Outstanding writing from Vaseem Khan, I was hooked right from the beginning. The characters were all really engaging and I found myself getting lost in their story. This is the first book I have read from this author but certainly wont be the last

Vaseem Khan, author of the Malabar House series, has turned his hand to the psychological thriller, and has produced a most enjoyable read. He gets into the mind of the main character beautifully, and keeps us in suspense all the way through. A very competent piece of writing.

4.5⭐️

(Spoilers)

I loved this book until the very end. The descriptions of people and places are exceptionally well written and drew me into the story.

I should have known something was afoot because throughout I couldn’t understand how she had got parole when she was convinced she was innocent and was not prepared to admit her guilt.

At the end, when she ‘finds’ Grace I was so disappointed to find that the whole story had been a false memory narrative.

The only saving grace (sorry!) is the very last chapter which links back to the beginning with its suggestion…

So for me, it was a 95% totally absorbing but ultimately disappointing read but, if this is a genre you like I think you will love it.

This is a challenge: there are two (eventually three) narrators and I’m not sure why that was necessary. It seemed to make the story incredibly long. Imagine describing your day in great detail and then also having your partner or friend or parents describe the exact same day from their perspective, except only know what happened because of what you told them. So I just felt like I was reading the same thing over and over again.

There were twists and drama, which were well-executed but ultimately, I slogged through this because I owed Netgalley a review for allowing me the ARC.

Firstly, thank you so much to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for honest feedback.

If I'm honest, I struggled to get through this book. It felt very long winded - the story could have been around 350 pages with a lot of questions and information removed and it would have been perfect.

There were a lot of characters to keep up with & the 'Then' & 'Now' for Annie & Orianna became a little bit confusing at the end.

What I will say, is the ending was good & different to other thrillers I've read! It still left it a wee bit uncertain though, which I'm not a fan of.

I love thrillers but, I'm really sorry, this just wasn't for me.

With many thanks to Netgalley for this free arc and I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily.

WOW! That was some read! This is an outstanding piece of story telling. Beautifully written with an engaging cast of characters that almost pop into life from the pages. Tense, gripping and very clever Vaseem Khan has written a truly riveting read that will take you on journey which twists and turns as the plot unravels. Set in the then with Annie and the now with Orianna it will at times seem confusing but stick with it because the end is nigh on brilliant. Loved loved lived it!

The Girl in Cell A was an incredibly dark read, but a read with depth and significance. The narrative is mostly based around one extremely powerful and dark family: The Wyclercs. I loved that every character was not angelic: there was darkness and grey areas within each character and their lives - some more than others. This made this book both incredibly hard to read; but also incredibly necessary. Humans are not perfect; we are all capable of the inexplicable.

I LOVE the psychological aspect of this book. For instance, Orianna was an extremely complex character, whose past trauma and experiences had led a woman to not know who she was, and what she was capable of.

Annie, too, was complex. Her life changed trajectories. She was trying to piece together Orianna’s life, while trying to understand her own.

Vaseem Khan would go into some depth of psychological terminology and theories, explaining the complexities of the mind really well; yet wouldn’t go too far that it would get tiresome. The mind is both a wonderful and monstrous thing; one that is so complex and multi-faceted. The fact that society likes certainty means the construction of a ‘this’ or ‘that’ ideology: you’re either a ‘goodie’ or a ‘baddie’. This means that individuals can easily become judgemental not only to others but to themselves.

I really enjoyed the writing style: it was easy to follow, intriguing and descriptive. I was constantly second guessing my own thoughts and assumptions the whole time. This book was most definitely thrilling and suspenseful, leaving me shook to my core at the end. But it was so much more than that: it was about society, community, hierarchy, power, gender, ethnicity, class, and the extent of the human mind and physical being.

Overall, this book was thought-provoking, challenging, psychological, sociological and so much more! However, this read highlighted many dark topics including sexual assault, rape, incest and paedophilia etc. Please check trigger warnings.

'Guilt is never binary. That is the fallacy at the heart of our justice system. There are shades to every story, to every truth.’

This was a different plot for your typical suspense/whodunnit and it did keep you guessing until the end. I guess for me it felt a bit long winded and quite a lot of characters to keep up with.
Sometimes elements of the book didn’t add up for me, for example she climbed a wooden structure in the middle of the forest to escape being beaten up by two mysterious people, that was then set on fire. Nothing was really mentioned of this again and it was miraculous how she jumped down but then carried on with her day. Sometimes it was a bit far fetched.

3.5 stars. ⭐️
I really enjoyed this book and it truly is a who done it. Set in a duel timeline we find Oriana in Eden Falls trying to find out who killed Gideon after being convicted of his murder herself and serving 18 years for it. There are a LOT of characters and at first you suspect Everyone, keeping you gripped up until the end. I did find it quite long in parts, especially Annie’s parts but the ending was very unexpected and i would recommend it. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this early copy.

I loved this book, I read to be transported into another situation and this most certainly did. Twist and turns kept me guessing I couldn’t put it down. Well worth the read.

Gripping right from the start, it's the kind of book you don't wanna put down even when your desperate to go sleep. Cannot wait to explore this author more.

Convicted of the murder of Gideon Wyclerc, Orianna has served 18 years in prison, but cannot actually remember killing him.
To be considered for parole, psychologist Annie Ledet is tasked with unlocking the truth.
Told over a dual timeline by both Orianna and Annie, we are transported back to Eden Falls to find out what really happened in the cabin in the woods.
A good solid thriller, with lots of surprises, especially the ending!
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review..

This isn't my usual type of genre, I'm not really into suspense in terms of trying to work out who has done what. Having said that, I did really enjoy it. It kept me hooked right to the end, and the ending was indeed a surprise. Highly recommended.

Orianna is a convicted murderer. She has now served 18 years, but what if she is innocent?

Set in 2 timelines, we read if her sessions with a psychologist and also in the town where the murder took place.

This is an interesting and intense read and I have to say it is a story beauitfully told.

The writing is excellent and this book was an absolute joy to read. I loved it

An amazing psychological thriller, it makes you keep guessing who the killer is and you’ll never find who the actual killer is. Unpredictable ending, and unpredictable characters. Although there were many of them, they did make the story even more interesting and enjoyable. I usually get very bored when i read long thrillers but this flew by.

(Spoilers)
I thought this book was okay whilst reading through it, I did guess the ending about 60% in and I thought it was quite a cliche. But I was really disappointed that it ended up being yet another book that hinges on the demonisation of people with Borderline Personality Disorder. It’s a really lazy trope and it’s so untrue, people with BPD are not anything like the characterisation in this book and are far far far more likely to hurt themselves or be exploited by others than be a danger to anyone else. Thanks for the ARC.

I liked this a lot. There was so much going on that sometimes, I had to slow down and give myself some time to recap what had just happened. It was an interesting approach with the story being told from the viewpoint of Orianna, who has served 18 years for a murder/ possibly 2 that she is adamant she did not commit, but also from her sessions with a psychotherapist who is trying to unlock her memories of the day. There are a lot of characters, some seem to be there purely as red herrings, but some help the story to move on with a lot there for accusations to be thrown at. Some of the events seem implausible where Orianna recovers very quickly from injuries, but that is explained later in the book.
There are so many themes in this book- difficult family relationships, betrayal, hatred, blame, which are addressed in various ways, and told from different viewpoints of now and then. I don't think there is anything more I can say without spoiling parts of the story, but I'd love to know about some of the main characters especially Luke and Amos.
I will definitely read more by this author.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

An incredibly intriguing thriller! The plot twist and turns and keeps you entertained! I like the duel POV plot and the way the story slowly unfolds as you make your way through!

This is a cracker well plotted that keeps you guessing till the very end, a rare treat. Unique concept set among stylish writing, strong characters and engaging themes. A proper good old thriller that kept me reading long after bed time. A must read

Wow, this book is full of great characters, some nice and some definitely not but either way the story has the feel of a great epic with changes of timelines from now to then from the point of view of The girl in cell A and her therapist. Due to the small town setting and old fashioned names I kept forgetting that this was set in more modern times yet the atmosphere was more reminiscent of mid 20th century America. I had to re-read a few chapters until I realised that the narrative was unreliable - but that made it all the more interesting. I think Vaseem Khan is an extraordinary talented writer. Can’t wait to read more.