I was intrigued by the premise of this book, based on a true story from 1970s London. In the case this book is based on, Lord Lucan brutally murdered his ex-wife’s housemaid (helper person.. I can’t think of the right word) and attacked his ex-wife, before running from the scene and supposedly disappearing with the help of his wealthy friends. He was never found, and declared dead.

Berry uses this case as the basis of her story, which follows Claire, Lord Lucan’s daughter, who found the dead body of her housemaid right after the attack. Claire is now a general practitioner, but is living under a fake name and is still obsessed with finding her father and finding a sense of safety. She lives in fear, thinking he could come back and finish the job he started decades ago.

While this premise sounds interesting, and the story could have been full of suspense and secrets, I found it choppy, confusing and quite boring—where was the suspense? There were so many characters, often only briefly mentioned, and flashbacks happened willy-nilly, with no set-up. One moment I would be reading a paragraph in the present, the next I’d be back 20 years, with no explanation.

I think the writing style really hindered this novel. It is written in very short paragraphs, with very quick jumps between events and timelines. One paragraph could be about her breakfast, and then the next would be a week in the future when she is talking with a friend. It was very jarring and confusing to read, and made it hard for Berry to add depth to both the story and her characters.

I think Claire could have been a really intriguing character, but through Berry’s writing style, she came off as under-developed and kind of crazy. I have quite a few problems with her characterization, but hopefully this won’t turn too rant-y.

Claire is very very obsessed with her dad and his crimes, which is understandable. However, the way Berry represents the divide between her private and public life, her obsession and her ‘normal’ activities, makes her seem unrealistic. I think if we had been offered a deeper analysis into Claire’s personality, and more time to get to know her and understand how she thinks, she may have come off as more realistic. She goes so far as to stalk many of her father’s friends, going to any event they are going to, just to attempt to find out where her father is, since she is convinced that they helped him in some way. That sort of stalker-ish behavior was very shocking to me, and wasn’t really explained very well. I think that could have been an interesting analysis, showing a woman falling deeper into the darkness of her mind, but as-is, her obsession is just too much and very unrealistic.

Some of her actions are also really random, and I just didn’t understand them at all. (minor spoiler below)

She says she became a doctor to make a point.. and I’m like.. what point? That you aren’t a murderer? That seems pretty obvious.. And becoming a doctor takes a lot of time, so I don’t see how someone could do that on an impulse, as she supposedly did. Also, in one scene she remarks that she hasn’t seen a certain character act “like that” before. But she has been in the presence of this person for only 5 days! And yeah, she has stalked him a bit, but she hasn’t interacted with him before so? How can she make a comment like that? I was very confused..

End of my Claire rant… I wish Berry had spent more time focused on other characters, like Claire’s brother. He was brought into the plot a few times, and has a really interesting story. I’d like to have learned more about their relationship, rather than him being brought in as a random side story.

I will end with a brief comment on the timeline of the book. As I mentioned earlier, the book is written in short paragraphs that often jump between time quickly and without warning. This was very confusing, since we miss so much action and development between her and other characters. The writing just skimped on any deeper analysis or thought, and just followed actions with very general introspection randomly thrown in.

Overall, I think this book was.. one level below meh. There wasn’t much suspense, and while it was an easy, quick read, I’m not sure thriller fans would even enjoy this that much. I felt that most of the book was wasted on very slow buildup that didn’t really amount to much. There could have been more focus on her relationship with her father, her own emotional trauma from the crime, her mother’s story (which was brought up briefly in the beginning and then dropped..), or her brother. I realize I mostly read literary fiction, but I’ve enjoyed thrillers before. This one just wan’t that good.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Quick read and I liked the plot... However, it felt like something was missing in the story. Nothing really happened until the very end and it wrapped up very quickly and almost too neatly.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author, publisher for the advanced copy!

I absolutely devoured this book in two days as I simply had to know what would happen and what really happened in the past. The mystery is incredibly intriguing, as is the family's backstory. Flynn Berry is quickly becoming a must-read author and I can't wait to see what she writes next. My only small quibble with this book was the structure where it jumped around between time periods and perspectives. There was no indicator at the beginning of each chapter to tell the reader what time period we were in, so there were always a few seconds of trying to figure out the setting and the age of the characters before jumping in to the rest of the chapter. Other than that, I loved this book and would definitely recommend.

Unputdownable! Thoroughly engrossing and all the more so as it was based on an actual true story. Definitely recommend!!

Loved this book, even when I was not reading it I kept thinking about it and couldn’t wait to pick it up again and I finished it in a day. Would definitely recommend to others and can’t wait to read other titles from this author.

Highly recommend!!

This book is a fanatical, psychologically intense book about obsession. Claire has been preoccupied most of her life with her father's disappearance after supposedly trying to kill her mother when she was just a child. She wants the truth and nothing is going to stop her from finding out if the man she loved and was well thought of in the community could do this kind of thing. It will take her on a journey where what she seeks hits her full force.

Well written, but lapsing in some places it does conclude with a thrilling ending.

Expected release date, July 31, 2018.

This mystery kept me thinking and turning pages for the first half of the book; a young woman continuously searches for clues to her father's existence, the father who murdered her nanny and violently attacked her mother while both children were in the home. Claire is a well-educated doctor who loves her drug-addicted brother and seems to be mildly interested in helping her patients, yet she is obsessed with the idea of finding her father, the only sitting Lord accused of murder, who fled the country years ago. Unfortunately the plot line takes a turn towards the implausible and ridiculous side of things in the last half and at times the constant switching of time periods is hard to follow needing smoother segues. And honestly, the last twenty percent just seemed rushed, as if the author just didn't care about a thoughtful conclusion or was not sure how to wrap it up creatively yet thoughtfully - very disappointing. Thanks to Net Galley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Viking for the ARC. Unfortunately, this was not for me. I felt as if I was in a bumper car being hastily jerked back and forth. A lot of the time I found myself questioning, wait, who is this person? Did I miss something? What is going on? Possibly only to realize the narrators were switching? I’m not sure. To be honest, the copy I received sent to my Kindle very sloppily. There were pages half cut, the title and author randomly written in bold in the middle of a sentence, odd paragraph spacing, it was very messy. I hope that was what made me so confused and not just the book itself, because this was one I had really wanted to enjoy. Maybe next time.

This was a three star for me. I can't figure out what didn't click. It was fast paced but I guess I had figured it out well before half way through. Thanks to Netgalley for the book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Thank you for this ARC!

This was a very slow burning, intense read! One woman's journey to solving a mystery from her childhood which will transport you all through Europe.

Honestly, the ending was a little flat compared to the leading up of the climax. Still enjoyed it and do recommend!

A Double Life by Flynn Berry was a fast paced, exciting read. Fans of her first novel, In The Harrow, will definitely enjoy this one! Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“A Double Life” by Flynn Berry is a page turning mystery based on a true crime story. Claire is a London doctor who has been living with a big secret. As a child, her father killed their nanny and badly injured her mother and then disappeared. His reappearance opens up the case and there’s many twists and turns that you won’t want to miss.
This was a quick, enjoyable thriller. Thanks to Netgalley for this advanced reader copy.

Flynn Berry’s debut novel Under the Harrow was one of the more pleasant reading surprises I’ve had this year; I felt like I’d found a hidden gem that ticked all of my thriller boxes (atmospheric, dark, is more of a character study than a fast-paced page-turner). A Double Life just reinforced my appreciation of Berry’s style. I can see where her books won’t work for all thriller lovers, but they really work for me.

Loosely based on the Lord Lucan case, A Double Life follows Claire, whose father murdered her nanny, beat her mother, and vanished without a trace when she was a child. Now Claire is a successful doctor in London, but each possible sighting of her father sends her into such a state of anxiety she finally decides to seek answers for herself.

A Double Life is first and foremost a psychologically driven character study, which examines class and privilege and the role that plays in the crime that was committed. This kind of reminded me of something like The Secret History or Social Creature or The Riot Club, but instead of telling the story from an insular perspective that indulges in the fantasy of living that kind of possibly elite life, it’s like if The Secret History had been narrated by Richard’s mother, or someone else who was close enough to touch that lifestyle without actually living it. Consequently it’s not quite as glitzy and glamorous as any of those other stories mentioned, but it gives us a protagonist who’s easy to relate to and root for. The plot is gripping as well, though it’s not particularly twisty – but that’s fine as Berry’s writing keeps you engaged throughout.

Overall I have to say that I did prefer Under the Harrow to A Double Life since the former had more to offer in the way of atmosphere with its setting in the English countryside, but I did really enjoy this as well. If you prefer your thrillers to be character-driven and lean a bit more toward the literary side of things, I’d highly recommend giving Flynn Berry a try.

Thank you to Netgalley, Viking, and Flynn Berry for the advanced copy provided in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book intrigued me: Did a powerful, modern day British Lord and father of two murder the family's assistant, and attempt to murder his wife? And if he did then why, and how did he escape justice? These questions are the essence of the story and are ones which consume Claire's (said Lord's daughter) life.

We meet Claire at the very start of the tale and it is through her perspective that we learn of her parents' relationship and events that led to the actual murder and attempted murder. I appreciated Clair's insight but felt that it limited other characters development. as we never really get to know what they were thinking or feeling. And because I couldn't understand their thought processes I struggled connecting with many of them with the one exception of Clair's mom. She came across very clearly to me as a strong, independent, and insightful woman and I felt sad to learn what her fate was.

For me, this was a mystery built on the details and for Claire to do this a descriptive process was put into place. For this story is about Claire and her near obsession to find out the truth about that night and her father's role in it.. If you are a fan of a mystery that is more descriptive and character focused then this is the book for you. I find that I gravitate towards the more action filled mystery and so at times I find this to be a bit slow paced for my taste.

Having stated that, I still found that this book kept me engaged and interested in finding out what really happened all those years ago. The ending was well done and satisfied my what will happen next curiosity.

I received a review copy via NetGalley from Viking Books. I appreciate the opportunity but note that all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a really good mystery/thriller. It does not take long for you to get to the meat of the story and it is a very quick and intense read!

My thanks to netgalley and Penguin Group/Viking for this advanced readers copy.

I was given an advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. This book was so very well written. It captivated me the entire time!

Pretty good read. I enjoyed it. Not too much of a surprise ending though. Pretty good read. I enjoyed it. Not too much of a surprise ending though.

3.5-4 stars. I did enjoy this book, a quick read, that kept me interested enough to want to know everything, but did feel it was written a bit confusing. I definitely will be recommending to those in Chapter Chatter Pub,

I so enjoy Flynn berry books. Short and sweet and perfect just perfect Thought this was an amazing second book. . So good. Enjoyed writing and characters and development so very much

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars. At 20% this was in danger of being a DNF for me but by 25% it got a little better, enough so to keep reading. I found the flashbacks to be presented in a very confusing way. I would be well into the flashback and just generally confused about what I was reading before I even realized it was a flashback. I also thought there were a lot of character names past and present to keep track of and that added to the confusion. At the end of the day, I just didn’t feel like there was much to this story. The father may have murdered the nanny and tried to murder the ex wife, he had possibly been spotted several times over the years after he disappeared, the daughter befriends someone who may have info and tries to find him and then there is a little bit left to the story after that. It was all pretty boring for me really. No big suspense and no real twists or turns. I think the premise was interesting, which is why I read it, but there wasn’t much behind it. The best thing about this book is that it was short.