Thanks for the opportunity to preview and read this book! I enjoyed the storyline but felt it was longer than it needed to be. It includes descriptions that wasn’t required and didn’t really contribute much to the story. Got a bit confusing at some points trying to keep up with who is who but that could just be me. I’d read more from this author as the story was good.

Had high hopes for this one, sounds so interesting and I (wrongly) assumed it was going to be a court drama.
Unfortunately it was quite quickly clear to me that some of it was dragged out and slightly boring.
Justine is a character that I didn’t like and although very clever also pretty dumb.

I’m sorry but I just didn’t like this book.

Thank you Net Galley & Sarah Hornsley for an advanced copy.

Never having read anything by this particular author I was excited to get stuck in after being selected for arc courtesy of NetGalley. This was an average read it kept me interested but not gripped. The plot line for me I found predictable but that didn’t stop me wanting to complete the book. The characters I just didn’t gel with but all in all I am glad I have read it and would definitely try more from this author it just wasn’t a wow read for me.

I loved Bad Blood by Sarah Hornsley. When I first heard about it I was desperate to get my hands on a copy, so it went straight to the top of my TBR pile when I did. There is an intriguing premise to Sarah’s debut, which is what immediately hooked me when I read the blurb. We meet Justine Stone, a barrister, who has been given her first murder case. But she is shocked to realise that the defendant is her ex-boyfriend, Jake, her first love who she hasn’t seen for eighteen years. Despite once being close to Jake, Justine is desperate to take the case, believing Jake couldn’t hurt anyone, even though this might have disastrous consequences for her career.

I really enjoyed following Justine’s journey throughout the book. You can feel the emotion she’s going through as she is grappling with events that happened in her past, and I wanted to understand what had happened.

I loved the opening of this book, and I thought there was a brilliant first line which intrigued me right from the start. Sarah Hornsley starts the novel with a court scene. We see what sort of a person Justine is, and how determined she is to win cases and advance her career. Justine is also desperate to be given her first murder case, which is why she wants to take on the one her ex is involved in, despite the risks this may pose to her career if her connection to Jake is discovered. Sarah Hornsley does a brilliant job of exploring Justine’s feelings as she grapples with the news, and as Justine revisits how she felt about her relationship with Jake at the time, despite now being happily married. I really wanted to see how Justine’s connection to Jake was going to affect her work and if anyone would discover it.

The tension really ticks up a notch as Sarah Hornsley delves into Justine’s past, going back to the time when she was with Jake eighteen years ago in their home town in Essex. There are some devastating reveals along the way about an event that took place around this time. The truth is heart-breaking and shocking when it comes to life and it changes everything for Justine. It is clear to see just how much discovering what really went on back then affects her.

Bad Blood is a terrific debut, I really enjoyed it and I can’t wait to read what Sarah Hornsley writes next.

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

I really enjoyed this book, although there were some bits that dragged a little (I hate when there are constant vague references to a mysterious event. Just tell me!) and the odd bit was a little tricky to follow, as there was such a web of lies. But ultimately, Sarah Hornsley weaves a clever tale, with twists and turns throughout and a read that gripped me to the end.

Kept me guessing the whole way through! Full of twists and a really gripping story! Highly recommend! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC

I really enjoyed this book and didn’t see a lot of the twist coming which I always like about a thriller. I thought the way the author wrote about the past and the present throughout the book made it a lot easier to follow along with the storyline. And the ended was great I thought the book was finished but there was one chapter left which added an extra surprise.

Enjoyed this one, especially because of the Essex connection, where l come from. The best thing about it though was that it kept me guessing with twists and turns and reveals, so l kept wanting to turn the pages.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for one of the best books I have read so far this year.
As others have said I expected this to be a Court room drama but it wasn't.
Family secrets cannot always stay hidden and there were lots of twists and turns with this book and I really didn't want it to end. I have literally just finished it.
Great twist at the end which although I knew something was coming didn't quite see it being what it was!!!
I will happily give this 5 ⭐
Please, please, please can I have Sarah's next book.

It's always a bit sad when you have to leave a negative review, but for me, this book is not worth a “good” review. I was bored. From page 1 to 98, I was bored. I tried but I’ve recently decided life is to short to carry on with a book you don’t enjoy. So yeh, I finished on page 98.

Don’t get me wrong, it may have got really good after that and I’ve missed out, but I guess we’ll never know.

Justine Stone, a criminal barrister, is assigned her first murder case only to discover the defendant is her ex-boyfriend. She should recuse herself, but she decides to return to the place she grew up to do a little investigating instead.

A fast-paced book with a cast of well-rounded, interesting characters. The premise and the opening chapters really do grab the reader from the start.

I expected this book to head towards a courtroom dénouement, but that is not the direction the author chose to lead her readers. It’s as much about finding out the truth about Justine’s past as finding out how her ex-boyfriend has ended up accused of a double murder.

Character-driven, pacy, compelling and twisty, this family drama kicks off with a perfect premise and rachets up the tension all the way to the climactic end.

This book is very aptly named which I appreciated!

Initially beginning with a court room scene, the story follows a barrister as she finds her first love facing a murder charge and goes on a mission to discover what really happened. The book flows really nicely as it follows Justine and we discover more about her family and her past.

The characters are all well defined - Justine's parents, Max, Jake and Noah have been well created and feel like real characters. DS Rose and the reporter are also good believable characters. However I did not empathise with any of the characters except for Jake. He had a really rough ride throughout the book and Justine really lived up to the book title.

There are definitely a couple of twists that I would not have guessed. The last twist I think was unnecessary, and I thought the way the last chapter is written was slightly long-winded - I almost wanted to scan the familiar section.

I was a little disappointed that the whole court scene was missed out. Perhaps Hornsley has no knowledge in this area to write about it but I do love a court room drama and because the first scene is a court room and the main character is a barrister, I was hoping for more court based scenes.

Bad Blood by Sarah Hornsley (review) ARC releases 27th March 2025

2 out of 5

Take what I write with a pinch of salt. While I didn't enjoy this story I am confident it willl be a bit of a hit on release and will be front of centre in quite a few bookshops.

The best part of the book is Hornsley willingness to write a character who becomes more and more unlikeable as the story progresses. Justine is a narcissistic, sociopath who hypocritically dislikes people for making the same mistakes she makes. It is good that Hornsley doesn't just try to nuance everything but let's the MC speak for herself. Also, Hornsley should be lauded for the ending as there are some dark moments in the conclusion. A conclusion that revels in Justine's barbaric personality while tying up many points raised earlier in the book.

That being said the biggest problem I had with the book is the story we don't get. The skeleton of "Bad Blood" has so much potential but the best points are too often ignored for a formulaic and clichéd story.

Given the tagline "She's the prosecutor, he's the accused" there is a high expection that much of the story will either be court-centred or focus on experiences unique to Justine's line of work. Sadly, the story becomes so generic Justine could be a cashier at Tesco's and the majority of the story would remain unchanged. Instead of getting the story of a solicitor wrestling with whether to try the case or recuse herself we get a story about small town gossip and ghosts in Justine's closet.

It's frustrating when you read a book that has so much unreached potential, it's an ok book but there are better ones out there. I might enjoy "Bad Blood" slightly more on a second read but in the meantime I'd recommend reading "The Dry" by Jane Harper instead of "Bad Blood". Not an identical story but enough similarities to compare them and "The Dry" is a much stronger and better written story.

I’m sorry to say I struggled to finish this book. I found it very slow and I could not take to Justine or any of the other characters at all. I feel the plot just got ridiculous and as for the ending for Jake……what the hell was that??? Nothing plausible about it whatsoever. Not for me I’m afraid. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this early copy.

Really loved this book. Well written thriller with courtroom elements and family dramas. I think this book will be a top seller when it is released. It kept me engaged as I wanted to know how it would all come together. Thank you to net galley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Omg! Omg omg omg!! I loved the sound of this premise so was really excited to get stuck in and it surpassed every expectation. So many twists and turns, such an original concept and some very relatable and real life themes throughout. So vividly brought to life that it's impossible not to get sucked in

I would recommend this book to everyone, snuggle up with this book, a blanket and listen to the bad weather a perfect day for this amazing book

This book got off to a great start and just kept getting better. It starts with the protagonist, a female criminal prosecutor doing what she does best before landing her first murder case. Then she finds out that the accused is her ex-boyfriend - her first love no less!

Of course, she does some digging before she says she cannot take the case, and there’s revelation after revelation, and twist after twist. Even once you think you’ve figured out the story, there’s another shock in store. You know early on that the protagonist herself comes from a family where something is ‘off’, and the details of this are dripped gradually throughout the book. The tension ratchets up as the book goes on. The body count too.

I was there with the protagonist, urging her to get to the bottom of it all and wanting her to find the peace she sorely needs. By the end of the book you can feel the weight of what’s conveyed in the book’s title.

An exciting dark thriller with a wonderfully portrayed character in Justine who is all kinds of unhinged.

A narrative that twists it way carefully to a climactic reveal that is surprising yet also satisfying.

And with themes of domestic abuse, blackmail, murder amd the overpowering need to protect those we love deftly explored. This was a great read.

A book I enjoyed. The story was original and the suspense was there. The writing style was one I wasn’t used to so it took me a while to get into the book but around 50% through was when I started to really enjoy it.