This was a gripping, twisty thriller, with characters you could empathise with. The scenario is interesting - political power play and potential presidential candidates - alongside a much darker story around rape and sexual assault. It’s a real page turner, and it will have you imagining what you’d do to seek justice. Can’t wait to read more from this author.

I am trying to address by to be read shelf so I downloaded this as its been sitting on my shelf since 2020.

This is an intelligent thriller with twisty plot that keeps you intrigued until the end. The subject is harrowing and there are some graphic scenes of rape and torture which can make harrowing reading

Natasha Winthrop is an up-and-coming lawyer, with Presidential ambitions, who kills a rapist in her own home. As damage limitation she hires political trouble-shooter Maggie Costello to limit the damage. What develops is an intelligent thriller as Maggie weaves through Natasha’s background and history, but also touches on social media

I didn’t realise until after I finished the novel that Maggie Costello has 5 books, and this is the 5th but despite coming to this late, I read and enjoyed this as a stand alone novel although will look out for her other books as she is such an interesting character.

Thank you to Netgalley, and to the publisher for an ARC in return for my honest review.

A great thriller and loved its use to political issues such as the #metoo movement, I haven’t read any other Bourne books but I definitely plan to! Great excitement throughout and I loved Maggie’s character.

An up and coming lawyer attempting to defend herself during a home invasion ends up killing her attacker. On investigation by the Police, The lawyer's story does not add up and more inconsistencies are uncovered by Maggie whom investigates the Lawyers past. A twisty tale ensues that highlights the talented writings of Sam Bourne.

American political thrillers aren’t my usual genre at all, but I thought I would try something different.

This book opens with a harrowing scene. Natasha Winthrop, a young lawyer, is being violently sexually assaulted by a masked intruder. Seemingly in an act of self-defence, the intruder ends up dead. Natasha is arrested as the police aren’t convinced by her story.

It turns out that the intruder is a wanted rapist and suspected killer. The media has a field day and a lot of people are on Natasha’s side.

Maggie is a “political troubleshooter” and Natasha has hired her to help with the situation as Natasha intends to run for president.

I really liked Maggie’s character and I felt she drove the story.

The story takes place over a week and the chapters are relatively short.
To begin with, I found I was interested to find out what was going to happen and this kept me reading.
However, the story soon started to tail off and I found the pacing very strange. At times it felt really slow going and almost boring. There’s an awful lot going on and I wonder if there’s just too many different threads within the story.

In addition to the story from Maggie and Natasha’s point of view, there are also previous cases mentioned and the story jumps around quite a lot. I felt this really interrupted the flow of the story and made it feel quite disjointed.

I had guessed a couple of parts so this meant it lacked suspense for me.

Many parts of the book go into detail about sexual assault and the poor conviction rate of rapists. Although difficult to read, this is unfortunately based on fact and the author has tried to raise awareness of this.

Overall, I think this book has potential and Natasha’s real motive for involving Maggie is quite clever. Unfortunately it just felt too slow for me and not as pacy as I had hoped.

I really enjoyed this book. I got really invested in the characters and there were lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing. Really gripping and definitely worth a read.

An astute political style thriller overlayed with contemporary issues and written from two female protagonist viewpoints. A fan of Scandal, I enjoy the concepts of female political fixers. This story embraces many current issues, which give it a twenty-first-century edge.

It's an engaging read that allows the reader to draw their conclusions.

I received a copy of this book from Quercus via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I'm not sure I would have picked up this book ordinarily, based on the description, but I found it a thoroughly compelling read.

I haven't read any of the previous books in the series, and save for a couple of mentions of Maggie's history, I didn't feel it distracted from the plot - you can definitely read this as a standalone book.

The book is a little politics-heavy, which can weigh down the fast pace of some elements of the plot, so I think you have to be broadly interested in American politics to get to grips with this one.

It's topical, with hints of #MeToo, without being too cliched. There's enough room to breathe and I think it's quite respectful towards the reader, allowing us to make up our own mind. The treatment Natasha receives from the police is, unfortunately, all too common, and it's interesting to see a book published in 2020 not adhering to the 'new' way of looking at sexual assault cases.

I'd recommend giving this book a chance - it really wasn't what I was expecting.

To kill a man - Sam Bourne

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

I was intrigued by the blub for this book and looking forward to reading it.

I enjoyed the start and was quite a page turner, but the more I read the less interested I got.. Maybe it was the whole theme of the book, maybe the characters but sorry I just didn't enjoy it.

I would read more from Sam Bourne, so will try another time, but this was not one for me. Just a 2.5 rounded up to a 3.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An exciting, intelligent political thriller with two strong female protagonists.
A faced paced novel with a great plot and great characters and a fabulous ending.
Recommended.

Unfortunately I didn’t love this one as much as I was hoping to. I liked the idea behind it and the storyline, but it fell flat for me. I can see why some people love this one, but it just wasn’t for me.

To Kill A Man Sam Bourne
This book is bit of a slow burner, there are moments of high tension throughout though. There did seem to be a lot going on at times, although it did all pull together in the end.
I would like to read more from this author in future and do see great potential 3/5

To Kill a Man by Sam Bourne is a political thriller which held my attention throughout. The plot was intricate, complex and so well constructed. I enjoyed being introduced to Maggie Costello, the main character and felt that I knew her although I’d never read any of the other books in the series.

Political thrillers are not my usual choice but this one surprised me. I recommend it to anyone who likes a strong plot and believable characters.

My thanks to Netgalley and Quercia Editions Ltd Publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Natasha Winthrop has to defend herself when she is attacked in her own home - but then her attacker ends up dead on her floor. Not only does she come from an exceptionally wealthy family but she is also hinted as a candidate for running as President of America. She instructs "troubleshooter" Maggie Costello to help prove that she acted in self defence and not planned the killing.
The flip side of the story goes into the political campaign of Senator Harrison who will be standing against Natasha if she runs for office.

The good points of this book is that it highlights the difficulties faced by victims of rape and sexual assaults with the shockingly low statistics of successful prosecutions and convictions. It hints that this violent act is almost becoming "acceptable" in society as so many attackers are brought to justice.

The down points of the book is that the author goes off at tangents quite frequently detailing previous cases dealt with by Costello and the political campaign for Harrison. Whilst towards the end of the book you understand the political links, to me there was far too much of information that was not relevant and took the focus off the main storyline.

A fascinating delve into the lower echelons of society. Cleverly written and a minefield of intrigue. This book is an absolute humdinger, I loved it.

This was a very disturbing story highlighting the fact that rape has become an accepted part of life with no come back for the perpetrator. That thought terrifies me and this story was a light in the darkness. If only!

A fast paced and enjoyable political tbriller. This is a tense gripping read, the sort of book you read faster and faster. I loved the feisty female characters and the many plot twists.
Highly recommended
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC

An exciting, intelligent political thriller with two strong female protagonists. Sam Bournes novels are intricately plotted and this was fast paced with a satisfying and thoughtful ending.

Natasha Winthrop, tipped as a potential runner for president of the United States, is assaulted in her own home by an intruder. However she defends herself leaving the attacker dead.

At first, Natasha is hailed as a heroine, the woman who fought back but she is subsequently arrested and calls on the help of political troubleshooter Maggie Costello. The police find evidence that question Natasha's version of events. Did Natasha arrange to meet her attacker?

This novel packs a punch and deals with a few topical social issues. There are plenty of plot twists and insights into the very murky world of American politics. I would highly recommend this thriller.

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

An intriguing and rewarding read! This book had me engaged from start to finish. Loved the style in which the book was written and the guts and determination of one of the main characters, Maggie Costello.