A fantastic, twisty, thriller. I loved this book and raced to the end because I was so desperate to know if I had guessed the murderer! A good read!

Katherine Faulkner is a skilled practitioner in compiling a complex plot that leaves the reader juggling prospective candidates to determine whodunnit. Greenwich Park refers to the upmarket part of London in which 2 couples live in considerable comfort as nearby neighbours. The respective spouses are brother and sister and they owe their lifestyle to the renowned architectural practice inherited from their father. Both wives are pregnant and this proves to be the link for introducing us to Rachel who befriends one of the wives at a pre-natal class. A very innocent beginning but then Rachel becomes a major factor in disrupting lives and her reasons for doing this only emerge in dribs and drabs. As we turn the pages things get grimmer and grimmer and we are left questioning everyone and everything. Good detective stories keep you guessing to the last page and Greenwich Park achieves this in spades. Definitely a fine example of the genre.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC of this book.
Sorry was not for me at all. None of the characters appealed at all and I had no interest in any of them. I thought Helen was very self centred and I am not sure she even liked Daniel. I saw no point in the storyline at all , the older rape case that was being followed by Katie was more interesting, and I do not understand the title. Not one for me I’m afraid.

This book is full of intrigue and mystery. I enjoyed it immensely and I think the average reader will as well. The perfect book to curl up with on a rainy day.

An excellent suspenseful story that keeps you locked in throughout. This story is told though the eyes of three of the main characters - Helen, Serena and Katie. Helen is married to Daniel, and one of Helen's brothers, Rory, is married to Serena whilst the other brother, Charlie, is in a relationship with Katie. The plot is good and the characters are strong. Helen meets Rachel, who is very extrovert and a bit sinister and she appears to have an unhealthy desire to become overly familiar with Helen and the other main characters in the story. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for my advanced copy.

this book made me want to shout out loud at the characters for not seeing that Rachel was beyond creepy!
A brilliant dark and twisted thriller, Greenwich park starts off fairly sedately with some good character introductions and a hint at their backstories and friendly interactions and then suddenly the pace rockets and both the characters and the story take off at a tremendous rate.
Edge of the seat stuff and an amazing debut- I look forward to more from Katherine in the hopefully not too distat future.

This was a bit of a slow burner which suddenly when woosh! The book is written from the points of view of Helen, Selena and Katie. It follows Helen's pregnancy and the associated events. It starts with Helen attending her local NCT class and is annoyed that her husband and sister-in-law(who is also pregnant) haven't turned up. Whilst there she meets a single mother to be called Rachel. From that point forward Rachel seems to be everywhere that she is and wheedles her way into Helen's life.
This is cleverly written in that the reader is given several clues which lead one way, but the truth is in another direction.
A very good read, especially for a debut.

From the outside their lives are perfect. Helen Is married to Daniel. Her brother Rory is married to Siena. They meet at university and have a great time. Life moves on and now both the women are pregnant. They live close to each other in an upmarket neighbourhood and the men work together. Helen idolises Siena and is always trying to emulate her. Self esteem is low and having had miscarriages she is emotionally vulnerable. At her first ante natal class she meets the rather loud and uncouth Rachel. Rachel persists in becoming her friend even though the lonely Helen isn't to sure about it. It culminates in Rachel moving in for a couple of weeks after she had a violent altercation and is scared. The reader of this fast paced novel is under no illusion that she is after something but what? Helen starts unravelling parts of the mystery though it isn't what she expects.

This book had me hooked from the start and I read it quickly as I couldn’t wait to find out what happened.It’s full of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.
The characters are mostly extremely unlikeable so you don’t really feel sorry for any of them ,but the ending is very satisfying and ties up the loose ends well.
I think this book will get a lot of attention when it’s published ,so I was pleased to get an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley .All opinions are my own.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for an advanced copy.
Pregnant Helen seemingly has a wonderful, rich husband and a perfect life. However, all is definitely not as it seems and when Rachel, a woman Helen meets at ante-natal classes becomes a cuckoo in the house chaos ensues.
There were a number of problems with this novel. Very slow to begin with , it did pick up in the second half of the book. The different POV were not different enough to differentiate between the characters so I did forget who was supposed to be speaking and had to go back and check.
All the characters were utterly loathsome, Helen is weak and pathetic and the others are varyingly callous, unfeeling, manipulative and selfish..
The ending was eminently guessable and the very last bit I have read before (possibly Peter James novel??) although I was glad that that had happened. It rounded the book off neatly.
Another problem was the liberal scattering of 1's and 0's throughout the text together with broken sentences making it quite difficult to read. The text had numerous grammatical errors which will hopefully be corrected before publication. The author seemed to have an aversion to capital letters
If you find this book in the hotel bookcase and you don't have anything to read by the pool you will probably enjoy it.
2.5 stars/5

This is a fabulous debut from Katherine Faulkner. I quickly became hooked on the story and interested to read how it would all resolve. The story of two couples - Helen and Daniel, and Rory and Serena, and the mysterious girl, Rachel, who becomes entangled in their lives, there are enough plot twists to keep it interesting right until the very last page. Just when you think you've solved it, another curved ball is thrown in! I highly recommend that you read this - and don't rush it.
I think this will be one of the top books of 2021.

Three couples appear to 'have it all'. Successful careers, lovely homes, strong bonds and babies on the way. But their lives are disrupted by a new friendship. A compelling domestic thriller.

Helen seems to have the perfect life. She's happily married to Daniel, a successful architect, who works with her brother, Rory, who's married to her best friend, Serena. She lives in a beautiful London home being renovated ahead of the birth of a much-awaited first child.

But there are hints that things aren't what they seem when Helen has to attend her first antenatal class alone. Her husband, brother and sister-in-law all cry off at the last minute, so Helen is relieved when she's befriended by Rachel, even if they appear to have nothing in common.

Rachel is a loud, brash single mother-to-be and she is determined to be Helen's friend. She's over-attentive, always around, and she wants to know everything about Helen's family.

Why is she so interested? What does she want? What secrets are being hidden? How can she disrupt their lives?

It's a fantastic read. Helen is a compelling narrator and the twists and turns ultimately come thick and fast. Loved it!

Rating: 2.5/5

Early reviews for this all seem to have been very positive, but as I reached the halfway point, I felt that I was going to be something of an outlier. Thankfully, the second half of the book gradually won me over.

Ultimately Katherine Faulkner's debut novel turned out to be quite cleverly plotted, with a few twists and turns in the closing stages that, I suspect, very few people would be able to totally predict, even if they were to anticipate some of them.

The narrative is described from several POVs. This can be a very effective mechanic when it is done well, but it does rely on the author successfully managing to give each character a credible and distinctive voice. In "Greenwich Park" it worked okay at times, but it didn't always hit the mark. There were times when I found myself referring back to check exactly which character was voicing the narrative at that point.

However, my biggest issue was with the pacing of the storyline in the first half of the book. If you were favourably inclined you may choose to describe it as a "slow burner", but if you were feeling less generous then it could be seen as simply being laboured and drawn out.

This aspect improved after the midway point and most markedly in the final third of the book. Loose ends were generally tied up quite neatly in the closing chapters and I particularly liked the way that the novel ended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

Well written with a great sense of place and a clear and atmospheric knowledge of the world she is writing about, however I didn't find much new in this novel about the paranoia and stress of new motherhood.

This is the BEST thriller I’ve read in years. So many characters entwined with each other and you’re never sure how it’s going to end.
The main characters are full of depth and believable so you sympathise and blame as the story goes on

This is a book you can't put down. Half way through I thought I had predicted the ending but no - the surprises kept on happening. My only quibble is that I am not keen on explanations given in letter form. The last chapter was very clever.

4+

This debut novel focuses on three siblings and their partners, Helen who is married to Daniel, Helen’s brothers Charlie and Rory who is married to Serena. Helen is pregnant and meets Rachel at an NCT class and following this just sit and wait for the fireworks as it’s quite a magnificent display! The story is told from the perspectives of Helen, Serena and Kate, Charlie’s journalist girlfriend.

This is a really good debut which suggests the sky is the limit for Katherine Faulkner! I really like the format, the three points of view works very well with the timeline following the weeks of Helen's pregnancy. The characterisation is excellent and you are easily able to visualise them. I find the most likeable to be Kate who is sympathetic, intelligent and dogged in her pursuit of truths and I came to admire her. ‘Perfect’ Serena is a cold fish and her blowing hot and cold treatment of Helen is thoughtless. Helen is very gullible, malleable and way too restrained and you want to yell at her at times to stop being such a doormat. Rachel is at the centre of the web and I love that there are tantalising glimpses of her game, you don’t get the full picture until the end and it’s a shocker. She becomes a cuckoo in the nest which is risky but as the truth unfolds it’s understandable. There is plenty of tension in the storytelling not least between the couples with plenty of puzzling discoveries and behaviours. There are some good descriptions especially of Greenwich and Greenwich Park which one couples house overlooks. An especially strong descriptive section is the bacchanalian dreamlike Bonfire Party at Helen and Daniels house where it all starts to reach a crescendo. Some images here are surreal and almost gothic. The plot becomes really twisty and although I partly guessed the outcome I certainly didn’t see it all coming! The whole thing builds slowly and inexorably although the end seems a bit rushed although the final outcome makes me want to jump with joy!

Overall, a really good clever slow burner of a thriller which I recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing PLC/Raven Books for the arc in return for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable and clever thriller, I didn't have a clue when the twists were about to hit and only vague guesses as to what might happen.

Greenwich Park is Katherine Faulkner's much anticipated debut novel. It focuses on three siblings and their partners, told primarily, from the point of view of Helen who meets Rachel at an ante natal class. Rachel insinuates herself into the lives of wealthy but lonely Helen and her family and friends. This is a very superior psychological thriller, beautifully written, perfectly plotted, twisty, well paced and with excellent characterisation. I loved it and would highly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC.

I really liked this novel.

At the core of the thriller is a brother and sister married to their friends that they met from Cambridge University. While both wives are pregnant Helen hopes that Serena will join her at the local ante-natal classes she has found but is ditched. She meets Rachel which is really where everything starts to change.

A great twisty story with a perfect ending. Hoping for more from this author.