Izzy's father is about to be released from prison after serving a life sentence for the murder of Izzy's mother. Izzy is feeling very conflicted about his release and when he makes contact with her and tries to convince her of his innocence Izzy tries her best to gather as much information as possible in order to support what her father is telling her. Is Izzy's father innocent? Could somebody else be responsible for the murder of her mother? With plenty to keep the interest of the reader this is a very good book.

What will you do if the evidence against your father is solid, no questions asked. But he keeps on that he is innocent and you don't know what to believe anymore.... Then you keep reading the book and see how it all plays out and if he is innocent or not. This was a thrilling read and recommended.

Gillian McAllister never fails to engage me completely in her twisty tales! Izzy's father has spent years in prison, sentenced for murder. Now he's free, and wants to talk...but does she believe he's innocent of murdering her mother?

The plot takes the reader right down to the wire, spinning webs of clues all the way through to the end, where all is revealed.

I really enjoyed this. It gives an in depth examination of the impact on father/daughter relationship when the father is imprisoned for murdering his wife.

As the story progresses, we learn that the wife had a lot of secrets she was keeping, both from her husband and her daughter. Those secrets hold the key to discovering whether the right man was convicted.

Maybe it's not the most innovative or original story, but it's well written, exciting and brings up lots of questions about the legal system and its impact on everyone caught up in a serious crime.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

After having read and enjoyed Gillian McAllister’s previous books, I was incredibly excited to hold her latest book in my hands. Even though I admit, I initially had a wee struggle with the earlier chapters, I soon found myself completely immersed in the intrigue and suspense.

Almost two decades ago, Izzy’s father was convicted of the murder of his wife and sent to prison. Izzy has had no contact with him since. But now, Gabriel is released and he wants to talk to Izzy, give her his side of the story, defend himself, maybe even convince her he is innocent. But should Izzy give him the time of day?While I found Izzy quite hard to like for some reason, I could completely understand her struggles. The way she longs for that feeling of belonging to a family, her willingness to listen to her father because at least she’d have one parent back in her life and the way she shies away from starting a family of her own because she fears there is evil inside of her. Despite my misgivings about her, I couldn’t help but root for her when she starts to dig deep into her parents’ lives.

Just like Izzy, I kept going back and forth on my opinion about Gabriel, unable to figure out whether he was truly guilty or if this whole thing had been a massive miscarriage of justice. But this story isn’t just about Gabriel’s guilt or innocence. It is also about the impact nineteen years in prison has on a person. Imagine being cut off from the world for such a long time and then be thrown back out there, expected to fend for yourself when everything has been done for you all these years. Where do you even start when the whole world has moved on without you?

As I’ve come to expect from Gillian McAllister, The Evidence Against You is a slow-burner but nevertheless immensely tense and compelling. As I mentioned, I struggled just a little bit with the slow pace in the beginning but it also has its advantages, as it gives you the time and opportunity to really get a feel for these characters. It’s almost impossible to determine who to trust or believe and that includes Izzy herself, because how reliable are her own memories after all this time? With plenty of twists and turns, unreliable characters, lies and betrayal, I was gripped until the rather devastating end. The kind of ending where you wish deep down things could have been different, yet one that is also extremely fitting and just makes sense.

The Evidence Against You is a gripping and thought-provoking story, guaranteed to have you flipping the pages faster as you go. Brilliantly and cleverly plotted, Gillian McAllister knows how to draw the reader in and keep them coming back for more. Her books are always worth the wait and I impatiently await what’s next.

In all honesty I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading The Evidence Against You. I find that this kind of book can go either way but this one was very good.

Izzy English is just eighteen years old when her father is sent to jail for the murder of her mother. Her grandparents are adamant he is guilty and refuse to discuss the case any further. Izzy, for her part, would much rather not know the finer details of the case. She can’t pretend it never happened though because everybody on the Isle of Wight knows the details of the murder.

When her father is out of prison she knows he will come looking for her and when he does she is not surprised when he tries to convince her he is innocent. What surprises her is that she isn’t sure whether to believe him or not.

Gabe English is much changed but he is still her father and Izzy can’t help but investigate.

The Evidence Against You examines the vast range of emotions someone in her situation would experience whilst grieving the loss of both of her parents, not to mention the emotions she would face at the possibility he wasn’t actually guilty.

I was there alongside Izzy on every single step of her journey. I felt the fear and the uncertainty and the need to prove her father innocent.

I think Izzy was suffering with depression, and quite frankly, who could blame her. Effectively her mother's murder left her an orphan. Life with her grandparents wasn't a fairy tale and she ended up doing a job she hated and married to a unsupportive, emotionally closed down man. The release of her father from prison, even if he was going to kill her, must have seemed like a relief from the daily grind. The story is sad and poignant. Mostly my heart ached for Izzy and I didn't trust her father at all. Mind you, at various stages I didn't trust any of the other characters in the book, male or female. The denouement was a tad rushed for me and required a stronger suspension of reality than I'm normally comfortable with. However, that was the only niggle in an otherwise great read that I'm happy to recommend.

When I start a book that’s gripping but with a complex storyline I find it hard to focus on what’s being said but I’ve found with this book there is so much compelling evidence which is circumstantial toward her father that all through you are rooting for the dad. You really want him to be innocent but there is so much suspicion with many lines of suspicion.

I really enjoyed this book!
Fantastic storyline and characters that are really well formed. I was gripped from the beginning and will be reading her other books.

Gillian never disappoints, I thoroughly enjoyed this book although I was right on my early suspicions. Looking forward to whatever Gillian writes next!
Thank you for the reading opportunity.

Gillian McAllister is among some of my favourite writers, and usually, her books grab me straight away. I'm not sure why but this one didn't initially - I'm going to put it down to thriller fatigue! However, once I settled in I have to say this had me in its grasp. There was one awful moment when I thought I'd worked it out around halfway through but then I remembered McAllister books are NEVER that easy and I was right - I was almost completely wrong! Added to that it is also very touching in places with a zinger of a heartbreaking end that I did not see coming. In short a thrilling read that may (or may not) take a few chapters to get into but is well worth persevering with.

I’ve read all of Gillian McAllister’s novels as they’ve been published and she has gone from strength to strength, she is now one of my auto-buy authors! This novel follows Izzy whose father has been in prison for murdering her mother and now he’s about to be released, and is claiming that he’s innocent! I loved Izzy, she’s such a believable and real character and I was rooting for her the whole way through this book. The loss of her mum when she was a teenager has really affected her life and she’s never really being able to escape from the tragedy. She’s even living her mum’s life in re-opening the restaurant that her mother owned. I loved seeing Izzy’s tentative steps towards having a relationship with her dad and was really hoping he was being honest with her. I was gripped the whole way through the book and I kept changing my mind about whether I thought her dad was being truthful or not. There were surprises in store in this book, which was great! I keep thinking of Izzy and wondering how she’s doing now. I highly recommend this book!

Blurb:

It's the day Izzy's father will be released from jail.

She has every reason to feel conflicted - he's the man who gave her a childhood filled with happy memories.

But he has also just served seventeen years for the murder of her mother.

Now, Izzy's father sends her a letter. He wants to talk, to defend himself against each piece of evidence from his trial.

But should she give him the benefit of the doubt?

Or is her father guilty as charged, and luring her into a trap?

Review:

Gillian McAllister's writing goes from strength to strength and I really enjoyed The Evidence Against You. Her description is incredibly clear and for the time I was listening I felt completely immersed in Izzy's life. McAllister is especially great at conveying the emotions of the characters, and this helped me to feel really involved in their lives. I've never been in a similar situation to Izzy or her father, but I found myself feeling really sympathetic towards them. 


McAllister has clearly done a lot of research into prison life, and uses it well in The Evidence Against You. There is a twist at the end of the novel that surprised me, but is also rather poignant and left me with a lump in my throat and a lot to think about.

I'm a big fan of Gillian McAllister and was really looking forward to reading this one. It didn't disappoint. I spent most of the book changing my mind about what the real version of events was and that was the case right up until the reveal. I enjoyed the fact that Izzy's dad was telling his version but you were never quite sure if that version was the truth or not! The ending was really clever too. Highly recommended!

A fast paced thriller and a gripping read that kept me turning the pages! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advanced reading copy.

Having read two of previous Gillian Mcallister books and having loved both, I was really looking forward to reading The Evidence Against You.
The beginning of the book does not disappoint, you do feel for Izzy and really want to find out whether her father killed her mother or whether it was a miscarriage of justice and their lives ruined for nothing.
I did find it a bit annoying and unrealistic that they couldn’t just have the conversation in one go and went days without continuing.
The ending almost comes from nowhere though and I found it a bit of an anticlimax and disappointing.
All in all its a good read, give it a go and make your own mind up.
Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for giving me a chance to review this book.

After serving 17 years for the murder of her mother, Izzy's father Gabe is released on parole from prison. The book flits between the time of the murder and the present, where Gabe protests his innocence to Izzy, defending himself against each piece of evidence from his trial. But should she trust him or is he just toying with her. A gentle paced psychological thriller, an ideal beach holiday read.

This book had me on edge and kept me guess from start to very near the finish. I was surprised by who the killer actually was and the motive behind the murder. In hindsight, it all makes sense and the clues are all there.
Unique and very well done!

The Evidence Against You is a slow moving crime drama set on the Isle of Wight. A woman's father is released from prison after serving 18 years for the murder of his wife. It is a tale of secrets and false evidence. I had some sympathy for the central character Izzy but some of the secondary characters were poorly written including that of the father and Izxy'shusband.

This is such an enjoyable read. It captures your imagination from the start and keeps you guessing right up to the final page. The plotting is superb and there are some intriguing characters with some great traits. None more so than the central character of Izzy who has never come to terms with the loss of her mother and in effect, her father. Unable to face up to events, she has purposefully chosen not to address what actually happened to her mother and has compartmentalised her life. It is fascinating how having created a stable life for herself, she jeopardises it as she is eventually compelled to try to unravel the past.

Told through Izzy's eyes but interspersed with her father's first person memories, the plot is well structured. Set on the Isle of Wight, the island setting emphasises how Izzy has stayed , confined, unable to move on. There is a claustrophobic feel to life there with everyone knowing about the murder and you always feel that there are people within the community who are hiding the truth. Although there is a mystery to be unravelled, this is also about family relationships and how events can alter a character and affect their life forever.

In short: Suspense and surprises in spades.

Thanks to the author for a copy of the book

Gillian has a very accessible style of writing - draws you right in from the start, landing you squarely in the heads of her characters, their moral dilemmas and family dramas. Very well paced, and a great story - highly recommend.