It’s taken me a while to gather my thoughts on Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner. I’m torn. It was a book I was really looking forward to reading and I totally raced through it. But there were just a few things that I couldn’t quite get on board with.

I loved how this book was set out, counting down the final weeks of Helen’s pregnancy and switching character perspectives at key points in the plot. Faulkner’s writing is easy to read and compelling; it made me want to pick it up.

However, I struggled to like or sympathise with any of the characters, partly because of their privileged backgrounds and sense of entitlement, and partly because some of their thoughts and actions seemed kind of unbelievable. I kept wanting to shout at Helen to grow a backbone and get Rachel out of her house!

I also thought that the story’s outcome was hinted at very early on, which actually did affect my enjoyment as I was just waiting for the inevitable reveal. And though I hadn’t guessed it all, I was right enough that I felt a certain sense of disappointment.

Having read lots of glowing reviews, I know I’m totally in the minority on this one, so don’t let it put you off! I would recommend to anyone who likes a slow-burn thriller with characters you’ll love to hate!

With thanks to Bloomsbury Raven for gifting me a digital copy to review.

This book tells the story of Helen, her two brothers and their respective partners. Helen and her husband have been trying for a baby for years and have lost 4 previous babies and she is now pregnant and this pregnancy seems to be going well. She joins a local anti natal group which she was due to attend with her husband and her brother and sister-in-law who are also expecting. Unfortunately everyone else chickens out and she ends up going on her own and meets a single Mum called Rachel who she instantly clicks with and they became friends. Then Helen realises that she is always bumping into Rachel, at strange places , is it just coincidence or is there a different reason.

Then one night Rachel turns up needing somewhere to stay after she has obviously been beaten up by someone, supposedly only to stay for a few nights but will they ever get rid of her? Did they meet by chance or does something in the past hold the key?

When Helen goes along to an antenatal class, she doesn’t realise who is there waiting for her. Rachel soon becomes her friend, and more. There is something odd about her, but Helen can’t quite put her finger on it. For fans of The Hunting Party, we watch a group of friends’ secrets unravel. Nothing is as it seems. I enjoyed reading it, it was very very readable... the perfect book for a busy lifestyle! You wouldn’t worry about losing your place with this one, as each chapter is very clearly written.

Really enjoyed this book. Lots going in to keep you guessing right to the very end. The characters were well written although some of their actions seemed a little far fetched at times but this didn't detract from the overall enjoyment of the book. The descriptive writing is excellent throughout. Overall a thoroughly enjoyable read, right to the very last page!

This is a really good debut from author, Katherine Faulkner. Great plot, really good characters and enough bumps in the road to keep the journey exciting.

Pregnancy should be a wonderful time, full of expectation and promise. When Helen falls pregnant more or less at the same time as her sister in law, she envisages them both and their husbands attending antenatal classes together and generally living an idyllic life in their lovely homes in Greenwich. But, the sister in law, her husband and even Helen's own husband fail to live up to Helen's expectations and she finds herself alone and thrust into the company of the totally different and somewhat overbearing Rachel. Their friendship develops, but Rachel has secrets of her own and all is not what it seems.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

What am I missing here? Lots of people seem to love this book so I must be in the minority. I didn't care about the characters and had to push myself to finish the book. It was fine, just didn't blow me away.

A cast of unreliable and not very likeable characters, including 3 pregnant women, a brother and sister and their partners, who were all students a number of years previously, this story is full of surprises, and keeps the reader guessing all the way through. At times, I found it a bit difficult to believe the way some of the characters behaved, how they couldn’t see what was actually going on, and how they managed to cover up their actions, it all became rather melodramatic, but I did enjoy it, and the ending was satisfying too. Definite an author I will read more of. Thanks Netgalley, also Pigeonhole for advance copy.

I have just finished this book after binge reading the last half in just a few hours. It's been a while since I've found a book that made me want to do that, so that should give an indication of just how gripping this book was.

Right from the beginning, I was hooked. There was such a sense of mystery around the lives of the 3 siblings living in London and their families, it was easy to quickly get immersed in the story. The characters were so well formed and incredibly complex, I found myself desperate to find out more.

This is a book that is full of twists and turns. I could guess a couple of things, but the story really did keep me intrigued right to the very end. It was well written and I have thoroughly enjoyed this book; I would highly recommend it.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for sending me an Advance Reader Copy of the book in return for an honest review.

I could have carried on guessing for a year and wouldn’t have pulled all the strands of this book together. Unfortunately the plot was brilliant up to the last 10% then simply went bananas! I’m still giving it a four stars because I did love the rest of it but honestly it probably only deserves a three and a half.

An excellent psychological thriller. The plot is full of twists and was rather less predictable than I had thought from the opening chapters. This held the attention to the last page and I was genuinely gripped and wanted to know the outcome

Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner

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Review:

Katherine Faulkner’s debut novel, Greenwich Park, is a character driven thriller, with an absolutely complex and thoughtful characterisation. The story, narrated using Helen, Serena and Katie’s POVs, centres on Helen, who meets a mysterious and somewhat sketchy young woman, Rachel, at her prenatal class. Slowly we see Rachel trying to insinuates herself in Helen’s life, and trust me when I say it will be eventful and you just wish you could shake Helen’s out of it, but at the same time you can’t avoid to sympathise with her seeing the intricacy of the web she has fallen into.

I was amazed by Faulkner’s ability of balancing suspect motives, red herrings and potential villains. There wasn’t a moment when I felt not invested in the story and trying to guess whodunnit (and I have to admit that I wasn’t sure until the very end!)

Definitely an amazing debut novel and I really hope I’ll get to read more of her books soon!

Helen has it all...
Daniel is the perfect husband.
Rory is the perfect brother.
Serena is the perfect sister-in-law.
And Rachel? Rachel is the perfect nightmare. When Helen, finally pregnant after years of tragedy, attends her first antenatal class, she is expecting her loving architect husband to arrive soon after, along with her confident, charming brother Rory and his pregnant wife, the effortlessly beautiful Serena. What she is not expecting is Rachel. Extroverted, brash, unsettling single mother-to-be Rachel, who just wants to be Helen's friend. Who just wants to get know Helen and her friends and her family. Who just wants to know everything about them. Every little secret.

Where to even begin with this book! The proof has on the back “your next reading obsession” and it couldn’t more accurate. I have recommended this book to everyone I have spoken to over the last couple of days who I knows read.

I am shocked that this book is a debut. The author is so talented.

The plot was so exciting and me and my buddy read came up with all sorts of theories. Some of them so wrong, but some so close to what was going on

I kept thinking about the book when I wasn’t able to read it and my one regret is I didn’t pick this book up whilst I was on furlough so j could have read in one sitting.

The book is an addictive, clever, suspenseful page turner and could well be in the running for my best book of the year.

Greenwich Park is an entertaining thriller that manages to be addictive and fun to read whilst also keeping the reader on a knife-edge - I didn't want to put it down!

A slightly strange woman, Rachel, befriends main character Helen at an antenatal class, and effectively worms herself into Helen's life -and those of the people around her. But is Rachel who she claims to be? You guessed it: no!

Don't worry, none of this is any form of spoiler - it's clear early on that something strange is going on with Rachel. Helen is a slightly naive character who I felt really sorry for at times, despite wanting her to stand up for herself and have something more about her! In fact, many of the characters in this novel are unlikable and unreliable, but I found that made the story even more intriguing. I suspected everyone!

The plot is easy to follow throughout, with some great twists thrown in. At the end, when we find out what really happened, it's apparent things are even wilder than we thought. Although you have to suspend your disbelief a little - as is often a given with this genre - it didn't feel too unbelievable or overdramatic, and I really enjoyed reading every word. As a fan of classic psychological thrillers, this was just up my street and I certainly wouldn't have guessed it was the author's debut novel! Katherine Faulkner is definitely one to watch!

Not sure what to start with this review.
I was at 50% in and I didn't really have a clue what was going on (in a good way as I was enjoying it).
As I started to understand what was happening I thought I had it all worked out, but the more I read the more I changed my mind.
This is a fantastic debut novel and was full if twists. I can't wait to read more from this author in the future.
Highly recommended.

I loved this book so much. It was rather different to what I had been reading of late - crime fiction - but this was just as gripping. Really liked the development of the characters and of their relationships. It certainly kept me engrossed all the way through.

Nope, sorry, this just wasn’t one for me.

I found it impossible to engage with either the storyline or characters, who I found to be one dimensional I’m surprised there are so many people who really enjoyed this book, but, I’m glad others enjoyed it, just not for me.

I appreciate the opportunity and thanks to NetGalley and the publishers.

I didn't end up finishing Greenwich Park. I found it to be less thrilling than anticipated, and I wasn't a fan of the main character. Not that there was anything wrong with her (at least, by the time I gave up at 25%), she was just a bit dull and I was having a hard time connecting to her. To me, the book was marketed as a thriller but it was more of a crime mystery.

My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing U.K./Raven Books for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Greenwich Park’ by Katherine Faulkner in exchange for an honest review.

Katherine Faulkner’s debut is a domestic noir/psychological thriller set in the Greenwich Park area of London.

Helen is finally pregnant after years of tragedy. She attends her first antenatal class, expecting that Daniel, her architect husband, will be arriving soon along with her charming brother, Rory, and his beautiful wife, Serena, who are also expecting their first baby. Then all three bail on her and instead she meets Rachel, a brash single mother, who latches onto Helen and wants to be her new best friend.

Does Rachel have an ulterior motive? Of course, she does and Katherine Faulkner proceeds to tease her readers with mini cliffhangers, red herrings, and, of course, twists.

The narrative voice switches between various characters including Helen, Serena, and Katie, a childhood friend of Helen and her siblings, who is dating Helen’s younger brother, Charlie. Katie is a reporter currently covering a controversial court case that has echoes of a previous case that took place years before.

I read a lot of crime fiction and police procedurals and so can be a little pedantic, so at some points in this novel I had to suspend my disbelief in terms of the improbability of events and character actions.

Helen was at times infuriatingly naive and I wanted to sit her down for a chat about her passivity. Also, Rachel was so over the top and yet everyone seemed too polite to call her out. Katie was my favourite character with her determination to uncover Rachel’s motives.

Overall, even with my quibbles ‘Greenwich Park’ proved a fast paced and ultimately satisfying twisty psychological thriller.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

There are lots of great things about this novel, and is really is an impressive debut. A plot with lots going on to get your theory wheel whirring, and suspicions fly all over the pages as you read!
The characters were strong and well thought out.
Here comes the but. For a character who has had a difficult past, Helen's inability to defend herself and her unborn baby from certain situations did nothing but infuriate me. I understand it was part of her character to be submissive and naive, but seriously- I just couldn't suspend my disbelief enough with certain scenes. Why wouldn't she charge her phone when she is about to give birth?! And she kept NOT doing it. I wanted to shake her!
There is poetic licence, and there is just plain stupidity.
A really gripping, thrilling read, but this stuff really gets to me and I can't give full 5 stars for it!

Thanks to NetGalley, Bloomsbury Publishing and Katherine Faulkner for the advance review copy of Greenwich Park.

First up - this is an EPIC debut novel - reading this book you would never guess that this is Katherine's first book - the plot builds up well and is packed with twists, turns, secrets and gradual reveals. It is well paced and the ending is superb!

At the start of Greenwich Park we meet Helen. She is expecting her first child after a series of losses, and living in her parents old Victorian home with her husband Daniel, life is finally starting to look up. Even better, her brother Rory and his beautiful wife Serena are also expecting their first child, so they plan to complete their antenatal classes together.

At the first class however Daniel is running late from work and Serena and Rory fail to show. Helen is left attending alone when Rachel arrives - a bold brash single mum top be who quickly latches on to Helen and wants to learn everything about her, every, little detail!

Suddenly Rachel is everywhere, turning up at Helen's house unannounced, bumping into her in restaurants and becoming far to inquisitive into Helen and her friends lives. Helen starts to wonder if there is more to Rachel. Where did she come from? Who is the married father of her child? Why does she always have so much cash?

As time passes, we start to discover that there is far more to Rachel than meets the eye, with deep dark secrets from the past coming back to haunt the present day.

Whilst I did suspect the outcome, it's fair to say I changed my mind about 100 times and did suspect almost every character at least once before being taken off in another direction., An amazing final clanger at the end bought the book to a really gripping conclusion.

4/5 and a fantastic debut psychological thriller.