3.5 Stars. A difficult subject matter told beautifully by the author, using several POV characters and timelines. Thought provoking despite sensitive topics, such as a school shooting and conspiracy theories surrounding the events. This is a character driven slow burn with well drawn characters who felt completely authentic. The author's writing style is impressive, immersive and completely engrossing. Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley UK for the ARC.

Abigail Dean’s debut novel about how a sibling group negotiate the trauma inflicted on them during a brutal joint childhood, was published after much fanfare in 2021 and it appears the same publicity efforts were put behind her second novel ‘Day One’. The title refers to the day a school massacre happens in a small US-American community. The novel describes the aftermath of this tragic event that splits a previously harmonious community in half: on the one side now are the mourners of loved ones deceased in the atrocities, on the other side are conspiracy theorists who insinuate the shootings were nothing but a lie. What side will Martha, the daughter of a beloved teacher, take?

The novel is compellingly written, but I have to agree with earlier readers who commented on the confusingly large array of characters here and the ‘double-naming’ of some of them. (The protagonist, for example, is varyingly referred to as Martha or as Marty). Whilst it shows great authorly skill to develop so many characters, a concentration on just a few character studies would have added extra depth to the literary treatment of a harrowing topic. Overall, I would give this novel three stars and would like to end this review by thanking the publishers and NetGalley for the free digital ARC that I received.

Nobody does slightly somber downtrodden prose quite like Abigail dean.

Following what appears to be the Sandy Hook shooting this story runs parallel to that - if you followed the news coverage at the time - this probably isn’t anything new for you.

The book focuses on the aftermath of the shooting and it’s fascinating to see good character development, strong main character voices and well thought out direction even if the pace is a little slow.

Overall, I enjoyed this - but I’d have preferred an original story.

I hate to give negative reviews but have to be honest. This one was really not for me. I did persevere with it until the end but found it very disappointing. Abigail Dean is a fantastic writer there’s so doubt about that. She writes beautifully and the beginning of the novel was really captivating. However, I feel that from the middle of the book the content just wasn’t there. It really jacked something for me. No wow factor at all. I feel that the whole novel built up to something that just didn’t ever happen. Sorry couldn’t recommend.

I adored Abigail Dean's debut and so this was on my radar as soon as it was announced. Both of her offerings have been fiction, based on real crimes, and I have to say she handles writing about such topics with the utmost respect and sensitivity.
On Day One, Stonesmere is torn apart by a school shooting. The book tells of the aftermath in the years that follow, for both the village as a whole, and some specific people: survivors, those who have lost loved ones, and the "truthers" - conspiracy theorists who believe the massacre was all a lie.

I really felt for Marty and even more so as she got more caught up in her lie as things progressed. Not only did she lose her mum, she had so much other trauma to deal with.
It was interesting to see things from Trent's point of view- seeing how someone "normal" can go down the wrong path, when vulnerable and influenced by the wrong people.
There was a theme throughout of wanting to believe something is true *so* hard that you convince yourself it actually is. As well as this,
there were so many interesting points raised that could be discussed endlessly; Abigail Dean's writing is incredibly clever - the book was both heartbreaking and absolutely gripping.

An interesting read although I did struggle through the first few chapters. A shooting at a school, a girl who says she was there but wasn’t, families wanting answers, and a reason why the shooter did it.
I found it a little confusing but it was an okay read

This is a brilliant book and very believable I found it both disturbing and emotional. Without giving away too much of the plot, a special celebration is planned for a local school. During the event a series of tragic events unfold which has lasting and unexpected repercussions. Frightening and easy to imagine this actually happening.

I’ve gotta say that this two star rating is probably more my fault than Abigail Dean’s. First of all, I requested this book on Netgalley without reading the synopsis. I saw Dean’s name and thought it was bound to be a good read. Next, I have very recently read both ‘Columbine’ (a real life investigative account of the Columbine school shootings) and ‘Bright Young Women’ (a re-imagined take on the Ted Bundy killings). So, for me, Day One was a disappointment. I don’t think it’s a story that needed to be told. If you want to read a book about a school shooting, read ‘Columbine’. Even though this is super well written (let’s not take my stingy 2* rating detract from that!), I would much rather Dean have told an original story than (as in the case of ‘Bright Young Women’) re-imagine an old tale which just.. doesn’t need to be heard again.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

When a gunman enters a local primary school, Marty’s mum a teacher is shot dead along with 10 pupils.

Trent is a bit of a conspiracy theorist. He and other truthers don’t believe that he events of the shooting.

The story is told from the point of view of various characters in the past, present and current day settings.

While I liked this book, I found it really slow. However it was a good read.

Absolutely thrilling. Steeped in the wet dark beauty of the Lake District. A couple of weak plot lines - people simply not believing the massacre took place didn't ring true, - but otherwise excellent

This is a difficult book to read for anyone with any connection to a National Disaster. The event (no matter how devastating) is only the beginning.

A spider’s web of the impact that follows touches anyone and everyone with even the remotest link to the place, the people, the event - anything and everything - all tainted for the rest of their lives and sometimes the (sad, bad, mad) memories from before.

If this is you, perhaps choose another book. If this is not you, read as a way to understand how things unfold: before; during and after and learn what it is like for those involved.

NOT PART OF THE REVIEW - Personal comments.
I’m afraid I only read about 25% and could take no more. I was a counsellor following a national disaster and the book brought back such painful memories of those directly involved or affected.

As an admirer of Abigail Dean’s debut novel GIRL A I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of DAY ONE and intrigued to see how Dean tackled another serious and sensitive subject; this time a school shooting. At first I expected this to be a thriller or a mystery with the short, multi-perspective chapters leading to a dramatic revelation about the events of the day. But that is not this book. This is a measured, thoughtful, character-driven story which examines the fallout of such a traumatic event on an entire community and the way events can be twisted by those seeking to control the narrative for their own means. It’s about a community who comes to be considered a short-hand for something tragic – like Dunblane, Lockerbie or Columbine – and how, despite this, life goes on.

The community in question is Stonesmere, a fictional village in the picturesque Lake District. In some ways Stonesmere feels quite anachronistic, a rural idyll that harbours a small, closely-knit group of residents who are close to nature and seem immune to the pressures of modern-life. However this sense of harmonious pastoral life is shattered when a gunman opens fire at the local primary school during a school play, massacring primary school students and teachers.

The events of that day and the events leading up to that day are told from alternating perspectives of individuals and families affected by the tragedy: Ava Ward – the dedicated schoolteacher who used her own body as a human shield to protect children from her class; her teenage daughter Martha ‘Marty’ – a promising athlete who flunked her exams and remained in the village helping at the school and who inadvertently becomes the face of the tragedy when she runs from the hall and is collared by the press into giving an ill-fated interview; Samuel Malone a ex-student who is drafted in to help with the play’s lighting who is shot but miraculously recovers even though his little brother doesn’t; Sergeant Larkin, the village’s police officer and his son Kit who was killed in the shooting; Trent, an aspiring journalist and ex-Stonesmere resident who becomes convinced that Marty knows more about this story than is being reported and who falls in with a bunch of online conspiracy theorists determined to find the “truth”.

The story is largely told through the lenses of Marty and Trent, but interspersed with narrative interjections which add colour and back-story from other residents. It jumps timelines frequently – before the tragedy, the day of the tragedy and around 10 years after the tragedy – which can occasionally be confusing and does make the narrative a bit disjointed and I found it therefore hard to connect with any one character.

Initially I also found it a little jarring that this book is set in the UK. Mass-shootings are so often depicted as happening in America and the “post-truth” movement (such as Alex Jones and the Sandy Hook deniers) seems so wrapped up in US political discussions that it felt wrong to be discussing a school shooting in a very rural UK village. However, once I had got my head round this and remembered that the UK did have several infamous school shootings, I became grateful that this isn’t something we commonly have to face. That jarring feeling is a stark reminder that these events are outliers in the UK today rather than the everyday discourse of American newscasts.

Overall I found this to be a hugely compelling read. I don’t think it has quite the same propulsion as Girl A or the same punchy ending, but it really feels like Dean is trying to do something stylistically very different and it’s a huge achievement juggling the sheer number of voices in this book. Some of the characters are really well drawn. The chapter told from the point of view of Kit Larkin- an anxious child who was killed in the shooting I found particularly heart-breaking.

I think if you pick this up thinking it is a thriller you might be disappointed, but if you want a very well-written, stylish and intelligent dissection of contemporary issues told through the prism of a community coming to terms with a traumatic event – I think this will hold you captivated. I look forward to what Abigail Dean writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers who provided a copy of the manuscript in return for an honest review.

This is an accomplished novel I really liked the authors previous novel Girl A and when this book arrived on NetGalley, it jumped straight to the top of my to be read list.

I was pulled very quickly into the story and wanted to know what happens next
The conspiracy theories seem a little unbelievable to begin with and if it wasn’t for the fact that I know that there were people in America, who denied the columbine massacre I would’ve found some of the storylines unbelievable. As it was, I knew that such people existed there’s been more visibility for conspiracy theory lists. A few years, possibly spiked by the those who denied vaccine safety, following COVID-19

The author is the Queen of The teasing flash forward the story is told from a number of different time points, and it was always clear to me when I was reading about .
I like the way the very little is written about the atrocity itself as your mind fills in the missing details
The part at the end where on earth to breathe fathers, says that her their sons junior school teacher gave him all the best parts for the last year was so heartbreaking . As parents, we are always aware of how important our children’s teachers particular primary school are in their life and development.
Characters are all well defined and their development feels real and natural.

The authors writing style is thoroughly enjoyable to read. The story is paced fast enough to be enjoyable and kept my attention. I found it difficult to put the book down.
The ending is really beautiful. What would your last memories be if your life flashed in front of you at the moment of death?
I read an early copy on NetGalley, UK The novel is published in the UK by HarperCollins, UK, Harper fiction on the 28th of March 2024
This review will appear on Goodreads and NetGalley, UK, and on my book block bionic,Sarahsbooks.wordpress.com

A beautiful Lake District town is the setting for this thought provoking and tense novel. Day One is the day when a shooing takes place in the town’s primary school, and the story is not only of the hunt for the killer, but also of the devastating effects conspiracy theories on social media can have on grieving families. There are plenty of twists and turns, with excellent characterisation and relationships. The story weaves a little too often between timelines, making it a bit difficult to follow at times, but this a really gripping story, and told with compassion and an intelligent writing style.

Do we need another book about a junior school shooting? Isn't it a topic that's been played out so many times that it might be thought that there's no new ground to cover? What makes this book different is that it's not based in the USA where school shootings have practically been 'normalised' through repeated attacks. This one is set in the UK, where such things don't happen - or at least haven't happened since 1996 in Dunblane - and where we don't expect them to happen again, thanks to very strict gun controls.

Dunblane; a place known primarily for the bad things that happened there. Like Hungerford, or Lockerbie, these are towns that can't be separated from their infamy. And to that list, Abigail Dean has added her fictional Stonesmere, a quite town in the Lake District where children and their parents gathered in a hall to watch the 'Day One' performance, an annual ritual to pre-welcome the little ones who would be joining after the summer.

The book offers multiple perspectives and multiple timings. To be fair, the structure is messy and confusing. With sections jumping back and forth through time, we get hints about what followed long before we get the facts. We know that there's something odd about when Marty, the dead teacher's daughter, arrived at the hall, that one of the characters will be locked up but not why, and we are treated to the evil of conspiracy theorists and massacre denial.

We know this sort of stuff happens in the USA. People claim Sandy Hook never happened, they claim that the people in the photos are actors, that it's all just a sham. But we don't expect that in the UK, and it's more shocking for its abnormality. Do we really understand why Trent takes the side of the deniers or what Marty was really doing? We see lives ruined by rumour and revelation and it's fascinating.

With a less clunky structure, I'd have given this 5 stars but I'm knocking off one for all the hopping about and early confusion.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy.

Having read 'Girl A' by this author my expectations were really high for her latest offering and it didn't disappoint.
Day One is a slow paced, character driven read rather than a mystery thriller but I would still class it as a page turner as we are led to explore the way grief impacts people and communities following
a shooting at a local primary school. The role that modern technology plays in facilitating the work of conspiracy theorists and the media is also cleverly addressed and gives lots of food for thought.
The book lost a star as I found it a little confusing at times with the timeline jumping back and forth abundantly, several points of view being expressed and different names being used for the same character . I found myself having to track back and re-cap several times and it required a bit more concentration than perhaps I wanted to give when reading for relaxation purposes!
I am grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced reader copy of this book.

Abigail Dean's writing is raw, honest, and thought-provoking. Her new novel, Day One opens with the horrific crime which takes place in a primary school in the Lake District.
A masked gunman opens fire on childrem and ther teacher whislt they are performing their school play.
The gripping tale unfolds from various perspectives, but primarily from the perspective of the teacher's daughter- Marty.
Trent Casey - aspiring journalist - used to live in the same town where the devastating event took place - but what is his link to the murderer?
Girl A was compelling - a page turner and Dean has fone it again - leaving you on tenterhooks until the very last page. A rivieting read.

Day One is a captivating and thought-provoking read that immerses readers in the aftermath of an unthinkable tragedy that shakes the tight-knit community of Stonesmere. Through the eyes of multiple characters, the story unravels the complex web of emotions and consequences triggered by the devastating incident. What sets this book apart is its clever narrative structure, with each chapter offering a fresh perspective and shedding light on different moments, all starting from Day One.

The author skillfully captures the diverse experiences, emotions, and personalities of the characters, highlighting how these factors shape their individual recollections and perceptions. This exploration delves deep into the lasting impact of trauma, illustrating how it molds our actions and influences our interactions. The book prompts us to reflect on how our personal histories colour our understanding of events, blurring the line between reality and subjective interpretation.

While the writing style occasionally meanders and poses some challenges in terms of clarity, it effectively conveys the sense of confusion that permeates the narrative. The prose mirrors the characters' perspectives, sometimes clouded by fear, hatred, or grief. This deliberate choice contributes to the overall atmospheric quality of the book, leaving readers with a lingering sense of uncertainty and a heightened awareness of the characters' complex states of mind.

Day One fearlessly tackles traumatic themes without resorting to gratuitousness or skirting around the difficult subject matter. From the outset, readers are thrust into the events of Day One, becoming disoriented alongside the characters as they navigate the aftermath. The book fearlessly examines the impact of traumatic events, drawing timely and relevant parallels to real-world events such as Sandy Hook, Donald Trump, Brexit, and Nigel Farage. Although set in the UK, the story hints at an undercurrent of American influence, creating an intriguing and mysterious backdrop that defies easy categorisation.

Overall, Day One offers an engrossing reading experience. While it may not reach the same level of enjoyment as Girl A, its exploration of the aftermath of traumatic events provides a fascinating examination of how individuals process and cope with unspeakable tragedies. The narrative deftly exposes the vulnerability of damaged individuals, susceptible to manipulation by both small-scale and large-scale malicious forces. Through the power of words, actions, and fear, the book highlights the profound impact of these influences. I highly recommend Day One to readers who appreciate true crime, thrillers, or mystery novels. It provides ample material for contemplation, leaving a lasting impression that will linger in your thoughts long after you turn the final page.

I’m really conflicted about this book.

Firstly, the premise is horrifying and interesting - a school shooting and the people who are implicated and impacted. I thoroughly enjoyed the exploration of the characters.

However, I found the book itself to be a bit too choppy in the timeline. Each chapter seems to switch time and character, meaning attention has to be paid constantly. It is not a “read when tired” book. I feel I would have got more out of it reading at different times in the day.

None of this detracts from how well written it is, though. Recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC

Gripping from the start which opens with a school shooting.
The timeline moves around, but each chapter has the date on making it easier to follow.
Some of the characters are not very fleshed out leaving a feeling that something is missing.
Marty's mother died protecting her students, but according to some 'truth' seekers the shooting never happened. Trent is one of the these conspiracy theorists but with a difference, he knew the shooter from before.
The story of what Marty really knows and Trent's obsession make for an interesting read