thanks so much for allowing me to read this. I found this book to be quite a slow burner and took a long while to build up. However i did find myself wanting to keep reading it to find out exactly what would happen.
Katharine a mother of 2 children, wants more from her life - she wants to write a book - however she has a very unsupportive husband who thinks its a crazy idea.
Behind his back she takes on a writers course where she meets Sam and eventually Viola his wife. Sam thinks she would make a great writer and offers to support her and mentor her. Katharine decides to keep this secret from her husband and sets about meeting Sam whenever she can, to write and get advice from him. Here she meets Viola, Sams wife. She feels she knows her but cannot think from where. Viola offers to publish Katharines work for her, but is all as it seems. To find out you will need to read the book for yourself!

I think when I first started reading this I became confused and then it carried on from there.. overall it is a good story line and the plot is interesting. I would have liked to have the characters jump out at you more and really connect. But all in all it is an interesting psychological read.

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

I didn't love this book and I didn't hate it. There was nothing horrible about it. It was well written but I just didn't think it was mystery, thriller or suspense. I think it was more women's fiction, about a woman with some issues in her past who is married to a controlling man and uses writing as an escape and as a way to take control of her life.

All along we knew Viola had some issue with Katherine from the past. We knew who was leaving the notes and there were enough subtle clues to guess what the past connection was. It just wasn't that suspenseful.

This book started off slowly but when it picked up pace it turned out to be a great read so I'm glad I stuck with it.
This is the only book I've read by this author but look forward to reading more in the future.

I really enjoyed this book which gave an interesting insight into the world of authors and publishing. I thought the characters were well drawn and the tension was ratcheted up perfectly. I would be interested to read more from this author. Well deserved four stars

This is my first read by this author. I’ll definitely be going back and reading her debut novel.

Katherine is married to Paul and they have two children. He is very over bearing and controlling so he isn’t happy when Katherine joins a writing course. The teacher of the course is a best selling author Samuel. Katherine is delighted when Sam takes her under his wing.

Although I thought this was a slow starter I really did enjoy this story. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Katherine is a realistic character, yet fulfils the role of unreliable protagonist associated with psychological thrillers. 'The Pupil' focuses on Katherine's ambition to be a successful writer, she is in a controlling marriage and becoming a writer is her way of achieving independence and rising from the problems of the past.

There is suspense, but this is more of a family drama than a psychological thriller. The threat Katherine percieves appears to be visible only to her, which makes you question her mental state but it's her husband's treatment of her that is sinister and the real threat to her mental stability.

There are elements of dramatic irony in this, as the thinly disguised significant plot twist means the reader knows who Katherine's enemy is, but she is oblivious until the final chapters.

A suspenseful read and an excellent family drama but not the twisty, psychological thriller I expected.

I received a copy of this book from Aria Fiction via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Firstly, thanks to Netgalley and Aria Fiction for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

I'm afraid I can't really recommend this book, although, I did like the premise of a mentor, pupil and a secret and I thought it ended well. I just found the characters irritating and couldn't really have cared about them and how they ended up.

Katherine comes across as a rather spoilt woman with a wonderful home and family and her mentor, Sam, isn't much better. Her husband, Paul, is a controlling figure and so her attending a writing course is an escape.

The book is badged as a psychological thriller, but, it missed the mark for me and was more of a 'domestic drama' which, overall, just wasn't for me.

Goodwin’s second novel is a slow burn thriller that takes its time to lay down the ground work with a great flourish. The novel takes its time but this is one its main assets because in a more incapable hand, this could have been its downfall. The Pupil uses this as its advantage because this first third of the book is never boring but builds an intrigue that often is lacking in other books whom normally choose to jump into the action without much time for characterisations.

The characters are very well driven towards their conclusion and although there is a couple of plot points that don’t quite pay off for instance the main protagonist not recognising the couple, this doesn’t take away from the overall enjoyment of this novel. I imagine that due to the slow burn beginning, some readers will lack the patient to drive them forward but this would be the mistake of the reader because the end payoff is a total winner.

The plot is very well balanced and in the hands of its masterful author, this is handled very carefully. She is able to take characters and flesh them out in their motives. They are craftly mastered so you are not quite sure what each characters know and what are their exact motivations. The characters could have easily fallen into soap opera entrapments but Goodwin here manages to steer them away from the melodrama and keep things on a realistic basis.

Overall, this is an interesting and enjoyable read that pays off the readers with an excellent conclusion that does not settle for an easy all happy ending but does find retribution and social consciousness for all the characters involved. The main character is intelligent and strong and her emotional journey fits very well within the plot. If you are looking for a strongly led character study into the mind of a woman on the edge as she works her way back into society with a thriller edge, you can not go wrong. Dawn Goodwin’s The Pupil is an intelligent, gripping thriller that should find its audience. For those that take the time to delve into the characters motivations and let them unfold before your eyes, you will be heavily rewarded. A true winner.

Katherine is an aspiring author and has wanted to write since she was a little girl. With little support for her writing she goes to a week long writing seminar where she meets famous author Sam Morton who offers to  mentor her. It seems everyone in this group of people is hiding something Katherine in particular. While The Pupil starts a little slower it builds to a reveal I didn't expect. I thought this book would be totally different than it was but I'm glad it was, it made for a more interesting book. While most of the people in Katherine's life seem to be not that great, from her unsupportive husband and mother to the fake famous author, its the relationship between Katherine and Viola that caught my attention and this is where the book started to really get going for me. Dawn Goodwin writing is very detailed and neat which made for a good read.

Katherine has been on a writing course and has been working on her own novel. Her teacher offers to help her get her manuscript published along with his wife who seems to know her. Katherine has a troubled past and a possessive husband but maybe she can turn her life around now or will her past destroy her.

This was a really interesting read. It kept me reading even though I had figured out the twist to the story. The ending was good too and just how I hoped it would end. The plot was interesting and detailed.

Katherine was an interesting lead character. She has many difficulties but we watch her grow as the story develops and by the end I really liked her.

I'm not sure what I expected from this one .. it begins as a bit of a read about family life and turns into so much more ...

Katherine is a stay-at-home mother who finally manages to do something just for her; it's clear from the beginning that her husband doesn't approve. As we get to know Katherine a little bit better it's quite obvious that she has at least one secret in her past and when author Samuel Morton offers to mentor her, his wife has the feeling that she's met her before.

On the surface, this is a read about an aspiring writer being mentored by a well-known author with the final goal of getting her book published. But scratch that surface and you will find layer after layer of secrets, lies and manipulation just waiting to see the light of day. Set at an easy pace, this is an enjoyable read but every so often you get sucker-punched with reality. Well-planned with a good structure, it's an engrossing read. There is no doubt this author can write, and I really must find the time to read her previous novel, The Accident, about which I've heard so many good things. The end of this one came rather rapidly and abruptly, but I think it fitted in with the events in the book and by the final page all the questions were answered - so this reader is happy and satisfied.

My thanks to publishers Aria both for my copy and inviting me to take part in this Blog Tour. This is my honest. original and unbiased review.

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in return for my honest review.

This is the second book I’ve read from this author, I really enjoyed the pace of the book. The story was a great thriller., I was really pulling for the main character, Catherine, she was really plucky. She diubted herself so much because of things that happened in the past, and the people that had made her what she was, her mother, her old boyfriend, her husband; but she couldn’t see through to who she really was inside, until she took that one opportunity to further her self with a writing seminar. I really enjoyed the book, it was a great summer read. I will definitely be looking for more books from this author.

This psychological thriller was so good that I read it in one sitting! I just couldn't put it down, as each time I thought I was going to take a break something else happened to make me want to keep reading. There was tons of manipulation and lies, along with revenge. I highly recommend this one!

The plot whilst it held some interest was rather too predictable. Katherine certainly had her issues with no-one to support her very much yet strangely I still didn’t feel much empathy for her.
I had worked out the ending more or less and it did seem over the top.

Katherine Baxter has always loved to write, but she has never believed in herself.

So, when after completing a creative writing course, the instructor, the best selling novelist, Samuel Morton, offers to mentor her, she is both confused and thrilled. After all, it’s not like the work she had offered in class had received much praise from her fellow students. Is he truly interested in her writing?

When literary agent Viola Matthews is introduced to her husband Samuel’s new protégée, she feels as if their paths have crossed before. But from where? And, is she really okay with her husband spending so much time behind closed doors with this beautiful, younger woman?

Everyone is hiding something from the past.

Everyone has a secret.

The book cover promises an unforgettable psychological thriller with a shocking twist-every book seems to be marketed that way lately....

I think this is more of a novel of SUSPENSE, and I enjoyed seeing if I was correct about the things that I felt were being hinted at, in the clues provided throughout the story. It was also fun getting a glimpse into the process of writing and publishing a book.

I will definitely go back and read the author’s debut novel, “The Accident” which I missed and keep an eye out for her future work.

Well written thriller about Kathy who is rebuilding her life following incident 12 years ago and 10 years of suffering from depression. She gets back to something she has always loved and dreamed about becoming her real profession one day, writing. She has this story she wants to follow and even finds support by well know author Samuel Morton and his wife Viola. Although Viola recognizes Kathy from somewhere,she can’t quite place her. She also takes instant dislike towards her and decides to find out who she really is.

Here the game begins and we start to untangle secrets from past and all the difficult relationships that shaped Kathy into who she is now. Following her journey fighting her own demons and overcoming obstacles in her way to become an author.

I enjoyed reading this book and it was very well written. It only took me about a day to read it as the story flowed nicely and characters kept me interested. It was slower pacing with a build up towards the big reveal at the end but it worked with this story well.

I hope to read more by this author soon.

Socially awkward, introverted and insecure Katherine Baxter has finally convinced her overly controlling older husband, Paul, to allow her to take a week-long writing workshop in London. Yes, it means taking the train all by herself from the suburbs into London twice a day. Yes, she assures him that she is capable of doing that. His requirement is that there be no interruption to his schedule, or the schedule of their two children while she is attending the workshop. From there Katherine starts her pattern of deceiving her husband as she gets drawn deeper and deeper into the lives of the Writing Workshop leader, well-known author Sam Morton; and his wife, Literary Agent, Viola Matthews.

While Dawn Goodwin has tried to hit the ‘Psychological Thriller’ mark, for me she fell a little flat. There wasn’t a whole lot of suspense, and I figured out the mystery pretty early on. Katherine, known as ‘Kathy’ in her neighborhood had some traumatic that she was involved in years ago. She didn’t cope well, and Paul helped pull her from the after-effects of that situation, hence her loyalty to Paul even if he is controlling. But that controlling has recently become very stifling, and Katherine is determined to revive her life-long dream of becoming a published author. Hence her desire to attend the class lead by Sam Morton.

After the class concludes, Sam offers to become her mentor, and work with her one on one to help shape the outline of her book into something publishable. Katherine soon meets Sam’s wife, Viola at a literary party, and there is just something about Katherine that makes Viola think that they’ve met before. Sam and Katherine begin meeting regularly, and Viola pops up at odd times. Then Katherine starts getting threatening notes shoved in her mail slot, and she struggles to keep the different parts of her life from intersecting. She’s hiding her writing, getting her girlfriend to cover for her during absences when she’s working with Sam or Viola, and lying to Paul about the goings-on. Did she drink too much, or was she drugged at a dinner with Sam and Viola? How can she explain that to Paul? Her coping skills are stretched to the breaking point as events seem to spin faster and faster.

The plotline ends with a big bang, and all is revealed. (All is revealed if you hadn’t already figured it out, as I suspect most readers will have long before the end of the book.) The story just moved a bit too slowly for me, and there wasn’t really a likeable character in the bunch. I had sympathy for Katherine, but based on her ongoing deception, I didn’t like her very much.

‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; Aria Publishing; and the author, Dawn Goodwin; for providing a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story is very slow. It seems to take longer than is necessary to reveal how Viola knows Katherine. Overall though this is a good read. A lot has happened to Katherine in her life and she finds it hard to believe in herself. Her husband, Paul seems to just want to look after her. Sam and Viola want to help her to get her book published. There is suspense and hidden secrets. This book is worth a read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This story felt very long-winded and a bit slow for me. More of a drama than the advertised thriller but with lots of dramatic suspense