This is slow to get going, but when it does it takes off at full pelt and turns everything you thought you knew about the eponymous Graham Catton and his murder upside down. As more is revealed the more your sympathies shift, and no-one is safe from doubt in this book. I loved it!

The pacing in this book was slower than I enjoy, with a solid beginning and end but the middle was focused on the slow decline in the main character’s reliability and mental health. Personally I’m a fan of getting right to the point so it wasn’t my favourite take but I stuck with it because I had to know whodunnit!

Hannah is a manipulative person with a fast and loose relationship with the truth, especially with her loved ones, but does that make her a killer? She honestly can’t remember.
As the most unreliable of narrators, you can only judge her based on the tiny nuggets of truth you can pick up from her. She has a hell of a temper, mood swings and isn’t particularly affectionate with her loved ones which makes her suspicious and hard to really like.

The Conviction podcast is exploring the case of Graham Catton’s murder and trying to overturn the supposed wrongful conviction of a young man, the eyes of suspicion are cast upon Hannah and the outpouring of hate from complete strangers based only on what the media tells them is really interesting - people reach out to Hannah’s 16 year old daughter with pure venom, as if that was an acceptable thing to do. Total strangers write horrendous things about her online, wishing her dead. Is that even appropriate to do when you know for certain that someone’s a murderer?

I think I would have enjoyed this book more if it had been more about the podcast than Hannah, with the POV of the journalist, Anna Byers, to mix things up a little bit.

This book covers some darker themes, including domestic violence and gaslighting. I was really pleasantly surprised by the couple of pages at the end of the book with information about domestic abuse and support information, I really respect and appreciate the author for including this.

Hannah Catton wakes to find her husband, Graham, dead in their bed and she has no memory of what happened. A man is convicted of a ‘burglary gone wrong-murder’ and she is left to rebuild her life with her daughter, Evie.

Ten years later, Hannah has a job she loves and has found Dan, a man devoted to her and who loves Evie as if she was his own daughter. But a podcast series specialising in overturning miscarriages of justice is investigating Graham’s death and suddenly all eyes are on Hannah and even Hannah isn’t convinced that she’s innocent.

Wow, I loved this book and although there were some aspects of the story I was a bit unsure of, the ending was brilliantly handled. There’s something for everyone here as it’s part psychological thriller, part horror and part detection but the whole is thoroughly enjoyable.

There are so many female protagonist, first person thrillers around now and you hear the same descriptions, “twisty” being a favourite. Here I think that it’s actually warranted.

There are lots of themes here that also lift it above average: domestic abuse, catfishing. trolling, the power of social media, etc.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK fiction for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger Warnings:
Gaslighting, Domestic Abuse, Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Violence, Blood, Mental Health Deterioration, PTSD, Drug Dependency (mentioned) Kidnapping, Death, Eating Disorders, Harassment/Bullying.

The Review:
I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that this is the Psychological Thriller I’ve been waiting for. I’ve read quite a few recently, which have felt inherently pedestrian, and I wondered if I’d gone off the genre as a whole; but Lowe’s writing is decadent in the way it teases at truths and lies. I often compare my reading experiences to rollercoasters (mainly because I enjoy the fast paced-ruthlessness nature of a rollercoaster read) however, Lowe is a master craftswoman at the slow-burn intrigue. What is the truth? Who murdered Graham Catton?

You have no idea how badly I want to tell you. But, you know, spoilers. What I can tell you is I really appreciated the singular perspective of Hannah Catton, our protagonist and potential murderess. (Although, not going to lie, every time a character said, ‘Hannah…’ in that way that suggests you’ve said or done something wrong, it was enough to make me sit up, like, ‘What?’ you know. What with Hannah being my name… anyway, I digress).
Hannah Catton is a psychiatrist, with a doctorate that everyone seems to forget. She’s intelligent, she’s sensitive, and she’s a pathological liar. She lies to Dan, her long time partner, about where she’s going and who she is seeing. She lies to her daughter, Evie, who is growing up to look more and more like Graham (her father, who she barely remembers) and her colleagues.

Domestic Abuse is a sensitive subject, and needs to be handled with care, so what I appreciated RE: TMOGC was that Hannah is a strong, three dimensional character. She’s angry, sensible, considerate, compassionate, jealous; all the things which could make a killer. And whilst she is often mocked for her ‘doe-like’ expressions, she’s no waif. At no point to Lowe glamourise Hannah’s situation as a woman who ‘snapped’ (a phrase I loathe, btw). Each action has a transparent motivation which, whilst I might not agree with, does allow the audience to empathise.

And as far as the murder mystery elements of this narrative, I’ll go so far as to say: the evidence was all there. Even if I didn’t see the ending coming. And I’ll cross my fingers that I’ve not given away too much!
I loved this read. Much like the audience crammed around the Conviction Podcast, I sought time alone from the world to discover more of Graham Catton, the cruel double life he’d constructed for his family and his friends, and where Hannah Catton’s lies would lead her. It was thrilling (if you’ll excuse the pun) and totally vindicates my thoughts RE: The Furies, where I promised to get my hands on everything Katie Lowe ever produces.

Loved, Loved, Loved it. Five stars. Wouldn’t change a hair on this novel’s head.

Hannah cannot remember anything from the night her husband was murdered 10 years earlier, now a podcast called Conviction is bringing up everything surrounding the events of that night. She now finds herself in the spotlight.

I struggled with some of this story, it started off really well but then something got lost a bit as things progress. Hannah starts to unravel as more and more episodes of Conviction are heard.

Hannah is the narrator and very unreliable, at times she doesn’t know how to put one foot in front of the other, she has a loving partner in Dan.

Mike the man who had been charged with Graham’s murder has been released from prison after he was wrongly framed and convicted. As eyes are on Hannah she starts to believe she killed Graham herself, she knew she wanted to kill him, she wanted him dead, she had a knife in her hand, even her daughter and partner start looking at her suspiciously.

I had been really looking forward to reading this but it just didn’t completely do it for me, the premise was there, but it just kept jumping all over the place, the police were useless, when they weren’t crooked. Not just on one timeline bit on both timelines. One certain person was clever with what they were able to do with blood, weapons, clothes as well as banking information that isn’t theirs. Despite being a psychiatrist herself Hannah appears to be mentally ill herself., when it turns out she has a grandmother that may have killed her whole family, as well as two missing or dead patients on her resume, to top it off a number or enemies as well as friends which seem more like enemies than friends.

Some books you read through and gradually things pick up and come together and you find you have enjoyed it, this one I just continued to read because I needed to know the ending, it was a book I was glad to finish. A little disappointed.

Thank you to #netgalley and #HarperCollins for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

A decade ago, Hannah Catton woke up to the sound of her husband’s blood dripping on the floor. She has a bump on her head and doesn’t remember what happened last night but she does know one thing - she isn’t sorry he is dead. Police convict someone of Graham Catton’s murder and Hannah tries to move on with her life.

Ten years later, she is settled with her daughter and partner. But not for long because “Conviction” - a podcast infamous for overturning past murder charges - is featuring Graham’s murder and Hannah’s past is about to come back to haunt her.

I really enjoyed this book. The author’s writing style means you immediately engage with the plot and you feel every part of Hannah’s tension and despair as she tries to keep her life together.
I also enjoyed the structure of the story with the past and present timelines, each enhancing and illuminating the storyline.
I guessed quite a bit of what was going on but that didn’t spoilt my enjoyment of the book at all, in fact it make me enjoy the book more and I couldn’t read quick enough to get to the conclusion to see if I was correct.

I would recommend it to fans of psychological thrillers and suspense. It’s a gripping, creepy and chilling read that you will struggle to put down.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I must admit I found it hard going at first but persevered as it got better.
Hannah Catton finds her husband dead ten years ago, brutally murdered and she cannot remember a thing about what happened. Despite the police not believing her, a man is arrested and prisoned for the murder.
Years later, she is thrown into a turmoil when a true crime podcast takes on Graham's story. She is worried as the podcast in a previous storyline, found the guilty person innocent. She has not told her new boyfriend Dan the full story. Lots of twists and turns as you wonder if Hannah is guilty or innocent. Lots of issues covered too. A good read.

This is a difficult one, I could not get beyond half-way with it. I found the narrator to be hard to care about and the feeling did not get any better as I read on. I really dislike it when the story is about being dishonest with your partner, I feel it makes for such a bad situation and she was hiding so much.
Reading other reviews, it seems I am in the minority with my dislike for it, but that is my honest opinion.

Everyone says Graham Catton was the perfect husband, professor and father. His wife, Hannah Catton, tells the police she remembers nothing from the night of the murder. Journalist Anna Byers has overturned numerous prison sentences with her popular podcast CONVICTION and she believes the wrong man is behind bars.

Review:
Oh this was so good! It was told in three time periods - 2005, 2008, and 2018.
In present day, Hannah is having to relive the trauma of losing her husband when a well-known podcaster chooses Graham Catton's murder to be their topic for the next series.
I love a podcast in a book and really enjoyed seeing this element played out in a different way to other books which have used this device. I loved seeing the effects of unwanted fame and attention on Hannah as each episode was released, whilst also trying to keep her head above water.

This was so well executed, and had me hooked from the first line!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for gifting me an e-ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

There's so much to love in this story: the growing tension, the great characters, the twisted and dark plot.
It kept me reading and hooked till the last page.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Murder of Graham Catton is an interesting read told across many time frames by Hannah Catton, widow and possible murderer of husband Graham.

Hannah is an unreliable narrator as across all the timelines she has issues with recollection, which may stem from trauma or maybe from guilt?

In there now Hannah is with a new partner Dan who has become a father to her teenage daughter. She had been cleared of the murder, although others believed in her guilt. Hannah is a psychiatrist and considering her erratic behaviour this seems concerning, however she appears to enjoy her job and in the past used it as a way to escape abusive husband Graham.

The end of this novel was not what I expected although I knew a twist was coming. It was a good rather than a great read as there were few characters that seemed real and Hannah as a medical professional just didn’t seem to ring true with the extent of her problems. I also didn’t understand the relationship that Hannah had with either her husband, new partner, best friend or daughter. They all seemed under developed, but that may be as we were hearing the story from her perspective.

I did like the concept of the book and would read more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

The story starts with Hannah finding her husband dead, murdered. The police find the killer and he's sent to prison but after doing a podcast the case is reopened and Hannah is the main suspect. But she says she can't remember what happened and her family and friends turn against her.

I really enjoyed this story it kept me guessing throughout. Its a slow burn read but I enjoy these kinds of books but once it all starts unravelling it turns into an exciting, dark page turner and just gets better and better.

Wow! This was chilling and had me reading with my breath held towards the end.
Electrifying in intensity and tension , this is a psychological thriller which messes with your mind as well as the main character's Hannah. I find the thrillers which make characters question their sanity terrifically terrifying. Losing one's mind, uncertain what has happened, doubt and guilt and fear encroaching upon your judgement, causing you to question even the most basic of facts, are the ones that read like a real life nightmare and scare me way more than blood and guts horror.
Hannah's husband Graham was murdered in his bed a decade ago and Hannah has never been able to remember what happened. Someone else was convicted but he is the subject of a true crime podcast Conviction, presented by Anna Byers, who intends to show the faults behind the arrest, trial and incarceration. Listeners are behind this very public campaign and are quick to point the finger back to Hannah.
Everything in her new life with Dan, is threatened, including the safety of her teenage daughter Evie. Complicating matters is Hannah's career in psychiatry and her past and current care of troubled, unwell young people. History and the here and now collide in a frightening way to hurt Hannah and convince her she is to blame.
This is a twisty, pacy read full of coercion, control, manipulation and abuse on a major scale. The trouble is, who is controlling who and who is the source of danger?
Superb read with genuine, and alarming, surprises which kept me enthralled. A highly recommended read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for ARC.

Graham Catton's widow Hannah moved to a new town after his murder and made a new life with their child. She's working at a job she loves, she has met someone else. She doesn't talk about the night he died, the trial, or the man convicted of Graham's murder.
Her equilibrium is lost when a popular journalist decides that the next series of her true-crime podcast is all about the murder of Graham Catton and the alleged miscarriage of justice that has left an innocent man in prison.

I'm sure this will be a hit and I can see it being a TV series. The author has created admirable creepy atmosphere and tension, some excellent pacing, and several twists. However it didn't quite work for me on several levels. Some of the plot elements depended on things that stretched my ability to suspend disbelief, and without any spoilers, I found one of the secondary characters so thin that I wasn't surprised at the big reveal, rather waiting for it impatiently.

I found the pace of this story to be quite slow and confusing the way it flitted back and fro from the present day and the past. Hannah also had a temper and found it difficult to commit to her present relationship, understandably given her background. It was sometimes difficult to know what was real and what was in Hannah’s imagination. I did keep reading until the end to find out what really happened. I do like events to be all tied up at the end and this failed to do so. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hannah Catton ‘s husband was brutally murdered ten years ago, whilst she was in the house , but she can’t remember how this happened. A man is arrested and the case is closed but is it.? A true crime podcast is released and they believe a miscarriage of justice has taken place , and basically point the blame of the murder at Hannah’s door. Hannah and her husband Graham had a daughter Evie who was present on the evening of his death, but was too young to remember details.
After the release of the podcast Hannah’s life and relationships begin to deteriorate, the reader is left guessing are things really happening or are they in Hannah’s head?
I found the book a slow burner , but about half way through it picked up the pace and I really enjoyed the conclusion. It is a book that keeps you guessing and questioning yourself right until the end. It is full of suspense , and a great psychological thriller.
Well worth a read , and I found the ending really satisfying.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK.

Unfortunately I couldn't get to grips with this book at all. I found the main character difficult to empathize with and thought that the plot was unnecessarily long drawn out. Therefore I personally could not recommend this book.

Katie Lowe writes a complex chilling gothic psychological thriller that uses the true crime podcast to bring back the nightmare of the brutal murder of Graham Catton in his London home in 2008 back into the public spotlight. Catton's wife, Hannah was there but has no memories of what happened, and whilst the taint of suspicion hung over her, a young man, a repeat offender, Mike Phillips, was convicted of the crime. In a fashion, the widow Hannah, a clinical psychologist, moved on, locating to a more rural place with her 6 year old daughter, and has a partner, Dan now, but has remained haunted by past events. Phillips has always maintained his innocence and now the popular Conviction podcast takes up his cause, saying the police framed him as the case is re-examined, with new evidence and witnesses, pointing the finger instead at Hannah instead.

Hannah's life's begin to spiral out of control under the pressure and stresses she finds herself under, losing her grip on reality, she herself is not certain whether she committed the murder of her ghastly abusive husband, she can still hear his voice, and her personal family history includes her grandmother that resided at a now dilapidated asylum, the eerie and creepy Hawkswood House, with its ghosts. Facing the unforgiving court of public opinion and a judgemental and threatening media and online community, Hannah finds herself targeted, facing hate campaigns and more. There is no-one she can rely on, not even the teenage Evie or Dan, as she sets out to discover what really happened back then.

The narrative goes back and forth in time, in what can feel like a chaotic manner on occasions, in this chilling and suspenseful storytelling. This is a darkly intense read with paranormal elements, and the isolated Hannah surrounded by barely anyone she can trust, could not be more of the classic unreliable narrator at the heart of the psychological thriller genre . Whilst this was an engaging and entertaining novel, of secrets, family, and a web of intrigue, there was an unevenness too, and the conclusion does stretch credulity, but overall I found this a great immersive read. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Dark, Unsettling And Disturbing…
With dark, unsettling, disturbing and chilling vibes from the very off, this atmospheric suspense gives multiple chills. Twisting, turning and surprising in equal measure. Well written and never lets up, with a denouement to die for. Superb reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and The Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded down.

This book started out really really good. Very gripping Great opening chapters. Atmospheric, suspense and tension. It had the hallmarks of great psychological thriller. But for me it became more frustrating and dragged somewhat. I didn't feel as if the story was moving forward and was just being bogged down with increasing amounts of minutiae. Having said that I had to keep reading to the end to find out who murdered Graham Catton, how and why. And I'm really glad that I did stick with it. I found the ending quite satisfying. I'd read more from this author in future.