First off the premise of effectively investigating your own murder is not one I have commonly come across, although thrillers/mystery are not my usual go to genre. The subplots involving self-discovery and dealing with familial relationships also drew me into the narrative.

The characters (both Eleanor and secondary characters) seemed well thought out although I did find certain characters such as Rebecca and her posse to not only be forgettable but also unnecessary to the plot. Special mention however goes to Melek - I always love a character just frankly could not care less what others think of their behaviour (i think i'd pinch those apples too)

Plot-wise, I found it to be enjoyable in the most part. At various points throughout I felt I had it worked out however the final 10% completely turned what I thought I knew on its head. The twist was not necessarily shocking, more unpredictable. I did feel however that the ending was slightly rushed - ideally I would have preferred greater pagespace be given to the finale rather than the references to supernatural involvement which felt as though they had been added in simply to appease a subgroup of readers.

Overall I found the narrative to be effectively and enjoyable. While it derailed at times, the author seemed to quickly overcome the hurdle and steer the story back on track for the most part. Upon its release, I would definitely recommend it to friends who regularly read the genre.

Thank you to Bookouture for the Arc of this book, it was a thrilling read, a refreshing idea for a thriller/mystery book, didn’t see that ending coming!!

What a thrilling and fantastic read!
I have read Kerry Wilkinson's books before and they are always a great read.

Each one of his novels is filled with tension and mystery. In the Death and Life of Eleanor Parker, our hero Eleanor wakes up in a river in the middle of the night.
With no memory of what happened to her, she goes home where she discovers she is not technically really alive anymore? Her skin is gray and she has no appetite for food or anything.

Eleanor tries to discover what has happened to her, mostly because the year before, her boyfriends girlfriend Sarah was also found drowned in the river.
As Eleanor tries to piece together what has happened to her that night, things greatly escalate.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a novel full of tension and great characters.

3. 5 stars I'm a fan of Kerry Wilkinson's Jessica Daniel series and have enjoyed several of his standalone novels. The Death and Life of Eleanor Parker is the latest standalone to be released, merging mystery, YA, and paranormal. It feels different from the other standalone novels by Wilkinson, but the premise hooked me from the beginning.

Eleanor wakes up and drags herself from a river. Her memory of how she got there is a blank, but she is aware that someone held her under the water, drowning her. She has bruises on her neck and chest marking the efforts of her killer.

Eleanor can interact with people who see her and talk to her, but she doesn't eat, doesn't sleep, and doesn't feel pain. She attempts to find out what happened at the party she attended before waking up in the river, trying to discover who was responsible for drowning her.

A year previously, her brother's girlfriend Sarah was found in the same river. Her brother Ollie went through a difficult time with the loss of the girl he loved and with the accusations, whispers, and rumors blaming him for Sarah's murder. Even as Eleanor searches for her own killer, another young girl goes missing, and once again Ollie is under suspicion.

You have to be willing to accept the implausible and just let yourself be entertained. The "suspension of disbelief" is required for a great deal of fiction, and although I questioned, I continued to enjoy this novel.

Blog review scheduled for July 10

NetGalley/Bookoutre

Mystery/YA/Paranormal. June 26, 2018.

A gripping thriller that got me from the very start. The cover pulled me in and so did the interesting story. I would recommend this one to any fans of thrillers.

I couldn't get into the writing style for this one. The novel started interesting where the girl wakes up in an unknown environment and can't remember how she ended up there, but her thought process was tiresome and she didn't seem too concerned either. Thanks for the ARC though.

I can almost see chris pratt in the lead for this....honestly kerry has done it again, I'm a huge jessica daniels fan but this one off is just fab. Quirky, enthralling, dare I say it has a twist?

Eleanor Parker wakes up ice-cold in the river with no memory of how she got there. She’s sure she’s actually dead, and sets out to find out who killed not only her, but another girl who was killed the year before. It turns out there are plenty of suspects, and the seventeen year old girl won’t stop looking until she found out who killed her. Part of the fun of this story is trying to figure out if Eleanor is indeed dead, or not.