This is a fast paced mystery told in a dual timeline
The plot was complex and the writing was good.
The characters were all well developed and were believable
The twists kept me guessing till the end

This is the second novel I've read by the author and I'll definitely be reading more of her back catalogue now.
Sisters Celine and Pip are at their late mother's house in Sussex. They have been estranged from their mother for many years and grieving the loss of their sister Vanessa who was murdered 15 years earlier. When a murder of a young woman has similarities to their sister's murder they are drawn to a local women's commune and its history. This is told from the point of view of Celine and Bramble, a member of the commune and I found both women's stories equally compelling.
I loved this original thriller which was beautifully written and well paced. I was really drawn into the story of the women at the commune and found the investigation into the women's murders compelling.
A gripping novel that I'd recommend.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

When Celine and Pip get the call to say their mother has passed away they meet up and start to wonder what happened to their murdered sister. Facing history may give them the closure they need.
This was a tense read and kept me glued to my kindle but it felt a little flat for me in places.
Thank you to netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

The first 10% of this book struggled to capture my attention and I was worried that I wouldn’t like this book written by an author who I have previously very much enjoyed. But there was a scene to be set and the story soon ramped up and wow what a story it is! It’s an unusual novel about a cultish group of women and the secrets that they hold just kept on coming. I was really not expecting the ending and I couldn’t put it down. Very highly recommended!

Told in the past and present about a commune and a grieving family, it is an intricately woven story that eventually weaves a connection between the two. And with one heck of a twist. I really liked the family and felt their pain. I didn’t connect so much with the commune, but overall liked the book.

This is my second Isabel Ashdown book and it had me captivated from start to finish. The characters are colourful and believable, and the multi-layered plot keeps you guessing to the final chapter.
Two books and two completely original story lines. The author has an amazing talent and I can´t wait to read the rest of her work.
Thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book

When Celine and Pip’s dysfunctional mother dies, they meet up to organise her funeral and deal with the estate, bringing back memories of their sister, Vanessa, who died in mysterious circumstances 15 years previously. Another girl is found dead which seems to echo Vanessa’s death and both women have a connection to a nearby commune led by the enigmatic Seed.

This is an intriguing and absorbing tale. It’s not a fast paced read. It’s a slow burner, gradually drawing the reader in, revealing little clues along the way. It’s told via two voices, that of Celine, who is desperate to find out what happened to her sister all those years ago, and that of Bramble, one of the founders of the commune. It also goes backwards and forwards in time, interweaving the strands, and then travelling towards the big reveal at the end. And what a reveal it is! It could be deemed slightly incredulous but all I can say is please read the book and make your own mind up! It’s well worth the effort.

I think this book has a lot of potential and was attracted by the blurb. Unfortunately I found it quite slow and it didn't keep my attention.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

What to say about 33 women...it has so many textures and undertones to it, most of which revolve around female disenfranchisement. Whilst in the present, the discovery of a woman's body brings unwanted media attention to a woman's only commune, it forces two sisters to face up to the events which have overshadowed their lives to this point.

A errant mother leaving 3 young girls, Celine, Vanessa and Pip to fend for themselves whilst she flits around the world discarding lovers and basing her entire existence on how valuable she can make herself to the opposite sex. An isolated and lonely death brings Celine and Pip together with honary aunt, retired detective Una who helps the 2 women put together their past in a way that they have been unable to before.

There are so many interesting ideas at play here, the idea of a men free zone, the significance of numbers and accountability to held beliefs that do not change over time, self awareness and self delusion, all are tackled with clarity of thought, and no agenda other than to promote discussion over why women would set such an encampment up.

The division between men and women, the way that value is attributed based on sex is so insidious and well developed in a patriarchal society that you can absolutely appreciate why the original founders of Two Cross Farm wanted to set it up and step outside of conventional societal norms.

However, in doing so, did they merely re-inforce societal norms?

And where did it ultimately lead?

This female led society with self sufficiency, matriarchal and democratic processes at its heart becomes an object of both derision and curiosity without the general public questioning their motives or why they feel unsafe around women.

In the alternate storyline , the surviving daughters of a self absorbed woman not only have to come together to decide what to do with her legacy, they need to attack how it has damaged each of them in turn. The focus on external features being of higher value than internal characteristics dovetails so neatly with the background of the farm, both different aspects of the same societal problems.

As well using the characters to discuss these issues, Isabel presents the women as flawed yet trying, not yet perfect but works in progress through which she uses them to frame the murder mystery which lies at the centre of '33 Women'

The truth which is slowly revealed over the course of time and the pages of this novel, is so much darker and more desperately sad than I originally imagined, it is a moving and wonderfully plotted novel which engages the reader and takes them then down some darker paths where you begin to think about your position in society as a woman, your responsibilities in raising girls, the values placed upon you and the ones which you discard.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to readers who want to read a story with substance and bite to it.

Dealing with their late mother’s belongings and estate, Celine and Pip are missing one sister, Vanessa who was murdered several years before. When a body is discovered with startling similarities to Vanessa’s unsolved murder, the two sisters find the past comes rushing back to them. The storyline focusses on Celine and Pip and a women’s commune called Two Cross Farm, and switches uncomplicatedly back and forth in time for their perspectives.

I initially didn’t like the two sisters when the book started. Obviously keen to get their mother’s affairs sorted, they appeared to not want to spend any longer in each other’s company than was necessary. As the storyline moved on, the characters grew on me as they worked together to try and work out the connection between their sister’s death and the commune. For me, I did like the idea of the storyline, but it was a little slow going for my liking and it struggled to hold my attention. As the past, and all its secrets and lies began tumbling out, admittedly I did enjoy it more, and I found the ending tied everything cleverly and nicely.

All in all, I did enjoy it, but it didn’t have the ‘wow’ factor that I hoped it would.

Anyone looking for a thriller with a twist at the end, this book is right up your street! I have never rad a book by Isabel Ashdown before, but I will in the future. She puts her plot together like a sudoko and your re desperate for the missing pieces (which are drip-fed) to work out what happens in the end. Very cleverly done!
This is a brilliant novel. I can't recommend it highly enough. It is a very evocative look at how the very best of intentions can sometimes have the most appalling consequences.
I love the way the book is structured and the plot is such an interesting concept. The characters feel real and I really managed ot connect with them which is a skill for an author to be able to do. The tone of the book is empathetic and poignant and in a world where the "twists" in a book have become ten a penny, these twists come thick and fast, and I challenge anyone to be able to predict the ending!

Highly recommend
Thank you to the author, publisher and netGalley for my arc.

4.5⭐

I was fortunate to receive a copy of this ARC from NetGalley.

This was a very interesting, multi layered novel. Sisters Celine and Pip become absorbed trying to establish the connection between their deceased mother and sister and the women's refuge nearby.

The end was a surprise!

My favourite quote:
"Una cuts two slabs of cake and hands them to Beebee and Olive, who have returned like heat seeking missiles at the arrival of food."

Interesting, Unique and a book I will be collecting for my forever shelf I have found this one hard to put down and have been completely captivated.
I adore the writing style, plot and characters. A great book!

I couldn't get into this book, not sure if it was the layout, as it did seem to jump around a lot and I didn't know which character I was reading about, I usually love a thriller and was looking forward to it, I may give it another go sometime, but was disappointed.

As always with books by Isabel Ashdown - you are in for one hell of a ride! This book has elements of mystery, suspense and thriller and plenty to keep you hooked.

The story focuses on Celine & Pip, two sisters meeting up to sort out their newly-deceased mother’s property. But nothing is ever that simple. We discover that Delilah, their mother, was far from perfect and that the girls are still struggling from the effects of the unsolved murder of a third sister Vanessa, many years before.

The story starts in 2005, then alternates between present day and 1976. It is also told from varying perspectives which adds both depth and understanding.

This book is full of memorable and well-developed characters who all have a role to play in the tangled web and intrigue. The variety of characters embedded themselves quickly in my mind.
The action is set around Arundel and though I have never been, I felt I knew the area clearly as it had been described so beautifully.

Two Cross Farm, a refuge for women, adds a fascinating alternative setting and provides a plethora of interesting characters and secrets and raises many twists to the plot.
The strength of the main characters and their tenacity to solve the murder of their sister is admirable. Isabel Ashdown has crafted this book cleverly, littering it with clues to lead you to a fulfilling ending.


This book is tense, gripping and fascinating. It is suspenseful and puzzling but most of all it is addictive and gripping reading. Another brilliant book!

This is a fantastic psychological thriller. It starts of slowly with the author building & developing the layers if the story.
I was hooked immediately as it was well written and descriptions and characters were great. A plus for me was that the ending was a complete surprise.
This author had previously been recommended to me and I can see why, and I would definatley recommend to others

When a murder takes place which seems similar to how their sister died Celine and Pip, with the help of an ex police officer, start to investigate
What is the connection?
An unusual storyline with interesting characters. An enjoy read

The story started with Celine and Pip coming back home on hearing about their mother’s death. They missed their middle sister, Vanessa, intensely who had beaten and killed years ago. Another death and body posed in the same manner opened up the police investigation. Residents of the Two Cross Farm close by were the main suspects.

The book was quite different in its formatting. I had the present story of Celine and Pip, and the past and present stories of the women on Two Cross Farm. From the beginning, I knew there was a connection.

I liked the book as it was different. I was quite curious to know how the author would link the parallel lines. The ladies next door on the farm were a secretive lot whose leader Seed was the one who spoke.

The suspense was steady with the Two Cross Farm giving a cult like ambiance. Both Celine and Pip had their past and present ghosts. They needed to overcome their hurdles to have a stronger bond. The story coasted between women’s fiction and thriller.

When the story started unraveling its secrets, something niggled me. There was a strange feeling that the subplots didn’t really fit well, and pace felt slow. Nonetheless, the story was intriguing.

The twists were many, and some of the reveals were quite explosive. I hadn’t read something like that in recent times in any book. I knew everything but understood nothing, and the final truth stole away my breath.

A character driven story showing the lives of many women interlinked with each other.

Anyone looking for a thriller with a twist at the end should read this book. Isabel Ashdown puts her plot together like the pieces of a jigsaw and it's not until the very last piece is in place that all is revealed.
This is a fabulous novel. I can't recommend it highly enough. It is a very evocative look at how the very best of intentions can sometimes have the most appalling consequences.
I love the way the plot is structured and the characterisation has real empathy. The twists come thick and fast and really are impossible to predict.
Perfect.

After the death of their estranged mother, Delilah Murphy, sisters Celine and Pip (and her daughters, Olive and Beebee) head to her rather grand house (called Belle France) in Arundel, West Sussex, where she’s lived for over 17 years. Their mother’s old friend and their ‘auntie’, Una, 57, is the executor of the will and is helping the women to arrange her funeral. Pip, her husband, Stefan, and their children live in the old family home in Kingston and Una still lives next door.

While sorting Delilah’s belongings for charity, the women are paid a visit by the police who tell them that a 24-year-old American chef called Robyn Siegle has been found dead, in suspicious circumstances, on the river bank a mile away. The police think she was a resident of the woman’s commune, Two Cross Farm, which is a big gated property down the road from Belle France.

Celine and Pip’s sister, Vanessa, died in March 2005, aged 20, and her body was discovered on Brighton pier, which is 20 miles away. It was thought that her boyfriend, Jem Falmer, murdered her but he disappeared and his whereabouts are unknown. The women believe there is a connection between the two deaths and Una, a former detective at Scotland Yard, speaks to an old colleague, Detective Inspector Dave Aston of Sussex Police, to see if the 15-year-old case can be reopened.

The short, snappy chapters alternate between the present day (May 2020), which tells Celine’s story, and various periods of time (mid-1970s, 1990s and the present day) at Two Cross Farm, which are told from a woman called Bramble’s viewpoint.

Two Cross Farm was set up in 1976 by the six Founding Sisters, Bramble, Fern, Kathy, Regine, Susan and later, Seed, who is the current leader. It is a place of sanctuary and ‘a shelter from oppression, a place women can settle, free of their chains of enslavement, where they may never fear the raised hand of violence again’. Fern believes in the power of numbers and selected 33, the highest of the master numbers, as the maximum number of women who may stay at the farm at any one time. There is a code of conduct of 12 rules that all the women must abide by.

Seed is rather mysterious and intense and seems to be hiding numerous secrets: her own and that of the farm. All the women are rather secretive and reluctant to talk about things. Various incidents have obviously happened at Two Cross Farm over the years – nearly 400 women have stayed there since it was opened – but everyone is keeping quiet.

As Celine, Pip and Una look into the deaths of both women, with the help of DI Aston, and pay a visit to the commune to speak to Seed, things start to unravel at Two Cross Farm and they get nearer to discovering the truth about what happened to Vanessa and Robyn, and uncovering other well-hidden secrets.

Overall, I really enjoyed 33 Women – it was an intriguing and tense read with a well-plotted and gripping storyline. I had several theories as the story progressed but the twists and turns kept me guessing about exactly what was going on. The short, alternating chapters cleverly disclosed key elements of the plot and we found out more revealing details about various characters.

The descriptions of all the characters were good and I enjoyed getting to know Celine, Pip and Una. The sisters were obviously damaged by their upbringing but had pulled together to support each other and Una is a strong mother figure who cared deeply for the girls.

Two Cross Farm was also well described – very mysterious and atmospheric – and seemed a rather troubled and dubious place to live. The 12 rules were quite severe and women had to give up a lot to join the commune and conform to its way of life. It all made me feel rather uncomfortable, uneasy and suspicious!

The pacing of the story was good with lots of suspense and misdirection and, in several places, I was frantically turning the pages to see what was going to happen. It was compelling and engaging and there were some shocking revelations, which I hadn’t expected!