I saw a review saying this book was a thriller. I love a thriller so requested to review it. It absolutely is not a thriller. Anyone expecting this to be a thriller would be disappointed.

It’s a book about three friends who met at uni, the choices they make, the interaction of their lives, betrayal and deceit. None of the characters are likeable which can often make a book difficult to read. It seemed to go on forever, there are no chapters so no breaks in this book. For me it was pretty obvious who “David” was from early on. It felt like I was reading a story I’d read before so there were no surprises. There’s a sadness to this book. The ending was convenient but felt as though there was no ending. I feel indifferent about this book. I didn’t particularly enjoy it but I didn’t dislike it either.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

I always feel guilty giving less than 3*s, however I ran this twice through CAWPILE and I can't give it higher.
The characters are all unlikeable, and while this is not necessarily a bad thing, they are written as though you should feel sorry for them. They have all caused a lot of harm to the people around them, and their motives seem so limited. I won't go into more detail on that because of spoilers.
I also really disliked the formatting. There were no chapter breaks, just 3 long sections. I found this really hard to read as I'm someone who likes to stop at the end of a chapter.
I felt the ending was very convenient and made everything wrap up in a nice, shiny bow. I wanted more out of this.

I absolutely adored Our Kind of Cruelty so was very excited to see Araminta Hall had a new standalone psychological thriller out and when I was offered the opportunity to read it alongside 80+ THE Book Club members over a 3 week period I jumped at the chance.

The story revolves around 3 central characters and is split into 3 parts - Eleanor, Nancy and Mary - so the reader gets to follow the story via 3 completely different personalities and opinions.

These 3 "imperfect" women have been best friends since University and whilst each of their lives have taken completely different journeys they have remained close throughout their adulthood.

When one of the women gets murdered, their lives are sent spiralling. Each part of the book delves deeper into the background and personalities of the 3 women, and honestly, none of them are particularly endearing or likeable which made me feel slightly disconnected to the story as it unfolded.

Both of the 2 male characters were flawed, unlikeable, controlling and really got up my nose which their behaviour.

Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of reading this book over 3 parts with a group of readers and discussing the plot and characters and our own little conspiracy theories, the book fell a little flat for me as I just couldn't warm to any of the characters.

Araminta Hall's latest novel is a dark and intense exploration of women's lives, marriage, love, loss and long term friendships that evolve over the years. Nancy Hennessy, Eleanor Robert, and Mary Smithson first met at university, meeting in fresher's week and instantly forging a friendship and love with each other that, despite their personality differences and different paths in the future, survives. That said, that doesn't mean that that their friendship is straightforward or that they are perfect, they are flawed and imperfect women, there is resentment, jealousies, rivalries, and betrayal. They lose their way, their ambitions and their identities, hampered by poor self esteem issues, and struggle with bringing up children, they love their children, no question, but being a mother and parent is not always what its cracked up to be.

There is debilitating post-natal depression, along with the tedium and stress of being a full time housewife and mother, exacerbated by men who leave a lot to be desired when it comes to being fathers and husbands. Narrated by each of the women, Eleanor is a single woman whose career in the charity sector has flourished, she has had a particularly close and involving relationship with the beautiful Nancy and her human rights lawyer husband, Robert. After meeting Nancy the night before, Eleanor rushes to Robert in the early hours of the morning, Nancy has not returned home and he is worried. Eleanor tells him Nancy had left her to meet David, her lover, someone she had been having an affair with for more than a year. Events take a darker turn when DS Daniel arrives to inform them that Nancy is dead, discovered murdered by a path next to the river in Hammersmith. The narrative shifts from the past and present, following the fallout of Nancy's death on all of them, revealing their interior lives, their thoughts, decisions and secrets as Eleanor and Mary find solace and support in each other.

Hall looks at marriage and the difficulties it can have evolving through time and the humdrum nature of everyday life where you can so easily stop seeing each other, sometimes never seeing each other until it is too late. Robert is devoted to and loves Nancy, but she struggles to live his version of their lives together, with him playing an insignificant role at home and in childcare. Howard, an academic, is married when he gets involved with Mary, and continues to have affairs throughout their marriage, contemptuous, controlling and disdainful of Mary as she brings up their 3 children without any help from him whatsoever. In a twisted story, we observe the evolution of friendship and love between the 3 women, recalibrated as they come to understand and accommodate their imperfections, particularly as it finally becomes clear what happened to Nancy.

I listened to the audio of this book as well, and the first thing I must say is that I wasn't bored by this at all. In fact, the complexity of the storytelling and the in depth characterisation made my appreciation for the book increase. Sometimes when you only listen to the audio you can miss stuff, but because I was familiar the book, I believe it enhanced my audio experience. The narrator, Helen Keeley was great, her characterisation was good with each character feeling distinct. The tone kept me hooked, despite knowing where it was all heading. Many thanks to Orion and Hachette Audio UK for an ARC.