This is an extraordinarily good book, I was completely hooked from the first page and wanted to know who 'did it' - I guessed it wasn't the mother but then....you were never quite sure. The characters were well described and I could picture them all, I thought the writing was sensitive and honest, and the story wove carefully and with sudden thrills to keep the tension high. I literally couldn't put it down - the kids had to make their own lunch!

Enjoyable 'courtroom drama' I did guess the ending but overall it was still an enjoyable read.. I enjoyed the personal story of Sarah and her son and how this was interwoven throughout the plot.

Thanks to TBC and netgalley for the recommendation for this book.. Once I started reading it, I found it hard to put down and I thought I had figured out the ending but I was surprised. Ruth Mancini has a new fan and I'm sorry I didn't come across her earlier.

Is a mother really capable of trying to kill her own child? Ellie is accused of just this and Sarah Kellerman is call on to help defend her. Sarah herself is a single mother of a 5 year old boy with special needs and believes that Ellie is innocent. Her investigation leads her in a dangerous road, can she find the truth before it is too late.

I loved this book and read it in 2 sittings. I really did feel the struggles that Sarah was going through and her kind heart. Ellie was a different story altogether! A great book, highly recommended.

Thanks to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read and enjoy in exchange for my honest opinions

This book is a gripping courtroom drama about a hard-working single Mum and solicitor who is trying to juggle a demanding job and a disabled child when she gets a case that she can't let go of.
This story is so perfectly paced and engaging that, before I even realised it, I was halfway though. The absolute definition of a page turner, especially in the last few chapters and I can't wait to read some more of Ruths work.

This is a fantastic read with some great characters. If you love thrillers and/or court room dramas you will love this.

Sarah, a single parent solicitor, is asked to work on a case where a mother is accused or deliberately harming her child and trying to murder him. I really loved Sarah, she is such a strong character. As well as dealing with the task of juggling parenthood with a full time job she is also having to cope with the difficulties that arise with a child with disabilities.

The plot takes many twists and turns before the truth is finally revealed. Sarah takes it upon herself to find the truth as she is convinced of the mother’s innocence, but is she right ?

This book is a great page turner and I really do hope that Sarah returns for more investigations in the future !!

A must read especially if you love courtroom dramas.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

Sarah is a very stressed overworked solicitor who also has the sole care of her developmentally delayed young child. She is assigned the case of Ellie a young mother who has been charged with harming her baby. As Sarah tries to build her case for her client's defence she is trying desperately to care for her son whilst appeasing her bosses and colleagues at the law firm who think she isn't pulling her weight.

This is a very well researched legal drama. The characters are full developed and the story line is taut and thrilling. Although as a reader Ellie drew different emotions from me my most empathy and enjoyment came from Sarah. A strong woman fighting her corner not only in the male dominated law firm but showing remarkable grit and determination to do the best for her little boy.

I hope we will see more of Sarah in a sequel as she is a strong female protagonist and someone I would want on my side.

Very good book. Well written. Very true to life. Love the writers style of writing. Kept my interest going

Courtroom drama at its best!

I normally find courtroom books somewhat long and boring however after reading the blurb I just had to pick it up and read.
Sarah is representing a young girl called Ellie in court, Ellie has been accused of trying to murder her one year old boy.
Sarah is a character you can't help but like, she is clever, brave and a single mum to her disable son Ben. Ellie is less than easy to like in the start of the book, however the way the author developed the character was fantastic, you go from thinking, what a brat, to yet another failed young girl who warms up in a very big way.
The plot was brilliant, I loved how not only was it based in a courtroom written by an author who clearly knows her stuff, but it also showed a side to working mums and what they have to deal with alone.
Well deserved 5* as this book totally gripped me.

This one was brilliant.

I’m a fan of psychological thrillers when they are beautifully written and try and bring something new rather than follow formula. I’m also a fan of legal thriller’s and courtroom drama which I don’t find enough of these days. So “In The Blood” was an absolute perfect storm for me. On the surface a perfect storm of a read and once started, proved to be just exactly that. I was riveted.

Our main protagonist Sarah Kellerman is a realistic portrayal of working single parenthood – with added pressure due to the nature of her job and her challenging child – she walks a thin line trying to find that work/life balance and suffers for it. When she takes on the case of Ellie, attempted of murdering her own child, things are going to get very fraught indeed…

The story is beautifully twisted and explores several intriguing and thought provoking themes, class divide, rich and poor, challenging assumptions and realities, all the way through. Using her characters to show modern prejudices and privilege, Ruth Mancini takes us on an atmospheric and riveting journey towards the truth – a tangled web indeed which brings danger right to Sarah’s door. Ellie is divisive, she garnered both sympathy and exasperation in me, Sarah too for that matter, two very different women coming together towards a common goal – proving Ellie’s innocence. But is she actually as innocent as Sarah believes?

Fractured families, the vagaries of the law, some beautifully written scenes that really immerse you into the action both in and out of the courtroom and across many aspects of the characters lives. The finale is clever, in fact the whole novel is gorgeously plotted, with unexpected moments and some growing and fascinating developing relationships.

Loved it. Can I hope that Sarah will be back in future books? I hope so. She is just the type of strong female protagonist we need at the moment, realistically flawed, failing in those ways we all fail, but somehow keeping it all together. Loved her. All else that flowed from it was just the icing on the cake.

Highly Recommended.

Wow, what a rollercoaster read with twists I just didn’t see coming.

Ellie is a new Mum and has been accused of the most appalling crime, harming her baby who is now sick and in hospital, Ellie denies any wrong doing. Sarah a lawyer has the job of proving Ellie’s innocence, as Sarah searches for the truth she comes across some secrets in Ellie’s life. Throughout the book my mind kept chopping and changing whether Ellie was innocent or not, a fast paced book which kept me guessing throughout.

My first Ruth Mancini book, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I’ll definitely look out for more.

Wow! What a read!
I truly enjoyed this book, it was well written and had a good pace to it. It was obviously extremely well researched.
By about 30% into the book I thought I knew who had done it but was planning to read on anyway. I was wrong. There was a part close to the end where I was literally hanging onto every word and didn't know how it would go.
Ruth Mancini's next book is due in summer 2019 and I can't wait.
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me a free copy to read in return for an honest review.

A mother stands accused of poisoning her own child.

What follows is a tight thriller with a cast of highly realistic characters. I loved this book. It was a very great read and I would recommend this to all my friends

FANTASTIC read!

This book was incredibly well researched and informative. Both about what a defense lawyer's job is like in London, and what it feels like to be a single working parent of a disabled child.

I wanted to cry for her so many times, also feeling relieved that I could close my eyes and fall asleep, not being in her shoes (sleep deprived, little money, no self-time at all).

The action of the case feels a bit stretched, and I actually found myself caring and rooting so much more for Sarah than Ellie. The case seemed soooo predictable - it took me the Prologue and the first few chapters to know exactly who and what had been done. But Sarah's everyday life with all of its hurdles felt so realistically described that for me that felt like the real story of this book.

Even though I'm never into any mysteries that are told from the system's perspective (cops, PI, detectives, even lawyers) this was a very personal account and I really enjoyed it.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

There is nothing the press and public hate so much as a mother accused of killing her own child. Defense lawyer, Sarah Kellerman has the unenviable task of defending Ellie, a woman accused of poisoning her child. Ellie doesn’t make Sarah’s job any easier, she’s an odd woman, and doesn’t seem to show any sort of remorse about her child’s death. That coupled with the sudden ill health of Sarah’s own child, draws the attorney into a manipulative game that could cost her everything. Mancini is the real deal, she pens a taut, all too believable story that had me biting my fingernails to the quick

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

This one was really enjoyable. A wide range of realistic, complicated characters with well-motivated actions and plot-turns. Twists are unexpected without being unbelievable. A solid thriller