Cover Image: Greenwich Park

Greenwich Park

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Member Reviews

This is a good debut thriller book told from different character perspectives that helps to round the story out, I struggled to find anything lovable about any of the characters really which made the slow-burn of a first-half a little tough. The second half definitely picked up and everything came together for the climactic, if a little predictable ending.

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This is my perfect kind of book, I loved the premise of it and was over the moon when I was accepted to read this one, it’s so well written, easy to read and follow and follows a few perspectives so you get a better idea of the whole picture and story yet it still keeps you guessing until the end! I flew through this book and read it in 2 days, it’s been a really enjoyable read and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves a twisty psychological thriller!

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Helen had saved places for her husband, brother and sister-in-law the first day she had gone to ante-natal classes, but they had all been a no-show, so when a young woman arrived, she sat next to Helen. They were like chalk and cheese. Helen more middle class while Rachel was brassy and chatty. Rachel hooked onto Helen and seemed to be wherever Helen was going.

Helen’s family had close connections with each other. Rory, Helen’s brother, and his wife Serena were expecting their baby about the same time as Helen. Rory and Helen’s husband Daniel were business partners and was constantly in touch with each other.

When one night Rachel appeared on Helen’s doorstep, she had been attacked and begged for a place to stay the night. But one night lead to two, and two lead to many. Rachel seemed to push herself in everywhere Helen went, and Helen didn’t know how to get her to leave. Something was going on that Helen couldn’t fathom. Rachel seemed to rub people up the wrong way.

It is so easy to jump to conclusions in this story, with red herrings being plentiful. I liked Helen and was on tenterhooks about her latest pregnancy throughout the story and what a story it was. I loved how the tension built in the chapters as I tried to work out what was going on. It is a brilliant story, and nothing like I thought it would end. I loved the ending, which gave me goosebumps.


I wish to thank Net Galley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

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Wow! Loved every minute of this book. It hooked me right in and I was so intrigued.

The way the author has several threads of story from different time lines interweaving is excellent and every time a new nugget of information was given the intrigue just increases.

Read if you like thrillers and books about relationships between people.

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Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner is a twisty thriller that seamlessly falls into place like a complex jigsaw.

Helen, Rory and Charlie are the children of a well-known Greenwich architect; Helen now lives in the family home with husband Daniel whilst Rory took over his father's business lives nearby with wife Serena. Helen's new friend Rachel whom she met at ante-natal class is uninhibited and supportive but mysterious at the same time. When the renovation work on their house forces Helen to meet up with friends for company, she realises they are too busy and Rachel is the only one available. Rachel however seems to be always available.

The relationship with Rachel and the other family members develops in a way that Helen could not have expected and the reasons behind it are very mysterious.

Gripping, twisty thriller; enjoyable read!

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I am a sucker for a thriller and boy did this have everything I wanted in one book. I first heard about Greenwich Park on the Bloomsbury Night In a few months ago, and was so excited when I got approved for this on NetGalley.

Greenwich Park mainly follows pregnant Helen - starting with her going to an antenatal class alone, and meeting fellow attendee Rachel. Rachel is full on and quirky, offering Helen wine in the first class. Their relationship grows as they seem to bump into each other all over Greenwich, despite Rachel's weird behaviour. We also see point of views of her friends and family members which adds some more depth to the storyline.

I was honestly addicted to this, and wanted to devour it. It had me gripped to my seat wanting to find out the ending, but was well-paced for a thriller. I felt bad for Helen, but sometimes she annoyed me with her poor choices or lack of assertion. Overall, I absolutely loved this and cannot wait to buy the hardback!

Thanks to NetGalley + Bloomsbury for the ARC for an honest review. (I will be posting it on my instagram on the pub. date tomorrow)

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In this psychological mystery, four friends from Cambridge University are now two couples living near Greenwich Park, London. Helen, the main character in the book, is married to Daniel while her brother, Rory, is married to Serena. Both women are now pregnant and due about the same time. All four should be attending the same antenatal classes but, for various reasons, Helen is there on her own and is befriended by Rachel who is also new to the classes. Rachel is boisterously outgoing, happily smoking and drinking, while Helen is quiet by nature and cautious because she has already had three miscarriages. Daniel and Rory are partners in an architect firm originally set up by Rory’s father, but the company is in trouble, possibly financial. Charlie, Helen’s younger brother is a pot smoking DJ at a dodgy club, while his girlfriend, Katie, is a reporter based in London but currently observing a high profile rape case in Cambridge. This inevitably brings back memories of a similar case in Cambridge 10 years ago, the year that the four main protagonists graduated, in which the two accused were found not guilty. Although there is no suggestion that any of the four were participants, the fact that they all claim to have only the vaguest memory of that event is odd. Helen keeps bumping in to Rachel, but Greenwich is a small area so that is not surprising. What is surprising is that Rachel always seems to have large numbers of fifty pound notes about her person – but is unemployed and doesn’t seem to have any other friends. And then Rachel is assaulted and moves in with Helen and Daniel on a temporary basis and everything starts to go awry.
The story is well written and the plot overall is well managed although it goes a bit adrift as it moves towards the inevitable ending. And ‘inevitable’ is the right word because, apart from some minor details, it was not at all difficult to work out.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

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What a fantastic debut!

Completely enthralled from start to finish it was an unputdownable read!

The characters are so well rounded, they all have different sides and when you think you know something you’re swept up your feet or you end up changing your mind.

Helen is finally pregnant after many miscarriages and that aspect of the female mind during pregnancy was such a clever add on to the mystery. Going through the story from all the different point views of each character was so clever and gave such a great perspective.

So many twists and turns, I cringed and gasped and didn’t expect it at all.

A brilliant success! Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury for allowing me access to this amazing title.

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Omg what a read! I could not put the book down and there were so many twists even at the end.

This is the story of Helen, who is finally in the latter stages of a viable pregnancy after four losses. We meet her family, her husband, Daniel, her older brother, Rory and his wife, Serena. Helen thinks they are all wonderful, but it is clear from the start that none of these people are very nice at all.

Helen meets the larger than life Rachel at an antenatal class. Rachel is very keen to be Helen’s friend and they bump into each other frequently. Rachel inserts herself into Helen’s life and becomes a regular fixture in her social life. Helen is reluctant to be Rachel’s friend from the start, but she’s too nice to say no when Rachel engineers meetings.

Helen’s younger brother Charlie and his girlfriend Katie make up the family. Katie is a good friend of Helen’s from when they were all friends as children. She is a journalist, who is following a high profile court case where two popular and successful young men are accused of rape.. Through Katie’s coverage of the court case we also meet DCI Carter, who is a genuinely good guy.

I really enjoyed this book and I was intrigued to get to the end. I distrusted almost all the characters from the start. As the story unfolded, hints are given as to what is going on, the reader can begin to unravel how everything, and everyone, fit into the story; the reveals weren’t shocking, they were more satisfying.

The plot got more and more exciting and unputdownable as it progressed. I was pleased by the ending, it tied things up satisfactorily.

I would very much recommend this book and I will be keenly looking out for subsequent novels by Katherine Faulkner.

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I really enjoyed this book...it had an innate quality within the prose that kept you wanting to find out more....and, I guess mainly, it had a sucker twist! Great read! Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.

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Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner.

Finally, a thriller that actually thrills! This is a really well written, unpredictable debut novel full of secrets and lies. I was throughly engrossed in the story of Helen, her family & her new friend Rachel and by the time I reached the midway point of the book, I couldn’t put it down. I really enjoyed reading Greenwich Park and will be watching out for what Katherine Faulkner does next.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Raven Books for giving me the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for my honest review.

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This was a well written story full of twists and turns. It was a very clever plot and it was really only towards the end that there was the shock of hat had happened - I never saw that coming. It was a phenomenal psychological thriller very well structured from beginning to end,

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I finished this book within record time (2 days) and could not put it down! This fast-paced thriller kept me guessing, and each time I thought I might be nearer to unravelling the mystery, the author very cleverly added another twist. The book is written in first-person narrative from the perspective of three female characters. Sometimes with multiple characters, the flow can be a little clunky. The transitions between the characters/chapters were natural and ran fluidly. I loved the ending and a definite ‘yes' moment!

I lived in neighbouring SE9 for ten years in my teens/early twenties. I could picture the settings in the story so vividly from the author's descriptions. In particularly, Greenwich Market and all the quirky stalls, little shops and boutiques around the town and aromas from all the hot-food places and flower stalls.

Thank you, Raven Books and NetGalley for kindly sending me a copy of Katherine Faulkner's novel for my honest review.

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Well here is a treat,a fab psychological thriller,great plot,good characters,dark as night and full of twists, turns and every other word that describes breathless unexpected thrills in a book,fantastic ending as well,what a surprising find this book was

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Greenwich Park is a great debut thriller. Helen and Rory are siblings, married to Daniel and Serena. Both couples are pregnant, the family firm keeps them well rewarded financially and they have beautiful houses around Greenwich Park.
At an antenatal class Helen is befriended by a young woman called Rachel, but something doesn’t seem right. Soon she has wormed her way into all their lives, what does she want from them? It’s not going to end well.
The story propels you along and it has an excellent twist or two at the end. I did feel it was slightly too lengthy and Helen’s pregnancy seems improbably long in the final chapters, but really these are minor criticisms, this is an excellent novel.

Thank you #netgalley and #BloomsburyRaven for allowing me to review this ARC

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Greenwich Park is an electrifying, whip-smart debut thriller about impending motherhood, unreliable friendship, and the high price of keeping secrets. Helen’s idyllic life—handsome architect husband, gorgeous multi-million pound Victorian house, and cherished baby on the way (after years of trying)—begins to change the day she attends her first prenatal class and meets Rachel, an unpredictable single mother-to-be. Rachel doesn’t seem very maternal: she smokes, drinks, and professes little interest in parenthood. Still, Helen is drawn to her. Maybe Rachel just needs a friend. And to be honest, Helen’s a bit lonely herself. At least Rachel is fun to be with. She makes Helen laugh, invites her confidences, and distracts her from her fears. But her increasingly erratic behavior is unsettling. And Helen’s not the only one who’s noticed. Her friends and family begin to suspect that her strange new friend may be linked to their shared history in unexpected ways.

When Rachel threatens to expose a past crime that could destroy all of their lives, it becomes clear that there are more than a few secrets laying beneath the broad-leaved trees and warm lamplight of Greenwich Park. This is a scintillating and enthralling debut and I was quite surprised at just how meticulously woven it was. There are secrets, twists and lies in abundance and the dark, riveting plotline kept me engaged throughout. It gets into your psyche and under your skin until you know you have no other option but to read it in a single satisfying sitting. I loved that the twists and reveals came as a shock to me as I often guess what's happening early on, but not here. Trying to unravel the mystery behind Rachel’s invasion of Helen’s life is quite the hook and it turns out that nothing and no one is quite as they seem in this pacy thriller. Switching seamlessly between perspectives you get a fully rounded experience told through the eyes of very different, unreliable narrators. Highly recommended.

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This book was nothing like I thought it was going to be... it was far better. The characters and scenarios were well developed and the story kept me guessing until the very last word. It was well written and kept drip-feeding information, whilst never giving enough away to guess the ending. A great read.

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I requested this for two reasons. The first I love a good thriller and the second because I live 20mins from Greenwich Park. This is a very slow burn thriller, which is something I'm not very fond of. I prefer something a bit more fast paced. However, it does pick up in the second half, which I am thankful. The plot was cleverly done with the twists coming at the end stages of the book. Generally, I peg these kinds of books, so was pleasently surprised when I didn't predict the ending here.

Greenwich Park had interchangeable POVs, which I thoroughly enjoy. However, I occasionally had to check which character was narrating because it wasn't distinctive enough at times.

The biggest struggle I had was how much the first half dragged. Even though the second half was better paced and loose ends were wrapped up by the end of the book, it was the pacing of the first half that caused me to rate this book a 3/5.

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Wow! Now here's a book which will mess with your head - over and over again!

Helen has the perfect life - except for one thing; so far, she hasn't managed a successful pregnancy. She comes from money and has everything else she could want - an ideal husband, a loving brother and a sister-in-law she gets on with. Everything in Helen's garden is rosy until, that is, she meets Rachel. Rachel who doesn't seem to have any self-restraint and imposes herself on Helen, her husband and their friends and seems incapable of knowing when she's very much not wanted. Rachel inveigles herself into their lives - but what do they know about her?

This is an amazing debut novel; it's the kind of read where you know there's something else going on apart from the obvious, but you can't quite work it out. I readily confess to being so drawn into the story that, even when I did take time out to consider the bigger picture, I got it spectacularly wrong - more than once. Cunningly plotted and completely captivating, this is a thrilling novel and one which I definitely recommend to all readers who want a different and unpredictable read. 4.5*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

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I LOVED this book. It starts when Helen attends a prenatal class and, with her husband, pregnant sister-in-law and brother failing to turn up, lets Rachel sit in one of their reserved seats. From here, Rachel wheedles herself more and more into Helen’s life until the night of the bonfire party, where she tells Rachel to leave who then seems to disappear into thin air.
This is one of those books where I reread the ending several times, to make sure I had fully understood everything. It is impossible to put down, with “just one more chapter” ringing in my head throughout. I highly recommend this book. It’s easy to read and yet had my mind churning over what was happening and why it was happening throughout.

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