Absolutely wonderful. Beautifully written and narrated. Up until 90% I had no idea who did it, then after all the other suspects were ruled out, but still wanted to continue to see how all the strands worked out.

I was given an advance copy bu netgalley and penguin audio but this review is entirely my own.

Thank you to @LesleyPearse and @PenguinUKBooks for this advanced audio copy of Suspects in return for an honest review. Suspect is due to be published on 24th June 2021 and you can get a copy here.

Description 🔖

Nina and Conrad Best are thrilled to be moving into their new home on the quaint and family friendly Willow Close in Cheltenham however the day they move in isn’t as quaint as they would like. A resident is found dead nearby and they have been murdered.

The police start their investigations by interviewing all of the residents of Willow Close and it becomes apparent that there are many secrets hidden behind closed doors. The picture-perfect appearance isn’t what it seems to be.

General Thoughts 🤔

Reading the description of this book I held out hope that I was going to really enjoy it but early on, my hackles were raised. There is so much fat shaming in this story and I really don’t think that it was necessary or added to the story or the character development. It was unnecessary and didn’t sit well with me. The characters were pigeon holed into being glamorous and slim or fat and lazy. If it added to the plot in someway then maybe I would have felt differently.

I don’t expect every mystery thriller to catch me off-guard but I thought that this one was particularly predictable. I had my suspicions very early on about who had killed the Willow Close resident and it didn’t take much longer to be pretty certain about it. The plot felt lazy and unimaginative. With all of the characters that were involved, there was the potential to make it much more exciting by making someone else the murderer.

Characters 👬👭👫

Looping back to my general thoughts, the characters were so stereotypical that they became clichéd and lacked depth. Aside from that, I personally thought that there were way too many of them. I found it difficult to stay on track of who was who and which secrets belonged to which household. I appreciate that having so many suspects should have helped to sew the seed of doubt, but unfortunately I don’t think that that was achieved.

Writing Style ✍️

There was potential in this storyline and it could have been made so much more than it was. Instead I feel like the author stuck with the obvious choice and therefore I was unable to jump onto any sort of pace of tension that the book otherwise may have had.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖️

I really don’t like writing less than positive reviews, but they happen and it would be unfair of me to not be honest about my thoughts. This book was unfortunately a miss for me which is a shame.

When Nina and Conrad moved into Willow Close they were really looking forward to their new home but on arriving found themselves watching their neighbours and wondering who had murdered a young girl from Willow Close. As the investigation progressed this had an untoward effect on the lives of the people that lived there.
I really enjoyed listening to Suspects by Lesley Pearse and has been read extremely well and bringing the book to life. I wanted to keep listening right through to the end .

Willow Close is a typical suburban area, occupied by a range of different families, each with their own, behind closed door stories. A new couple move in the day the body of a young girl, daughter of one of the residents, is found. Their removal is coloured by the discovery and it’s an interesting way to introduce potential suspects.

It’s a murder mystery, basically. Police procedures are realistic and it follows the time line of the investigation into the murder. Residents are interviewed, evidence assimilated and a case begins to take shape. I enjoyed the various backstory for those involved. Overall, I became more interested in the families than the actual murder investigation, which I found a little slow. Narration is OK. I found some of the character accents a little strained. On balance, I think this is a story I’d prefer to read rather than listen to.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

I really enjoyed this audiobook, it being the first Lesley Pearse novel for me. Whilst I did realise who the culprit was early on, it didn't stop me from wanting to keep listening as I got more involved with the various lives and secrets on Willow Close
I received an audiobook ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Suspects is a fast paced psychological thriller, full of fantastic characters and plot twists. Nina and Conrad move into their new home just as the body of a murdered teenage girl is discovered. The neighbours in Willow Close are all shocked by the crime, but they all have their own secrets they need to keep hidden.
As the investigation unfolds, each home’s inhabitants are brought to life by Lesley Pearse’s fantastic writing style. Some of their secrets are amusing, some sad and some terrifying. The narrator adds another level of drama to the book, and increased my overall enjoyment.

Suspects - Lesley Pearse
Narrated by Lucy Brownhill

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Penguin and I am leaving this review voluntarily

On the day Nina and Conrad Best move into their new home in picture-perfect Willow Close a body is discovered.

Hurrying inside with their belongings, they see horrified neighbours gather by the police cordon - one of the residents has been attacked and brutally killed in the woods.

From an outsiders perspective Willow Close appears to be an idyllic place to live but it seems that all of the residents of Willow Close have secrets that they don’t want discovering. All of the residents are suspects, with each suspect being focused on at various points giving you insight into each of their lives.

Pearse has written a book with so many twists and turns that you will find yourself wondering who has killed the 13 year old girl until the very end. This is a very gripping book and I listened to the entire book in one sitting.

Rating 5/5

Perfect storyline for curtain twitchers, good twist even when some characters appeared to be too goody two shoes. I listened to the audiobook and it was a bit tricky to follow but enjoyed it nevertheless.