This books should come with a bunch of trigger warnings, gang rape, sexual violence, racism, homophobia to name some.
The book starts off interestingly enough and intrigues the reader. The presentation of the story moving between the 90s and 2019 is interesting and you try to figure out how the past and the present are connected. It becomes evident at about 25% in. Holly’s character is well defines and her behavior and approach to everything in an elite university, coming from a middle class background herself, is understandable. Julianne’s story in the 90s on the other hand isn’t as well developed and she only seems like one of the side characters. Julianne’s mother is a completely unnecessary character in the plot.
I was hooked enough throughout the book because the story was interesting. It was disturbing in many places but it still makes you want to read more. I would have rated this book a lot higher only if the ending was not so unsatisfying. Being based in 2019, I cannot believe how Ernest is unaffected and casual about everything being discussed. In light of the #MeToo movement it is impossible to believe that anyone would think they were untouchable by reality because of the money or position they held. This approach makes it seem like the whole #MeToo movement is being minimized or diminished. The author could have made the ending a lot more believable by using the #MeToo movement to the advantage of the women instead. I did not like how James was dealt with at all, just seemed more convenient than believable again. The epilogue too is wired. This was yet another missed opportunity to show that power MeToo movement.
So while the book was an interesting read, the way it wrapped up left a lot to be desired and hence I would not rate it more than I have. If the ending was dealt with differently this book had the potential to easily be a 4-5 star book.

Thank you Avon Books UK and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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I have hugely enjoyed reading this unusual story devouring every page intent on reaching the conclusion. The period the actions take place 1990 to 2019 must be read in the context of that period, not the differences of the Me Too campaign against sexual misconduct and abuse. The core events of the novel take place in 1990 when university education was an accepted rites of passage for the privileged middle and upper classes on their trajectory to success. However for the highly intelligent and ambitious working class teenagers of this period, entry to university, particularly Oxford and Cambridge would have been a terrifyingly lonely and intimidating prospect. This book tells the story of Juliette and Sophie attempting to integrate in the group dynamics of an elitist set of upper class students, The four individuals protective of the class divide, use their superiority and drive for new thrills to engage in a catastrophic series of actions that will have long term implications over the next twenty years for the two relatively innocent and inexperienced students. A group of highly intelligent selfish students embark on a course of actions with no regard for morality or law, resulting in humiliating abuse for the victim and little if any insight to the long term implications of their behaviour. Watching events unravel is excruciating for the reader and as the book moves towards the conclusion and events unravel it becomes even more traumatic. The conclusion is dramatic, timely and appropriate.a totally satisfying novel highlighting how sexual mores have changed over the years. Does privilege and wealth no longer guarantee a passport of immunity for sexual abuse by individuals bent on subjugation of those they believe to be of less consequence. This is a book of its time written with social awareness of changes taking place in the society we live in. A valiant effort.

This was quite a good psychological thriller. The alternating narrators left me in suspense as to how the story was going to turn out and it was a real roller coaster ride on the way. I found it be to be an interesting story and I very much enjoyed it.

I would like to thanks NetGalley, Avon Books and B P Walter for my ARC of ‘A Version of the Truth’ in return for my honest review.
The novel was well written and I enjoyed the development of the characters. The story moved between different timelines but the transition was clever. This is the debut novel but the author manages to tackle a difficult subject with care and I will be seeking out the next book by this author.

In the present day Julianne is preparing a family dinner when her son finds something terrible on his iPad. This will turn Julianne’s life upside down. She may not know who her husband really is.

About thirty years before this Sophie was arriving at Oxford University feeling out of her depth and lost amongst all the other students. She develops a friendship with some older students who are from the upper echelons of society (the total opposite to her) and she begins ‘to fall in love’ with one of them. She becomes unsettled about the behaviour around her and is not sure what game her friends are playing.

A dark secret has been hidden for over twenty-five years, so will the truth be told?

Great read. Recommended.

I was surprised up until the last page - that never happens! Wow, what a book - the subject matter was deep, but so interesting, I couldn’t stop reading. If you want to read a book that you’ll finish in 2 days, but that will have you thinking about it for a long time after, read this book!

A Version of the Truth

By B P Walter

3 stars.

The new thriller from Walter starts well, setting a hook to drag you in. The middle, while important to raise tension is slow and almost lost me. The final chapters raised the tension but were a disappointing fizzle in the end.

Subtited - There are three sides to every story. The plot follows present day Julianne as she discovers something terrible on the family home computer network, that requires her to question everything about her marriage.

In a flash back scenario it follows Holly a freshman student at Oxford University, struggling to find her way with those around her from the upper echelons of society and begins to develop feelings for one in particular. He’s confident, quiet, attractive and seems to like her too. But as the year progresses, her friends’ behaviour grows steadily more disconcerting and Holly begins to realise she might just be a disposable pawn in a very sinister game.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a review copy in return for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

#AversionOfTheTruth #NetGalley

Reviewed by Heath Henwood
www.books-reviewed.weebly.com

A difficult story to read which begins as an innocent portrayal of a young girl navigating the reality of being the poor girl in a world of privilege at Oxford University. As Sophie and Julianne’s stories begin to intertwine the frightening truth becomes clear, culminating in an agonizing choice for the two of them. Top read!

After reading the blurb and looking at the cover of this book I was intrigued and could not wait to start reading. Especially as it was in my favourite genre “mystery and thriller”.

As I started to read, the style of writing and movement between two timelines built up a suspense that had me intrigued further. I was especially intrigued how Sophie, Julie (two main narrators) and families would intertwine and relate to each other.

And then boom.... I had to stop reading. Why? Because of the main theme of the story - sexual violence through gang rape - was uncovered. I closed the book feeling physically sick and could not read any further. I felt quite disturbed, sick and incredibly uncomfortable reading. This book isn’t suited to the mystery and thriller genre.

I would highly recommend a warning added to the book. It doesn’t feel appropriate for others to purchase this book. It’s a definite not for me book.

This book was amazing. Read very quickly but I did not want it to end. Can’t wait to see what others think. I believe this will be very popular.

Wow... A truly chilling premise, and likely every teen's nightmare. The plot was well-developed, and the dialog rang true. It didn't take too long to read, since I spent every spare moment with my nose stuck in my Kindle. Recommended!

Unfortunately, I did not like this book. I felt it should come with trigger warnings and some of it, I just couldn’t stomach. I had to add this to my DNF pile.

This book was devoured in 24 hours, I really enjoyed the pace of the writing and especially enjoyed the time line jumping back to Oxford days, 90’s Oxford was depicted perfectly. The characters were very believeable and well developed, The story unfolded in a delicious way, I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Wow! Absolutely loved this book. Jullianne is about to realise her husband isn't who she thought he was, after her son shows her disturbing files on the ipad. Things will never be the same as the truth of what happened at university years ago comes out.
Fantastic book. Page Turner.

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for the ARC.
(It has taken me 3 days after finishing this book (meantime reading 2 others), to try and form this review. It is difficult. I didn't find it a 'page-turner', in fact the complete opposite as I read on; I needed to close it off and turn to something else, but, I'd kindly been given the opportunity to read it and comment on it and feel that is what should be done.)

This book's description as well as it's categorisation as general adult mystery/thriller does not convey at all what the storyline actually is and what the reader could reasonably expect.

Written alternately between 2 time-lines and 2 main characters, 30 years apart; a female middle-class student trying to fit-in with the upper-class clique at Oxford is unwittingly drawn into a circle of overt sexual - bi- and homosexual scenarios. Beginning as 'innocent' stumbles upon the graphically-written scenes, culminating to being a victim of the outrageously sex-driven exploits and plottings of an elite of wealthy, entitled males. Thirty years later, a 'bit-player' in the Oxford scenarios, now married to one of that elite, is the main character in discovering just how far those student sexual antics had been carried forward in those years, courtesy of her (Gay) son.

The book prepares to conclude on pages and pages of menacing, threatening monologue about the wife's discoveries and the consequences of making them public - I felt those pages alone could have been a base for the start of the book which could give glimpses of enough necessary to substantiate the words being produced. However the book 'concludes' into nothing at all really. Wishy-washy nonsense between the original student, the wife and an investigative reporter.

Overall I feel a reasonably good story - and effectively good writing - has been overshadowed and swallowed-up in such depravity.

I found the writing of the sexually-natured scenarios to be shockingly and unwelcomingly graphic. Totally unnecessary for a 'general' novel, even for adult/mystery/thriller. This book needs to have clear warnings as to what the reader might expect.

I you're into 'that sort of thing' then you'll probably be thrilled by it all - I am not.

Wow this.for kept me up all night as I needed to know what's going to happen.
It's hard to describe the story without revealing too many spoilers but I found the idea of linking past events to the present very successful and I look forward to reading more from the author

I received a free e copy of A Version of the Truth by B P Walter from NetGalley for my honest review.

I will be very honest in saying that this book was not for me. I could not finish this book. There were matters involving, rape, racism and strong sexual violence that I just could not handle.

I want to start by saying, that I really wanted to enjoy this book, the first few chapters had me gripped; it was dark and twisty which is usually my thing. But I found this storyline uncomfortably dark and twisty.

Firstly, I want to ask, why does this book not have any trigger warning? I felt uncomfortable, I fear thinking that someone who may have experiences close to themes in this book may be reading it. So please put a trigger warning on the 'thanks' pages! The storyline included themes, such as sexual violence in the form of gang rape as well as homophobic undertones. I feel if those sorts of comments had been minimalized that I may have enjoyed the book a little bit more, but not a lot!

You can tell that the author has an imaginative storytelling brain, maybe a bit of fine tuning is needed? The two main characters; Julianne and Sophie, who the storyline flits between (present and past 1991) feel quite two - dimensional; for example we don't really have the opportunity to build a reader and character relationship with Sophie on a personal level (I as a reader, really enjoy a character foundation being built). Due to this, I struggled to humanise the characters.

I requested this read due to the blurb given, and that it was labelled as adult general fiction, mystery and thriller. I am not sure if this read belongs within this category, although I'm really not sure what genre it would be placed into. The storyline was predictable and disappointing after the first few chapters. I don't think I would recommend this book, I did try so hard to like it but unfortunately this was not the read for me.

Yikes, that was powerful! I devoured this in a day. It’s horrifying (intentionally so), like a train wreck you can’t turn away. Where to start? The majority of the main characters are truly evil and entitled. The glimpse into their “normal” college existence was shocking (think Cruel Intentions on steroids). The lack of value placed on a human’s life (lives) was devastating.

The story alternates from two timeframes (college and present) and two narrators (Sophie and Julianne, both outsiders of sorts). The writing and transitions were flawless. There was suspense throughout as you wait for the shoe to drop and it does, not once, but twice. This was wicked and heartbreaking and mesmerizing. If you have the stomach for it, I strongly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Avon Books UK for a copy in exchange for a review.

When Julianne's son comes to her with a secret so devastating it threatens to destroy everything and everyone she loves, she tries to come up with an alternative explanation. But the information on the family's computer, put there by her husband, is indisputable. As she attempts to move on and accept her husband's reasoning, Julianne finds that it's not so easy to bury the past. Events from her college years and the present will collide and truths will be told, but who will be left standing?

Recommended!

I have mixed feelings about this book and it's difficult to review without revealing spoilers. The story alternates between 1990 and 2019 and is told from Sophie and Julianne's points of view. It is a dark and twisted story which has a promising start but did not fully deliver! I didn't particularly like any of the characters. They were quite stereotypical and I just did not warm to any of them. I have got to say that the writing was good for a debut novel but I just expected more from the story. However after saying all of this it wouldn't put me off reading other books by this author. Special thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.