The Golden Rule is a majestic reworking of one of the most memorable classic crime thrillers of all time - Alfred Hitchcock’s ”Stranger’s on a Train” and manages to pay homage to the original masterpiece whilst showcasing Amanda Craig’s talents for spinning a devastatingly good yarn. I would say that this is more literary or women's fiction than a thriller per se as Craig likes to weave social commentary into the narrative and addresses many topical issues throughout. It's is a slow-burn read but one I ultimately enjoyed and it leaves you with much to ponder. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.

Hannah is getting out of a marriage and the imminent death of her mother when she meets Jinny. A woman on a train with a husband as awful as her own. Comparing notes they both discuss the possibility of killing each others husband. Hannah is soon left wondering if Jinny's husband is truly as bad as she says but what will she do.

This was an interesting read but for me it dragged quite a bit in the middle, its less of a thriller than I expected. The story focuses more on Hannah's life and her time in Cornwall. The ending however was very good and I really enjoyed it. I did find Jake's character seemed to change quite dramatically from how he is portrayed at the start which didn't quite sit right. I liked Hannah and her dedication to looking after her daughter. There are hints of Beauty and the beast in this and as an avid reader I loved the mentions of reading. A good read but a little slow for me.

There are many positives about the book, but no-one needs a Brexit lecture or to feel the author’s political bias nipping at their heels as they’re reading. It’s irritating and ruined the enjoyment for me.

Hannah is a well-educated woman, married to Jake, mother to Maisie. Born in the fictional town of St Piran, Cornwall, she lives in London where her life has taken a dramatic downturn. She has no money, her husband is having an affair and they are in the midst of a divorce. Hannah cleans houses to survive but financially it is not enough, she’s struggling financially and emotionally.

On the train to Cornwall, she meets a beautiful stranger, Jinny - who beckons her into the first class carriage where they make a pact to murder each other’s husbands.

When Hannah meets Jinny’s husband Stan, she begins to form a slow friendship and cannot fulfil her end of the bargain. She soon realises that not everything she has been told by Jinny is the truth and that Stan is actually a gentle giant.

3 stars 🌟🌟🌟 from me. I’ve heard so much about the author so will look forward to reading her other books.

Thank you to the author and publishers Little, Brown Book Group UK for an ARC in exchange for an independent review.

Nobody can do good or damage a child like a mother. Mothers possess such power! MOTHER is how I feel of Amanda Craig & her 'The Golden Rule' my mother's lap: warm & comforting. I lay there forgetting myself & when I wake, I emerge strong, smart & brave!

If you are looking for intelligent writing, combined with a cleverly constructed storyline then look no further than Amanda Craig’s The Golden Rule. By creating a piece of fiction that reimagines a classic murder tale and a classic fairytale to examine contemporary issues, the author offers us a highly entertaining, thoughtful novel. With a bit of an edge, and a slight twist, this novel is refreshing for its take on women and divorce, class and privilege, the ever widening gap between rich and poor and morality. The underlying theme of treating others as you yourself would expect to be treated - the golden rule - turns this into a complex type fable that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Mainly set in Cornwall in the fictional village of St Piran and surrounding area you would be forgiven for initially thinking this novel was going to be a retelling of the famous classic Strangers on a Train. When divorced mum Hannah meets Jinni in a first class railway carriage bound for Cornwall to say a final farewell to her dying mother, they bizarrely plot the murders of each other’s soon to be ex husbands thereby providing each other with the perfect alibi, and the means to be free of two very deplorable individuals.
The similarity with the classic ends there, with this chance meeting on a train and whilst the situation seems highly implausible, verging on extreme and deranged behaviour I could totally identify with Hannah’s desperation to rid herself of husband Jake. He is the kind of man you will despise with a vengeance and you will probably feel the same way about his side of the family as a whole. Despite the fact he clearly loves his daughter Maisie, his treatment of Hannah before and after their separation made my blood boil. Conducting an affair with Eve, he happily leaves Hannah to live in poverty, juggling cleaning jobs and childcare, almost relishing her fall from relative security and a well paid job in advertising. I wanted to kill him myself for his deplorable behaviour , his smug superiority and lack of morals. As a woman who has experienced this kind of behaviour, albeit to a lesser extent, Hannah’s situation is so relatable but her inner strengths are highlighted in contrast to Jake’s weaknesses which makes you immediately side with her. Like women the world over, she is willing to do whatever it takes to support her daughter and keep her clothed and fed so resorting to murdering a stranger almost seems acceptable in exchange for the death of Jake. The question is can she go through with it?? After all ,Jinni is a complete stranger and Hannah is taking her at her word which at best is foolhardy and naive.
What I didn’t realise (and could kick myself for being so blind as it’s so glaringly obvious) is that the storyline follows the lines of a classic fairytale (hurrah for such an insightful afterword!) and with a couple of ingenious little twists and deliciously dark humour, I was utterly engrossed in Hannah’s story and that of the man she is supposed to murder.
I loved how cornish folklore is interwoven throughout the novel lending it a magical tone and the house at Endpoint where Hannah spends the summer with Maisie has a fairy castle feel to it. Dilapidated and filthy and in need of some tender loving care, Hannah helps present inhabitant Stan restore it to its former glory and in the process a wonderful friendship starts to bloom. Hannah’s roots are very much embedded in Cornwall, however hard she’s tried to forge a new life in London and I enjoyed discovering her past here with mother Holly. Her love of books and reading is yet another thread that allows the author to discuss her thoughts on writing and the unique experience that reading offers for every individual which I found insightful.
The author has much to say about current issues affecting this part of the world, including the wealthy and privileged buying up properties as second homes whilst true Cornish folk are left relying on this almost unwanted tourism to scrape a living. The effects of Brexit are alluded to as well and I loved this combining of modern day problems with the exploration of morality all wrapped up in a brilliant piece of fiction.
This novel is well researched and even though the gaming element left me no more inclined to investigate the joys this industry has to offer, it provided another element in this multi layered storyline. In reading this novel I fell a little bit in love with the fictional Endpoint and the place as a whole. Sometimes I appreciate an ending that isn’t neatly wrapped up so for me not quite knowing what the future holds for Hannah is perfectly satisfactory. Does good triumph over evil? Is justice served? I urge fellow book lovers to pick this novel up if you fancy something a little bit different to your usual choice of book. It definitely exceeded my expectations and I eagerly await the next offering from this author.
Highly recommend and my thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read.

A brilliant novel that kept me hooked and I found it gripping and entertaining.
A great cast of characters, you cannot help rooting for Hannah, a well crafted plot and is poignant but never soppy.
It was an excellent read and it's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This is the first novel I have read by Amanda Craig and I wasn’t disappointed it is an excellent novel.

The novel centres around Hannah who is going through a messy divorce with her violently abusive husband Jake. Hannah an educated woman who used to work in advertising in London now finds herself desperate as a single mum taking on cleaning jobs to make ends meet. Her mum dies and so she goes down to Cornwall to sort out the funeral arrangements. On the train journey down to Cornwall a chance meeting with a stranger, also going through a messy divorce, offers her a way out of her predicament, albeit an extreme solution. The decisions and course of action she takes following this chance meeting has a drastic affect on her and those close to her.
The main characters feel real and there are a number of issues covered in the novel. A single mum trying to raise her daughter and the affect abusive relations can have on a person. Hannah sees all men as predatory and violent. As in many recent novels Brexit is mentioned and Hannah considers the reasons why Cornwall that has benefited from many projects funded by the EU and has not been greatly affected by migration voted overwhelmingly against the EU. She concludes that Cornwall is insular and fiercely independent and perhaps the main problem is the influx of Londoners changing the villages into quaint theme parks and buying second homes resulting in locals being priced out the market.

This was an excellent, engaging novel although the way some of the events unfolded at the end were a little bit too good to be true.

Strangers on a train with a twist! Despite escaping her childhood poverty Hannah has been abandoned by her handsome, well connected husband to bring up their daughter alone. All she has to support her is a good degree from Durham University which she can’t use because poorly paid cleaning jobs fit in so much better with her childcare problems. Then fate steps in when she’s travelling down to Cornwall where her mum is dying, as the glamorous Ginny befriends her on the train and suggests the perfect end to their abusive husbands would be to murder them. She even has a taser in her handbag ready to give Hannah who must murder Ginny’s husband before Ginny will murder hers. Delightful standalone novel, reminiscent of Mary Wesley, with cameo appearances from a familiar cast of characters from Craig’s previous novels including the irrepressible Ivo Sponge.

I absolutely loved this book. Hannah is so like able and your heart goes out to her trying to survive with her young daughter in London. There are some surprising events in the book that I could never of predicted. Although there are some sad parts in the end Hannah has some good luck and gets what she truly deserves. A great read.

Amanda Craig is one of my favourite authors and I always look out for her books in the library. I have read one or two and been impressed by her art with language and her interesting characters, so I was slightly disappointed by this new novel.
The main protagonist, Hannah, was a young woman who had been badly let down by her husband and was very much a woman scorned. She was angry and hurt but I was cross with her for allowing herself to be treated so badly. So, I struggled all the way through the narrative to empathise with her and thus I felt let down by the character.
The denouement was less of a reveal than “we all saw that coming” which made it more of a shallow romance and less of her usual challenging tale of modern family life.
I almost felt that she needed to write another novel and started with an interested premise, but her characters did not live up to the original idea.
I did enjoy the read and will look out for more of her novels but felt her insight and wit was lacking in this one. Perhaps it was that my expectations were too high but still a worthwhile read and one I shall recommend to my book group.

I had just finished Amanda Craig's The Lie of the Land when I saw this one on NetGalley. I adored The Lie of the Land, Would this be as good. The answer is short: almost.

Hannah is separated from her husband Jake. In spite of earning a great deal of money, he gives her little to support her and his small daughter, Maisy. He is arrogant, spiteful and just awful to Hannah. So when she meets a fascinating woman on a train and that women is in a similar position to herself and suggests they kill each other's husbands, she agrees, though not without some qualms. Of course all is not what it seems and what follows is not so much a thriller as a domestic drama with lots of contemporary politics thrown in. Craig is very good at drawing upon the differences between London and poorer parts of the country. Cornwall, as is pointed out several times, is the poorest county in England and the contrast between those who live there all year round and those who pop into their second homes is stark.

I enjoyed this book very much but it's not without its faults. There were several things which were just not believable, among them what happens to Hannah''s mother's council house. The disappearance of the main antagonist was a little unsatisfactory as were the personality changes of some characters. Having said that though, it was a great read. Not as good as The Lie of the Land but that was a hard act to follow. A solid 4 stars and I can't wait to read her next book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre, I’m more of a crime/thriller reader however this story intrigued me. I absolutely loved it, truly one of the best books I have read. I am extremely pleased and grateful to both for opening up my mind to something totally different.

I wasn't wholly convinced by this book and I have read and enjoyed Amanda Craig before. I felt the whole Strangers on a Train theme made the book quite stale, and while I appreciated the attempt to make a clever twist it didn't quite work and the fact the central manipulator then just seemed to disappear seemed a bit odd too. It was just ok for me.

I was intrigued by the book to start with but very quickly I found it very disappointing. I would have given the book 4 stars but it was far to preachy about political issues. When I read what is supposed to be a thriller I'm also not interested in political views unless I'm reading a political thriller (which this isn't)

I was disappointed that the characters were not as engaging as those in the only other Amanda Craig novel I’ve read (The Lie of the Land) and when some of the characters from that one were mentioned in this my hopes were raised that their stories were going to interlink - sadly, not to be. Maybe they’ll all cross paths in a future work.

This started out well for me and I was interested to see what the author planned to do with the Strangers on a Train theme. That didn’t last long, though, as any sense of mystery melted away quite quickly. I was expecting more tension and that aspect didn’t really materialise. What soon dominated were a series of comparisons between privileged/underprivileged lives in London and Cornwall, examples of #MeToo experiences in the advertising world, domestic abuse, arguments for and against Brexit - worthy subjects but none of them handled with great subtlety, sometimes seeming to be shoehorned into the story to make a point, verging on lecturing and just a tad dull. An OK read but not one I’d be likely to recommend.

A bit of a mish mash - starting with two women on a train agreeing to murder each other's husbands, oooh a thriller you think and fasten your seat belt. But as our heroine crosses the Tamar into the simpler times of Cornwall she comes over all Mills and Boon. Aaaah, the rugged unkempt caretaker may not be all he first seems - and goodness me, is that a quickening of the heart as she decides that not all men are evil swine?

Weirdly we keep getting a political and social lecture regarding Brexit. I don't think it was just the rural folk of Cornwall that voted for Brexit but the London based heroine seems keen to let them know the error of their ways. But times have changed, as I am now locked into my house the rancour of Brexit seems retro and positively quaint.

Having used the device of one man,two names and it seemed to go well,the author decides to use it again later in the book. At this point the whole thing descends in to a seaside pantomime. The evil witch steals the child, the handsome woodcutter turns out to be a prince, and even the abusive ex-husband turns into a thoroughly nice chap once he is caught hitting his wife by his family.

Ths book is a simple romp and as long as you don't think about it too much, a pleasant way to spend a few hours.

Absolutely excellent read, fantastic mixture of psychological thriller and social commentary. I genuinely didn't see the twist coming either. Highly recommended

A new Amanda Craig novel is always an anticipated treat. She balances her fascination with Family and with Nation by addressing important issues through the creation of her memorable, imperfect and usually very real characters. Whilst ‘The Golden Rule’ is, in some respects, a departure in genre, much of the anticipated strengths of her writing are still present.
‘The Golden Rule’ could be described as a thriller or a murder mystery. In her Afterword, Craig cites Highsmith’s ‘Strangers on a Train’ as inspiration. Nevertheless, although physical and emotional violence is a central theme, this isn’t a novel in which the reader has to figure out what’s going on for very long. And this sort of puzzle is not the writer’s main intention. Craig shows us through Hannah, Stan and Lila just how corrosive coercive control is, how it changes the victims inside as well as out, and affects their whole lives. As, Jake, her ex-husband continues to make life all but impossible, Hannah’s desperation is never in doubt: she makes poor decisions, she lives on the breadline and imagines the worst. It is only the kindness of her extended family far away in Cornwall, towards her and her daughter, Maisy, which allows her to gradually return to the land of rational decision making and enjoyment in small pleasures.
Escaping to Cornwall for the summer holidays, Hannah is employed by gaming creator, Stan, a local man from a once wealthy family. Having been sent to his ramshackle house by his ex-wife, Jinni, to kill him in a ‘Strangers on a Train’ agreement, Hannah soon realises that she cannot do this and has to live with the thought that Jinni may have been more ruthless towards Jake. Gradually she realises that Jinni’s stories about Stan’s vile behaviour have little to do with the man that she is growing to know. So now there’s a mash-up with Highsmith’s plotline and the fairy-tale ‘Beauty and the Beast’ The developing relationship between Stan and Hannah is predictable and yet strangely satisfying, perhaps because Hannah recognises that she must return to London to prove to herself that she can be a fully functioning adult in her own right.
Craig’s recent fiction has explored the important subject of economic damage done to rural populations by wealthy second-homers in driving up the housing market, and this is no exception. Granted, this is an important topic but there are moments in ‘The Golden Rule’ when its depiction suffers from a lack of subtlety. Added to this, her rural poor are a little too picture-perfect and her well-heeled collectively obnoxious. Given that both murder mysteries and fairy-tales are prone to stereotypes, it would have helped the overall tone of the novel if these minor characters had been a little more nuanced.
Nevertheless, another captivating read from Craig. And I see in her Afterword that in her growing interconnected series she’s gathering others in her huge cast of characters to meet in Italy next. I look forward to reading what they’ll be caught up in as well as her take on life after Brexit and our collective experience of Coronavirus.
My thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

Thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Amanda Craig has the unparalleled ability to write novels that mix social realism with classic tropes of literary fiction in new and original ways. 'The Golden Rule' speaks volumes about Craig's ability to deliver fiction that refuses to be constrained by a particular genre. In this sense, she reminds me of the utterly brilliant, Lionel Shriver. Like Shriver, Craig's novels have a certain contemporary resonance, firmly anchored in the social context within which both author's take inspiration. Yet, at the same time, they deliver stories that are rich in depth with a certain freshness of approach. Like Craig's previous novels 'The Golden Rule' cannot be pigeonholed within a particular genre. It has an element of suspense, of course, as per the reference to Highsmith's tour de force of a thriller, 'Strangers On A Train'. The comparison may be apt, given the core strapline of the blurb which involves two women plotting the murder of each other's husbands on a train journey. But this novel is about more than murder, and departs from Highsmith's lean, morally-centred narrative in a number of ways. Indeed, it brings far more to the table in terms of its contribution to contemporary literature than the classic 'Strangers On A Train'. Like Shriver's unflinching studies of human nature distilled in novelistic form, Craig drills into the core underpinnings of what makes us humans tick ,with what I can only describe as naked honesty. 'The Golden Rule' is a book of many layers, a loud echo of the struggles of the many in a divisive society where individualism reigns supreme. It is has the components of a thriller, yes, but Amanda Craig's latest triumph is about far more than mere murder. Deep, thoughtful and perceptive - I loved every page.

This is going to be amongst the first of many novels about coercive and violent relationships, and it is a good one.

Amanda Craig is one of the writers for whom I have huge esteem. In a large manner it is because of the way she layers complex issues and characters in a manner that is real and compelling.

This novel does not have that depth when it comes to character and story line. More of a sketch that a detailed painting. Even Amanda Craig references 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'Strangers on a Train' and those are two rich story lines. On top of that it is both a thriller, the story of two dying marriages and a love story. You just can't fit everything in!

It is very episodic and you can see it would make an incredible TV series.

I say all that because it reads differently from her earlier novels. Where it does work incredibly well, is as a cracking stand alone piece. Very readable, exciting and at times enigmatic.

I also like the way she tries to balance issues such as Brexit between the educated metropolitan Hannah and her Cornish family. How it is relationships between people and different areas of a country that can break down. The importance of family and the desire for escape. And there is a happy ending. Hurrah, with lots of strands tied up.

It's an interesting one to give a star rating for. As a populist thriller it is a 5 star. As an Amanda Craig state of the nation 3.5 stars. That's why I've gone for a four star rating