Disturbing, flawed characters and nobody comes out of this particularly well.
Emily is convinced her ex has been trying to hunt her down. On the day she witnesses a young mother run down in front of her, Emily talks herself into a state of paranoia. Determined to deal with some of the demons from her past she researches this young mother, Rose, and starts to take an obsessive interest in her life.
Emily gets Rose’s old job and soon becomes caught up in a relationship with the grieving widow. Nothing is quite as clear-cut as we think. Emily is desperate for attention and her narrative means we’re never certain how ‘glossy’ she’s painting the picture of things.
Nobody is beyond suspicion. Hints of something dark beneath the surface are given with excerpts from Rose’s Facebook page. A number of characters come under suspicion - not least Emily - and the reality did come as something of a shock.
My main issue was with Emily and her reliability as a narrator. I didn’t feel I got enough of her backstory to really find credible her behaviour. Some of the actions of characters within the novel also felt rather implausible.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my thoughts.

3 1/2 ⭐️’s! The author stated this was her first psychological thriller and it had a little too much romance for me (I’m not a big romance fan). But it was well written and the twists and secrets kept me turning pages! Anyone who likes a little romance mixed in with their suspense should enjoy this book. I’d definitely try another thriller by this author.

“When a person dies young, we so often say they had so much more to give.”

It was an awful hit and run and she was killed instantly...her name was Rose.

The story is told through the eyes of Rose and Emily. Rose was killed as she was pushing her young son — Jake — across the street in his buggy. Emily witnessed the tragic event and becomes obsessed with Rose. She attends her funeral and starts stalking her social media account.

Rose had a job she loved and coworkers that adored her. Emily has a dead-end job and a shit-show life — so she drinks too much.

Rose was a young mother — married to an attractive and successful author — with a gorgeous toddler. Emily is sad and spends her nights alone.

Rose lived in a stunningly beautiful house, while Emily rents a small flat she can barely afford.

Emily wants more. She successfully gets a job where Rose worked. Then she meets the grieving widower — Cian. She offers to lend an ear if he ever needs to talk, and is thrilled when he invites her over for tea. The house is spectacular — even though Rose’s cheerful face and her radiant smile are plastered everywhere. And little Jack is so adorable, with his delightful laugh that is infectious. Emily can see herself living here. She yearns for the picture-perfect life Rose had.

#HerNameWasRose #NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Emily is in a lift, on her way home from shopping
Rose is in the same lift, with her son Jack in his pram
They leave the lift
Then they get to the exit door of the shopping centre
Emily holds the door open for Rose
Rose thanks her and
Steps into the road
And is instantly killed by a car speeding past.....

And the story starts...Emily has had a previous abusive relationship, she craves love, a good job, a loving partner, a baby, a wonderful house.....in fact everything that Rose had......would it be really bad to take what Rose had now shes gone?.......
Be careful what you wish for Emily!!! All that glitters is NOT gold, silver or even bronze!
Another tense psychological thriller which had me addicted to the story, characters and wanting to know the outcome
At first a touch confusing as Rose ( although dead ) and Emily went back and forth from the past to the present but nothing major and the odd ‘getting it right in my head ‘ soon cleared up any ‘mixing up who was who’
I enjoyed the references to Facebook and how the author put into the book just what Facebook actually does to us all to get those ‘likes’
The book is set in Derry but I liked that unlike some books the descriptive bits of the area were not OTT with an authors love of their home town etc but kept its short, punchy and of interest and relevance to the book
I note that this is the authors first book as a thriller writer as previous she wrote woman’s fiction, I hope she stays in this genre as this ticks every box in the thriller, mystery psychological ‘must read’ box!!
A scarily fascinating idea and book that I found compulsive reading and really really enjoyed
10/10 5 stars

One of my favorite things about being a member of NetGalley is that I am getting introduced to new/new-to-me authors on a regular basis. Sometimes, I ask for ARCs, sometimes I just write it down to check out later. This was definitely one I knew I did not need to wait until later to read. 

Her Name Was Rose offers a joy ride down familiar thriller lane, with Claire Allan putting her own marks on the territory to really make it her own. With interesting characters, beautiful writing, and a fun story, Allan will definitely be an author I check out in the future.

In this story, we follow Emily. Emily has witnessed the death of a complete stranger -- the death that she feels (for a few reasons), she is the blame for. Thanks to the Internet age, Emily is able to find out all she needs about this woman. Rose, it would appear (based on the brief encounter Emily had with her and her son plus the social media presence Rose made sure to keep), had the life that Emily dreamt of. Loved and adored by a husband and coworkers; missed by many; beautiful; happy. It doesn't take long before Emily is just completely enraptured in the life that Rose had. So...Emily decides to put herself into that life.

It seems innocent enough...I suppose. Emily gets a job at Rose's old workplace. She befriends her old coworkers. And, eventually, befriends Rose's widower. The deeper she gets into this picture perfect life, the more she realizes that nothing is what she had imagined.

One thing I enjoyed about this book was how well Allan used the multiple perspective writing style, giving us the current story through Emily's eyes while giving us a deeper look into Rose's past. And while I did really enjoy this one, it took a bit to get into. (I made note that Chapter 6 was incredibly well done and that I was really into the book about 41% through, as well as a "Emily GIRL whatchudoin???" note 70% through, hah.) Once I was in, though, I found myself completely enthralled with these characters. And even now, a month or so since I've finished the book, I still wonder about Rose and Emily. 

There is an epilogue. I have weird feelings, usually, about epilogues, but this one was fine. It gave the closure I needed and I felt like the endings for everyone worked out fine.

I very much recommend this book to fans of psychological thrillers and mysteries. I think if you've been wanting to try these genres out, I think this could be for dipping your toes into the genre.

Thanks to Net Galley and Avon Books UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
Rose is killed in a fatal hit and run accident, her husband Cian is bereft, she was his world. Cian is a successful author, has a beautiful home, Rose wanted for nothing and they have a beautiful son, Jack. It would seem Cian and Rose had the perfect life, but did they?
Emily witnesses the accident, feels guilt as she had met Rose only moments befor in the lift and had encouraged Rose to step out first as she had Jack in his pushchair.
Emily finds Rose on Facebook, reads all her posts from friends who are in shock regarding her death, reads old posts about her perfect life with Cian. Rose had everything Emily has ever wanted. She becomes a little obsessed with Rose and before she has time to think she has applied for Rose’s old job at Scott’s dental surgery and is successful. At the surgery of course she meets Cian and very quickly she has become part of his life, she is easily swept along and charmed by him.
The police then declare Rose’s death a murder and the young man who knocked her down is now also dead and foul play is suspected Cian is a suspect.
A fast paced psychological thriller well deserving of 4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

Emily witnesses a tragic hit and run and becomes obsessed with the victim Rose. Emily lives in fear after a disastrous relationship that alienated her from her family and friends. She begins to stalk Rose's Facebook and becomes involved in her life.

This is the author's first psychological thriller and it is an enjoyable read with some unpleasant characters and a twisted plot. It deals with bereavement, domestic abuse and the false portrayal of a perfect life played out on Facebook.

This is my first read by this author and I know it definitely won’t be my last as I really liked this story.

I’m sure most people that have seen a hit and run haven’t gone to such drastic measures as Emily has done. Emily craves love and feels she will get it through Rose.

This is a really well told story. I read it in one sitting as I just needed to know what was going to happen. Great twists and turns.
If your looking for a psychological thriller then I recommend you read this one.

I really enjoyed this and happened to notice it was on amazon for 99p so I told all my bookie friends. It’s a very good book and it wasn’t predictable on the whole. The characters were good and I liked the way it got bleaker and more tense.
I’d definitely buy her next book.

I went into this book with low expectations as I have been disappointed with thrillers in the recent times. And voilà this book captured my interest somewhere in the middle.

Emily allows Rose and her son Jack to precede her out of the lift, on to the road, in front of a speeding car. She is knocked dead. Shaken to the core by this event, Emily follows up on Rose and her husband Cian's profiles on Facebook, believing it all to be true and wanting the same kind of love for herself. She gets Rose's job, Rose's husband, Rose's life. And then the story starts twisting and twirling like the snakes on Medusa's head....

A fabulous debut by Claire Allen. Her writing gripped me from the mid half of the book and didn't let go. I spent the night reading this book. The twists were cleverly done. The characters were all 50 shades of grey but nothing sensuous about that. Each one wore a mask, again not the sensuous way.

I didn't like the beginning of the book as Emily did not come across as someone I would love to read about. She was too broken and weird and weak. Pills and alcohol were her pillars. And Facebook. She was obsessed with its fake virtual world. But luckily for all of us, she grew up in the latter half of the book and the pills disappeared. The book became interesting.

Had the book gripped me from the first page, it would have been a knockout. Overall a thriller-y read.

HER NAME WAS ROSE
By Claire Allan

HER NAME WAS ROSE is about a young woman who witness a fatal car accident, and is so shook up by the event she becomes obsessed with the victims (Rose) life . She takes the Roses job as an assistant at a dental office and starts getting involved with Roses friends and family. There are many twists and turns and a surprising ending that is unexpected.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun getting to know Claire better, she was a character that grew stronger throughout the book. I felt myself rooting for her and encouraging her to stay strong.

I highly recommend this book..it was suspenseful and pulled me in fast.

Thanks for the opportunity of reading this great book, I really enjoyed it.
Emily witnesses a murder, she thinks she should have been the person who was killed.
She had been through a very bad break up,with an obsessive boyfriend, she was broken and scared and took to,drugs and drink. On finding out about the girl rose who was murderer she tried to copy her life, having her job and then her husband.
Things were not quite straight forward the husband was a control freak, and rose did. Not love him. From then onwards it got really exciting.but do not want to spoil this book for other readers.

This was an alright book and I enjoyed the plot twist at the end. I didn’t like the heroine at all. I don’t know how old she was but she came across so naive and gullible. She was also very needy. The epilogue made me a little sad and mad but it didn’t ruin the overall story.

A good story with a surprise twist. Emily is struggling to get over a breakup, and scared that her ex will somehow take revenge on her. She goes through the motions at work, drinks too much, and is generally rather sad and alone. One day, a terrible accident happens just in front of her, and this leads her to make some changes ... not all for the good. I enjoyed it, but it was somewhat let down by the grammatical errors which really should have been edited out.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy.

Her Name Was Rose is a novel that will keep you gripped to the end. The story unfolds through the perspectives of Emily and Rose. Which I liked. I've said it before in other reviews of mine. I find it really hard when i cant connect with the main character. Emily just comes across as so self involved. Its all me,me, me. Before the story ends the author takes you on twisty journey to the climax.

"Her Name Was Rose" is a physiological thriller that read a bit like a combination of the movies "Single White Female" meets "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle" ...

Emily witnesses a hit and run which leaves a stranger dead. Shaken to the core, Emily finds out who the woman is (hence the name of the title of the book), and discovers that Rose had everything that Emily always wanted ... a husband, a child, a good job, friends, a beautiful home, nice clothing ... she had it all ... maybe Emily can take some of it too?

What results is Emily trying to take some of what Rose had for herself - and discovering that not everything is as it seemed.

I didn't give this a very high rating for a few reasons - first - it felt like it went on a little too long. I would have cut 50 pages. Second - you get a glimpse into Emily's past relationship with Ben - something that points to her vulnerability towards Cian (Rose's husband). I almost think that it should have had more of a focus on what happened to Emily in the past, so that you get a real sense of why Emily needs all the things she thought Rose had. By only getting a small snippet, you don't really delve into how desperate Emily is to be loved.

This book did put a spotlight on how much we all take social media postings at face-value. How we all assume the snippet that someone is highlighting on facebook, or instagram as the "truth" of their life. But that sometimes everything that is perfect is just for show ...

I think this book is a slightly weaker version of something I've read before. It was fine, but didn't pull me in to keep reading.

Good beginning, decent ending ... the middle could have been more interesting.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

4.5 stars. What a wonderful psychological thriller full of twists and turns. I found it quite different and unique to the norm but thoroughly enjoyed it. Fantastic debut novel

This was a good read with a few twists I didn’t see coming. I liked how it drip fed the view of Rose and how her relationship with Cian developed throughout the story. Kept me reading and wanting to know more. Thanks to Harper Collins, Netgalley and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Will definitely be sharing this one with my book group.

Her Name was Rose is a perfectly, creepy, addictive psychological thriller. I just knew that things would go terribly wrong immediately Emily was introduced. The story begins with the tragic death of Rose. Emily was there and saw Rose take her last breathe. What happened next was totally unexpected. I was alarmed by Emily’s actions following Rose’s death.

This was a suspenseful, twisty read. There were clues about Rose’s death making it hard to guess exactly what caused it. Was she murdered? If so, who did it and why? Or was it simply an accident? I have to admit, the answer to these questions surprised me. I had my theories but ended up being completely wrong.

My feelings about Emily kept changing with each new chapter. I mean, she scared me. However, I still sympathized with her. I did want to shake her a couple of times because her decision making was frustrating. She was a compelling character and I think the author did a great job with the overall character development in the story.

Her Name was Rose is a fast-paced, entertaining psychological thriller perfect for fans of this genre. It’s a story about lies, secrets, obsession and manipulation. It does have some deeper themes that I won’t mention because they might be spoilers. However, let me just say that this book is quite well written and I can’t wait to read more titles by Claire Allan.

Emily is a lonely, tortured soul with no friends. One day when exiting a building she lets a woman with a buggy walk out before her. The woman, Rose, is killed instantly. There next follows Emily learning all she can about Rose and that’s when her life at first dramatically improves. However things don’t stay that way. Was Rose’s death an accident? Was something mor sinister involved?

I loved this book. Full of twists and a good ending.

With all the 4 and 5 star ratings on this book, perhaps my expectations were too high. I’m sorry to be the disagreeable one, but the merits of the book are few and far between.

“Twists and turns” are more like a slight curve in the road. Characterization is nil and the characters, themselves, are totally unlikable – unrealistic, even.

Emily, the protagonist, throws back handfuls of tranquilizers and washes them down with various mixes of alcoholic drinks throughout the book. She does this to help herself get over an abusive marriage that ended 5 years previously. She tortures herself with her belief that her ex-husband is still “out to get her” 5 years later when he’s even moved to another country! She gets canned from her job for lying about her absences. She becomes totally obsessed with a woman whose death she witnessed and then (with the help of the author) steps into the life, work and household (husband) of the deceased. Emily is one sick woman. But somehow she comes out to be the heroine of this very unlikely and implausible story.

There was simply nothing about this novel to recommend. Although … I can see that it would appeal as a Lifetime movie script. Maybe that was the purpose.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Avon UK, for an ARC of this book. Obviously, this is my honest assessment.