It takes a minute to get used to Rose, to really adjust to her story. This starts off as a straightforward thriller, or so we think - Rose is the victim of a hit & run, and the driver dies by suicide. But what starts off as a "simple" thriller turns out to be anything but - Emily wanted to die, you see. And she is convinced that the car that hit Rose should have hit her. What devolves from here is a story that really drives home the phrase "the grass isn't always greener on the other side" - we get to know Rose's widower, an unlikeable man, and their child, a precocious toddler named Jack. Any more information would spoil this story, and you deserve better, dear reader. So just trust me when I say: it's worth the wait.

If this book doesn't become one of this year's best sellers I will be surprised.
It made for compulsive reading. Excellent plot, creepy, twisty and has an ending I didn't see coming. Excellent!

Totally amazed by the talent that is Claire she has moved to a different genre but she did it really well can't wait for next one

When Emily witnesses - and narrowly avoids being the victim of - a fatal accident, she finds herself becoming increasingly involved in the life of the actual victim, Rose - her job, her friends, her grieving husband Cian. Emily’s own life is a bit of a disaster, so taking over Rose’s looks quite attractive.

Like seemingly every contemporary novel I read at the moment, social media (mainly Facebook) plays a significant part. (Has it really taken over our lives to that extent?) According to her social media, scrutinised by Emily, Rose had the perfect life, but of course that’s not true, because when is it ever?

The story is told from Emily’s point of view and also via diary entries from Rose, which shed more light on what her life was actually like.

Her Name Was Rose is an enjoyable and well written read, but ultimately not that memorable - while there are a couple of surprises, I was left with the feeling that I’d mainly seen it all before. I didn’t find Emily to be an engaging character at all - she was a bit annoying, to be honest - and there were plot strands, such as Emily’s ex, which seemed significant but didn’t really go anywhere. On the positive side I did like the “working at the dental surgery” element and thought this was well done.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

I really enjoyed this thriller, it was fast paced and dark, and I loved it. I couldn’t read it quick enough. I can’t wait for this authors next book. Five stars from me, I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Claire Allan for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

Nothing about this book is as it seems. Everything is unreliable including the narrator . Thrillers are my favourite genre and I consider myself a bit of an armchair detective, but even I was bamboozled . This book challenges your ideas of victims and killers and the perfect life we see people share on social media . I was surprised that this is the authors first dabble in thriller writing as it was highly accomplished and I hope she writes more. Thanks to Avon books and netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review. This is released on June 28th and I would highly recommend it .

I was looking forward to reading Claire' Allan's new book as have read her before and was not disappointed. This is a change in direction for the author as it is her first thriller and it is a page turner. I nearly read it in one go but had to get some sleep!

The story unfolds and has you believing one thing for it all to be turned on its head in the next chapter. I did not see the twist coming and by this point could not put the book down.

I will definitely by on the lookout for her next book!

Emily’s life isn’t great. She is not in a relationship and then she loses her job. Then to make matters worse as she exits a lift she steps back and lets a woman with a pushchair precede her. The woman, Rose, is killed although her son survives. Emily is not even certain whether she had been the intended target. Emily turns to Facebook and social media to find out as much as she can about Rose and becomes enthralled by her ‘perfect’ life, her perfect successful husband and her perfect home. And then things get very odd.

I would love to tell you how it gets odd but that would spoil it all. So you will have to read it. It is a bit of a bombshell and you will think ‘what is she doing?’ – I certainly did. It is well written, well-thought out and thoroughly engrossing. I particularly liked the facebook content etc. Never trusted it, never will. That said it did increase my enjoyment of this book.

Go on, read it and see and then you can rave about it on Twitter.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Great story full of dark twists! I enjoyed this book but I feel the last couple of pages weren't written well and came out of nowhere in relation to the rest of the story.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for an Arc of this book. I stayed up all night to finish it. It has to be the most gripping edge of your seat story I’ve read yet. I thought that I knew who done it near the end but I was way off. Great storyline great characters and one hell of a twist at the end. Brilliant 5star book. I Will definately be recommending this book to everyone.

Her Name Was Rose was an unpredictable page turner, full of some crazy twists and turns. I really enjoyed it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This book had me hooked from the beginning!! I have read most of Claire Allan's previous books and having loved them was hesitant when I found out she had changed genre would this be as good!! Well the answer was YES!! YES!! YES!!

Emily who has witnessed a tragic accident ,in which a young mother Rose dies , finds herself drawn into Roses seemingly perfect life. What follows is a story which had me page turning in an attempt to find answers and understand the characters. Allan's clever writing meant I was left guessing right to the wonderful unexpected ending.

The book is very relevant in today's social media world where people can portray one life but be actually living quite a different one!! Many issues were uncovered in the book victims,control, manipulation, love, friendship, jealousy and depression. These were dealt with sensitively and added to the story. This is a must read for thriller fans!! Fantastic writing by Claire Allan.

I would like to thank Avon Books UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Her Name Was Rose’ written by Claire Allan in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
When Emily lets Rose Grahame and her baby son Jack step into the road in front of her she’s shocked when Rose is killed by a hit-and-run driver. After looking at Rose’s Facebook page Emily realises how happy she was with husband Cian and baby Jack, and how many friends she had at Scott’s dental surgery where she worked. Emily applies for Rose’s position at the dental surgery and soon after starting there meets Cian and Jack. But was the hit-and-run an accident or was it deliberate? Who’d want to kill someone as friendly and kind as Rose?
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel which was entertaining with a good storyline and interesting characters. There were lots of twists and turns especially in the final pages, and the ending was surprising and unexpected.

Wow! I loved this book and was drawn in as soon as I began reading. I agree with what other reviewers have already said in that this is a book best enjoyed with as little advance knowledge as possible so I will keep this review as brief as possible to save from spoiling what is a hugely enjoyable read.
Our main character is Emily who is a rather lonely young woman who seems to have few friends or family and is bearing the emotional scars of the traumatic breakdown of a relationship a couple of years earlier. One afternoon Emily allows a young mother - Rose - with a toddler in a pram to exit an elevator onto a main road before her only to watch in horror as Rose steps out in front of a speeding car and is killed instantly in the collision. Emily is haunted by what she saw and over the next few weeks tries to find out as much as she can about Rose and her seemingly perfect life - even attending her funeral and applying for the job Rose held in a local dentist surgery.
It is not long before Emily discovers that everything in Rose's life may not have been as perfect as it seemed.
A fantastic read and a sure-fire hit when it is released in June 2018 - do yourself a favour and read this book! An easy 5 stars and thanks to Netgalley UK, the author and publishers for the advance review copy - I loved it!

I went into this book with high expectations which were not quite fulfilled. The basic premise – of a confused young woman stepping into the shoes (and life) of another tragically killed (or murdered?) was strong. Is the devastated husband of Rose all he seems? On the surface, the couple seem to have lived the perfect life with the perfect child. It is little wonder that Emily is drawn to the charismatic writer Cian, whilst trying to put the ghosts of her past behind her. Where I struggled was with the underdeveloped character of Ben Cullen who is alluded to, but I was left feeling many questions were unanswered. The plot was a bit too predicable, although there is a twist I didn't expect. It's well-written and I enjoyed it. It just didn't quite hit the mark for me.

Her Name Was Rose is an excellent first book by Claire Allan in the psychological genre,it features Emily who after witnessing a tragic accident in which Rose is killed looks further into Rose's life and discovers she had a seemingly ideal life with a husband who adored her and a lovely little boy.Emily then sets about ingratiating herself into the life Rose has tragically lost,but it soon becomes clear all was not as rosy in Rose's life as what Emily thought.What follows is a book that had me gripped from the first page and kept me guessing as to who was telling the truth and who was telling lies with an ending up there with the best of books of this genre.A great 5 star read from Claire Allan.

Loved this! I give it 4 🌹🌹🌹🌹!
Perfect example of “the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence” as we watch Emily, one of the main characters, step into Rose’s life/shoes so to speak. She’s kind of a sad lonely girl and not reliable but I felt bad for her and found myself rooting for her to get a good break in life, even though I wanted to shake the crazy out of her 😂
I actually think Rosè was a main character as well because this whole story revolves around her and her life even though she was deceased.
I enjoyed the way Rose’s story was told with her past Facebook updates followed by her story.
Really, no one was reliable here and covered by Facades, “perfect” life Facebook statuses, even clothing styles that were someone else’s.
Definitely a page turner!

Thank you #NewGalley, the publisher and Clair Allen for the generous ARC copy in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!! 🌹

A seemingly straight forward accident. A car knocks down a young mother and she dies instantly. The ramifications of this accident spread far and wide and despite everything to the contrary nothing is as it seems. When the cops decide it was premeditated murder, especially since the driver of the car commits suicide a bit later things get complicated. When Kevin's death is deemed suspicious as well, the police are determined to get to the bottom of the two murders.

Rose seems very happily married to Cian a very successful writer. With a young toddler Jack, her life seems complete. Beneath the surface however huge cracks have begun to form and in Rose's workplace more than anywhere else the emotional effect of Rose's absence seems to be huge. Why is this so. Why do the two bosses - the dentists in the surgery seem to be so effected that it is making everyone else so tense and uptight. Rose was a loyal, good worker but it seemed so personal that you knew that things were not right.

Cian the husband is the first suspect. He is arrogant, a bully and when Emily falls for him she falls hard. She only sees the widower grieving for his wife, trying to cope. She does not see that he is quite happy with the way events have turned up and it seems till the very end that he is the obvious murderer - of both Rose and Kevin.

The final outcome was a turn up for the books. Unexpected and like all good murder mysteries coming out of the blue.

A very interesting story, though it took me a while to get into it.

Goodreads review posted on 7/4/2018. Amazon not accepting reviews. Review on my blog mid May 2018.

I will start by saying that a premise needs to be made. Claire Allan usually writes women's fiction. This is her first psychological thriller and I hope there will be more.

I could rate it 3,5 stars but rounded up to four because I'm sure she will only get better with the next book.
First of all her writing is very good. And that's always a big point. The first 20% of the novel was slow but then it became a great page turner, even thought I didn't feel the mystery so strongly I was completely invested in the psychological side. I needed to know how it will end for Emily. There was also an unexpected turn that made it all more interesting, and a nice touch at the very end that lifted my spirits, so I really hope Claire Allan will write other thrillers (because sadly I'm not such a fan on women's fiction, but I'm sure her previous books were really good too if that is you genre!)

Her Name Was Rose

Emily witnesses a fatal accident. She lets a stranger step out in front of her, but when a car hits the stranger Emily’s life changes.

Emily sees the stranger Rose’s life as everything that hers is not, and surely her life is now for the taking?

I expected Emily to be a mad stalker, somewhere in the vogue of Single White Female (90s psycho film). This is not the story that emerged though. Emily is not a psycho, in fact just the opposite. Rose’s life was not as perfect as it seems. As Emily discovers.

I was hooked on this, ad read it almost in one sitting. Great characters with excellent twits and turns. Highly recommended.