This book is a multi-layered story. It's more a domestic noir than a psychological thriller..
It's a slow burner.
Thansks to NetGalley and Little Brown book for this ARC in exchange from an honest review

I was drawn into this well-written story immediately, the character of Ellie someone I could relate to. I loved the build up of tension, unsure what was going on, and the portrayal of family life is skillfully drawn. Lots of twists and turns and revelations kept me gripped, leading to a rewarding conclusion.

Highly recommended.

Another great book by Caroline England. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It took me a while to get into the novel but when I did it was really great.

We meet Ellie, she is a typical modern day mother who has a family and life is crazy. Ellie suffers with nightmares and this is where the story really lies, we learn about her past experiences and it comes to light that she has many secrets. This is not a straight forward read as it has lots of twists and turns, but it is an excellent story.

I love Caroline England's style of writing and the way the story itself is built up so you are always wanting more and feel that you desperately need to know answers to the questions raised.

Thanks to NetGalley, Caroline England and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I enjoyed it overall but really found the initial build up to be a bit too drawn out. It’s a character driven story though I didn’t warm to Ellie, the main character, Overall there are good twists and turns, and it did hold my interest to the end!

I enjoyed this book, it was hard going to start with but then I went with it and understood the characters and the story. The ending was perfect.

I especially liked how the author started the book with a scene and at the end there was a conclusion to the scene.

This was my first exposure to the author and now I know her writing style will look out for more.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

Eleanor Wilson seems to have a perfect life; three wonderful boys, a loving husband a mother who loves her; but, things aren't all as they seem.
How many lies can someone tell before the truth comes out?

How many secrets can someone have and memories are forgotten until everything spills out?

Oh wow, I'm not sure how I felt about this book.

At the start, I would not have said this was a thriller, and I wouldn't have described it as a 'gripping page turner'.
The first 300 pages were mainly to set up the novel; England also giving us hints but never telling.
The last 100 was to shock the reader!
And in the last 100, I couldn't stop turning; that when I reached the final page I was looking for more!

I struggled at the beginning, I found the voice of the main character quite monotone, her character quite grey.
However, that's the point!

This novel is written to show growth within the main character, she starts to fight for herself, realising what is missing in her life and wanting to put things right.
The reader then fights with the character, wondering what she will do next.
However, England stops us in our tracks and has us creaming for more!

I genuinely didn't think I was going to enjoy this novel when I started it, but by the end, I can't help but itch for more by this author!

I was excited to read this book as I’ve loved Caroline England’s other releases.
I enjoyed it but found it a little slow and it just didn’t grip me as much as her others. It’s beautifully written with great characters and intriguing twists, but just didn’t draw me in. Overall, it’s 3 stars for me. I will read more of her books in future but this is definitely not a favourite for me.

This is a great read but is a bit of a slow burner.
The story centres around Ellie who is struggling a bit with life and her husband Cam, isn’t helping. They have three sons and life is hectic.
Ellie has nightmares but can’t seem to stop them. It seems there’s things from her past that are seeping through into her life and she needs to take control.
With secrets being revealed about her childhood, University life and even adult life, it’s certainly coming at Ellie from all angles.
I didn’t really warm to Ellie but did feel for her at the end of the book.
This isn’t really a thriller, more of a domestic drama that overall, I enjoyed.
Thanks to Little Brown Book Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This is quite a slow burner of a book. There are a lot of layers to build up. Secrets to set, lies to manipulate. And then, just when you have been lulled into a sense of security - BAM - it all starts to unravel and expose and the punches come thick and fast...
In fact, it's such a slow burn - well it was for me anyway - that at times I wasn't sure we would ever get to the point! And then when the flood gate did open, throwing itself right back on its hinges, I wondered if the deluge would ever stop. Making the book a bit unbalanced for my liking...
That said, I did enjoy my time with the book. I am not opposed to slow burners but I do prefer my books to be bit more balanced, especially when character led which this book most definitely was.
Ellie has a good partner, she's a good mother and tries to be a good daughter herself. She's ticking along quite well when first we meet her. But cracks start to form in this façade when a face from the past, her uni days, starts to become more prominent in her present and, in turn, threatens to expose secrets that have long lain hidden, even from Ellie.
I've seen this billed as a psychological thriller but I would have to rebrand it as dark domestic as it is not really too psychological. It is addictive though and sucked me in from the off and I was held in its thrall throughout my time reading - desperate to figure out what was going on.
Taking aside for a moment the (over) busy ending and this was the perfect character driven book. Ellie was someone who it was easy to care about right from the off. Other characters - main and supporting - were all just as well drawn and interactions between them all felt natural and it was easy to believe in them all.
The storyline was... well... intriguing and a little bit "suspend belief all ye who enter". There are so many dark secrets that are hinted at along the way that I did get a bit dizzy. Some pan out, others fade away and still more hit you in he face from pretty much nowhere! I did feel a bit wrung out when I eventually got to the end of the book.
I've read quite a few of this author's books now and although, for me, not one of her strongest, I am still looking forward to seeing what she has in store for next time.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Truth Games was a book I was really looking forward to read, and I am pleased to announce, it did not let me down.

I felt for Ellie, her story had me hooked and I kept wanting to read more and more.

A great story of a woman whose life is thrown into a state of disarray upon the return of an old school friend who brings back some very sinister moments...

This was my 1st read of a Caroline England book and I have already downloaded her back catalogue, this book was that good!!

Domestic noirs are me favourite genre but a lot of them are too "samey", this one was in a league of its own. There were so many twists and turns that it kept me glued to it until the end...... an ending which actually made my jaw drop!! Talk about not seeing it coming.

It's not the most fast paced but that's what makes it all the more relatable and realistic. There aren't ridiculously outlandish scenarios and dramas, it's just a very eerie tale of how different people see the same events differently

Family is everything to Ellie Wilson. She tries hard to be the perfect mother, the perfect daughter, the perfect partner - but she can't seem to always get things right. When an old friend from University re-enters their lives, dark memories from Ellie's past begin to resurface. Memories that had been buried for a long time. As Ellie starts to unravel some shocking and sinister realities, she realises she must choose between keeping the family she loves - and facing the truth.

The first half of this book is character building and setting up what's in store for us in the second half. Ellie, Cam and Sean have been friends since University, Ellie and Cam are partners and have three sons. When the secrets start to unravel, they come at us fast and they start to impact on Ellie's life.

This is a multi-layered story that unravels at it's own pace - slow in the first half steady in the second. I did like the authors style in writing this book. A story filled with secrets, lies and unexpected truths. I loved the ending, I wasn't expecting it to end that way. This is the first book I've read by the author but it won't be my last.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #LittleBrownBookGroupUK and the author #CarolineEngland for my ARC of
#TruthGames in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this book was too slow for me. It’s definitely not a psychological thriller- but more a domestic noir. Parts are very intense but it lacked the grip-factor for me overall.

This was a very twisty book and at times it frustrated me with all the jumping around in the story. But I did enjoy it. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This book isn’t a psychological thriller, there are some elements of that in it but it’s an in depth look at one family and how decades of lies come back to haunt them all. A good solid read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dark, Domestic Noir...
Dark, domestic noir. A twisting suspense to keep the reader on their toes. With a well developed cast of characters, this is a slow burn and a gradual mounting of tension leading to some, perhaps, surprising revelations. A thoroughly engaging read.

Truth Games - Caroline England

Coming to this book with no expectations, it wasn't what I expected, which isn't always a bad thing.

Focussing on three old University friends, Ellie, Cam and Sean, now all grown up and respectable in leafy South Manchester.

Ellie and Cam are long-term partners (he refuses to consider marriage) and parents to three pre-teen boys. Sean was the philosophical 'Irish Beast' at Uni, now married with six kids.

The first half of the book is full of character and character building, family life, aging parents, squabbles and gossip. Almost like an episode of Cold Feet, All very entertaining but not quite the dark domestic noir or psychological thriller I had been expecting...

Then the memories, unexpected truths and secrets start coming out and it's like an avalanche, hard-hitting, destructive and very powerful.

The writing is very good, the depth of character is excellent and I found myself very involved. Some might find the first half a bit slow, but believe me it's setting up for something spectacular.

A different, surprising and moving book.


Thanks to Netgalley and Piatkus / Little Brown Book Group

This was another amazing book from one of my favourite authors her books just keep getting better and better. This one was a slightly different style to previous ones but this only sought to make it even better. This book has lots of layers and very comped characters which make you want to keep reading and not put the book down in order to keep peeling the layers away to find out what is underneath. I read this in practically one sitting as I was intrigued and wanted to uncover the tangled web of secrets and lies.