A smart and sophisticated thriller debut. I found myself hooked from the first few pages. I adore sharply written female characters and this doesn't disappoint. Am also a sucker for overseas locations and this does justifiably have them. An impressive debut from the author and I look forward to reading more by her. A compelling read.

I read this book in a day, I loved Anna's and Maria's characters, so many lies, deception, intrigue, murder that it's one of those books you can't put down, even when I did I was thinking about it. I was left at the end saying no it can't end like this!! I need another one to see what happens to them all

What can I say...I could not stop reading The Most Difficult Thing once I'd started. The plot played out like a movie in my head, and my heart raced with every thrilling moment. Often plots in thrillers can become predictable, but having finished this I'm still in the dark. I raced to the end hoping all would become clear only to find... aaarrrgghhhh...I'm going to have to wait to find out. This author left me wanting more and I cannot wait to read the next book. A sophisticated and smart read for anyone who likes being kept on the edge of their seat. Thoroughly enjoyed this and now I'm off to make a chamomile tea to calm my nerves :)

I felt that this was trying to mold too many dissimilar genres into one tome...spy drama, psychological thriller. It was, however, very well described and atmospheric.

This is a spy thriller with English characters. Initially hard to get into but then a great gripping read as the book goes on. A great debut novel by Charlotte Philby.

I wanted to enjoy this book, as I felt that the story - of Anna, recruited by an unknown spy network, to investigate her father-in-law’s shady business dealings - could have been riveting. Unfortunately, I found myself getting very confused as to what time frame we were in, as the story shifted, seemingly at random, from Anna’s childhood, early adulthood, three years earlier and now. The chapters alternated between two characters, Anna and the Greek nanny, Maria, neither of whom are completely open and honest with each other, or with Anna’s husband David.

I felt that the story was missing some components - maybe an indication of David’s motives and actions - was he deliberately making Anna think she was going crazy or not? It was difficult to know who’s side the reader should be on, as I actually felt quite pleased about Anna’ Visit to the solicitors at the end of the story. Her character was quite selfish and at times uncaring.

Sorry, but not a book I particularly enjoyed and not one I would reread.

I found this book to be a most difficult thing. It's billed as a compulsive domestic drama/spy story and I really wanted to like it more. The blurb likens it to 'The Night Manager' which I enjoyed, but unfortunately, unlike TNM, I couldn't relate to/like any of the leading characters. It's a book that required a lot of concentration. The story jumps around a lot and is told by both Anna and Maria and sometimes because they are very much alike I forgot which was which. Anna was portrayed as an intelligent woman but oh my, was she really so naïve? Harry, David and his father Clive all came across as manipulative, angry and quite unlikeable.
I did read to the end as I was intrigued as to where the story was going...… but sadly it left me confused.
That said I do think that it might make a good screenplay for a tv drama,
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for this ARC in return for an honest review.

That seriously cannot be the end! This tale has left me with so many questions, I just want to turn over one more page. The Most Difficult thing is...where is book two? A thrilling, fast pace novella with an incredible twist. Read, share and repeat!

Very much enjoyed this book, the characters are complex and the story is well written.

There are quite a few twists in this book as you would expect from a spy thriller. Some I didn’t see coming and I really enjoyed that!

Anna Witherall has it all ... or so it seems. Married to David who she met at University, she has a successful career, a beautiful home and three year old twin daughters, Stella and Rose.

But Anna is hiding a dark secret, one that could bring her carefully constructed life crashing down around her ears at any given moment.

And so she is forced into making a decision.

The most difficult decision of her life.

Anna knows that if she herself doesn't make the decision, then someone may make a very different decision for her. And that definitely won't be a decision that Anna wants to be on the receiving end of.

This novel is one of those that you will find yourself unable to put down for any length of time. It's a bit of a roller coaster at times, and you need to pay attention if you don't want to fall off...

For me the most difficult thing about this novel, is the ending ... you never really get a satisfactory conclusion, and whilst for some novels that is absolutely fine, others need the loose ends tying up, and I feel as if this is one of those.

Overall a great novel though.

The Most Difficult Thing about this book is putting it down. From page one,the reader wants to know how it will end. It is a tale of dysfunctional individuals,treachery and lies. Every character has baggage from the past and most lead a dishonest life. The interaction between them is well constructed. It is unclear why Anna needs to have two lives and be dishonest about her parents and this is never really resolved. The story runs well but the ending,they me,was a bit unsatisfactory.

Enjoyed this book. The interactions between who and what we think is happening/real are well drawn out. The author has great insight into human need and relationships.

I really wanted to like this book but sadly I cared nothing for any of the characters and felt this was a tried and tested formula that other writers have done much better.

This is an extremely complex book- a good read but quite difficult to track at times. I think a bit more transparency of who is working for which agency would have helped me as it was all quite muddy (probably intentionally!) at times.
I liked the character of Anna, although her relationship with both David and her children was difficult to fathom as she seemed to be in it for all the wrong reasons but then with some of the right feelings.
The story was well paced although most of the action and twists to the tale were in the last handful of chapters and made it quite complicated to follow having been fairly sedate in the first few chapters.
Overall an enjoyable read but definitely one where you need to be able to commit to reading in big chunks otherwise it would be easy to miss some of the nuances.

I felt this book was well written and I enjoyed it. The plot was rather complex in places and I found the moving between each chapter with a different character was sometimes disorientating. However, overall i found the book held my attention.


The author did well to provide an emotional connection with the characters. It was easy to picture the setting and pick up on the family dynamics that were taking place. I must admit at one time I was never really sure who was the baddie! This kept my attention to continue reading.

Although the plot felt rather far fetched in places I still felt the book had a ring of authenticity about it. The complexities of spying are unknown to me as a reader so it was interesting to be immersed in the plot..

A good read.

I couldn't decide between a 3 or 4 star rating for the book. I took a look at Amazon UK at the pre-release reviews and most seemed to be full of praise. So this made me wonder if I had missed anything. I have a habit of mentally comparing some books I am reviewing with 'The Kind Worth Killing' by Peter Swanson - just about my all-time favourite book. in conclusion I felt that 'The Most Difficult Thing' was a pretty ordinary book for 80% but then in the final 20% turned into something absolutely superb. I found myself constantly stopping to try to take in all the brilliant twists and turns and wishing some of these could have been in earlier chapters.
I reached 99% and was desperate to find a final twist - but no!! You are left with the Acknowledgements and nothing. I think the book really needs maybe a one-liner right at the end to make you think - yes I got that - brilliant!
So my review is 80% ordinary, 19.99% fantastic and 0.01% so, so disappointing

The Most Difficult Thing is the first outing for Charlotte Philby, whose personal history has created quite a stir with regards to the publication of this book. So I think with such a high calibre of recommendations and personal connections I came into this book with high hopes. Sadly this wasn't for me. It was a bit of a slog to get through, I found the characters all over the place, randomly making decisions that I just couldn't quite get my head around. And ultimately, I have absolutely no idea what happens in this book. I feel I investigated quite a lot of my time to end up with many, many, many more questions than answers. Whilst I like a good cliff hanger, there's a good cliff hanger, and then there's giving the reader absolutely nothing.

That's not to say there weren't some good parts of the book; the intricacies of the plot, the amazing descriptions of the surroundings were great. Maybe the author just tried to throw too much at this one? And going forward less will be more.

Unfortunately not just my cup of tea. But, it wasn't so awful that it would stop me trying Charlotte Philby again.

Anna or Marianne is haunted by the death of her little brother when they are children. She changes her name and lives a life of lies. At college she meets two people who are her closest friends. One Meg suddenly disappears from her life when she marries the other, David. However she is really in love with a Harry and has only married David to spy on him. Harry tells Anna that David’s father is a bad man and allows her to assume he works for MI6 and that he is her handler.

I had to work really hard to read this book. It was described as a spy story but the spying was just sneaking around and hiding a second phone where absolutely anyone could find it while pining for a man who pretended to be someone but wasn’t. I didn’t not like Anna. She spent so much time staring into peoples eyes and seeing so much, it became preposterous. Meg’s disappearance and reappearance seemed arbitrary and in the end meaningless. I spent most of the book wondering what Marianne had done to take the blame for her brother and what David’s father had done that Harry really wanted to know. And Maria’s part seemed so odd. Overall the story line was very interesting and the twist at the end was great but the characters were too thin for me.

Philby's debut novel is a triumph - a blend of domestic noir and spy genres, I found it a compulsive and gripping read. She has cleverly woven the plot so nothing is quite as it seems - with all the strands brilliantly pulled together with mounting tension as the novel reaches its conclusion. All the characters are well-drawn but I found Anna particularly fascinating as a woman protagonist in what we are used to seeing as a typically male profession, and the choices she makes that ultimately determine her fate. A great read.

As a reader of suspense and thrillers I was looking forward to reading and reviewing The Most Difficult Thing by Charlotte Philby from the description sent for a preview pre press release.copy.

Thank you to the author, HarperCollins and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

The story is based around four central characters - Anna, David, Harry and Maria

The Prologue has Anna about the leave her twin daughters Stella and Rose to start a new life without them,

Then the book starts with Anna, Meg and David being friends from university and staying as friends after their lives take different paths. Anna and Meg having an internship at a newspaper and David working his way up the career ladder in the City.

Another character enters the story in the form of “Harry” a reporter at the same newspaper that Anna and Meg had their internship with, but Anna had never seen him in the office, but is introduced to Anna when he arrives at a pub where Anna, Meg and David are drinking.

Harry is then unceremoniously sacked. This leads Anna to try to find out the reason why as Harry is a renown reporter. Anna is living a life of deceit and lies, even in her story of growing up and her earlier life before university.

Anna was a twin and after the death of her 6 year old brother, her mum and dad spiral into blaming her for his death after not watching him as she was asked whilst her mum goes off to do some paper work for her dad at the office and leaving her feeling unloved and no longer wanted.

Anna falls for Harry, but Meg is constantly telling her that it’s David who loves her and whilst Anna is in a relationship with Harry, Meg suddenly leaves their flat share with no explanation leaving Anna bereft and questioning what she had done to make Meg leave.

The story then really starts to unfold when Harry asks Anna to start sleeping with David as well as himself in exchange for information on David’s family company run by his dad Clive. A company that on the outside looks wonderful but underneath there is deceit and corruption and children and adults are dying in Africa from being poisoned by toxic waste.

Harry seems to have Anna wrapped around his little finger, leaving her for days, weeks with no contact and leading to Anna becoming eratic and unsure of what she is doing.

When she goes to Greece with David to meet Clive, Harry asks her to spy on Clive and to obtain information about the company and report back. Whilst there Anna is introduced to Maria an old friend of David’s since childhood and then the story is based around Anna and Maria telling their story, but who is telling the truth?

Anna becomes pregnant a few months into her relationship with David, but she is still sleeping with Harry. She is still spying on David and trying to gain information about Clive when one day there is a laptop on in the bedroom which leads her to question was it there earlier in the day? She has a look and is disturbed by what she is reading and copies the information into a secret email account for her and Harry to connect by.

After the twins are born, Maria is asked to come over to England to help with the twins as Anna is not coping since a traumatic birth. But is it the birth? Is it that she is having to spy on David? Or is it because she was a twin and now has twin girls and she cannot connect with them due to her own childhood?

As the story was unfolding, I was finding myself wanting to read more and more and not wanting to put my Kindle down. The ending was a good twist, but as others have said in their review, why the sudden end? Whose eyes were looking through the letter box? MI16, Maria, Clive, David, Harry? ....... or is Meg who she says she is? Did she go along with Harry and his plan? You never find out.

I must point out two errors that I found in my copy
1) When Anna was in the Maldives she gets a glass of water, but finishes drinking from a cup
2) When Anna and Clarissa go to lunch, they decide to eat at the bar, and then the papers are spread over a table whilst they eat.

I was torn between 4 or 5 stars and decided on 4, but only because I was surprised at the abrupt ending and left wondering was Anna murdered?