Great summer read, well written with bags of holiday atmosphere. I found it really compelling and creepy, even if the ending was a bit overdone.

The Heatwave ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Well this was a pleasant surprise. Thanks to @netgalley and @michaeljbooks for the chance to read this stylish and sinister book.

The perfect sunshine garden read. This book took me to France from the comfort of my garden. I devoured it within 24 hours.

Sylvie and her daughter Emma are forced to return to their vacant family home in the south of France after a small fire damages the house. The house that holds secrets around Elodie, Emma's older sister. Turmoil and lies will unravel themselves within La Reverie. The relationships between mother and daughter and the ability to cope with fear are really highlighted. What would you do when faced with the same difficult challenges as a mother.

On first glance I wrongly assumed this would be a fantastic light hearted contemporary fiction. It was so much more than that. Dred and suspense builds throughout the novel. The writing and narrative builds the perfect thriller/mystery. Oh what an ending!

This has to be a summer blockbuster book 📚🌞

Great book. This has been a perfect garden read whilst isolating. I have really enjoyed reading this book. I’ve definitely been hooked and although this is a new author for me, I’m excited for more.

Thanks to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kate Riordan's extraordinary stylish novel is the perfect tonic for the current fine weather that many of us can only experience vicariously. Riordan's sumptuous, evocative prose does a masterful job of transporting us to a place of sultry summer days that defy the darkness of the night. Not so for the dark night of the soul, however, which contrasts pervasively with the utopian-like setting of a summer in the South of France. For not everything is as it seems in this tautly-plotted, gripping summer read. A story of secrets and lies, evasion, and the proverbial smoke and mirrors that is the stock-in-trade of a thriller writer, this story had me hooked from the get-go. What makes Riordan's novel standout, however, is not only her pitch-perfect plotting, but her perceptive eye for the contradictions and complications that underlie the human condition, with its tangled interplay of personal relations. This is a story about a mother, Sylvie, and her two daughters, Emma and Elodie. Emma is ever-present in Sylvie's life, but Elodie? Well, Emma thought her sister was dead. The three are reunited at La Reverie, the scene of many a sultry summer, but also an incongruous setting for something else, something that alienated Elodie from her family, something that contributed to the lie that Elodie was no longer alive. Throughout the artfully constructed narrative the secrets of La Reverie are laid bare for the eager reader. Whilst undoubtedly a psychological thriller that truly lives up to its name, this is also a masterful exploration of family relations, in particular, the contested terrain of 'motherhood', as a biological imperative or a social construction, which is thoughtfully illuminated in 'The Heatwave'.

An enthralling, engrossing novel. A must-read for summer 2020.

Sultry and seductive, and so sinister. The creeping unease in this book is so well written, so atmospheric, I was transported completely to 90s France.

Review for Heatwave by Kate O’Riordan

Wonderful psychological thriller with a true family drama. Set in Summer in the South of France was the backdrop of the story but from the beginning I felt anticipation and foreboding taking a grip of me as I raced through the book.
All the characters were plausible each with their own idiosyncrasies. Sylvie the protagonist has not been back to the family house in France for many years but was informed there had been a fire at La Reverie and with her daughter Emma she decided to go there and sort it out.
Sylvie and her husband Greg separated leading Sylvie and Emma to live in London and Greg in Paris.
Emma understood there had been a terrible tragedy in the family thought her sister to be dead. However, while in France, Elodie, her sister unexpectedly turns up shocking both Emma and Sylvie. Sylvie was left having to explain to Emma that in fact Elodie had not died but also needed to take a decision about what and how much of the past to reveal. At the same time finding Elodie in their midst Sylvie understandably was extremely cautious and anxious about having her around and at the same time seeing Emma in awe of her newfound big sister.
The book offered many unexpected surprises throughout.
It left me wondering what I would have done faced with similar circumstances. There were some exceptionally difficult decisions taken to change the whole course of each of their lives.
This could be a great book group read with a lot to discuss.

This book was chilling, addictive and had me on the edge of my seat. It has all the qualities of a summer bestseller

Sylvie and Emma, her daughter, return to the family home in Provence. What happened many years ago to Elodie, Sylvie's eldest daughter? What secrets and tragedy does the house hold?

This book grabbed my attention because it’s set in summer in the south of France in a rambling old home on the outskirts of a village. What better setting for a thrilling poolside read?

Sylvie, the main character, is a beautiful shambles, much like the family home she has decided to pack up. The house is clearly a metaphor for the family: it’s falling apart but everyone is too invested in it to simply move on.

The narrative reminded me a little of Du Maurier - there was an impending sense of dread building and the reader is constantly questioning whether the narrator is entirely reliable in relation to her first-born daughter. I loved that and the dynamics of the relationships in the book. This is one novel where actually I'd have been happy if less had happened - it was the threat and the not-knowing that was interesting and exciting. I didn’t feel I needed any big reveals.

Frankly, anything that gets close to Du Maurier is a good thing. There is a really well-written build. I also loved the way the characters were written - realistically none were without flaws, and the heat described was truly visceral, as one might expect from the title.

Told from a first-person perspective it was never entirely clear why the character was addressing her second daughter - almost as an apology for the past. Nevertheless, I will certainly read more by this author.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin UK Michael Joseph and the author for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Heatwave by Kate Riordan a five-star read that has the mixings of a summer blockbuster. This will have you gripped on every page, and have you wondering what would I do? It’s a powerful read that will keep you on your toes, and one I don’t want to write much else about other than pick this up and don’t miss a fantastic read as I know my words wont do it justice.

This was a fast read, well paced but full of surprises.
Sylvie, the protagonist, is contacted by a solicitor to inform her of fire damage at their house in France, which is part owned by her sister but has been left standing empty. Sylvie and her daughter Emma go to sort out the damage at La Reverie. Whilst there, secrets are revealed when Emma's sister Elodie turs up unexpectedly, shocking Emma, who thought that her sister was dead.
As readers we are taken back and forth in time to explain Elodie's problems and the reasons why Sylvie thought it best to keep quiet about her still being alive. Separated from her husband Greg, Sylvie had built their lives on a lie, and when Elodie returns the drama is only about to begin.
This book is suitable for all those who love psychological thrillers and family drama with a twist.

What happens when you have a difficult relationship with your child? What if one of your children poses a threat to another one? How does that make you feel as a parent? This book makes it possible to get into the head of such a parent and it's well done. It did leave me wondering about the point of view of the daughter. I never got a real understanding of what had happened to her and why. But that was not really the point of the book, I believe. All in all, a good story with well drawn characters that keeps you interested to the very end. To be saved for the summer.

I was interested in this story at first, but after half way it seemed to get repetitive and predictable. I did like the setting, which was sultry and atmospheric. I really did not like the character of the mother - she seemed incapable of making any decisions and used drink to mask her problems. Greg, the husband, was useless. Poor Emma was kept in the dark right up to the end. The sister was a superfluous character. The plot ended in melodrama and there was an epilogue which was again predictable.

A really good read, and the dilemma between a mothers love and a mothers fear.......a book about the inner turmoil of how you would handle a situation that would tear you between love and hate....this book does just that....
Sylvie has to return to her home in the south of France... but also to the past as it starts to come back on her and with her.....
Two daughters who she loves but also who she fears, not just fears for herself, but for the second daughter......
This is a book that will hold you spell bound and will also question what you would do in this situation...... you really need to read this for yourself and give your own thoughts as to how you would do it ....

For me there is no doubt that Kate Riordan has the balance of love and fear in this book ..... the pull between two daughters and how Sylvie in the book deals with them...... i almost hold my breath as she makes decisions around her daughters.... the feeling of her fear and dread and i find myself agreeing in justifying her actions, or wondering if i would do it different .....

A book that will take you with it, will also make you question your own thoughts and will ultimately make you wonder if this is what you would do

I had high hopes for this book but unfortunately I didn’t finish it. Although the writing is beautiful and the book captures the scenery and ambience of France perfectly the story just didn’t move fast enough for me. This wouldn’t put me off trying other books by this author though as the character’s are skilfully created and the writing is excellent.

I loved the atmosphere of this novel, how as soon as I started reading I could see and feel everything that the characters were. The story starts instantly with no fuss or waffle: a letter, returning to a place she used to live, a mystery. I was drawn in by the style as well as the plot, it's written like she's telling her daughter the story, or writing her a letter. I enjoyed the way the story unfolded, the tense and sometimes gothic moments when they get to the house, the hints to something dark happening in the past.
However I was disappointed with the reveal of the past, it didn't feel as dramatic as the build up suggested.
And the ending did not deliver for me, something I didn't think would happen with a Kate Riordan book. Although there was a subtle hint of the surprise at the end I didn't think that it was enough and it felt contrived and added on rather than something that was thought out. I also didn't really understand what happened in the end. This let down the whole story for me.

Absolutely loved this blinder of a novel - couldn't put it down! It had all my favourite elements - brilliant setting/location, atmosphere, some sort of ominous backstory. engaging characters and brilliant pacing. I couldn't stop turning the pages on my kindle, eager to find out what happened next as Riordan ramped up the tension.

Set in an old manor house in the south of France during a heatwave, Sylvie has returned to the house to put it up for sale after the death of her parents. Bringing along her younger daughter for what is ostensibly a holiday, Sylvie is unprepared to face secrets from her path and what exactly happened with her older daughter, the enigmatic and terrifying Elodie.

Loved this book and would absolutely read anything else by this author. If you like female sociopaths and gripping psychological thrillers in the vein of Liz Nugent, Sophie Hannah and Sabine Durrant, this is one for you.

Of all the books I've read through NetGalley so far, this was my favourite.

I felt I was there with the characters, and couldn't wait to get back to the story when I had to stop reading. Wonderful suspense and tension... And I really cared about the mother and daughter and what happened to them. Loved to hate the awful father!

One very slight negative, for me, was that the denouement happened a little too quickly. But this is a tiny criticism. Definitely a five-star read!

Highly recommend - a fun, pacy, addictive beach read. The tension in the story builds exceptionally well, the narrator is mostly very sympathetic and her emotions ring true. It’s a thriller that also evokes bigger questions about motherhood, but is still thoroughly entertaining.
I raced through it (at the beach) and it’s one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read - shocking without being melodramatic, characters that feel real and very grippping.
Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.

The Heatwave is a thriller set in France during a heatwave .Sylvie is French but now lives in London with her daughter Emma but she returns to the Family home in Provence because there has been a fire .The story is narrated from the past to the present ,it is fast paced and the descriptions of the house and countryside are so realistic I could imagine I was there .The book is full of mystery ,intrigue twists and turns and in the end new beginnings .Many Thanks to the Publisher the Author and NetGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review .