Oh my goodness - this is not a straight forward book, it is like peeling back an onion but each bit just gets better and better - not a great metaphor but you know what I mean. I was engrossed and the audio narration (especially the Australian accent) fitted in so well. As an expat Australian I can tell the difference between an Australian living in the UK and one in Australia. So for that level of detail really amazing.

Anyway what a mind to create this story - I would hate to be in their head. I have to find more by this author a new favourite.

Just loved it and fully recommend

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

I really enjoyed this thriller. It had some great characters that you warmed to.

It had a good amount of twists and turns.

I listened on audio and I liked the narrators and the different voices.

Thanks Netgalley.

I read this book earlier this year and I can honestly say this audio did not disappoint. I loved the narration on this book and I really felt the pain of this poor mother after the loss of her daughter and the tragic conclusion of the book, this really is one that makes you think what would you do in this situation.

this story started off well with good premise, however it failed to keep the momentum and i had lost interest by the end. Parts of the story didn't really make sense and i didn't think were explained very well.

Caroline is grieving the loss of her only daughter, 16 year old Jessica, who was brutally murdered in Stratford train station. Looking for answers and someone to blame, she stumbles across some messages between Jessica and Michael, a teenage lad from Southend, who had arranged to meet her that day but never showed up. Caroline wants revenge and sets off to Essex in search of him, setting in motion a chain of events that will change all of their lives completely.

Despite me really growing to dislike Caroline more and more as the novel went on, this is a compulsively readable story that I couldn’t put down. There are twists throughout and I raced through it to find out what would happen to them all. It should be noted that the title is very misleading - the events on the pier take minutes to occur and take up only a couple of pages, so it seems an odd choice to have called it that. That said as I live in Essex myself (and incidentally having also lived in Stratford!) I did enjoy the setting and could picture it perfectly.

As a mum my heart went out to the younger characters in this book, what they endure is just awful and reading some of the passages in this broke me. In contrast all of the adults are abhorrent and it’s difficult to read about them all. I felt some of Caroline’s behaviour was a bit off, it seemed a little melodramatic and unbelievable at times and it would be a stretch to believe a mother could take such actions. I guess you never know how you’d react until you’re in a situation yourself so it’s difficult to judge but the way it all panned out seemed a bit much. <spoiler> I can’t believe she’d still attack Michael after spending so much time with him and seeing the life he was enduring. I get that she was upset about her daughter and still blamed him but would she really have attacked him like that? And then left him for dead? Not sure about that. Up until that point I thought it was an excellent book that I’d have given five stars but from that point onwards the narrative seemed a little less believable. The twist regarding Jessica’s childhood was interesting and very sad but that too came out of the left field, as did Caroline bonding with her mother right at the end. I wish it had continued for longer as I really wanted there to be more of a resolution and for it all to be pulled together. I’m not sure how it should’ve ended but there needed to be more, we need to know what happened to everyone, it was all left too open and to me it felt unfinished. Will there be a sequel I wonder? </spoiler>

Overall it is a good story but in my opinion it really needed more of an ending. That said I enjoyed the audio version and liked both narrators (despite finding Caroline’s accent irritating) and I like that we got to see the story from different angles. I would recommend it as it’s a good story BUT I wish there had been more resolution! Fingers crossed for a sequel, I would definitely read it!

Two strangers meet on the pierOnly one walks away…
Screenwriter Caroline Byrne is desperate to know why her daughter Jessica died, murdered in Stratford when she was supposed to be at a friend’s in Somerset. I listened to this as an audio book and felt the narrators really helped bring the story to life.

Far too much drama, doom and gloom in one book. Gosh I’m struggling to think of some other catastrophe that could possibly happen in one book and can’t.
Pick a problem and stick with it. Don’t even get me started on the random mad Australian mother.
Even the narrator was over dramatic.

This book was not what I expected it be at all. I feel the title and description are at odds with the actual book. This is a dark book , content warning for child abuse, self harm, grief.

Caroline’s daughter has been murdered and the book is mostly set three months afterwards as Caroline ravaged my grief looks for answers into her child’s death. She finds messages on her daughters phone to a boy who she was meant to meet on the day she died and decides he is responsible for her death and so she tracks him down.

This story had enough to keep me interested to keep listening but I felt it got weaker as it progressed. I didn’t feel Caroline was a very realistic character and her actions and behaviour did not seem authentic making it difficult to care too much about her story and parts of which were too much of a stretch to be believable. There were so many (dark) themes it diluted the plot for me.

In listened to this on audio and the narration was good throughout.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins Audio and B P Walter for an audioARC in return for an honest review.

Caroline's daughter was murdered during a terrorist attack in Stratford, but Jessica was not meant to be in there, she was supposed to be in Somerset. Caroline finds messages on Jessicas phone to a boy named Michael, a boy she was supposed to meet in Stratford. Caroline makes it her mission to track Michael down.

I was fortunate enough to receive this in an e-book and an audiobook. The audio version adds a whole new dimension. The narrators Stephanie Racine and Luke Francis really added to the grief and rawness of this book. They increased the tension and made it even more gripping. Thoroughly enjoyed.

This book is thrilling, dark, gripping and heart-stopping. It takes a few chapters to figure our who is who as the story is told from 'the mother' and 'the boy'. It is really well written and I devoured it in one sitting. There are multiple stories within this book which gave you an interesting insight into all parties.

The only negative comment I have is that I would have personally liked one more chapter to answer a few ongoing questions that I don't feel were fully answered. That being said, I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book.

**Listened to the audio book**

Wow! This book is super epic! It covers so many locations, so many different plot points, and over a wide range of years! This would make the perfect tv series, with all its twists and turns.

I'm slightly confused by the title as for me the title doesn't really sum out the main plot points in the book, or the real heart that the book has. Despite the book being a mystery/thriller, it has so much heart and sensitivity - particularly at the beginning. It felt very real, specifically with the terrorist plot points.

The narrators were great - even though it took me a little while to get used to the accents. It was a little jarring at first that the inner monologues for the female character was British, yet the accent was Australian. Once I got used to this it was fine, but a little confusing at first.

Overall I really enjoyed this, and I had no idea where this book was going but I was happy going along for the ride!

I have slightly mixed views about this book. I listened to the audio version and the narration throughout is excellent. It’s a mixed timeline of before and after the death of teenage Jessica, killed in a terrorist attack. Her mum, Caroline, wants to know why she was in London when she was supposed to be in Somerset. The narration is predominantly Caroline’s voice, interspersed with a male narrator whose role is significant.

The story unfolds in layers as the detail emerges. There are numerous twists and BP Walter explores various themes. Caroline, husband Alex, Jessica and brother in law Rob are not likeable in any way. The family is dysfunctional and the reasons emerge as Caroline embarks on a one woman mission of revenge. The impact of Jessica’s death is well depicted. It’s easy to understand the grief and anger felt by Caroline but I struggled to stay with her actions became increasingly implausible. Without spoilers, some difficult issues are woven in to the story and although it’s a largely exciting thriller, overall it left me feeling rather empty and down. I don’t want a happy ending every time, but there’s little light relief in this story to balance the dark. It’s very well written and the characters are strong but I felt there were a few too many contrivances.

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

The Woman on the Pier is a story about every parent’s worst nightmare. When Caroline’s teenage daughter goes away to Somerset for the weekend but never returns there are lots of unanswered questions, particularly as she died in a terrorist attack in London when she shouldn’t have been there. Caroline refuses to let these questions go unanswered and seeks to find an explanation as to why her daughter was in London at that time, and who the boy was she should have been meeting.
I felt this book had a very strange storyline and seem to jump from one narrative to another in quite a disjointed way. I found the relationship between Caroline and her husband completely unbelievable and felt the second part of the book was tagged on as an afterthought. The narrator was also quite irritating and I found myself rolling my eyes at her dramatic style.

I shamefully admit this is the first audio book I have ever listened to and now I am asking myself why I have waited for so long. It adds a whole new dimension to the pleasure of discovering a book you enjoy. And I certainly chose the right book:

This stunning novel is dark and disturbing. It is about love, grief, loss and hate. It is innovative and original and the clever plot is full of surprises and shocks. The voices of the two narrators are clear and crisp and chilling. The story unfolds a bit like a Shakespearean tragedy but the writing is also tender and beautiful and full of empathy.

Disturbing, Dark Suspense…
Things are not as they may seem in this often very disturbing but well narrated, dark suspense. Dealt with compassionately and with empathy, a tale of secrets, lies and desperate tragedy and, with clever twists aplenty, the reader may well be fooled along the way. Wholly engaging and the two narrators do a splendid job of bringing the tale to life with well nuanced pitches throughout.

I really wanted to love this book. The front cover, the title and the synopsis all implied that this was my kind of book - a thrilling and mysterious read. However, it just didn't quite deliver as I'd hoped.

The story is told in two first person accounts, labelled as 'The Mother' and 'The Boy'. The time frames skip about a bit, but this is made clear at the start of each chapter so is easy to follow. The book follows the story of Caroline, a grieving mother, trying to solve the mystery of why her daughter was killed in a terrorist attack in Stratford, when she should have been in Somerset.

The main character of Caroline wasn't particularly likeable and, although I could empathise with her pain, I didn't really feel any connection with her. The story felt unrealistic and some bits didn't seem to fit in well atall.

The premise was good, I just finished the book feeling a little disappointed.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me an ARC in return for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for this audio in echange of an honest review.

It was a sad dark story, a lot of bad things in one book. Every abuse you can thing is metion here. I missed some positive characters here. A mother that lose child is the most terrible think. But also abusing your children, not caring about, cheating, drug abuse. What a mother is supposed to do when she finds out why her doughter was somewhere else and was killed inna terrorist attack. And there is a young Boy with a life to live but how. Can she do something, can she save her and him?

I want to start off my stating that I LOVE B.P. Walter books and was so excited to read this. It started off well, I was absolutely sucked in within the first few pages. Although not exactly likeable, you feel sorry for Caroline and connect with her instantly. I put her awfulness down to losing her daughter, but actually, she just has a vile personality. The husband is pretty appalling too. I feel like there was a lot of unnecessary things written in this book, like the TV… why?! Why did she have to become unhinged and act like a maniac? Why is it always the woman who becomes psychotic? Terrorist attack… meh.
This had the potential to be so good. Not a suspenseful thriller as hinted but rather a story about losing a child and family drama with a narcissistic husband and a crazy wife.

I generally never read the blurb and on this occasion it worked well for me as the blurb doesn’t really match up with the contents of the book and neither does the title.

Thank you to the publishing house and to NetGalley for this ARC in return for a VERY honest review.

What a book!
I got into B.P Walter following The Dinner Guest. As usual, Walter's character development is phenomenal and the story he weaves is faultless.
This book does force us to look at some uncomfortable topics, but it is all written so well you can't help but turn the page.
I'm still gobsmacked at the ending.
Praise for this author. I can't wait to read more.

The Woman on the Pier by BP Walters
Narrated by Stephanie Racine; Luke Francis
Listening Time-10 hours and 40 minutes
I give this audiobook 4 stars.

Screenwriter Caroline Byrne is desperate to know why her daughter died.
She discovers messages Jessica had been sending a boy, she realises he’s the reason why her daughter is dead.
And so she makes a choice. He’s the one who’s going to pay.
That is her promise. Her price.

This book was totally not what I was expecting from the title .This dark and deep storyline tackles so much…..trauma,grief,secrets,
abuse, revenge and relationships. Once l started listening l was sucked in and couldn’t stop! The narration has good pace and flow,and the 2 narrators voices seemed right for the characters they were portraying.
I loved that some of it is set in Southend,Essex as this is very local to me.We hear from Caroline and Michael and their narrative is both haunting and tragic, l felt so many emotions while listening to this. It didn’t let up and l had no idea what way it was going to go…….Fantastic!
With thanks to Netgalley,BP Walters and Harper Collins Audio UK,One More Chapter for my chance to listen and review this Audiobook

I listened to the audiobook after reading the ebook and I hoped I would enjoy it more, Sadly, I found myself even more irritated by the characters. I hated Caroline and her misguided grief felt odd and unbelievable. The narrator did a good job with what she was given, but she wasn't given a book I could enjoy.