Harry a rich corrupt financer is attacked viciously in front of his wife Julie ,by a stranger in his own home. The attacker, J.P.Carney, gives himself up to the cops confessing to the crime. He insists that the crime was a random act as he was suffering a mental breakdown at that moment.The story is then narrated from Julie , J.P Carney and Inspector Alice Moody’s viewpoint to figure out if it really was a random act of violence or a premeditated murder.

The Confession is a thoroughly entertaining , tense , gripping psychological thriller.Jo Spain does a great job weaving through the stories of some very unlikeable but well developed characters to a brilliant conclusion.

I would like to thank the publishers & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

I will admit, I was hooked from the get go. Spain really throws you right into the story leaving you absolutely eager for more. Putting the book down was just about impossible as I found myself reading all throughout the day. Even at work.

Being told by three main characters -- Julie, JP, and Alice -- allows you to get the feel for the emotions and potential motives. Plus, this way of telling the story really complimented lines of thinking and reasons why. Each character was well thought out with rather believable, albeit unlikable, traits. For each character, I found myself bouncing between liking them and almost despising them. You would be given a slight inkling of hope, just to have it dashed away shortly after.

The story line moved at a good pace and kept my interest the entire time. I loved the way that Spain worked through the plot. The very first page you are told exactly what happens and that the assailant turns himself in. What you are left to figure out is the why. Reading how the story was to unfold was rather delightful and I look forward to reading more books by this author.

The Confession has already been released in Britain and Ireland, but American readers will have to wait until September 11th to grab a copy! Within the first few pages, readers will witness a violent attack and find out who committed it...by the mystery revolves around why? With a split-narrative, the novel follows Julie, whose husband was violently attacked, and JP, the attacker who walks into a police station to quickly confess, as we discover what motivated the attack and what Julie is hiding about her marriage and her husband.

Spain helps build a love-hate relationships with the two central characters; at times, I empathized with both of them, but in the end, I wasn't particularly rooting for anyone to come out on top. However, I still needed to know what happened--I even finished reading this in only one day! Ultimately, when I did get to the ending, I almost felt unsatisfied--but not because of Spain's writing--but because I wasn't connected with either character and wasn't remotely invested in either's future--whatever turmoil that may include. I appreciate the deviation from the standard victim vs. villain dichotomy, but maybe this fell slightly flat? I enjoyed reading The Confession, and would recommend to those looking for a quick, easy suspense novel--but ultimately, I won't be including it on any Top 10 lists anytime soon...

cw// The Confession strongly references alcoholism, sexual assault and domestic violence.  

[I received a digital, advanced reading copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.]

First of all, thank you #NetGalley for an advanced copy of #TheConfession!!

Now, WOW!!! That is all I can say about this book. From the very first chapter, I was hooked. The book starts out with you learning that JP Carney has attacked Harry McNamara, and then turned himself in... But why did he attack him? He says he doesn't even know Harry McNamara. Harry's wife, Julie, witnessed the attack but her life was spared. Why? As you read on, more and more comes to light as to whether or not there is a connection between the McNamara's and JP Carney. You may start to think you know how it is ending, but you don't! I couldn't put this book down because I was just dying to know what, if any, was the reason for this brutal attack. The ending did NOT disappoint!!

The Confession is built around one confession that unwrap another confession that hides srill more confessions in the many layers.

Codependancy, family and the idea of what it means to love end up twisted and interwoven until ultimately, lives are destroyed and ended.

What started as what appeared to be a police procedural quickly turned into a tale of confession shrouded in manipulation .

A great read!

3 stars

A man walks into an expensive home and beats Harry McNamara to death with a gold club in front of his stunned wife Julie. We later learn the man’s name is JP Carney when he confesses to the crime in the police station, but says he didn’t know Harry and he doesn’t know why he killed him. He “just snapped.”

Harry is a very wealthy banker who specialized in commercial loans in Europe and the Eastern Bloc. He and Julie have, on the surface, a good marriage.

He claims a not guilty by reason of mental defect defense and it looks very much like he might get away with it. He’s got the psychologist hoodwinked anyway.

This story is told from several points of view: Julie, the wife, JP, the murderer and Alice Moody, the detective investigating the case.

The detective clearly doesn’t believe him and also wonders if Julie had anything to do with the killing. She is disgusted with JP’s attorney and the psychologist. How can they ever believe that JP didn’t already know Harry?

When I first selected this book to read, I was excited to read something perhaps a little different. Knowing who the killer is from the start? What an unusual idea. But, as I read on, it turned out to be rather tedious. Harry, Julie and JP were awful people and I certainly wouldn’t want to know any of them. I thought that the plotting had some holes in it and it certainly didn’t draw me into the story. All in all, I’d say it was a pass.

I want to thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for forwarding to me a copy of this book so that I may read and review it.

I was expecting more from this book after the great beginning and reviews . So much of the book became repetitive and predictable even the ending . Of course JP knew Harry . Not too many people brutally kill another person unless they dislike them fiercely. Moody and her team were useless although they provided some light moments in this book. Julie and Harry were meant for each other . The ending really was not that surprising . If people can live with themselves with no regard for any of their consequences they are worthless individuals. The three of them deserve each other. A so so read . Okay but not great.

Was just ok for me. Found it a little drawn out didn't need to know some of the background of one of the characters. I was drawn in from the beginning of the book and then it just lost it a bit from there.





Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an early release of this book

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

I loved this book, I lived the Celtic Tiger backplot, I loved the twist and counter-twist, I appreciated the multiple layers behind each character.

A man walks into Harry McNamara’s home and beats him to death with a golf club, as Harry’s wife, Julie, watches in horror. The killer, Carney, turns himself into police, but claims not to have known who his victim was. Police have a hard time believing Carney, because McNamara was just acquitted of bank fraud and his misdeeds cost a lot of people their life savings. Told from the points of view of the killer, the detective investigating the case, and Julie, the victim’s wife, this is a compelling story, though readers may have a hard time liking any of the main characters