I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for this review. I read another book by this author at the start of the year, so was interested to read this one. McAllister wrote very well, to the point that I found the book difficult to read because of its subject matter. The characters were well written and I felt much sympathy for them. A powerful book.

Gillian McAllister has produced another tour de force with No Further Questions. She's taken an incredibly difficult subject, the death of a child, and handled it compassionately, honestly and with great suspense.

Your baby dies. Your sister is arrested. The police say she killed your daughter, she says she's innocent. As always with McAllister's books, the story develops in layers and the characters are wonderfully depicted.

I didn't guess the ending either, so bonus points to the author for that!

A fantastic read.

Loved this book. A very good read, kept me gripped throughout I didn't want to go to sleep so I could just read
Loved the story the settings the characters It really made me feel as if I was a part of the book as if I was in some of the scenes.

I usually love this authors work and was expecting to be gripped from page one. However despite the excellent writing and length of chapters I just did not like the characters. Martha who has asked her own sister to become her 8 weeks old daughters nanny. And Becky the sister accused of murdering her. The story is 99% set inside the court room but only focuses on the main characters. The idea for the story is very good but it was a simple plot that seemed to take a long time to get the the point of how many Layla actually died. Apart from that as I say the writing is excellent and well worth a read but definitely not a thriller in my eyes.

McAllister weaves an innteresting tale of families fractured by the death of 8 month-old Layla. In the care of her aunt Becky while her mother Martha is in Greece setting up a school for refugees.
The sisters are close and when Brcky is arrested for the murder if her neice, all the relationships in the family are tested.
We see the case through the eyes of each witness in the box and Becky's guilt seems certain.
The strength of the sisters's love is central to the story.
This is not a "who dunnit" but an exploration of love under ghastly pressure.
To say it is "enjoyable" would be to use the wrong word. But the narrative works well. I could not engage with Becky and Martha, despite their dreadful loss, but the novel is skilful in unfolding the case and leading the reader to a credible conclusion.

Yet another wonderful, consuming and immersive read from Gillian McAllister. I tore through this in just a couple of days, and could not put it down. While there is a mystery and unanswered questions at its centre, it is a flawless study of motherhood and the relationship between sisters. I loved it. Beautiful writing.

This is a well-written thriller, with authentic courtroom drama and a nightmare scenario for the family of characters.

It's a story of two sisters and how their lives are irrevocably changed by a tragic event. Accident or intentional act is what the jury has to decide, but the effect on the two sisters their spouses' parents and children is devastating.

For me, this was more family drama than thriller, although there is a mystery to solve. I guessed the outcome before the end, but there are plenty of twists and lies to explore. The ending makes the story so poignant but ties up all the clues in a satisfactory way.

I received a copy of this from Penguin UK - Michael Joseph via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I requested this book as soon as I read its summary. How could I not? Did the sister kill the baby? I had to know! I couldn't imagine anything worse than losing a child - and to think it was your own flesh and blood that did it, well I knew I was set for a thrilling read.

McAllister carefully plots the novel so that you flip between the current trial in progress and then pieces of the past. As you begin to learn about the dynamics between the sisters, you begin to make your own assumptions about what could have happened that night.

Without giving anything away, I can say that everything is not what it seems. McAllister did a great job of keeping the reader interested and made me really care about the sisters. From the start, I was hoping it was one big misunderstanding because it's such a horrible scenario and the alternate truth is just unthinkable.

I think this book would make an awesome movie, as its really interesting reading how the trial unfolds and seeing how all the events led up to the horrible death of the daughter. If you enjoy murder mysteries and you're a fan of shows like Bull and Law and Order, then you will really enjoy this book.

Loved this! So gripping and was taut with tension throughout. You genuinely could not see any other ending to the story than Becky being guilty but you did not feel it in the narrative at the same time. How tricky it must have been for that family - total moral dilemma. I loved the little vignettes with each witness and I don’t read many courtroom dramas so I thoroughly enjoyed this as something out of the ordinary for me. Definitely read more from this author. Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

don't usually do courtroom dramas tbh but this one i loved!!!

Martha has an 8-week old baby Layla who suffers from some health problems, she hires her sister Becky to look after her, Martha and her husband go out for the night and her sister Becky is in charge of Layla. But when she wakes the next morning she has to ring an ambulance as Layla isn't breathing, and dies, the problem is evidence says she died the night before and so when Becky was looking after her, this says Becky is to blame! Martha is filled with guilt and has no idea who or what to believe, could her sister have harmed her baby or was it an accident, who is telling the truth?

An emotional thriller really, I didn't know who to believe either and enjoyed the book immensely, I am going to search for her other book before this one, and can't wait for her next book!

An amazing book. It is basically a courtroom drama played out to discover whether baby Layla was murdered and what really happened on the fatal night. The two main characters are the sisters Martha and Becky and the interactions of the family. The characters are well defined and come across as real people. I loved the presentation of each chapter going backwards to the fatal night as well as the court room evidence. A great deal of research has obviously gone into this to make the facts so informative. An understandably happy ending

Such an emotional read yet absolutely brilliant, I loved the way the story was told from everyone's point of view and had me really connecting with the charector. This is a fast paced courtroom drama that threatens to rip a family apart. I would definitely recommend although I would also recommend having a box of tissues to hand too!

The police say she's guilty.
She insists she's innocent.

She's your sister.
You loved her.
You trusted her.
But they say she killed your child.

Who do you believe?

This was gripping! What a stunning read. It challenged how I think I would be if in a similar position and really highlighted family loyalties and fractured relationships. This is absolutely a thriller with a difference and you honestly won’t be able to let go until you go to trial with the two sisters and find out what really happened… I haven’t read anything else by McAllister but she is definitely on my list now.

I like Gillian McAllister books, but this one I found rather bland and very predictable. I was not thrilled by the content and found it rather slow. I think her other books are far better.

This is my first Gillian McAllister book but it certainly won't be my last. A court-room drama like no other. One sister, Becky, on trial, while the other sister, Martha, believes that the jury's decision will determine for sure whether her sister is innocent or guilty of the death of Martha's 8-week-old baby, Layla. Martha believes in the system. This heart-rending mystery unfolds through the witnesses that are called for the prosecution and the defence. It is so well written I didn't want to read this too fast, there was so much to think about. Both sisters are well portrayed, as are their relationships with their partners and family. There are so many feelings of guilt within the family and such complicated relationships where honesty could have resolved so many problems. So thoughtfully written, a compelling read.
Very many thanks to Netgalley/Gillian McAllister/Michael Joseph for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Concept of storyline excellent, the narrative by some of the individual characters was repetitive and spoilt the pace of the book, Also there was too much tell and not enough hide so it was easy to know the end of the book before you got there, that is a shame.

When 8 month old Layla dies in the care of her sister Becky, Martha is torn between loyalty for her family and the truth – but what did happen that night?

Experiencing both a death of a child and having someone you love accused of murder are such terrible things to go through but I thought it was really nicely handled in ‘No Further Questions’. I liked that each witness who took the stand got a chapter from their perspective rather than just recanting what happened. This made for a really interesting dynamic and also made you believe each witness, even though what they may be saying may be changing your mind about the defendant Becky. I think the book really showed how subjective testimony can be and how certain events could be easily twisted one way or the other to suit either the defence or prosecution. I liked the progression of the case and the conclusion and felt it was well paced in places and difficult to put down.

My only criticism would be it did feel a little overly long in places. Although I liked the jumps in perspective I think perhaps Martha’s chapters in particular could have been edited down a little as they felt very repetitive at times. I actually didn’t guess the conclusion before the ending which is very unusual for me and I see a lot of other reviewers did – I must be slacking!

Overall No Further Questions is a tense read that’s difficult to put down although a little repetitive in places. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin UK – Michael Joseph for a chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The only thing that kept me reading was wanting to discover what really happened. Unfortunately, I'd already guessed, which made the ending as disappointing as the rest of this book.

A court drama investigating the death of a baby, this had so much potential. Instead it became highly repetitive. Better editing could have elevated it to the standard it could have achieved. Instead, I finished it with a strong sense of meh.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

A sad but compelling read that I couldn't put down. Two sisters so close for so long are separated by a tragedy that tears their families apart. When Becky is left looking after Martha's baby, Layla, no one could have foreseen the events that unfolded. Was it murder of just a tragic accident? As the court case progresses the evidence from Becky's neighbours begin to portray a darker side to her than she has been admitting to and makes everyone question what really happened that night. Towards the end I began to suspect the truth and I wasn't disappointed. Gillian McAllister is definitely on my list of must read authors

A very cleverly written court drama that keeps you guessing right to the end. Very enjoyable read and highly recommended.