This is one of the most compelling books I have read for a very long time. It kept my interest from page one. One man Phillip. An ex-wife Ruby, a current wife Imogen and the future wife Naomi. He has abused all of them in one way or another. They come together in the unlikeliest of ways but they have to trust and help each other to survive him. The character of Philip is very well written you almost feel you know him. He is a liar, a manipulator and knows exactly each woman's weakness. He knows how to hurt physically and mentally. Each woman is different in her own way but also similar. An excellent read. Loved it.

1 absolutely vile man and the 3 women in his life - ex wife, present wife and girlfriend. What a stonker of a debut!!. Literally couldn’t put this down - knocked out by it from the first word to the last. Jo has created a monster, a truly evil man and he’s a policeman which makes him even worse. Full of heart stopping moments and suspense the whole way through which grabs you by the throat and won’t let go, the sort of book to stay in your mind long after you’ve finished it. Can’t praise it highly enough!

Well the blurb was spot on when it says ‘Imogen’s husband is a bad man’. He is an absolute boo hiss baddie with no redeeming qualities as far as I could see. I felt the opening chapter gave too much away in terms of where the book was headed and the subsequent chapters, which were set earlier in time, lost a bit of tension. Events did seem a bit over the top in a few parts but if you just go along with it then overall it’s a good read.

Fantastic book! Don't be taken in and think that this is just another revenge thriller..... It is so much more than that, and despite being a very well paced thriller, it is great fun too!

"Sticks and Stones" begins with main character Imogen attending the funeral of her soon to be ex-husband , Police Officer Phillip Rochester. Also attending the funeral are Ruby - Phillip's first wife, and Naomi, the woman he left Imogen for. Quite a tasty little set up for a psychological thriller.
 
Immediately afterwards, we are catapulted back to just over three weeks earlier where we start to unravel the events leading up to this day, and how they came to pass. It soon becomes apparent that Phillip is not a nice man, and an even worse husband.  We discover that he is controlling, self obsessed and cruel and that holding a position of power as a policeman has worked well for him - Imogen reporting him for abuse has brought no consequences home for him whatsoever as his colleagues believe his account of events - and with this protection along with some clever, insidious controlling techniques he has systematically abused each of these women and lived to tell the tale unscathed…at least so far.
 
The three woman - Ruby, Imogen and Naomi are fairly complex characters and complement each other while also having striking differences. The one thing they all have in common, however, is that they are strong women who have had their spirit broken at one time or another by this bully that came into each of their lives in the guise of a loving partner.
 
There were some situations that I felt were unrealistic and a bit over the top, especially towards the end, but overall I enjoyed this book. You never know who to trust and there are a couple of times I really wanted to facepalm when Phillip draws in one of the women and gets him doing his bidding, despite precarious circumstances.  Jo Jakeman has provided us with a gripping, whirlwind of a read, with strong female characters breaking through a cycle of violence that has threatened to overcome them  - a great debut.

Truly dark, well written and strangely enough, funny in places, kudos the author for managing that with such a dark storyline!! Absolutely gripping, loved it!

Original idea told in an unusual fashion by taking the reader backwards a step at a time. So you know the result of the ending from the start but not how it all came to pass This was a debut book but you would never guess from reading it. Certainly an author to watch out for.

Truly dark and often funny - a spur of the moment action a brief moment of relief and elation and then .... what next ...... how do you get out of this.....

Loved this book right from the very beginning. Read it in one sitting. Looking forward to the next.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the ARC.

Truly great tale of women getting the upper hand when they are fed up. Great thrilling story that kept me entertained from first to last.

The book begins with an interesting premise, it is the funeral of Philip, attending are his current girlfriend and his two ex wives. We then go back in time to find out the most recent ex-wife, Imogen, has locked Philip in her basement. The book is cleverly written, we go back and forward in time over Philip's life and learn about the dynamics of his relationship with the three women. His true character is revealed and there are quite a few twists and turns in the story. I did feel that the book dragged slightly and became a bit repetitive and unrealistic in the middle section but all in all this was an enjoyable read.

Sticks and Stones is Jo Jakeman's debut novel and what a gripping read it was. So many twists that i found it hard to put down. Loved how the three women came together and how they plotted against Phillip, who was a very bad man. He deserved all he got! The characters are believable, even though some parts seemed a little too far fetched. Loved the ending. This book deserves it's full 5 stars. Hopefully it will not be too long before there is another Jo Jakeman novel. Highly recommended.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my honest review.

Hmmmm I hate to give books poor reviews, but this is unbelievable, overlong and over plotted. The 'perils' are too many, the 'reveals' are easy to guess and the victim is 2 dimensional with no redeeming features. I read it in one sitting as I had no will to linger over it. Sorry!

I’ve been working my way towards this book for what feels like months, so I had high hopes for it but it just didn’t live up to what I was expecting.

It’s a solid thriller, well written, focusing on the horrific subject of domestic abuse, but these are the kinds of books I don’t seem to get on with lately. I find they make me really uncomfortable while reading so I tend to disconnect from them, which in turn means I disconnect from the characters and the story.

But this is my issue, not that of the book or author. I think this book will appeal to anyone who is a fan of the genre. It will keep you reading, eager to find out what happens! I would definitely recommend you read it if it’s your thing, but it just didn’t go down with me personally!

An amazing debut- this book should win awards! Full of wit, tragedy, humour, suspense- everything a novel should be. I read this in three days as I raced through the pages. A brilliant psychological thriller

Jo Jakeman is to be congratulated on her debut novel - a cracking good read from start to finish!

Great characterisation (even the baddie was good, if you see what I mean!) and a great sense of the psychology of abuse, loss and revenge made for a gripping read. I read it in one day as I couldn't put it down.

Congratulations Jo, I will be looking out for your next novel!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for my honest review.

Great book, I could hardly put it down! Loved the characters, the plot was great, kept a good pace throughout - very well written.

The old saying is that sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you. This is not true as so many people will testify to the power of cruel words to wound, belittle and otherwise irreparably damage people.
But what happens if you were the victim of persistent physical and mental domestic abuse but your abuser is a respected member of law enforcement, whose word will be believed over yours? How do you get your complaint heard or get any justice?
This is an intriguing psychological thriller where some victims band together to seek their own solution. A really enjoyable story filled with suspense, hooked me from beginning to end, a very promising debut.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Oh my goodness, talk about a woman scorned!
When Imogen is told to vacate her family home by her ex husband she decides that she has had enough of his controlling and sadistic behaviour and she decides to finally fight back. However, events take an unexpected twist and Imogen finds herself holding her ex husband captive. To make matters worse,when his new wife turns up to look for him, she too is drawn into the saga..
Genius writing allows the story to be both hilarious and gripping at the same time. I loved this book.

Really enjoyed this debut thriller. Written with realism of the effects of domestic abuse it took my attention from p1 and held it throughout. Hoping for more from this lady!!