fears. Shortly after the man catches up with her and in her terror she shoves him. He falls down some steps and lands in a puddle motionless. Joanna is now in a dilemma - help or run? The rest of the book is dealing with the two possible scenarios in chapters headed 'Reveal' or 'Conceal'.

It's easy to follow the dialogue in each scenario but I did find it a little long winded and it took me ages to finish. It was all a little depressing really as I didn't care much for Joanna in either scenario and both were equally gloomy to read. Joanna is an Oxford graduate but works in a mobile library and has no career ambitions. She is still trying to find her 'thing'. I wasn't at all convinced by Joanna's character and couldn't warm to her. Her parents were quite overbearing and derogatory towards Joanna but this didn't amount to anything in the story which I surprised about.

In the 'Conceal' storyline Joanna got herself into deeper water by telling a lie about her brother. In the 'Reveal' storyline we found this wasn’t a lie after all but the lie/non-lie was never tied together in the two storylines which I found very curious.

It was a good premise but not gripping enough for me. And just relentlessly miserable.

With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow a thought provoking book .
Joanna is out with her friend. Experiencing sexual harassment and feeling she is being followed she rings her boyfriend for added protection as she tries to get to safety.Losing connection the person gets closer and a scuffle occurs and she is faced with a dilemma. Does she stay and check on her would be attacker? or does she leave him at the bottom of some steps?
Told from both perspectives ,what transpires in both lives not only has your imagination running wild but also has you feeling paranoid for Joanna,has you feeling frustrated at the the people who are surrounding her and has you feeling that Jo needs some serious relationship advice.
The characters are well written and you wonder at times why she is with Reuben.
As always Gillian McAllister takes a character,turns them inside out and rings them dry. You know every inch of them before you are done. Some are marmite(sorry if you don't know that saying you love or hate them) and in this book I have a number I feel that way about.
I have pondered this book since the moment I read the introduction and will do for days after.I am not convinced Joanna took the right path!
Thank you to the author ,the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review.