Becky walks into her boss' house. What she sees is him on on the floor with a woman underneath him who is definitely not his wife. She cried rape but Becky is not sure what she has witnessed.
This story goes back and forth to when Becky was a teenager at a party and what happened to her on that night.
I'm not sure how I feel about the book if I'm honest.
I had empathy for Amber when she asked for the witness to come forward and anger towards Becky for not but as Becky's story unfolds you can understand her reasons.
A bit of a slow read. I'm not sure how I would have dealt with the situation that Becky finds herself in and the outcome.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this for an honest review

My first Hannah Begbie book although I have "Mother" in my tbr pile.

I thought this story would remain with the main storyline or the write up on the back of the book but I found it went more along the lines of the character but it was from the witness of the "live" action that the story mainly lies with,

You can feel the emotion from the witness as she relives her own life experience. Lots of discussion could stem from this book and it will always be a topic of today (unfortunately).

I did feel that it took a while to warm up but once it got going you have to finish it to find out if justice comes to all.

I thought the premise of this book sounded interesting and a little different. I haven’t heard of Hannah Begbie, but based on this read, I’m sure she’s an author to follow. This is a a truly compelling read. The central characters are entirely plausible and the situation and moral dilemma created really resonates. It’s difficult to know where the story is going to go to next and I was kept guessing by the twists and turns. Clever plot development and a pacy read. Gripping stuff.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

This is my first read by Hannah Begbie and it was a great read, so will not be my last.

Becky is working hard to develop her career and her boss Matthew is helping her along the way. One night she decides to deliver something to his house and accidentally sees him having sex with a woman who is not his wife. She doesn’t disturb them and leaves quickly.

However, the woman claims she was raped and is aware that somebody saw the encounter. Becky has a dilemma.

This is clever and well plotted. The author addresses a difficult subject with care and diplomacy and I found it an engaging read.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK, HarperFiction and Helen Begbie for the ARC of ‘Blurred Lines’ in return for my honest review.

Good read. Highly recommended.

This was a very compelling read concerning a particularly topical subject; one woman’s word against a man’s, who is to be believed? Becky has worked very hard to develop her career in film production and has become a bit of a protégé of her boss Matthew. One evening she accidently sees Matthew having sex with a woman who isn’t his wife. Later the woman claims she was raped. Becky now has to face the moral dilemma of coming forward to say what she saw or keeping quiet and protecting her career.

This is a very well plotted novel which shifts between Becky’s past and present. Her past certainly sheds light on her thoughts and feelings about the situation she has witnessed. The characters are all well developed and authentic. The subject matter is delicately handled and with respect. This is the kind of novel which really leaves you thinking, what would I have done?

Blurred Lines will appeal to readers who like a thriller but also anyone who likes a thought provoking read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Eddie's Boy is my first book by the author but won't be the last for sure.
I always enjoyed stories where the hero is actually the villain and to discover what made them taking the decision of becoming part of the mafia or just working solo, it's an interesting concept for me.
The story is very well written and had me engaged from the first page to the last, with barely time for breaks because i found myself lost into the fast-paced action and twists and turns that kept coming at me with every chapter.
It's told in the present and past, then and now, how Michael Schaeffer, a retired sixty years old man is trying to catch up with his past and find out why the mafia is on his shadow. We get to read how he learned to be a hitman in the early years of his life and what a whirlwind his life has been.
It's suspenseful and I highly recommend it to the lovers of the genre

When Becky walks in on her boss having sex on the floor of his house, she is shocked as he is married and she holds him in high esteem he has helped her a lot in her career and she needs him to help her with the next step.

Becky has a daughter who she is hugely protective of and this is partly due to an incident that happened to Becky as a teenager that changed her life forever.

She has managed to overcome her past with the help of her best friend Adam and is now on the brink of making her own film which Matthew is championing.

When they return from Cannes she is summons to the office by Matthew an actress Amber Heath has made an allegation about Matthew and he wants Becky to help him. He says she is just using him to get publicity for her career. Becky doesn’t hesitate to support him, this is a man she likes and admires but there is small piece of her who wonders.

I really liked Becky she has had a really difficult time and she has overcome it to be successful.

Although this is her own doing she is grateful to Matthew for the opportunity. This is a dilemma for her because of her own personal experience. When she sees Amber attacked in the Media she is really angry.

When she sees that Amber is asking for a witness ‘ the woman in the kitchen’to come forward she doesn’t. This is a really topical read with the #metoo movement and shows how women are so very often disregarded and abused when accusing a famous man. Almost immediately it is the woman’s fault that she led them on, wants to further her career and so on.

This is a great read and it has got one of those jaw dropping twist that I love in a good thriller.

It is a rollercoaster of a read, shocking in places and I really loved it. I really enjoyed how the past and present stories help Becky to come to her decision.

Becky faces a traumatic moral dilemma Told from Becky's point of view, her past affecting her present emotions and reactions. This story uses contemporary issues and weaves them into an intricate plot. An unreliable protagonist means the reader doesn't know who to believe, wherever their empathy lies.
This is an immersive story. It includes the reader, what do they think? Not everything is what it seems, and this story illustrates this well.

Blurred lines is an absorbing, emotional read.

I received a copy of this book from Harper Fiction - Harper Collins UK in return for an honest review.

When Rebecca (Becky) Shawcross, 32, visits her boss’ house in West London unannounced one evening and sees him in a compromising position on his kitchen floor with a woman who isn’t his wife, she makes a sharp exit. She isn’t really sure what she saw and it’s none of her business who Matthew Kingsman socialises or has an indiscretion with.

Becky’s career is on the up – she’s a development assistant to Matthew, who is a film producer and the owner of Kingfisher Films, and he’s keen on her film idea, which is a contemporary retelling of the Greek tragedy, Medea, and is helping her to pitch it to directors and actors at the Cannes Film Festival.

When the story breaks and the woman is forced into making a statement to the press, she accuses Matthew of raping her and mentions that someone saw it happening. She appeals to this witness to come forward and speak to the police.

Becky has a traumatic event in her past that regularly causes her anguish, especially if she drinks as she suffers from panic attacks, and she needs to protect herself and daughter, Maisie, 15. The event constantly plays on her mind and has deeply affected her over the years, leading to self-harm, periods of depression and dark thoughts. We see flashbacks to this period of her life. She’s still trying to make sense of what happened and the alleged rape is bringing all her trauma to the surface.

Becky is also reluctant to speak to the police as she feels loyalty to Matthew, her mentor, and is worried about the effect this could have on her career in the film industry. She’s aware that it could be make or break for herself and her film just by being associated with the awful alleged events, whether Matthew is guilty or innocent. There are various rumours about the woman involved and Becky is torn between telling the truth and emotionally exposing herself or keeping quiet to protect Matthew and hoping that things blow over quickly with some tactical public relations.

There were some good twists and turns in Blurred Lines and it was a thought-provoking read with a moral dilemma about a shocking event. It cleverly linked to the devastating events from Becky’s past and she was greatly influenced by what had happened to her. She had made some wrong decisions but so had others around her.

Despite being nearly 400 pages long, I sailed through this fast-paced book and couldn’t put it down; I was desperate to find out what happened in both situations. I had my suspicions and was partially right but was still shocked by the turn of events.

Overall, this was a thought-provoking, gripping and emotional read. There are definitely two sides to every story and lines do become blurred. Throughout the book, there were people making wrong decisions that had awful repercussions for all involved. It’s a compelling story with believable characters whose betrayal and heartache are vividly described. This is a relevant story about consent and power in this era of #MeToo and discusses some distressing topics in a sensitive manner.

Becky is a single parent who has progressed from pregnant schoolgirl with no prospects to be on the cusp of realising her dream of making a movie with big name Backers, Producer and Actors 16 years later.
Becky lets herself into her Boss's house with a thank you bottle of Wine and sees him having sex with a woman on the kitchen floor. Not knowing what to do and despite thinking that the woman,who appears to make eye-contact, looks distressed she leaves the house hoping her Boss,Matthew, hasn't noticed.
Matthew is later accused of rape by the woman who asks via the media for the "woman in the kitchen" to step up as a witness. Matthew insists that the other party is lying and gave her consent.
Becky has her demons involving consent, she doesn't remember events that led to her daughter being conceived, only that it was at a a party where she was in no fit state to consent to anything and is planning to confront the person she thinks raped her. School-friend Adam always supported her from when he discovered she was pregnant and Becky's daughter Maisie calls him "Dad" as he's always been a father figure . While Becky hunts down her own attacker she supports Matthew in his defence.
That's the rather convoluted basis of what is a thought-provoking and very involving book that addresses ,in a balanced manner, very important current issues around consent.
Becky isn't always a character that the reader can empathise with, in fact often she's just plain horrible. she is however a believable example of how the trauma of sexual assault can blight someone's life years after the event, which makes some of her behaviour when she can back up someone else's claims seem even worse.

I did guess "the big reveal",but that really didn't spoil anything as I was engrossed in the story and keen to see how author Hannah Begbie would pull it off in a convincing manner, and that she did to great effect.
This isn't an easy book to read at times because of the subject matter but it's gripping and makes the reader think as various characters give their perceptions of events and gets it's message across without being "preachy".

Thanks to Hannah Begbie, HarperCollins Uk and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

This is an excellent thriller. I devoured it in a few hours because once I started, I didn’t want to stop. I had so many questions as I raced through the pages. What did Becky really see? Is the woman telling the truth or does she have a more sinister motive? This is a gripping thriller, full of twists and turns. Not everything you see is black and white. I found myself disliking Becky because of the choices she makes when the woman accuses Becky’s boss of rape. I didn’t understand her choice. I thought she was horrible person. Only when the author gradually reveals trauma from Becky’s past did I start to understand her motive. I really liked how much she changes across the book, basically giving up everything to help someone else, a completely selfless act.

Rape cases are difficult to read about and must be even harder to write about but this one is sensitively handled and highlights the extremely difficult decisions potential witnesses have to make before involving themselves in a trial. It's a thought-provoking, beautifully written, at times uncomfortable read about power, justice and moral responsibility that feels very relevant. Although I guessed the truth, I really liked the way it was revealed and the story kept me glued to the end.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

When Becky accidently sees her boss with a woman who isn't his s wife, she's horrified. She owes Matthew so much for all that's he's done for her career. But when the same woman accuses him of rape and asks for the witness to come forward, Becky doesn't know what to do.

The story jumps back and forth between Becky's past and the present day. This is a thought provoking read. That's hard to read in places. It's descriptivley and sensitively written. Becky is torn. She does not know if it was consenting sex or rape that she had witnessed. Will Becky eventually come forward?

I would like to thank NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book covered such a sensitive and emotional subject of rape.

It starts with a Woman called Becky, who unfortunately discovers her boss with a woman that isn't his wife on the floor of his kitchen.

Thinking she's unseen, she promptly leaves.

But as the woman says she was raped and appeals to the lady who saw it to come forward, Becky is left in a difficult situation whilst also reliving her ordeal years earlier.

Very well written and I finished in a day

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for ARC

' Becky doesn't know what to do when she sees the man who has helped build her career and make her life what it is, with another woman who isn't his wife. Things take a turn when the woman accuses him of rape, was what Becky saw what this woman says? Or is this just another actress making up rumours. And how does Becky's traumatic past come into this? '

So for me, it didn't grip me at first. I was reading it so slowly and I just wasn't getting hooked from the chapters - and in my notes my first thoughts were it isn't gripping me. Fast forward to say around 60% it started getting good. I wasn't to read on and it was getting good.

When the twists started happening and the truth started coming out, I have to admit for once I was actually right about my suspicious 🧐 however I was still shocked at how it unravelled and wasn't sure what the truth was.

I felt so sorry for Becky, and I just wish she had someone there to help her, maybe a friend because she pretty much faced it all alone.

I will say as some people do struggle with certain subjects, this could be a possible trigger as some bits are sensitive but it's a well written book. I would've given it 4 stars, but it lost a star only because it took me til 60% to get into it.

Thanks to Net Galley and Harper Collins UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
Becky is caught in the middle, having walked into her bosses house, she catches him on the floor with a woman who is not his wife. Becky knows what she saw, she wants to step forward and tell the police that she is the unidentified witness but does she really want to risk loosing absolutely everything by doing so, her career and her film. She stays silent, but is eaten up each day with guilt.
The story switches between past and present, Becky’s own trauma as a teenager, and her desire to know the truth about that evening too.
I found some of the characters in the book really unlikeable The ending was predictable long before the end.

I have to say, I’ve found this review a bit hard to write... this book connected with me on a level that I really wasn’t expecting. Usually with a thriller I like them to be explosive, with loads of twists and then a big shock at the end.

This seemed to start off with the big event and shock happening within the first couple of pages and I didn’t know where it was going to go from there. It takes the time to really connect with the character of Becky and you get to see the reasoning behind her actions and decisions.

When Becky walks in on her boss with a women that isn’t his wife she flees. What did she actually witness, was it consensual and he was having an affair or was this something more sinister.

When the female steps out claiming rape and asks for the woman in the kitchen to speak up Becky is trapped. Does she confess to what she saw or does she keep quiet, that way she’ll keep her film, the one thing she’s been working on for years.

When I first started reading this I felt I knew straight away what I’d do but Hannah’s writing takes you back to experience Becky’s last and it leads you to the reasoning behind the decisions she’s made, and is still making.

As you progress and the big secret gets revealed I did start to guess at the ending, but in a ‘no they wouldn’t do that..’ way. I didn’t expect it to actually happen.

This book has left me feeling a bit unsure if I’m honest... it goes so deep and really rattles to the core and touches at the #metoo where women are afraid to speak out about rape.

I wouldn’t exactly call this a thriller but more of a reflective read with an unexpected turn of events.

Blurred Lines is a gripping thriller that keeps the reader guessing .It is so well written ,a very difficult subject to write about ,good characters and quite thought provoking.Would you risk everything for the truth and peace of mind ? Many thanks to the Publisher the Author and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review .

A really gripping read that is oh so timely. An interesting twist on the he said/she said narrative as there was a witness to an attack, albeit a reluctant one. Well -written and interesting, this is bound to be a book on all the lists.

I really enjoyed this book and will give it a huge thumbs up. With a great story line and excellent main characters - I would highly recommend this book.