If you value your sleep, beware... The Confession is very likely to keep you up all night thinking "just one more page". I couldn't put it down! However this will be a no-spoiler review, so don't worry 
Though there are many books with a similar theme, The Confession feels a little different because you know who has attacked Harry from very near the beginning of the novel, but you don't know why - and why he handed himself in. The plot has lots of gripping narratives, each from a different point of view. We hear from Julie, whose husband Harry is the man who is violently attacked at the start of the novel, and JP, who handed himself in and is proved to be the man who attacked Harry. We also, interestingly, hear from Alice, a detective who will do anything to find out why JP attacked Harry. Can it just be coincidence or is there far more to this story? I think you know the likely answer! This novel slowly teases the reader with snippets of the three characters' lives, both the present day and the events leading up to the day of the attack. This means I was absolutely desperate to find out what had happened.

There are plenty of twists, turns and surprises along the way, and I found myself doubting almost every character at some point (my favourite kind of novel!). I loved Alice - she was a great character who I really warmed to , and would love to see her featured in future books - but also couldn't help myself really liking JP from quite early on, despite what he'd done. The characters in The Confession are multi-layered and never portrayed as strictly 'good' or 'bad' - they have different issues and/or quirks which make them convincing characters, and even the people you know are horrible people are not horrible 100% of the time! It also shows how the images that people portray can be very different behind closed doors...

The Confession is clever, gripping and deliciously dark, with characters you can't help but want to know more about - highly recommended. Will definitely be reading anything Jo Spain releases in the future, and am determined to read her Inspector Tom Reynolds series as well!

An enjoyable thriller. The twist unravels earlier than expected but the plot reweaves from this to a satisfactory conclusion

I read this over Christmas, so I had to keep putting it down to do other things. A sure sign I was enjoying it was I couldn't wait to pick my Kindle up again! It is a good, fast read with a plot that keeps you guessing. Not the sort of book you would take time over, but satisfying nonetheless. Thank you to the publisher and good luck with it.

I really enjoyed The Confession by Jo Spain. It’s one of those psychological thrillers that draws you in and keeps you guessing until the end.

Late one evening a man walks into the home of disgraced banker Harry McNamara and his wife Julie. That man is JP Carnegie and he unleashes a brutal attach on Harry.

JP claims he doesn’t know Harry and that the attack was not premeditated but it leaves the detectives investigating whether this is a random act of violence or related to Harry’s previous sins.

This book is superbly written and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, Quercia Books and the author for the chance to review. I would rate this book 4.5 stars.

Jo Spain writes a dark and twisted psychological thriller that is truly compelling and gripping. It gives us a picture of Ireland with its growth as a Celtic Tiger, built on shifting and corrupt sands leading to an economic and banking collapse, a state that bailed out the banks whilst ordinary people paid the price. One such banker/financier is disgraced Harry McNamara, acquitted of financial fraud in 2012. Harry and his wife, Julie, are watching TV, thinking they have got away with it, when a stranger appears in their living room with a golf club. A terrifyingly brutal and savage attack on Harry with the golf club takes place in front of a shocked and immobile Julie. At the end, the stranger whispers to Harry whilst he lies dying. A little later, John Paul Carney covered in blood, hands himself in at the police station, confessing to killing Harry whilst experiencing a psychotic episode. As it happens, Harry is not dead, but he is in a coma and the prognosis is not good.

The narrative is delivered from the perspective of three people, Julie, JP Carney and DS Alice Moody. The story makes headline news, the notorious Harry had been front page news during his trial. There are many that are unsympathetic and feel that he got what he deserved. A guilt ridden Julie spends her days at Harry's bedside wondering why she did nothing whilst Harry was beaten. Carney maintains he has never met and never heard of Harry, it was just an unfortunate coincidence that he found the open back door when he was experiencing mental health issues. The psychiatrists agree that he was not responsible as he is placed in a mental health hospital. The large and corpulent Alice does not believe Carney, and thinks there is much more to the story as she digs into the lives of Harry, Julie and Carney. The narrative goes back in time, to how Harry and Julie met, had a lavish wedding and settled in a happy marriage initially that grew progressively more dark and fraught through the years. A child eluded the couple, and as Julie tries to turn a blind eye to the dark activities that Harry engages in, she turns increasingly to drink as she becomes a raging alcoholic. Julie's insecurities refuse to allow her to leave her marriage, the couple support each other through their secrets. Carney grew up in poverty, with a mother with mental health issues who leaves him and his younger sister, Charlie, in London. The father takes them home to Ireland but is ill equipped to look after them. Carney brings up his sister single handedly.

In a well plotted and gripping story, Jo Spain makes you care about the characters even when you don't really like them very much. I just did not want to stop reading the book, I had to find out what happened. The suspense and tension is wracked sky high in this fast paced novel with short chapters. I felt some sympathy for a naive and emotionally dependent Julie at times, particularly as she begins to unravel as she can no longer ignore his faults. Harry is manipulative, a man with a dark side for whom making money is what makes his life tick, by whatever means necessary. Despite everything the two manage to keep their marriage going and at the heart of it is their love for each other, they have no-one else. What possible connection could this power couple have with Carney, a man from the other end of the economic and social spectrum? All becomes clear by the end of this entertaining and thoroughly absorbing thriller. Many thanks to Quercus for an ARC.

Wow this book is one of those books. The one that pulls you in from the prologue alone and makes you carry on reading into the early hours.

I managed to read this book in 24 hours and I think that shows just how utterly gripped I was. The author has written a very clever story in that you find out who the attacker of Harry McNamara is immediately, the rest of the story is finding out why? Was this a random act of violence or is there more to it than we are originally led to believe?

The chapters are told from different points of view and at varying times - through Julie McNamara, his wife, we learn about how they met and their seemingly charmed and perfect life. Things aren't always how they appear though and we slowly learn about how unscrupulous Harry really is. Alice Moody, the police officer in charge of investigating, who has a successful career and is determined to find out the truth and finally, JP Carney, the attacker who seemingly has no motive in this violent and heinous crime.

The back stories of Julie and JP are fascinating and we begin to find out more about their lives and how the actions of others have taken them down their particular path in life. Just when you think you have figured out a part of the storyline, the author takes you down a completely different twisty path and keeps coming at you with more twists and revelations that genuinely make you gasp and reassess what you thought you knew and had figured out.

The ending was a revelation for me and I had to re-read the last few pages again. It really does make you breathe in sharply as you try to digest what you have just read.

I can't recommend this book enough - this is the type of book that keeps me reading. A fantastic plot with well written characters, some that you actually like and some not so much, that keeps you reeling and desperate to learn more.

I think this book is going to be BIG in 2018!
(I am taking part on the blog tour for this book so haven't shared my review anywhere else for now)

oh wow oh wow this book is amazing! I can't recommend it highly enough. super creepy with many twists and turns and I'm still thinking about it long after I finished!

The story is set in Ireland just before the financial crash and involves Julie, Harry McNamara's wife and himself. We know who attacks Harry that fateful night but we don't know why and if there is any connection to anything in his past. A rollercoaster of a read which is absolutely brilliant.

I enjoyed the premise of this book - turning whodunit into whydunit. However, I did find it quite a bloated narrative and I would have preferred a tighter more concise plot, perhaps less on the character's back stories. JP's motive was understandable, but i still feel a little confused about what happened in the accident, and why Julie stayed with Harry.

Oh my word I don’t think my review could possibly do this book the justice it deserves . It wasn’t good it was simply amazing. Right from the very first sentence I was totally gripped . This book is a tense psychological thriller that will have you in a total head spin, right up to the very last word in the book . It will definitely be in my top 10 reads of 2018. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. This review is based entirely on my own honest opinion .

This is Jo Spain's first attempt at a psychological thriller but I certainly hope it won't be her last. Harry McNamara has just been cleared of fraud when he is beaten to death with a golf club at home in front of his devastated wife, Julie. J P Carney immediately hands himself in to the police/Garda.

The story is written in both past and present which gives us good insight to the characters. DC Alice Moody is like a dog with a bone and feels there is more to this attack than it first appears, I like her character and her relationship with her boss and enjoyed her chapters immensely.

The book is full of twists and turns and I struggled to even guess what could have really occurred and why.

Jo Spain is an author I definitely will read more of and hopefully more of these thrillers.

Enjoyable throughout. Just my type of book. Look forward to more.

What a corker of a book, from the very beginning you go on an amazing rollercoaster of a story. Written from the perspective of all the main characters.
I loved how each character tells their own story like how Julia met Harry and how JP was as a child. All characters are dysfunctional and this together with a brilliant plot makes for a fabulous read.
Its not for the faint hearted and start with a gritty scene where JP walks into the house of wealthy banker Harry and without words he wraps a golf club round his head. Straight away you pulled into the story as to why, what made him do this, who’s invoked?
I love the authors style of writing, it’s engaging and solid in its delivery and gives for a different kind of psychological thriller.

Thank you for granting my wish for this book.
I did not expect to love this as much as I did. I loved that the ending was not what I expected and that it was told from different perspectives.

The best thriller I've read in a long time. Well written, multi-layered story that kept throwing surprises at me until the very end. Put this together with masterfully drawn out characters and interesting setting and you have a winner. I thoroughly enjoyed The Confession (you won't appreciate how clever the name is until the very end) and will be looking out for the next book by Jo Spain.

Thanks to Net Galley & Quercus for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
This book is filled with strong characters. Harry McNamara, owns his own bank, lives a lavish lifestyle, likes to show off his wealth. He also like to be in control of verything and this includes his wife, Julie. Julie teaches at a primary school, likes to socialise with her friends and enjoys her wine. She loves Harry but suspects that he cheats on her with other woman..
JP Carney is the man who enters the McNamara’s home an viciously beats Harry with a golf club while Julie watches. JP immediately hands himself in to the police and confesses to beating Harry, he claims the attack was not premeditated, that Harry was unknown to him.
This is a psychological thriller and has the reader guessing who is guilty and of what, as the story unfolds with lots of twists and turns throughout. Great read 4.5 stars.

Julie’s seemingly idyllic life is shattered one night when a stranger walks into her home and beats her banker husband near to death in front of her. He whispers something into his ear before giving himself up to the police and confessing to the assault – whydunit?

Jo Spain’s The Confession is a fairly decent crime/mystery novel. It has an uneven story that’s quite well-written and even occasionally compelling! However large parts of it are uninteresting and feel superfluous while the ending is a bit of an unsatisfying anti-climax.

The story is told from three perspectives: Julie, the victim’s wife; JP, the attacker; and DC Alice Moody, the investigating officer. I don’t know why Moody got her own chapters as they failed to add anything much overall and, despite some amusing dialogue between her and her boss, only added pointless pages to an already bloated narrative. Maybe, in the same vein as similar genre novels, Spain is trying to make her into a recurring character she’ll be able to build future books around like Michael Connelly’s Bosch or Ian Rankin’s Rebus, except Moody isn’t nearly as intriguing.

JP’s backstory was largely unnecessary too. We only really needed to catch up with him once his life crosses paths with the other characters; we didn’t need to hear about his gloomy childhood/adolescence, which, in its excessively depressing detail, just felt like reading misery-porn. Abusive drunk father, crazy mother, growing up poor in Ireland - yeesh, what is this, Angela’s Ashes: Redux?

Julie and her husband Harry are essentially a modern day Jane Eyre/Rochester and, while not an original setup, it’s still interesting to discover Harry’s dark secret life unfolding through his innocent wife’s eyes.

Spain is a good storyteller too, slowly parcelling out answers to the questions surrounding the central mystery - how do the characters know each other, what’s the motive, what was whispered, and so on - to keep you turning the pages at a steady clip to find out. It’s not a predictable story as she kept me guessing til the end and I was genuinely curious to know the answers to it all even if what’s revealed is somewhat underwhelming.

The Confession is a flawed novel. It’s basically an unpleasant story about unpleasant people doing unpleasant things to each other which becomes a bit much at times, as well as making it difficult to care about or root for anyone in particular. For that alone I couldn’t say I always enjoyed reading it. However the characters and their voices are convincingly realistic which is an argument in itself against “likeability” for the author’s high level of skill.

Ultimately I still found it overlong with large parts of the story being irrelevant, particularly with regards Moody’s character. Despite the grim subject matter, The Confession is a light and accessible easy read with just enough going on to hold the attention - a sufficiently readable, if unimpressive, airplane book and nothing more.

This book is a true pyschological mystery thriller. Guessing reasons throughout for the murder does not totally prepare the reader for the ending. I loved the way that the story unfolded bit by bit, giving false leads at every turn. The intrigue of the murder beginning the book and the murderer giving himself up to the police immediately was novel but gave so much to the story. This is a book written by a brilliant author who knows how to keep the reader questioning all the way through.

I had heard so many great things about The Confession, so I had really high hopes when I started it. While I enjoyed it, it didn’t quite live up to the hype for me I’m afraid. It’s definitely a compelling read, I had it read in a couple of sitting, but it left me feeling a little flat.
I couldn’t connect with the characters, so I couldn’t feel any empathy when they were going through their respective problems. I also found the conclusion to be a little bit much. Considering what had gone on in the book, I just thought it was a bit unreal.
It was a decent read, but I wasn’t blown away unfortunately.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this amazing book

wow just wow...this is a nail biting, cliff hanging tense thriller..and one i couldnt put down...i thought i saw the outcome of the ending but not really so many twists and turns, it was just so shocking to read and so unbelieveable...

another author to keep an eye out for

I don't think I have read a more attention-catching opening to a book - ever! We are thrown straight in to the plotline, gruesome and shocking as it is. We know who the perpetrator of the crime is, we know the victim's name. But what we don't know is why the crime happened at all.
The story then rewinds to when the victim Harry McNamara met his wife, Julie. Told from various points of view throughout the book we find out how Harry becomes a very wealthy businessman and the effects that his money has on his and Julie's lifestyle and relationship. Set predominantly during the 1990s boom to bust years we are given a taste of the circles the McNamaras move in, and they type of people they mix with - not all of them above board - and once the crash comes Harry and his cronies find themselves centre of a major fraud investigation.
Running alongside this we have the story of JP Carney, the man who immediately confesses to killing Harry. Starting in his childhood years we see a deprived family, mum is bi-polar and is regularly hospitalized leaving dad Seamie to bring up John Paul and his younger sister Charlene. He has a weakness for the demon drink and ends up in no fit state to look after the children. Their lifestyle couldn't be further from that of the McNamara's, but JP feels a strong sense of responsibility for making sure Charlene has a decent education & upbringing in order to give them a chance to get out of the poverty they have both grown up with. They have a very close sibling bond which only gets stronger as they grow up.
We clearly know that the two families lives cross over at some point but it isn't clear for a good three quarters of the book how they come to feature so significantly that JP feels the need to end Harry's life. The author's interweaving of those threads is brilliantly written, with events leading your thoughts about the various characters first one way then another as each section of the tale is related from a different individual's point of view. There is one revelation after another in the build up to the final chapter and I felt emotionally drained as I closed the book.
I cannot wait to be part of the blog tour for this book in January and am already telling friends and family that they NEED to read this book! My review will be posted on my blog www.sandiesbookshelves.blogspot.co.uk on my scheduled date on the tour in January.