A gritty and dark story about friendship and loyalty. A bit difficult to get into and lacking in likeable characters you could root for, it is still a compelling drama with psychological depth with a storyline that stays with you for a long while. Appreciated rather than enjoyed.

Keeley and Jude are inseparable. They are friends but are closer than sisters. They share everything.
Then one morning, after a party, they wake up to find Keeley's boyfriend ine the corner of the room stabbed to death.
They then have to agree on what to tell the police. but what exactly happened and how does Keeley's brother fit into the story.
Who is telling the truth and who is lying and why?

Best friends Kelley and Jude have been inseparable since childhood, until a dreadful murder threatens them both. What has happened, and can their friendship survive the fallout? A gripping and thrilling read.

A debut dripping with confidence and skill, that doesn't shy away from the tough moments. It took me a bit to get drawn in, but once I was, I could not put this book down. I'll be looking out for the next from Hannah King.

I found this book a little difficult to get into at first but it was a gripping psychological thriller the more I read. A hard read at times but was worth persevering.

This was a bit slow going at first but once you got into the characters became a bit more interesting. Nothing new in the storyline and no surprises with the ending but it was well written and interesting seeing how the characters develop . It is worth a read but just that bit of tension missing for me . I would recommend this book though

This was an impressive debut with a twisty plot and well rounded characters, and one imagines some of the police officers may feature in the author's subsequent books (I hope she has more planned)
My only doubts were that I found it difficult to believe in Rebecca's back story and I couldn't really understand why Mack, Brains and the others weren't multi-millionaires if their "sixes" drugs were really as good as portrayed!
Thank you to netgalley and Bloomsbury publishing for an advance copy of this book

Despite their very different backgrounds, small-town-girls Jude and Keeley have been friends since they were little. After a New Year’s party goes terribly wrong and Keeley’s boyfriend dies, the by now teenager girls construct a joint story that they will tell the police. However, they have not really thought through the far-reaching consequences of this illicit complicity. When the murder inquiry into the death of Keeley’s boyfriend exposes the underbelly of their small town, uncovering lies, fraud, deceit, drug-dealing and other horrible goings-on, Jude and Keeley slowly find out that they are both more driven by the ‘I’ rather than the ‘She and I’….
A gritty, often gruesome, but utterly compelling novel by Hannah King, a writer who has been described as a fresh voice in contemporary Northern Irish fiction. Read it and see what you think! My thanks go to the publishers and NetGalley for the free ARC I received in exchange for this honest, unbiased review.

It is hard to believe this is a debut novel. The writing is so self-assured and confident that you are drawn in to this story from the very beginning. There is something very engaging about the writing that I knew from the very first page that I was going to love this book, and I did. The characters in this book are written in such a straight forward way that you just get them, they don’t feel sorry for themselves, it is just how life is, but to quote a line from the book they are all too close to see what’s in front of them but as the reader this story gives you the privilege of being able to see what is happening and understand them all. This is definitely a recommended read.

This impressive psychological thriller focuses on friendship - and brings the multi-perspective element into the mix, which I always enjoy. Set in Northern Ireland, teenagers Keeley and Jude have been best friends since they were children.

They wake up after an NYE party to discover Keeley's boyfriend Pete has been stabbed. The story then unravels what actually happened to him. As we learn more about the girls and what makes them tick - it really adds depth to what's happening in the present.

This was an often tense read; I like how the girls' friendship felt so claustrophobic and it meant you just had to keep turning those pages to find out what really happened.

Although not ground breaking, this is a solid drama/mystery that asks questions about friendship and how far we would go to protect those we care for. The multiple perspectives allow you to piece together a complicated set of events and work out whose perspective is most reliable.

3.5

This is the story of a friendship that is severely tested. Keeley Mackley and Jude Jameson have been best friends since childhood. It tells the story of their relationship ( and also in relation to others) which you could describe as claustrophobic as they most certainly live in each other’s pockets. They wake up one New Year’s morning after a drink and drug fuelled party to find Keeley‘s boyfriend Pete Denny has been stabbed to death. They agree on a story to tell the police but who is risking the most by suppressing information? Who killed Pete and why? The story is told from several points of view which works well.

This is a well written, intelligent debut and there are aspects of it that are extremely good. For example the characterisation is one of the greatest strengths especially of Keeley, Jude and Jude‘s mother Linda. Keeley comes across as an actress, she is full of life, she tends to externalise her thoughts and feelings but what I like most about her is her loyalty to Jude. Jude is more enigmatic, she seems quieter and more thoughtful and she is harder to get a handle on. What works so well is that they seem to be two halves of a whole or even like Siamese twins, this is especially true when they were younger. Jude‘s mum Linda comes across as a pain, she is judgemental and there are times when you just want to tell her to shut up!! It’s very good characterisation but she is so unlikable! There are any number of suspects as there are several who are ‘dodgy’ personalities. I like how the plot and friendship unravels and bonds are tested, broken or mended. It’s intriguing trying to work out who is protecting who and watching how outsiders such as the investigating detectives react to the key characters which is also very telling.

However, I find the backwards and forwards storyline interrupts the flow and I’m more interested in the present events than in the past, key though those are. It seems to make the pace drop off to and it causes there to be some repetition and it’s also way too long.

Overall, it’s an extremely promising debut as the author clearly has a lot of talent and is able to create intriguing dynamics between characters. I look forward to reading what she writes in future.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Bloomsbury Publishers PLC, Raven for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

This was a great thriller for a debut author, Hannah's writing is very descriptive and the way she tells the story is like you are part of the story. Two best friends but after a party they wake up to find one of their boyfriend's has been stabbed to death, they go to the police but tell them their story. What will happen as the murder investigation gets underway? will it all come out eventually? The bond between both girls I found was a little claustrophobic and I had a feeling of uneasy just a few chapters in. It is a very well laid out story that you wonder where it will lead to, It is set in a small town in Northern Ireland and Hannah has definitely set the scene. I feel as though reading more into the girls lives, it is like peeling an onion, each layer has to come off to discover something new. It was suspenseful and brilliant and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good psychological thriller.

Jude had always been a sensible child until the day she set eyes on Keeley, who was living just across the way. It was like she had caught whatever Keeley had because they set off and ran giggling uncontrollably and had never seemed to stop, Wherever one was, so was the other. Now they were all grown up and just woken up after a party, but Keeley’s boyfriend has been stabbed to death next to them. They concocted a story for the police, but who had killed him and why?

I liked how the story dropped back about the girls when they were younger, through questioning by the police and statements that Jude’s mother was giving. Of course, you only get a one-sided version then, but I had to smile at the pair when they were young they were like shadows of each other because, where one went, so did the other.

The author has created believable characters throughout the story. So as the events of the past unravel and come to light and things make more sense. It didn’t quite have the outcome that I had been expecting. An excellent debut novel.

I wish to thank Net Galley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book, which I have reviewed honestly.

Great portrayal of a claustrophobic friendship that's tested to the limits. Keeley and Jude have been inseparable since childhood but this bond threatens to fracture when Keeley's boyfriend is stabbed - did one or both of them do it? They agree a story to tell the police but lies have a tendency to be found out ... I loved it and King kept me turning the pages. .

Love haunts every page of this debut and soon we too are captivated by its allure.

A gritty and raw portrayal of female friendship. Keeley and Jude are portrayed beautifully. The prose so accomplished that we know these characters, recognize them in the people we have met before. Keeley dazzles us with her beauty and ebullience. Her joy of life and resilience. Jude is more reticent, but a fire burns bright inside her. Together these young women are indestructible. But what secrets are they hiding? I could not figure it out.

Through flashbacks to their younger days we see a friendship blaze. Linda ( Jude's mother ) doesn't approve but her thoughts and actions are futile. Nothing will stand in the way of their bond. No matter how hard she tries. Soon the girls are inseparable. I adored watching that play out. That fierce female friendship, that first time you meet your tribe. That sense of belonging. I remember it well.

With crisp prose Hannah depicts the world around them and shows us a bleak yet colourful environment full of promise and excitement. But Hannah isn't afraid to tackle things head on. To show us what can go wrong. This is an intelligent whodunit and I was never quite sure of the culprit. All the reveals and twists kept me reading on. But it is much more than that.

I need to be careful and not spoilt things for readers so suffice to say this tackles some big themes such as obsession, female cruelty and a loss of innocence in a profound and poignant manner.

Such a confident debut - It doesn't shout at us or lecture - it simply relates what happened. A story most of us will resonate with. It is sure to be acclaimed.

Highly Recommended.