The synopsis of Bad Blood by Sarah Hornsey is exactly my type of crime novel so I was delighted to when I was approved to read and review.

The novel begins when prosecutor Justine Stone is assigned to a murder case and is shocked to find the accused is her ex-boyfriend. Justine finds herself forced to return to her hometown to confront long-buried secrets as the case unfolds…

While marketed as a crime thriller with a courtroom drama, the novel is more an intense family drama with a crime twist. Told through multiple, unreliable narrators and shifting timelines, the story builds suspense and gradually reveals webs of lies and historic family secrets. Though I found the pacing slow to start, the tense atmosphere and layered storytelling maintained my intrigue and the final third delivered gripping twists.

An enjoyable debut novel. Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for my copy.

Bad Blood is absolutely fantastic! A complex and intriguing plot that kept my attention through every page as I tried to use my detective skills to see where the story was heading. Never once could I predict the eventual truth.

Justine is a criminal barrister. A double murder case lands on her desk and opens up deep secrets and past traumas. Conflicted out of the case, Justine returns to her childhood home to confront the past. Layer upon layer of truth is revealed and it gets pretty twisted and dark. But deliciously so.

Bad Blood asks how far would you go to protect those closest to you?

A smart and sophisticated thriller that ticks all the boxes.

A very strong debut. Bad Blood is a fresh take on how crimes can have an impact on those left behind. I really enjoyed the behind the scenes look at the justice system and I felt like the writing was confident and natural. I'm excited to see what Hornsley produces next.

Can you get stuck with bad genes or bad blood?

Justine is pleased with her life; many would consider her to be very fortunate. She is a promising barrister and happily married. However, this is a different Justine. Her life was significantly disrupted at the age of eighteen, and she continues to grapple with the challenges of her past.

Then, she receives a significant career opportunity, which also proves to be exceptionally difficult. She is assigned a high-profile case that could greatly advance her career. A couple was tragically murdered in their home, and a suspect has been apprehended. Upon seeing the suspect's photograph, she is shocked to the core; it is her first boyfriend, a man who caused her significant heartbreak by disappearing years ago, and whom she has been searching for.

She realizes that she will be unable to handle this case, yet she is also determined to discover what transpired; the only way to do so is to return to her hometown—a place she has avoided for many years, a place filled with painful memories.

In essence, it is a narrative exploring the decisions we make in life and their repercussions.

The book had some great twists! It was a swiftly paced read that kept me engrossed from beginning to end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

A double murder. A toxic past. A family secret. There’s no law against keeping secrets.

This story follows Justine who is a prosecutor, who finally gets her big chance when a file falls on her desk for a double murder: until she opens the file and sees her ex-boyfriend’s face staring up at her as the defendant.

To get to the truth Justine needs to go back to her home town where they grew up to find out what really happened all those years ago, not just the story she’ll spin the jury.

💭💭💭💭💭💭💭💭

Thought I was gonna love this. I love courtoom drama, I like crime based books, especially ones with secrets and twists.
I’m not sure really why this didn’t hit for me. It may be because it kept getting hinted at every chapter about some ‘thing’ that happened years ago and I was like please just tell me already. When the main character started self-medicating with pills and drink.. I was 🙄. A very teeny portion of the book was actually set in court, and so it wasn’t a story of following a case. Maybe I find it hard to really like a book where I don’t like the main character. Because the story itself was a good one, and the writing wasn’t bad either.
But it dragged along a bit for me and felt longer than its 340 pages and I didn’t like any of the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me a digital copy of this for review.

Sadly not for me. I didn’t connect with the main character and found a lot of things lacking for a thriller. I did enjoy the writing style, but the story itself just wasn’t what I was going for.

Due to health issues cannot write a proper review now even if I enjoyed this book. as it's well plotted, twisty and entertaining. I liked the good storytelling
A more extensive review will follow
Recommended.Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Bad Blood is an absolute rollercoaster of suspense and drama! From the very first chapter, I was completely hooked. The tension between the characters is intense, and there are so many twists and turns that I couldn't put it down. It’s one of those books where you think you have everything figured out, and then BAM—a plot twist that completely blindsides you!

The main character is so intriguing, and you can’t help but get wrapped up in her story. She’s complex and layered, and I found myself constantly questioning her decisions, but that just made her even more fascinating. There’s this constant “who can you trust?” vibe that keeps you second-guessing everyone around her, which made it even more addicting to read.

And can we talk about the writing? So good! Hornsley draws you in with her detailed descriptions and sharp dialogue. The pacing is perfect—never too slow, and the suspense builds up so well that you’re at the edge of your seat, needing to know what happens next.

If you love dark, psychological thrillers with lots of emotional depth, Bad Blood is a must-read. It’s perfect for a cozy weekend binge or when you need something to keep you guessing until the very last page. Trust me, you won’t want to miss this one!

I love books where the past story is relevant in putting the present story together. This was the case with Justine who returns to her hometown to work on a case that could jump start her career. But this all changes when she sees that the accused is her ex boyfriend. With lots of secrets, huge twists, multiple POVs and an ending that left me reeling, I highly recommend this book. I can't wait to read more by this author.

A fantastic debut thriller, this grabbed me from the start and kept hold right up to the tense and twisty end.
Family drams, secrets, lies and murder. Perfect!

Justine is a top class barrister, one you’d want in court defending you, one you wouldn’t want to be facing as opposing counsel. But it’s all about to crumble when someone reenters her life she’d lost many years ago..

As Justine can’t control events around her, she is forced to return to her childhood home and face her past which with each chapter changed the narrative, changed my thoughts. I didn’t know where Hornsley was taking me on Justine’s journey.

This is a dark and twisted debut from Hornsley. One where I got a version of the truth which got superseded a number of times before I was finally told the actual events on the night that changed everything. Sarah Hornsley is someone to watch! Brilliant debut!!

Loved this twisty tale. Pacing was spot on and kept me hooked. The main character was not entirely likeable which is one of my favourite features in a story, and the ending rounded things off, but made you question everything.

Bad Blood was a fast paced story which kept me on the edge of my seat. I enjoyed the way it was written with flashes of the past from each character.

There were themes of domestic abuse and sexual assault which were well written.

Justine made a solid main character with a dark past to unlock, and character development throughout her journey.

I would definitely recommend Bad Blood, I really could not put it down.

After her father's death Justine was left by her boyfriend and sent to London. Her relationship with her mother has been difficult ever since. Now a rising barrister, Justine is given a case that could make her career but she has to turn it down as the accused is her former boyfriend, living under an alias. Now Justine is drawn back to her home town of Mersea and a quest for the truth.
This is a hard book to review because on the surface it is a very implausible story but it is written in an addictive style. The pace is fast and there are several twists which make it a really great, if undemanding, read. However, will I remember it...

Justine Stone is a successful barrister who is working on the case to prosecute her childhood sweetheart of a double murder. She hasn’t confessed she knows who he is to any of her colleagues as she is desperate not to be taken off the case and she has to take a trip down memory lane and return to the place she left twelve years ago uncovering her painful memories and buried past. This town is full of Freemasons hiding many a secret and Justine has to face her own buried secrets to get the answers she’s looking for.

This is a great debut novel with everything you need for an exciting mystery, crime thriller. Relatable characters, red herrings and believable plot.
3.5 🌟 rounded up

Many thanks to publisher, author and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I've been sitting on writing this review for a while because... WOW. This book had me hooked. It had everything. I can't even begin to tell you. I never saw it going in the directions that it did. The characters were written so well and their development was very strong. I think I questioned everyone I met in the book.

Just wow!

I don't think I guessed one thing right in this book, every twist had another twist inside of it.

Most of the characters were unlikable but that felt real to the story and necessary for the plot. After reading everything about Justine and her life, I think she has earned the right to be somewhat detached and anxious.

This was amazing for a debut novel, and I hope to see more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for this ARC

When Justine Stone left her family and hometown almost 20 years ago, she did so willingly, anything to forget what came before. But when her past comes right up to taunt her – and haunt her – she’s forced to look back at 18 years preciously. Everyone has had a reason to be flexible with the truth then, and it looks like history’s repeating itself now. But when everyone is focused on what’s in it for them, how do you decipher the truth?

A fantastic debut thriller, this grabbed me from the start and kept hold right up to the tense and twisty end.
Family drams, secrets, lies and murder. Perfect!

Justine Stone is a criminal barrister who has just been handed her first big case, a double murder, the accused is Brad Finchley except he's not, he's her ex-boyfriend Jake Reynolds and she hasn't seen him since he ran out on her on that fateful night but, to find out the truth about his case she needs to return to the place she left twelve years ago, which brings back all the bad memories she thought had been buried for good.

Bad Blood is the debut thriller from this author, a dual timeline set in the present and the past, told from multiple perspectives throughout and fraught with secrets in a toxic family where, however much they believe they are protecting their loved ones, their actions have far reaching consequences on others. This is a slow burn, with a multi layered plot, stripped back to reveal the truth of what really happened eighteen years earlier in Justine's family and explains the reasons behind what is happening in the present day. It's an intriguing read with some great twists and a surprising ending.

I'd like to thank Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the approval. I will post my review on Goodreads and Amazon.