Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. I could not get into this book. At first thought it was me, but when I looked at other reviews, I saw other readers were confused and thinking the same thing. Gave up pretty early.

#PartOfTheFamily #NetGalley
I was on the edge of my seat while reading this book.
Anna, Meg and David have been friends since meeting at university; David, shunning his father's successful company goes to work in the City, whilst the girls work at a fashion magazine. David is obviously smitten with Anna, but she's oblivious, and once Harry is on the scene David has no chance as Anna becomes besotted with Harry.
This story is told from two POV's Anna and Maria and is able to hold the reader till the end.
I loved the characters of Anna and Maria whereas others were quite good.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Harper Fiction for giving me an advance copy.

For this one, I had to see what other reviewers had said just to make sure I wasn't missing something. Turns out I'm not. It was confusing and a little unbelievable, which made it hard to get through for me. So much so that I didn't. I never used to leave books unfinished but life is too short to force yourself through a book you can't connect with and this was one of those. For what I did read, I'll give it 2 stars. Generous for a DNF.

Quite difficult to get into and a little confusing. Lots of questions left unanswered and a little pretentious in places.

A confusing story that I found difficult to enjoy. I did not engage with the characters or plot. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arts c.

I loved this book, I raced through it. I would definitely recommend it and will be reading more from this author!

Confusing and gripping full of twists and turns about a woman married with kids and a double life....a decent read but something missing ! Kind of not believable considering the character!

A chilling and compelling read, that has you compulsively turning the pages, gripped with the urge to read more and not stop until you finish.

A book that is written so it draws you in, much like the main character who was drawn in to get information from her new family's business. This book is very good and very clever. It gives you a wee clue every now and again and a character who is being secretive, but is she. Descriptive, dramatic and the story flows well. An excellent read

This was a very confusing story with an inconclusive ending. Unfortunately didn't engage me at all. This of course only relates to me others have found the book enjoyable.

I felt the start of the book was good and grabbed my attention. However I didn't like the writing style at all, a situation would be happening and then it would sideline to someone's memory and then sideline again to something else before going back to the original situation. At times I went back a couple of pages to see if I had missed something as I just couldn't work out how we had got to where we were. There's also nothing that signifies what time the current chapter is refering to, which again made the jumping around very confusing.

The plot was ok but the interesting bit at the end was cut short, it felt like the story finally got somewhere and then the rest was missing.

A new and fully realistic spy thriller that takes a new look at corporate espionage. Full of’twists And turns and a fanstastic ending

This is such a good novel full of intrigue and suspense! It’s part spy novel, part thriller and part family drama and this made for such a great read. On the surface Anna is successful in her career at a magazine, she’s happily married and adores her three-year old twins but all is not quite as it seems. Her life is on the verge of unravelling and slowly we get to see who she really is but also who the people around her really are. It becomes something of a cat and mouse but you’re not always sure who the good guys are. I found this such a compelling read that was hard to put down. The ending was so brilliant and perfect in my opinion but I also feel it might divide readers! I recommend it!

Well I did not expect the ending I had and feel quite upset. I need more. I thought the book was very good and enjoyed the characters. Sometimes I had to go back to the title page to see if I was reading about Anna or Maria but that is only a slight criticism and probably due to tiredness when reading as I was hooked and read way later at night that I should. I felt empathy with both the main girls in the book and did not expect Harry to be as he turned out without giving much away. I hope there will be a sequel to this book as I need to know who arrived at the door!!!

The ending is left hanging! Who could be at the door?Full of twist and turns towards the end of the book.Filled with secrets, can't imagine leaving in a world like Maria.No one to trust and even the one you trust you begin to feel insecure. What a life to be in all the sacrifices and what for?

Anna is married to David but it is not what it seems. As she tries to expose her father in law there is more than one spy in the house. But what is the truth and who is controlling who. How will it end. Will keep you gripped to the very end.

Charlotte Philby does a wonderful job of creating a sense of isolation and confusion, and exploring the manipulation, fear and cruelty that goes into doing the 'right' thing - I'm really looking forward to her panel with Sarah Armstrong, Manda Scott, and Asia McKay at Bloody Scotland!

Told from 2 different viewpoint, I just failed to like this book. I found it confusing and ohhhh so slow. The setting was well described but the characters weren't well defined and I really didn't care at all for Anna - a self-absorbed person, to say the least. I did have high hopes for this book, given the provenance of the author, but it just didn't work for me. Struggled to finish it and when I did, I was left with so many unanswered questions. The author does have potential, cannot deny that, however, a change of genre might be in order. My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Disappointing -
This is a novel about subterfuge, espionage, counter- espionage, duplicity, fallibility, the importance of marriage guidance and many other matters too numerous to mention. (Since reading this novel I had a good look at my wife's birth certificate just to satisfy myself that she is who she claimed to be and didn't marry me for my debt.)
Sorry but as you might have already guessed the novel didn't work for me. All the characters were either one dimensional or lacking in grey matter and the plot?
The plot involves Anna marrying David in order to lay her hands on the secret trading of the family business: Tradesmart. When she does do that she finds herself outwitted and destined to life as a widow without any inheritance. Surely there would have been easier ways to glean trading secrets than to have an agent who is not really an agent marry the target's son? Granted this is a debut but I honestly expected better.
Whilst this novel didn't work for me it might for other readers.

I was rather intrigued by this book, it wasn’t something I would usually go for - but the plot really appealed to me.

In all honesty I did find it hard to get on with this book, I liked the way that it began and the way the characters pasts were explored.

As the book went on, I found the plot to become a little outrageous and unbelievable, which was a stark contrast from the beginning and ruined the rest of the book for me.