I read this book in one sitting it was a completely addictive read that kept me utterly gripped. I was on the edge fo my seat and the book is filled with twists so I was expecting a final one but I didn't see it coming.

I have really enjoyed all of the books by the this author and this was no exception.
Stephanie is living alone in her family neighbourhood, following the tragic deaths of her beloved son and husband. Her across the street neighbours are still a family, 2.4 children and a nuclear family. Except that Stephanie has a secret involving Richard, the dad from across the street. Which in turn means that Richard has something to hide in his locked attic…..

This book kept me guessing and would recommend to anyone who enjoys a riveting tale.

The Locked Attic by B P Walter is an interesting and intriguing story about two houses opposite each other where the married couples are completely different from each other.
The male, Richard has something hidden away in his locked attic and his wife, Janet is full of how wonderful her children and her life is, while the two teenagers don’t seem to agree with their mother’s version.
Stephanie married Pete when she was pregnant with Danny, they both were happy with their marriage. Then both Pete and Danny were killed in a traffic accident and Stephanie was left alone.
Until one day everything came to a head at the Franklyn’s house and the truth came out eventually.
Highly recommended

This wasn’t a “can’t put it down” book for me and as a result I struggled to get through it. I kept waiting for the “wow!” moment only to find myself at the last page thinking “Is that it?” I’ve enjoyed other books by BP Walter but The Locked Attic missed the mark for me.
Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I found The Locked Attic impossible to put down. It’s a gripping, tense psychological thriller of a read that keeps you enthralled to the end. I enjoyed how the plot unfolded and transversed between past and present and can highly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK, One s’more Chapter and the author for the chance to review.

Stephanie awakes in hospital, disorientated, sore and unsure of how she got there. Memories fleetingly return and she realises its to do the the Franklins, her neighbours over the road on Oak Tree Close. Prickles shudder down her spine when she further realises it concerns what is hidden in their attic. The novel then backtracks seven months to when Stephanie picks up her son Danny and his friend Jonathan Franklin from a party in October. Both act oddly and it’s from that point things begin to spin out of control. The truth unfolds in various timelines, principally narrated by Stephanie but with some input from Danny.

I really like the way this latest novel from BP Walter is told. I am full of intrigue with the little pieces of the dramatic but elusive puzzle with many shocks and surprises that keep you reading on. The characterisation is very good especially of Stephanie but also of Janet and Richard Franklin and I’ll leave the ‘joy’ of them to future readers. The standout portrayal for me though is the teens, Danny and Jonathan and their friendship is conveyed so well. The Franklin family dynamics are fascinating and oh, to be a fly on their walls!

The plot is busy but not overloaded, there’s plenty of drama and one particular event gives the novel an almost dystopian feel, though it’s an intense backdrop to situations that are building to a head. There’s suspicion which changes to fear with suspense, tension, lies and strange behaviour that is hard to make sense off which gives the escalating confrontations a full head of steam. The ending is good and the last chapter is quite moving.

Overall, a good and well written psychological thriller that is very compelling.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins/One More Chapter for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

A fast-paced and thoroughly entertaining addition to the genre. A recommended purchase for collections where thrillers are popular.

This psychological thriller was tense and, at times, heartbreaking. Told using several timelines, which I really liked and, occasionally, from a second point of view, which added a lot to the story, it was fast paced and a quick read.

I really liked the characters of the mom and her son. You knew from the beginning that the son and the husband died recently in a car accident. In the months leading up to the accident the son had become withdrawn and moody. Stephanie, the mom, now thinks the neighbors across the street know more than they’re telling about the friendship between their two sons and wants to explore the impact that friendship had on her son.

The story was compelling and enjoyable with lots of twists and turns. Unfortunately, it all lead up to a somewhat abrupt and disappointing ending.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and honestly review it.

I read this book really quickly and couldn't put it down.
The story was well structured and built up suspense by reverting future and past timelines.
However when it everything came out I couldn't help thinking is that it?

It was bit deflated and the ending was a bit abrupt.

I’d enjoyed two well structured murder mysteries from this author (The Dinner Guest and The Woman on the Pier) and so was happy to grab this, his latest book, which seemed to offer something slightly different. It’s a taut psychological thriller set in a affluent town, in Kent. Stephanie had moved there with her husband and son, Danny, but tragedy then struck and both her husband and son were killed in a road accident. Stephanie is understandably struggling to come to terms with this devastating loss. The early pages are dramatic and disorientating as the fragments of this story slowly start to come together.

We are to learn more of the Stephanie’s background through a timeline that jumps back and forth between the present day and events that have taken place in the past, predominantly those that have occurred since the family moved into their current house. The cast list is very slim, pretty much limited to Stephanie, her immediate family and a similar family of three (husband, wife and a boy of a similar age to Danny) who live in the house on the opposite side of the road. To a large extent this is an agonising tale of loss, but it’s also a coming of age story and a mystery – the latter relating to Danny’s sudden change from a happy mid-teenage boy to one haunted by something to his parents cannot fathom. From its dramatic, disorientating beginning, the tale settles into a claustrophobic narrative in which we watch as a once happy family becomes something else.

It’s all really well written and I was nearly half way through before I realised I’d barely taken a break, so absorbed was I by this story. If I were to nitpick, there are a couple of elements that seem to be present only to allow the storyline to function, namely an unexplained explosion and the complete lack of a support group of friends and family for Stephanie. Also, the closing sections where we start to unravel the puzzle are, to my mind, somewhat less satisfying than what went before. However, it’s a book that I read in a trice and whenever I put it down couldn’t wait to get back to it, so that tells me something. In summary, it’s another enticing offering from this very talented British writer.

I lowed Walters previous psychological thrillers and the Locked Attic is the latest. To me, it was more a well written story of grief, a mother losing her husband and son in a car crash. There is the addition of a major explosion happening in her neighborhood which is never really explained, and the mystery of the neighbors locked attic which didn’t really work for me. I didn’t feel the need for the exterior disaster to illustrate the breakdown of a woman struggling to understand her life now that she is alone. I appreciated the way the relationship between her son and a neighboring teen was discovered and how it evolved into a central narrative and I could have read the story purely for that and the grief which was well developed and explored without the added mystery.

I could not put this book down
With plenty of twists I did not know where it was going to go
I thought the writing was so smooth that it was easy to get captivated in the storyline

I haven't read this author before but will be looking at his other books

Thank you Netgalley, HarperCollins one more chapter and B P Walter

Focusing on two families, the book chops between timelines and alludes to various secrets, meaning you're never fully sure what's going on, thus adding to the mystery.

Gradually as the book goes on, we begin to piece together the story.
One thing did confuse me - I couldn't recall any mention of the attic (a seemingly important role in the plot) until the last 30 pages of the book. I would maybe have expected this to be hinted at a little more throughout? This definitely didn't take away from the story for me, just a thought!

The suspense built up more and more, and I did not predict the ending. I would definitely pick up more from this author! I'd just like to add as well, without any spoilers, how much of a highlight one of the very last scenes (and sentences) in the book was, although bittersweet.

Thanks so much to One More Chapter, and the author, for an advance #gifted copy of the book.

I received an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review

This is a "dead kid" book- and that can be hard to get through, but the author makes it suspenseful enough that it was worth turning pages. The story and the characters are very dark and it doesn't leave with the warm fuzzies- definitely need to take a walk in the sunshine after! But if you're requesting B.P Walter books off, you probably know what you're getting into. Four gloomy stars.

This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Mystery and intrigue. I had problems with the various time periods and voices…that being said, this is an intriguing, if unusual, book of mystery and intrigue. The author is gifted at detailing the events…the characters, especially the protagonist, come alive on the pages…it is a dark mystery, so don’t look for fuzzy warm people in this novel…it is thought provoking…the story moves somewhat slowly…

I came to this book as a big fan of BP Walter, having previously read The Dinner Guest and The Woman on the Pier and loved them both.

I did enjoy this one too however probably not as much as the previous two novels mentioned. The book is written in one of my favourite formats, a present day situation and then a drip feed of previous days, weeks, months slowly revealing why Stephanie ended up in hospital.

Like TWOTP, what I did love about this novel was the sense of how well things could have turned out, how life could have been perfect for everyone involved had it not been for the actions of certain individuals. What BP Walter does so well is to show the reader a sense of the perfection and then systematically tears it apart with the actions of the characters within the novel. It leaves the reader with a horrible, unsettling and unsatisfying feeling but in a good way.

Thanks to HarperCollins One More Chapter and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

An outstanding psychological thriller. B P Walter writes in a thoroughly engaging, sinister, menacing and apocalyptic style. The sadly distressing, moving story told by Stephanie, revolves around the Franklin family, who live across the road, whom she believes hold the secret as to how/why her son died.
Its an absolutely brilliant read with explosive jaw dropping moments! B P Walter at his best.

I won't be wondering what's in my attic anytime soon after reading this... dark and gruesome novel. A great mystery that was both frightening and entertaining.

The Locked Attic by B P Walter kept me guessing the whole way through. What a great twisty thriller.
I've had the pleasure of reading B P's previous books and they were amazing so this new one I was excited to open!

The storyline felt believable, which made me like this even more. It was very well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
I couldn’t wait to find out the conclusion of this story!
The plot kept me twisting and turning till the end.
Walter succeeds at engaging and drawing the reader into Stephanie’s world.
This book is definitely definitely had me flipping thie pages quickly.
Twisty, compelling, tense and thoroughly unputdownable I enjoyed The Locked Attic.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

One More Chapter,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my blog, platforms, BookBub, B&N, Kobo and Waterstone closer to pub date.

This is a tense, dark novel with various twists and turns. I found it hard to connect with the characters and a bit over the top, but I think other readers might enjoy, particularly fans of BP Walter, or of darker mystery novels. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this ARC, so thanks to NetGalley.