Five Little Words by Jackie Walsh is a compulsively addictive read that pulled me in from the very start, and did not let go until the final page.

Laura Caldwell has never been happier, living the life of her dreams with husband Conor. Having just given birth to the couple's first child, son Shay, life could not be more perfect. The bubble of bliss quickly bursts, however, when Laura receives an anonymous card. Instead of the anticipted message of congratulations, this one contains a far more sinister message consisting of five little words; Your husband is a murderer. With the unsolved case of murdered local woman Vicky Murphy very much the talk of the village, Laura's world is suddenly turned upside down as she begins to question everything she thought she knew about her beloved husband. And it seems that Laura is not without some secrets of her own.

This is a thoroughly compelling mystery that had me fully invested in discovering who, in fact, killed Vicky Murphy. Another wonderful read from Ms Walsh, I cannot wait to see where she takes us next. 4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hera Books for this ARC.

This book will keep you guessing till the very end! I loved every page in it. So many secrets and hidden agendas in such a small town.

For some reason I cannot connect with this book and have had to DNF at 50% . When I read the blurb on netgalley I was really intrigued and interested in reading this for the thriller part In the story but I’m just not getting this feeling, I can’t connect with the character or plot and I don’t believe this is the authors fault I just don’t think it’s been the right choice for me.

Although they are interesting elements in the story that have kept me reading up until 50% I just can’t connect and keep interested , the writing style is good and does have an intriguing element but for it just isn’t for me.

Although this book wasn’t for me I’m still very interested in the Authors other books.

I want to thank netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book, also the publisher and author. This does not affect my review and my opinions are my own thoughts.

Thankyou Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review

I found this book quite slow .I mean I didn't find the story to be engaging. The first 150 pages are just focusing on Laura doubting Connor and not even confronting him about it .

I found her character pretty dumb at times .She didn't even confront her husband after seeing Vicky's photo in his drawer.

Secondly my issue with this book was I was guessing it to be just like another domestic thriller books where wife gets delusions or has psychological issues .Her husband tries to get rid of the wife for second marriage, etc. Etc .


I would have appreciated if the author could have build on the story at a fast pace.

I received a copy of this book to review from Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity,
I found this book difficult to get into as it was quite slow to start. This improved around the midway point, leading to an intriguing novel.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this book to review. All of the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The cover of the book was what was first to draw me in. I think covers are one of the most important things when trying to stand out and catch someones eye!

The book was a little slow at first but it really picks up and had me hooked. Loved it.

Loved loved loved!!! Hooked me from the first chapter! There was some time in the beginning that seemed a little drawn out but it kept me reading wanting to find out more and more. I liked how the characters were all very well developed and the story line flowed pretty easy, I was guessing who the killer was until the very end! Highly recommend.

รყɳσρรเร: Laura has the dream life - a wonderful husband, a nice house, and now a new baby. However, after arriving home from giving birth to Shay, Laura finds a congratulatory card addressed to her that says, “Your husband is a murderer.” Almost immediately, the card disappears. Who wrote that and what do they mean? Also, where did the card go and who took it? Laura is keeping a secret as well, and she believes karma has come back for her. What is truly going on - is someone out to destroy Laura and Conor’s perfect family, or is Conor really a murderer?
✉️ ɱყ ƭɦσµɠɦƭร: I was hooked chapter by chapter and this was an easy read. The desire to learn Laura’s secret and the mystery behind the card drove my reading on. I recommend this book completely - 💯!

As soon as I saw the cover for Five Little Words, I knew this was a mystery I wanted to try. Written in first-person narration, the book has an easy-to-read, typical suspense-style feel to it. With short chapters that have you constantly second-guessing suspects, this suspenseful plotline kept me wondering until the very end.

While I enjoyed the plot, there were certain elements that took me out of the novel. Having an infant myself, some character actions felt incongruous to life with a brand new baby. This probably wouldn't have been a big deal had I not just completed the newborn stage myself.

Overall, this book was a quick and entertaining read, that feels more mystery than thriller. Thank you to Hera Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Laura and Conor have just welcomed their new baby boy into their family after a whirlwind courtship and marriage. Everything should be perfect in Laura's world and it is, until she receives a card celebrating the birth of her baby with a note, "Your husband is a murderer." With these five little words, Laura's life takes a tailspin.

A woman was murdered in their small village the night before Laura gave birth but she is certain her husband had nothing to do with it. She's also certain that someone is out to harm her and her little family. Is it Conor's ex who still works for him? Their friends? Or is it something dark and buried from Laura's own past? Something she doesn't want Conor to know about?

Five Little Words by Jackie Walsh is a fast-paced thriller that will have readers enthralled. I really enjoyed this book and it left me guessing until the end. This is a great read!

This was an exciting domestic thriller that started of as a literal rollercoaster and never slowed down. The characters were well drawn and the storyline flowed seamlessly. Highly recommended!

This was a pacy thriller but unfortunately rather predictable. The premise of the wealthy husband with secrets and sudden marriage is also getting a little far fetched in the world of social media and constant surveillance. Is it really possible to not know someone you've married in this day and age- unless they're a complete psycho, which Conor was not.

I was intrigued by some of the darker elements of the book eg Conor's black marketing dealing but found otherwise the plot fairly predictable as I'd guessed who the murderer was early on.

I read twelve chapters of this book , and the whole 12 chapters I wanted to shake Laura (the wife). She was to hard for me to follow. I like a fast pasted book that jumps around , but this book leaped around.
I did read the last 8 chapters and they were great. I had it figured out (the bad guy) at the second to last chapter. So I have to say it does keep you guessing

Thanks Jackie Walsh and NETGALLEY for the ARC of this book.

Laura receives a card in the post congratulating her on the birth of her newborn baby. But the note says something more sinister, "Your husband is a murderer".
Laura starts to suspect her husband when things don't add up
Her husband, Conor is keeping secrets. Can he really be a murderer?
But Laura too is keeping secrets about her past that if they came to light could mean the over world she created would crumble.
The voice and pace of Five Little Words was perfect. Told by Laura's point of view. She is a dynamic character that made me feel for her and think she was crazy at the same time. A can't put down thriller. A nail biting read.

This was a honest review.Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of this book.

This book had me hooked from start to finish - it is a long time since I finished a book as as quickly!

Laura is married to Conor, she has a beautiful house, a beautiful baby and a comfortable wonderful life. Until that is, she receives a card in the post warning her, telling her, that Conor is a murderer.

A lot of this book was me trying to figure out if Laura has post natal depression, if she is exaggerating her feelings and things going on around her. But there are great character figures in this book - Conor's mother Maggie, Pat, who lives at the end of the garden and "shuffles" around the yard, and Conor's seemingly toxic friends.

Who did kill Vicky? Is Laura safe? More importantly, is she safe from her own dark past?

Devoured this book. Thank you to the author, and Netgalley for the review copy.

When new mother, Laura Caldwell, opens the card dropped through her letterbox, she expected to see a heartfelt note, congratulating her on the birth of baby Shay. Instead, she sees a message that makes her blood run cold. 'Your husband is a murderer.'

While Laura fights to discover the truth about her husband, she’s also holding dark secrets of her own; secrets she’s spent years trying to hide.

I was attracted to this book because of it’s cover and premise, but once I started reading it, I didn’t quite enjoy it as much as I would have liked to. I felt that there was a lack of character development with the main characters since they weren’t exciting nor appealing to read about. Also, the narration of the plot felt flat most of the times.

However, it makes for a super quick read, thanks to the short chapters and there was an unexpected twist at the end which was quite unexpected and good.

Thank You to NetGalley and Hera Books for this ARC!

More Whodunnit Than Mystery... 🤔 Overall Good Read

Laura married to Conor, looking forward to being a Mum to baby Shay, on her return home is greeted by her overbearing mother-in-law. Laura retrieves her post from the mat, thinking they're all congratulating them on the new baby, on opening there mail, discovers a note "your husband is a murderer...." leaving Laura wondering who has sent this, and is there an element of truth... does she she really know Conor?

It's told from Laura's perspective throughout, Vicky from the local pub has been murdered and the note is insinuating Conor is the one who did this. Laura attempts to do her own discreet enquiries, worrying if this could be true... Both Conor and Laura have their own secrets, worried that they will come out, but was he the one who actually murdered Vicky??

Overall good read, flows well, you can appreciate how she came to her suspicions, as it feels like all is not as it should be in their marriage. A definite should read if you like a whodunnit genre.

Five Little Words is a fast-paced read with short snappy, thrilling chapters that keep you enthralled.

Its story is based on mystery, lies and the protagonist Laura, second-guessing the secrets that have you thinking if a perfect husband could really be a murderer. It's a twisty read with redherrings and I felt engaged with the characters. I could picture the details, the dialect, and appreciate the Irish differences in the language used. Very well done.

Filled with suspense and dramatic scenes I really enjoyed this novel, and the short chapters is perfect for this writing style. I loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had so high expectations about this book and I was indeed disappointed. I liked the idea of the plot, but I didn't find fast-paced nor a page-turner, which is what I expect from a psychological thriller. I wasn't hooked throughout the story. I've read it all because I was expecting that boom, at least at the second half of the book but I did not meet it and I found it a bit boring and repetitive.

I was invited by NetGalley to read an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is the first book I've read by the author but I've recently been getting into mysteries/thrillers so I thought I'd give it a try. I'd rate this book three out of five stars.
The writing style of this book is very easy to read, so easy I could read it even when I was exhausted or when it was 2am and my partner was sleeping beside me. There were some typos in this book but I believe that's because it hasn't been fully edited. There are some grammatical errors that I believe are actually just irish dialect. For example "you're only after having a baby" meaning "you've only just had a baby"- as an english person I can't be sure if the errors I've noticed are just that of the local dialect or if they're real errors.
This book has very short chapters, they're usually only a few pages long and take a maximum of ten minutes to read. I loved this element of the writing format as it keeps you invested in the story- you feel as if everything is moving fast and you have to catch up. Finishing a chapter also gives you a little sense of achievement.
I wasn't a huge fan of the characters in this novel, particularly because I felt they had no depth. Despite the two central characters having trauma, I just felt there wasn't much to them. In my opinion the deepest characters were Maggie and Pat- I was intrigued by them and wanted to know more. Even a quarter of the way through, half the way through, I felt I didn't know anything about the characters, even their main personality traits were a mystery to me. This is a mystery so understably the author wants to keep certain things secret, and to dole them out at a certain pace, but even when the secrets were divulged I still felt I didn't know much about the characters. I found most of the twists and secrets predictable, except perhaps the final twist which I won't spoil!
Whilst I wasn't invested in the characters, I was invested in the mystery. The pacing was good, giving you little teasers about people's pasts. There is a little lull about halfway through when the main character is investigating the mystery, but you soon get over it as the short chapters make you want to keep reading.
I wasn't a fan of the main character. Laura's trauma makes her submissive, and whilst you can't blame her, she screams traditional housewife. She very much seems like the type of wife who cooks a gourmet meal each night, keeps the house spotless and looks after the kids. Conor does accept some responsibilities around the house, such as looking after Shay, but you can see he believes this is mainly Laura's responsibility, as traditional men do. Overall I just wasn't a fan of the main characters. They were boring, with 'traditional' values and little personality.
There was very little description or setting the scene in this book. There was a lot of action- not as in fun action, explosions, fights etc. Just Laura changing Shay, Laura making a cup of coffee, Laura waiting for Conor to come home. Laura felt this. Laura thought about that. Overall I didn't feel the author was a very skilled writer, despite writing an entertaining plot.