Another fantastic five star read from one of my favourite authors. I always eagerly anticipate a new book from Gillian McAllister and couldn't wait to get stuck into The Evidence against you.

Once again McAllister has written a powerful, character driven novel. I was totally invested in Izzy English and curious as to what had really happened on the night her mother was murdered. Her father (Gabe) has served seventeen years for her murder and on his release sends Izzy a letter. He wants to explain the truth and defend his innocence. But isn't this what every guilty person says...they didn't do it?? Is Gabe telling the truth or does he have another agenda and is Izzy in danger?

I was conflicted throughout the book and swung from thinking Gabe was indeed innocent or that he was a manipulative monster toying with Izzy's memories and twisting them to make his version of the truth fit.

This is not just a story about justice but of a young woman whose dreams of being a ballet dancer were dashed along with any hope of having a "normal" family and of a man released from prison but not equipped emotionally with the means to survive in this new and different world. I'm excited to see what's next from this author.

This crime novel is slightly different to the other books I have read before because the murder investigation concerned is an old one. Time has been served for the murder of Izzy’s mother. The person who served the sentence was her father and he has just been released from prison, determined to have contact with Izzy.

Izzy has moved on with her life despite missing having any loving family connection. Somehow the connection with her husband’s ‘Instagram family’ doesn’t compensate for what she has missed out on. She loves her husband, hates her job and doesn’t know if she can trust her father.

Most of the novel is set in modern day but there are occasional flashbacks to Izzy’s teenage years, mainly concerning the few days before her mother was murdered. But you also get to see her dreams of going to ballet school and her relationship with her first boyfriend. You also see the way that her interpretation of her parents relationship and how it differs from her father’s. These accounts were increasingly fascinating, especially when Izzy finds documents that suggest she may not have been fully aware of what was happening.

I did work out who killed Alex before Izzy did but the way it was revealed left me hanging on to see if I was correct. The explanation was different to what I imagined but it did work. And how it was handled left me a little emotional. Izzy trying to find out who was responsible wasn’t what I liked most about this novel, it was the character and relationship changes that I was more interested in. It was this part I will be thinking about for the next few days.

Izzy's dad has been released from prison where he was serving a life sentence for the murder of her mother. He is desperate to prove to her, he didn't commit the crime. Longing for the family she never had, Izzy begins to reconnect and listen to him but is she listening to an innocent man or a murderer and if he isn't the killer than who is.

Having read another book by the author I was looking forward to this and I wasnt disappointed. It's a slow burn story but it does build up well, the truth took me by surprise but it was good, the ending was bittersweet and yet made real sense. I enjoyed the mystery and trying to figure out the crime. A great read with just enough drama to keep me reading.

Theres a small cast of characters and we only really get to know Izzy and her father. I liked Izzy from the start and she really grew as the story developed.

Another excellent crime novel by Gillian McAllister.
Set partly 20 years in the past and partly present time and the events that led to a 19 year prison sentence.
As Izzy's dad is released from jail after serving his term for killing her mother, they tentatively start to rebuild their relationship and unravel the events of the past that led to her mother's death.

This has immediately risen to one of my top books of 2019 so far. It's a beautifully crafted novel which completely surprised me: I was expecting a fairly typical mystery/ crime thriller (which had me excited to start reading, as that's my favourite genre!) but The Evidence Against You is so much more than that. It's sharp, mysterious and utterly heartbreaking. I finished it feeling bereft that it was over and confused as to how I felt about the ending... before realising that the way the book finished was just so right. 

The characters are completely convincing, well-rounded and never over-simplified. Each character had their own faults, but they felt like real people and this only made me want to read about them even more. There were parts which had me desperately trying to work out what really happened, parts where I was convinced of one outcome before swinging back to the opposite theory, and parts where I actually cried! Without giving too much away, it addresses various themes, some of which I really didn't expect, and kept me guessing right until the end. A fantastic novel which I'm not surprised I loved, when I reflect that I've given 5 shining stars to her other novels - this certainly lives up to those and more.

Gillian McAllister's fourth book The Evidence Against You tells of the repercussions on a family when Izzy's father, Gabe, is released from prison after serving an 18 year sentence for killing his wife, Alexandra.

Izzy was eighteen when the tragedy took place. Now she is married to Nick, a police analyst, and is torn between helping her father prove his innocence (which he has protested the whole time he has been jailed) and loyalty to her dead mother's memory.

This clever story is set on the Isle of Wight, within a small community who all have their own secrets. These are all cleverly revealed and the author also illustrates the humanity that lies behind such tragedies. Her many fans will be delighted with The Evidence Against You. Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the opportunity to read and review it.

Izzy English is not a particularly happy soul. She runs the restaurant that her mother Alex, started. Izzy took it over when her mother was murdered. Before her mother's death she had been a promising ballet dancer. She loved her parents, particularly her artist father Gabe but everything charged when Alex's body was found in the woods & Gabe was imprisoned for her murder. She spent her late teens with Alex's parents & ended up running the restaurant even though she hates it. Her boyfriend seemed to distance himself after the murder.

It is twenty years since her mother's death & her father has been released. He wants to talk to her. Her Police Analyst husband tells her it is a bad idea but Izzy remembers the good times. Without her husband's knowledge she agrees to talk to Gabe who protests his innocence & wants Izzy to help him prove it.

Unlike Gillian McAlister's previous books, I found this one a bit more difficult to engage with. Was it that I didn't really take to the characters? Maybe. However I did believe Gabe & had my ideas on who was the real murderer- as usual I was wrong!!

The second half of the book drew me in & I enjoyed it in the end. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

This book has taken me almost 2 months to complete, too many distractions and sadly I think the story didn’t quite grab me as much as the author’s previous books, which I was really disappointed about as I have loved her last couple of books.

Izzy is a thirty something living a standard life, eating cheese and biscuits in bed with her partner, running her own restaurant. However where she is as a result of her life being torn apart about 20 years before when she lost her Mum and Dad at the same time. Her Mum murdered, her Dad charged with her murder and sent to prison. Izzy’s Dad is realised which sends Izzy’s head spinning back to her Mum’s murder. Her Dad gets in touch and all of her sudden she feels that she feels compelled to try and work out if her Dad really did murder her mother. She never really believed he could have been capable as all she saw was the loving doting father, or is she being lured back in by her Dad’s vulnerability and charm?

The story kind of stumbles around with Izzy with and without her father trying to prove his innocence. I never really felt any appeal to the character of Izzy and match that with the slow pace of the story I think that is what made it easy not to pick this book back up. The last third of the book did pick up the pace slightly and improved my mood.The twists at the end were well positioned, just like in previous books Gillian manages to let you believe something you know not to be right , yet for a twist to be at the end of it and you are still taken by surprise.

I got this free copy from Net Galley, so thanks to them and the author. I am going to give this 3.5/5 but it could really be a 3 but I would love it to be a 4, as I do love the author’s previous books.

Gillian McAllister is one of those authors where you know you're guaranteed a great read when you pick up their book and The Evidence Against You, Gillian McAllister's fourth novel, is no exception. Being first published in 2017, I still think of Gillian McAllister as a new author but, with four cracking thrillers under her belt already, she certainly seems to have caught the writing bug, which is excellent news for us readers.

I really loved the character of Izzy; she is filled with so much emotion that all of her feelings spill out of every page. Her family was snatched away from her in an instant when her father was imprisoned for killing her mother. Izzy has taken over the running of her mother's restaurant, Alexandra's, mainly as a way to keep her mother's memory alive as Izzy's love is for ballet not food. So when Izzy's father, Gabe, is released from prison he knows exactly where to find her.

Izzy's feelings for her father are so mixed. Naturally, she is confused, as she was quite a daddy's girl when she was younger (weren't we all), but all of the evidence points to the fact that her father killed her mother, Alex. When Gabe gets the chance to speak to Izzy, you can feel her defences crumbling as he adds the crucial ingredient of doubt; but the other man in her life, her husband Nick, is a police analyst and he keeps reminding Izzy that her father was convicted so he must be guilty. Right?

I experienced a see saw of emotions whilst reading The Evidence Against You as the evidence and facts all point to Gabe's guilt but he continues to profess his innocence, as do all convicted criminals. So who do you believe? I loved the flashbacks to the time around Alex's death, with viewpoints from both Gabe and Izzy. It's really interesting to see both sides of a story and to see how easily you can jump to conclusions from hearing just part of a conversation.

I know without a doubt that Gillian McAllister will be at the top of the charts with everything that she writes but as much as I enjoyed The Evidence Against You, something didn't quite give it the full five star experience for me. I didn't really connect with the characters, although they are expertly fully formed, and the story interested, but didn't fully grip me. I guess it might depend on whether you believe Gabe's version of events or not, as to whether you'll get that jaw dropping moment at the end.

The Evidence Against You reminded me of one of those adventure books you may have read when you were younger, where you can choose your own path in the story. Whether you are on Gabe's side or not will determine your experience of The Evidence Against You; either way you're in for a mighty fine story written by one of the finest young authors around at the moment. Keep an eye on this author; Gillian McAllister is setting out for world domination, so make sure you read all of her books right now!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.
I really struggled to finish this book. Whilst the storyline was quite good I found the pace exceptionally slow. It was a shame because the premise of the book and the unraveling of the plot had a lot of potential but it needed more intensity and depth to make it an exciting read.
Having read others books by the same author this one was disappointing.

Another incisive and excellent book by Gillian McAllister. Izzie lives on the Isle of Wight in a small community where everyone knows everyone else. Her father was convicted for the murder of her mother and is about to be released after serving 17 years. Her father protests his innocence. Izzie has built a new life for herself from the ashes of her old and is married to Nick , a policeman and half heartedly runs the restaurant her mother founded. Her father gets back in touch and triggers off this intriguing quest with regard to his crime
It is interesting that Gillian builds on the characters and how they have been affected by the events portrayed including the effect on Gabriel,the father , of imprisonment. Plenty twists and turns along the way
An excellent read and I would thoroughly recommend it

This is McAllister’s fourth novel, and to my mind, her best yet. She returns with another gripping legal thriller but this time introduces us to something of a hybrid genre; a thriller with heart and sensitivity; a focus on the human repercussions of a tragedy that tears a family apart, leaving behind a lonely, lost girl, left to enter adulthood without a mother or father.

McAllister examines several relationships in this novel; between father and daughter, mother and daughter, husband and wife, but also of a girl grappling to gain a sense of her true identity whilst dealing with the catastrophic consequences of her family being ripped apart by her father’s shocking crime.

Izzy’s loss has left her craving the attention, love and security a family provides: spying on her neighbour, stalking her and imagining her to be a surrogate mother. In desperation she even resorts to following the “perfect” family on Instagram, daydreaming that she too is part of such a unit.

Nick, a police analyst and Izzy’s husband, has been on edge since Izzy’s father was released on life licence. Understandably, Nick is protective of Izzy but then Nick has had her all to himself for so long, she relies on him entirely for love and emotional support, but with her father released Nick may have to share Izzy. Does the ugly creep of jealousy mask Nick’s view of what is best for her?

Gabe, Izzy’s father, has McAllister examining the complicated consequences of being institutionalised. He comes across as defensive and deceitful yet is adamant of his innocence. Gabe implores Izzy to rekindle their lost connection and help him find who really killed her mother. Izzy being so vulnerable, willingly agrees to help.

Set against the stunning backdrop of the Isle of Wight, this novel, with its complex and flawed characters, is fresh and pacy. I raced though in only two days – a real rollercoaster at times. Just as soon as you think Izzy is heading in the direction of the truth, her quest is dealt a crushing blow and she is jolted back to square one, questioning her beliefs and her father’s motives, wondering who she can really trust.

McAllister deftly introduces legal jargon and judicial mechanisms without alienating the reader, showing she has certainly done her research. An intricate and intense narrative where I audibly gasped at the last page. I was utterly enthralled by this book and McAllister kept me guessing until the very end.

This novel is a 5* triumph; not only because it is excels in its genre, but because it is a thriller reaching outside of its box; it has a warm blooded heart beating right the way through it. McAllister has managed to school us once again with a twisty, intelligent, yet emotionally charged tale.

My thanks go to Michael Joseph for sending me a proof copy of the novel in exchange for my honest review.

This is a fantastic thriller and a must read title.

The story is based on Issy, whose father was jailed for the murder of her mother and the story kicks off on the fathers release date from prison.

I particularly like the way that the story is told whereby facts about the case are intertwined throughout, leaving you to piece things together and form a judgement. The book is also told in a way where it alternates the past and present.

This book was hard to put down there are plenty of twists and turns which keeps you guessing until the very end, which is also good!

I always feel madly envious when I read a Gillian McAllister novel, as her writing is so tightly plotted and complex, every part cleverly woven together to leave the reader reeling by the end and this is no exception. Filled with suspense, this is a gripping, emotional read, one that kept me up far too late at night.

Izzy English lives on the Isle of Weight with her police analyst husband Nick. When Izzy was 17 years old her mother went missing and was found murdered two days later. Her death hit Izzy hard but even harder was the fact that her father, Gabe, was arrested, charged and convicted of her murder. Now, after serving eighteen years in prison, Gabe has been released on license and is back on the island and desperate to see Izzy. He claims he is innocent of all charges. Izzy doesn’t know what to believe - after her mother’s death she lived with her maternal grandparents who never spoke to her about the case and she was not aware of the evidence presented in court which led to Gabe’s conviction. Having met Gabe without her husband’s knowledge Izzy starts her own investigation into her mother’s death and events leading up to it. Along the way she discovers that her parents weren’t all she believed them to be. She struggles to believe whether Gabe is telling her the truth about what happened and her continued determination to find the truth puts her marriage under a huge strain.

Really great read. Nearly every chapter had me changing my mind about whether Gabe was innocent or not and, the same as Izzy, trying to find alternative suspects. Loved it.

Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and Gillian McAllister for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

A really gripping thriller that kept me guessing until the very last page. I loved it. Would recommend!

Loved this book it made you think the way the main character was did he didn’t he definitely a one sitting book cannot recommend it highly enough

I absolutely love GIllian McAllister's work. This is up there with one of my favourite novels, as are her other three.

The storyline in this book had me gripped from page 1 and I was racing through the book. There were a rollercoaster of emotions, but i loved the book. I felt that Gillian engaged the characters with us throughout the novel.

I loved the twist at the end.

I cannot wait for the next novel from Gillian!!

You're told that your Dad has murdered your Mum. The evidence is all there against him and he is sent to jail for eighteen years. How do you believe him when he says he is innocent? How can you be sure he is guilty? Who do you trust?
What a great premise for a novel. I was questioning myself the whole way through and couldn't put it down. Another brilliant page turner from Gillian McAllister. Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Izzy's father is realised from prison 17 yrs after he was convicted of murdering her murder. He has always claimed he was innocent, Izzy wants to believe him but how can she.
I devoured this book from start to finish. I needed to know the truth. I felt Izzy's confusion and how she feels torn.
This was another great read from Gillian MAllister.
Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.