This book took on a similar format to The Good Mother, each chapter told by the perspective of one of three women.  I really enjoy this style of writing and it seems to be favoured by the author.  The main character's chapters not only described her current situation, but also included diary entries from childhood.  Using this style of writing means you really get to know the three main women's characters in the story and I really like this.  It keeps the story moving forward and the drama builds at a good pace.

The diary entries could be upsetting and unsettling.  I sometimes found them difficult to read and some may find them too much, so beware.

The plot was full of suspense and twists and was well written with lots of surprises, especially at the end.  Another superb thriller from Karen Osman and highly recommended by me for fans of this genre.  If you enjoy this I also recommend you pick up The Good Mother by the author, which was equally good.

3.5 * Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

This is the story of Angela who is adopted from a children's home by James and Rosemary. Fast forward and she is a solicitor slogging away at work. Her adoptive father becomes ill and encourages Angela to find her birth mother. It is told in alternating time-lines with flashbacks to the children's home in the 1960"s.

This is a tale of lies, betrayal and abuse and some may find it disturbing. It is a bit slow and predictable in places and I realized the twist well ahead of the ending.

This book was a little slow for my interest. It dealt with topics like child abuse, lies and neglect, which was mentally draining for me. The story had Angela wanting to try to find her real family. There were too many timelines to keep track, with journal entries, and a slow drip feed of information. The secrets are soon revealed with an unexpected twist. But the child abuse really pulled me down and I had to skim read it, to protect myself.

I really enjoyed this story, it had great drama and suspense that built up in the book to a really good ending!

The pace was spot on and I liked the writing style, it was great for the story and gave it an added edge.

I thought that the characters were well developed and they worked really well with the plot to make this one a thoroughly enjoyed psychological thriller!

Four stars from me, I really enjoyed it!

I felt this book was more of a drama than a pyschological thriller,the story goes between 3 ladies affected by adoption and I didnt really like any of the 3 characters or feel any empathy towards them
There are twists n turns in the second half of the book
Well written and I would read other books by the author

Brilliantly written psychological thriller about child abuse , lies , betrayal and deception . A vivid riveting story you won't soon forget ! I highly recommend ! Thanks to Netgalley and Aria for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review ! #Netgalley #Aria #TheHome

2* It was OK.

There are elements of this book that I really enjoyed. I liked the chapters interspersed with diary entries and, although I'd guessed the key elements of the story, it did flow well. Also, unlike some of the other reviewers, I did quite like the characters and found myself interested in the outcome.

However, overall, it just didn't have a spark for me. So, an OK read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity of previewing this book in exchange for my honest review.

Very interesting thriller. This book starts our with our main character Angela going back to her roots to try to find her real family with the encouragement of her adoptive parents. While this story is taking place it is also peppered with journal entries form when Angela was living in a children's home before she was adopted. This book was really interesting you got the child like wonder hoping for a real family and just looking for somewhere to belong in the journal entries. Along with the jealousy at her other friends being adopted, then you get the realism of the adult half trying to piece together the puzzle pieces of who Angela really is. I did find it very say having to hear about the abuse that poor Angela had to face before she was thankfully adopted out of that horror. Very interesting thriller however I didn't like all of the time jumps it made keeping track of everything that was going on very confusing. It was very sad to witness the desperation of her as a child as well as all of the abuse she faced at her adoptive parents house. It was heartbreaking. Great book I just didn't like the time and character jumps but beside that little part I enjoyed the rest.

Shocking - and brilliant! This is different, devastating, dazzling .. and I'm so glad I chose to read it!

Angela works extremely hard for the law firm which employs her; spending her earlier years in a Children's home has left her with ambition and aptitude to succeed in her career and make something of herself. Fortunately, she was adopted and adores her parents although the long hours at work and living in London means she doesn't get to see them very often. When she is invited home at a specific time she wonders if there is something wrong.

This is an easy read; with three different directions to follow, there is always plenty going on to keep the reader occupied. We learn more about all the characters past and present lives, piece by piece and begin to understand what makes them tick. The secrets and lies abound, and it doesn't take long for the truth to begin to leak out. Not everything is straightforward though, and there are some puzzling events to muddy the waters. Certainly plenty to get the brain ticking over but no matter how much time is spent pondering, I consider the ending will still come as a shocking surprise!

Beautifully plotted and exceedingly well written, this is a novel to worm it's way under your skin whilst you're relaxing into the early details. A stunning read, and one I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending, especially to those who enjoy a psychological thriller with a difference!

My thanks to publisher Aria both for my copy via NetGalley and for inviting me to take part in this blog tour. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

This book was a pleasure to read from beginning to end. I fell in love with the characters in the book, especially Angela and her adoptive parents James and Rosemary. You read about Angela's upbringing as a child, her abandonment by her mother, and what life was like for the various children living in the children's home. You can't help but feel so many mixed emotions for the other children living in such a home and some of the horrors and experiences they had gone through.

This book had many surprises, both good and bad, and without giving too much away there were plenty shocking twists and turns to keep any reader hooked to the very last page. I found myself so into this book it was hard to put down, and I found myself wanting to read more and more to find out what would happen next. We learn about what life was like not only growing up in the care of the children's home, but also the loving family home once Angela was adopted.

Now an adult herself, we read about Angela's decision to meet her birth mother Evelyn, who has many demons from her past. She has lived a hard life, and is surprised when she meets Angela.

This book is full of lies, betrayal and deception! Once you start reading you can't seem to stop. I loved every shocking twist in this book and found myself stunned by the many turns it took. I loved this book and I hope you do too!

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. did not hate this book, but sadly i didn't love it either, I particularly did not like the characters at all

some terrifying moments and a twist I did not see coming. The diary entries by the children were hard to read. I normally don’t read books with children suffering abuse it is just too hard. I stayed the course with this one and it was pretty good

This story is told mainly from the perspective of Angela. Angela is a 27 year old solicitor, who was adopted as a child and recently, due to her adoptive father’s cancer diagnosis, she has begins to look for her birth mother. In between these chapters, there is also the birth mother’s story and also the diary extracts from a child who is in a children’s home. Angela’s birth mother, Evelyn has had a difficult life since she gave her child up all those years ago and has struggled with alcohol and drug abuse. The story gives a thrilling journey as to what happens when secrets that have been buried for so many years are uncovered!

My first book by this author. I have to admit, I was initially confused with this book. For some reason I had it in my head that the story was set in present day – i.e. 2018 and I just couldn’t make the dates from the diary extracts match up! When I eventually worked out that the story was set in the 1980’s, it all made sense! I found the story started off well, with Evelyn’s story of an older lady who had suffered the ravages of a drug and alcohol lifestyle being particularly gripping. I did like Angela’s character but did want to give her a good shake to make her realise that sometimes work isn’t everything!

As the story unfolds, you get sucked into a tale of lies, secrets and deceit. It gave me a multitude of emotions as it travelled through the last 30 years of the characters’ lives. It does broach on some difficult subjects of child abuse, but all done as sensitively as you can. I also found it completely heart-breaking at times with the stories of the young children in the children’s home and also of Angela’s birth and adoptive mother. It all eventually had me in tears. It twists and turns throughout until you reach an unexpected finale which I honestly didn’t see coming.

A chilling and upsetting thriller. Not a fast paced story by any sense of the word, but a slow build up giving you time to get pulled into this heart-breaking story good and proper. I will definitely be looking for more by this author.

Fantastic story with some terrifying moments and a twist I did not see coming. It was really hard to read the diary entries about the children homes in the UK. The poor children, what a life with abuse and violent beatings. It made sense that growing up in such a home had an everlasting effect on the children. Highly recommended!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Aria!

The Home was an amazing Psychological thriller with a twist that will leave you shocked, I was totally captivated reading this book, highly recommended.

I was captivated right from page one of The Home, and the twists that popped up throughout enticed me even more! I seriously had a hard time putting the book down and would have read it straight through if I could have. There were definitely some very sad and troubling scenes, my heart ached for these poor poor children, but there was so much more to the story. I have always been curious and intrigued in orphanages so this was “interesting” to read, though I know (or hope) that they aren’t all run in the way this one was. The Home was a great novel and I highly recommend it.

my 1st book buy this author and so enjoyed it what a story Angela grows up in a Children s home gets adopted at the age of 14 and becomes a lawyer but the story that unfolds is brilliant and emotional oh and the twists and turns I thought I had it worked out but got so wrong so if you like a twisty story and plots this your book

I was given an early copy for an honest review.

I wish I liked this book more, I just couldn't seem to care about any of the characters . I feel so bad when I don't like a book. It wasn't written badly I just couldn't connect with the characters.

This book was not my favorite. I ended up not finishing, but will try at a later time. Will let Chapter Chatter Pub know about uts release,

Oh man! I seem to be coming to the end of a good reading run. Unfortunately, i've had to write one other rather negative review in the past few days, and I really don't like doing so. I have to be honest though, and this book left me feeling incredibly deflated. Osman's previous book and debut 'The Good Mother' seemed to be more of a success in terms of how I felt about it, which is why I chose to grab a copy of this.

Although there are suspenseful moments, I didn't feel as though it was a particularly gripping or thrilling read. However, I did enjoy the fact that there was a dual timeline. The story is set in the 1980s with diary entries going back to the 1960s, and it does flow well chapter-to chapter, although some of the twists left a lot to be desired. That said, there was one particular about-turn that was one heck of a surprise and literally came out of nowhere. This may appeal to some, but I found very strange. There are quite a few aspects of the novel that are confusing until you read to the end when everything makes sense, but it doesn't do much to your confidence when you feel you are missing or misinterpreting stuff, even when you are validated by what is included in the conclusion, although even it wasn't adequately explained. Each chapter is from a different characters perspective on a continuous loop for the duration of the story,

One thing the author excels at is evoking emotion and cultivating sympathy towards main character Angela, who has had a difficult life. I found all the characters were stereotypical and lacked sufficient development, and there were an awful lot of cliched and unbelievable events. The whole novel lacks the urgency and anticipation to be a psychological thriller, and I would define this more suspense crossed with womens fiction crossed with family drama. Overall, this is a dark, unsettling read that ultimately lacked in gumption for me. If you're a seasoned crime reader, I feel you will ultimately be highly disappointed by this book, and will also predict many of the twists/surprises long before they occur. Each character is unlikeable, so if you love a good guy to champion or to connect to, you won't find that here. The premise was a sound one, and I feel the author missed a trick by not executing the plot to a sufficient standard. It is a little over-optimistic to call this a thriller because, simply, it didn't thrill!

Many thanks to Aria for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.