With thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Staughton for this ARC in exchange for and honest review.

The Understudy is about a four friends and wannabe actresses Jess, Ruby, Annabelle and Sadie. The girls attend the Orla Flynn Academy for Performing Arts.

Ruby had moved to the UK from America the year before and quickly made friends with the three girls. Her mother Kendall was lonely and became friends with the mums, Carolyn, Elise and Bronnie.

Ruby became jealous of Jess because she was more talented, and started to bully her for months.. Ruby was disciplined and she learnt the error of her ways. Jess, Annabelle and Sadie forgave her and they remained friends.

The following September started with a bang when Jess found a musical jewellery box in her locker. Inside the ballerina was covered in blood. When questioned by the school Ruby denied leaving the box in Jess`s locker. On the same day the headmaster Adam Ricki decided the four girls should befriend new student Imogen.

However the the mums are do not trust Imogen. During a sleep over at Sadie,`s Elise found a prescription for anti psychotic medication in her bag. Isobel caught her and said you should be careful. During the sleepover Isobel fell down stairs but was unharmed. Isobel claimed it was an accident but later told Bronnie that Ruby pushed her. Ruby denied the claim but her friends distanced themselves from her and no longer included her. Kendall was also upset when the mums also started to ignore her. When somebody left a death threat for Ruby in the school grounds, Kendall starts to investigate.

I have been excited to read The Understudy since I discovered my two favourite authors, Sophie Hannah and Claire Mackintosh were collaborating on a book. I enjoyed it so much I started this book yesterday morning and finished today. The writing was seamless and I didn't notice when another author took over the plot. I have a book from Holly Brown in my TBR collection which I am now looking forward to reading.

The story was about the mothers rather than the girls. The woman were frenemies and were teaching hiding their own secrets. My favourite was Annabelle`s mum Bronnie. She was the nicest of the woman, I thought it was lovely she saved a chip fork from a trip to the seaside. The worst was Sadie`s mum Elise. She was thoroughly uncaring and just wanted to protect her own interests.

The showdown at the end as gripping and told a serious message. I highly recommend this book and hope these ladies collaborate on another story together.

This story centres around the mothers of four girls who all attend a performing arts school. Jess, Ruby Bel and Sadie attend the Orla Flynn Academy. They are studying musical theatre and form a close friendship group. The mothers, Carolyn, kendall, Bronnie and Elsie are also friends until an incident where bullying occurred the previous year. The headmaster suggests that they introduce a new girl into the group. The group make Imogen welcome but soon cracks appear.

The story is told from the mothers point of view. There are four mums, five girls and a headmaster to try and remember. The headmaster was the easiest. At times, I couldn't remember which child belonged to which mother. There is weird things tale place and at times they're a it terrifying. The others while protecting their own daughter, start accusing the other girls and even the other mothers. There is plenty going on in this well written storyline. Each author has managed to do a good job writing their part and and they all join up seamlessly. I did enjoy this book.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton and the authors Sophie Hannah; lare Mackintosh; B.A. Paris; Holly Brown for my ARC in exchange for an honest review

I was really looking forward to reading this book, as I am a fan of all four writers involved and have read most of their books. The writing itself is great, and flows seamlessly for saying it was written by four people each with their own style of writing.

There are so many characters to remember four mums and their daughters, the introduction of a new student and the headmaster. At times remembering who was who’s mum was confusing until you got into the story more. The story is told from the points of view of each mother, and reads like ten episodes.

The girls are attending a performing arts school in London. In the previous term there had been some bullying from Ruby towards Jess but this is now supposed to have been sorted, although not to the satisfaction of Carolyn who is Jess’s mum, she felt the headmaster Adam Racki should have done more. He is caught between the two mothers, and then informs them there is a new student starting and he hopes this will help the girls sort out their differences, by showing the new girl the ropes and making her feel welcome, the new girl is Imogen Curwood and she has no mother fighting her corner, but she is a proper drama queen.

Weird and terrifying things start to happen and initially they all look at the new girl, obviously because she is new and none of these things happened before she arrived. Then Ruby becomes the main suspect because of previous bullying, until Ruby becomes the victim of the attacks. The next thing the mother’s are attacking each other’s daughters, and at one stage even each other. But could it be there is something or someone they are missing? Someone they wouldn’t even think of pointing the finger at?

I found this book so slow to begin with, and yes there is drama and things going on, but it just didn’t work for me. I didn’t like any of the characters and I feel that with a book you want at least someone you are rooting for, but here there was no one I really didn’t care for them. There was a fair bit of repetition, as well as information that I felt wasn’t needed as it didn’t add to the story itself, and if you took it out it wouldn’t have been missed. Parts of it were boring, then it would grab you for a bit, then be boring again. There was no wow factor, no big surprise at the end. It does have some twists and turns in it but just not enough to keep you really engaged where you couldn’t wait to turn the page. For me personally I was disappointed and didn’t enjoy it. I will re-iterate that I couldn’t fault the writing. The plot was there but I just expected a bit more.

I would like to thank netgalley and Hodder paperbacks for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

I found I had a similar problem as many of the other reviewers with this book and it definitely felt like a case of 'too many cooks'. I've read Sophie Hannah and BA Paris before so was expecting really good things from this but it just didn't quite meld for me. I found the story jumped around a lot and some of the plot lines were just quite unbelievable. I really wanted to like it but unfortunately it wasn't for me.

This was an interesting book although I agree with another reviewer that it kept on crossing lines between the UK and the US in grammar and spelling, I'm sure aimed at an overseas market but still annoying for us in England, At one time one of the UK mothers made a comment about cents and in another chapter a characters name was wrong, proof reading please. I checked a couple of times that it actually was set in the UK. Throughout the book there were definite moments where you felt it could have finished there yet I was surprised to see there was so much still to read, perhaps this is where the four authors fell short, as it affected the flow of the story. , Unfortunately the premise of the story wasn't enough to keep a whole book going, it could have been if they'd taken a lot more chances, but by the end I was a little bored with it all..The thing that annoyed me most was that in almost every page, one of the girls was crying, there was so much constant crying that it really got on my nerves. Would older teenage girls cry so much, I honestly don't think so and certainly one wouldn't cry for half an hour because she wanted to sleep in different bed during a sleep over. Girls today are a lot hardier and social media savvy than in the past and really would not cry in front of their peers constantly. The slightest thing would send one of them (usually Ruby or the enigmatic Imogen) into floods of tears until their faces swelled up, really??????????.

thoroughly enjoyed The Understudy, it was wildly entertaining and twistier than a bag full of pretzels on a rollercoaster.

It is peppered with highly dislikeable yet extraordinarily engaging character’s, set within a highly competitive environment, where each passing chapter sends another curveball your way.

I loved the sense of baton passing as each of these brilliant authors add their own peculiar talents to the mix and this was one of those books where I often spoke out loud to it as one or another of the actions and reactions of this mad group dynamic made me crazy.

A whole lot of fun with an edgy, bitchy unpredictable vibe. Genuinely addictive.

Recommended.

This book is a collaboration between four writers of psychological/thriller books, and will interest many readers because of this.
It’s told through the eyes of four mothers of daughters at a performing arts academy. Carolyn is a Cambridge Law Professor, with aspirations to write musical theatre. Bronnie is a stay at home mum, in charge of costumes and wardrobe. Elise is a driven businesswoman with her own tech company. Kendall is an American cancer survivor who is very invested in her daughter.
The girls had a falling out the previous term, but all seemed resolved until some nasty things start happening again. Also, a new student. Imogen arrives who changes the dynamics.
The mothers resolve to understand what is going on, while still promoting their daughters’ best interests.
The plot was interesting, but there was a lot of repetition, and unnecessary information, which left me skip-reading pages in order to move the story on. (Just how many times can you discuss falling down stairs?)
When the denouement came it was rather an anti-climax.
There were the bones of a good story there but I was disappointed.

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

My thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for a copy of “ The Understudy “ for an honest review.
Clare MacKintosh and BA Paris are 2 of my favourite authors , that I have recommended to many ,so I was really looking forward to reading this book. Unfortunately I didn’t feel that this book worked. It seemed a bit “ two many cooks...”.
I found the characters unpleasant and I spent a lot of time trying to remember who was who.
Sadly I really struggled to finish the book.
I look forward to reading the authors individual books in the future.

A book surrounding four children at an acting school and their respective mothers. The book deals with the topic of bullying and asks the question: will bullies ever learn their lesson? There is intrigue about who is victimising Ruby Donovan, a former bully herself. The book kept me turning the pages but the mothers were unlikeable, especially Bronnie but it was good to hear the different author voices. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book.

I was intrigued by the multiple authorship of this book. I have read books by B A Paris and that really drew me in and that they other authors are also well regarded.

Four mothers and their daughters - eight characters first off to keep track on and I couldn't. Which daughter was with which Mother I kept trying to recall as I read on. I would have thought that the different authors would have each had a voice but they for me just didn't.

The four girls are all budding stars, friends whilst also frenemies at times, the same can be said for their Mothers too. A new girl arrives and upsets the dynamics of the group - she has no Mother with her so she was slightly easier to keep track of.

I didn't warm to any of the main characters and once the "mystery" was just about solved I actually groaned out loud. I really began to lose interest in the book. I did though make it to the end - just.

Disappointed in this book. A minor point, it's set in England and yet throughout American spellings are used which just kept annoying me. I'm giving it three out of five stars. My thanks to Netgalley for a ARC to review. The book is out on 3 October.

I have previously read work by three of the four authors and was keen to read this collaborative work. To be honest I’m not sure I would have known from reading it that there were four authors involved had the chapters not been attributed to them individually. With 4 mothers and their daughters involved it was difficult for me to remember who they all were (might be an age thing on my part). I actually didn’t care much for any of the characters which left me with nobody to root for. I’m left with a similar feeling to having binge watched a tv box set and where I’m not sure if I would watch a second season. It held my attention from start to finish but still seemed a little lacking. Maybe I set my expectations too high due to previous knowledge of the authors.

So, The Understudy, a book with an amazing pedigree of 4 top of their game writers although I must confess to only reading Paris and Mackintosh previously, both of which I have read everything they have published and mainly enjoyed
The book is split into long chapters and ( I only realised at Chapter 4 😎 ) whichever author has written that chapter it is indicated at the start, they then all come together to write the end chapter/finale
Does this work? For me, yes, it did, I did notice difference in the writing styles and one authors chapters I felt were way ahead of the others but there was no hurtling difference in styles or format that caused a ‘continuation problem’ or made the book jerky or the flow stop, imo the 4 worked well in that way
The story, mmmmmmm, well the story is about 4 women and their 4 daughters all at a private arts college and revolves around a new pupil who is thrust into the group with alarming consequences, all 9 and inc the headmaster 10 are annoying in their own way however all 10 equally have fascinating character traits, not one of them would I like to meet! Together though they make an unrivalled team of privilege and other unashamed characteristics
The story is at times laboured and points and scenes repeated and it can be confusing with 10 main players to remember who is who and what has happened to each
However there is a leason to be learnt from the book, not saying what but lets just say revenge is a dish best served cold, well it is in this story, also there is a very serious theme to the book that becomes ever more clear as the story goes on
Not the greatest ending to a book I have to say and a bit lacklustre when you consider the talented authors having a hand in writing it
This book will have much interest re the 4 authors and the book is more than passable but not outstanding
6/10
3 Stars

I am a big fan of all of these authors individually, however I’m not sure this novel worked. The storyline is plausible enough, but character voices were not well defined enough and I got confused at times.

I was pleased to receive this book from NetGalley to review as I had read and enjoyed novels by three of the four authors. The plot revolves around four girls and their mothers. The girls are friends who attend the Oral Flynn school for performing arts, the mothers are less friendly especially since one of the girls, Ruby, badly bullied another girl, Jess, the year before. At the beginning of the book, Ruby is being accused of a practical joke against Jess once more and Jess' mother Carolyn is furious and demanding she be expelled. However Ruby denies it and the head teacher takes her side and suggests that the tour girls befriend a new girl Imogen. Soon Ruby is being targeted but who is behind it and is it even real?

The story is told through the viewpoints of the four mothers. One of the pitfalls of a multiple viewpoint like this is that differentiation of the voices is often not well done. This is no exception. I found it really hard to keep track of who was who and found that the voices were not well formed at all. The characters were shallow and unlikeable and the plot although it started off well enough soon degenerated into overblown hysteria. The ending was particularly poor. One of the worst I've ever read.

Overall then I can't recommend this book. It was a good enough idea but poorly executed. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Four mothers with four daughters and how far will they go to protect them. All of them go to the Orla Flynn Academy for the Performing Arts and all are very competitive.
A new girl arrives, Imogen, and wants to be in the gang. Who is she? and when things start happening who is in danger and from whom?
The mothers want the truth but at what cost to themselves?
This is cleverly written between the four authors and will keep you gripped. although I did feel it was slow in places.

I was so looking forward to reading this novel as two of my favourite authors have been involved in writing it.

It is the story of four teenagers, and their mothers, who attend an exclusive preforming arts school, Orla Flynn Academy. The teenagers are best friends, which means the mothers know each other even though they do not appear to get on that well.

The story begins with Carolyn, Elise, Kendall and Bronnie (the mothers) in with the head of the Academy as a nasty ‘joke’ has been played on Jess, Carolyn’s daughter and the blame is heading Ruby, daughter of Kendall’s way. We are made aware that Ruby almost was excluded last term because of something she did to Jess.

A new teenager, Imogen, begins at the school the day this ‘joke’ has been played and the head asks for the four teenagers to look after her. It soon becomes clear that all is not as it seems and not just with the new arrival.

There are many clever twists and interesting dialogues throughout. Having said that I didn't like any of the characters and did not really become involved or invested in the story.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and the authors for my ARC in return for my honest review.

Both Sophie Hannah and Clare Mackintosh are must-read authors for me; I’ve read a couple of books by B.A. Paris, but I’m not familiar with Holly Brown. A book co-written by four people sounded an intriguing proposition, and it actually works pretty seamlessly. It helps that it’s told mainly through the voices of four women - Elise, Bronnie, Kendall and Carolyn - mothers of girls who attend a stage school, the Orla Flynn Academy. When a weird new girl, Imogen, arrives at the school, things get even more peculiar than they already were.

It’s all a bit confusing to begin with - four mothers, four daughters, plus Imogen - thankfully the husbands don’t have much of a role to play or I’d never have sorted them all out in my mind. I did sometimes forget which woman was narrating which section, but generally it worked well.

It’s interesting to speculate on how the four-author thing worked in practice - the four separate narrators is an obvious strategy, but I wonder how they came up with the overall plot. The plot - the Imogen stuff - had a definite Sophie Hannah flavour about it, I thought.

An enjoyable read with an interesting premise. I didn’t like it as much as I’ve liked some of the individual books from these writers... but as a one off I did enjoy it.

These are all authors that I like but I didn't feel that a combined story written by four authors worked very well .

The Understudy is a unique concept in that the book has been written by four different authors. It features four mothers and their daughters who are best friends. It’s a tale of bullying, secrets and accidents and whilst enjoyable I did sometimes lose sense of who was related to who.

Overall I would rate this book 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder and Stoughton and the authors for the chance to review.

This is typically twisty and turn, I couldn't put it down but I did feel a flicker of disappointment at the ending - NO SPOILERS - it was so good and so unexpected (although to read Hannah's books is to expect the unexpected - and it will still blind-side you!) that I wanted just a little bit more!