I wanted to love this but had difficulty getting into the story. Perhaps where i am in life gave me a different feel to a book with this type of storyline and it was not the writing but my personal view.

Who is guilty? Who is innocent? You won’t know until the end, which I love. This story was addictive in its ability to suck you in and not let you go.

GUILTY by Laura Elliot is the best suspenseful read I’ve found in a long time. 5-star read. Highly recommended!

This was one that I had a really hard time getting in to. There are so many thrillers/suspense out there right now that they all seem to start to feel the same. The characters in this one didn’t grab me and I felt like it was too similar to books I’ve read in the past.

When Constance Lawson goes missing, her family is devastated, including her uncle, Karl. Within a few days, a reporter begins making suggestions that he had something to do with her disappearance, and the media turn on him. Even his brother and his brother’s wife think he’s guilty. Fast forward six years, his life is destroyed, his marriage over, and he’s homeless, while the reporter, Amanda Bowe, is successful, married, and has a small child she adores. Until the unthinkable now happens, this time to HER.
This is a book I could not put down, literally it is the best page turner I’ve read in a long time. Elliot is a great storyteller, the plot is full of suspense, and shows how easy it is to be found guilty in a trial-by-media. I highly recommend this book.

What. A. Book. This book stunned me and made it so I couldn't put it down. The story is weaved together so well and it makes you wonder what you would do in the same circumstances. Elliot does a fantastic job demonstrating the dark side of our 24 hours news cycle. The publisher gave me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Guilty by Laura Elliot is suspenseful, dramatic, heart-breaking and unexpected. The story begins with the disappearance of a teenage girl. Then the story morphs into the aftermath of the disappearance, the repercussions as a result of insinuations and speculations, and the effects that has on the family and friends of the teenager. As a result, the lives of the characters change forever and family members are unable or unwilling to repair some of the damages.

Guilty is a well-written novel that will keep the reader engaged to the very last page. Some of the characters are quite unlikable and others will garner your sympathy from the very beginning. But, all the characters are interesting and well-drawn. The plot is timely and there is certainly a lesson to be learned from it.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author but it won’t be the last. Well-done, Ms Elliot!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

I did not finish after three attempts at trying to. It did not hold my interest and I did not have any feelings about the characters. The plot was lackluster.

In just eight days Karl Lawson’s life collapses around him and he loses everything. After eight months in jail due to a miscarriage of justice, he is released and now must try to pick up the pieces of his shattered life. A book that shows us just what can happen with slanted media, this book did not disappoint.

This book grabs you from the first page and leaves you breathless at the end! A must read for those fans of Thrillers. I would read anything this Author wrote. Do yourself a favor and read this unputdownable story!

Another novel getting fantastic reviews is Guilty by Laura Elliot. There are so many great thrillers/suspense books out now. You could read one a week and still not get through half of what is out there!

Here’s what you need to know:

On a warm summer’s morning, thirteen-year-old school girl Constance Lawson is reported missing.

A few days later, Constance’s uncle, Karl Lawson suddenly finds himself swept up in a media frenzy created by journalist Amanda Bowe implying that he is the prime suspect.

Six years later …

Karl’s life is in ruins. His marriage is over, his family destroyed. But the woman who took everything away from him is thriving. With a successful career, husband and a gorgeous baby boy, Amanda’s world is complete. Until the day she receives a phone call and in a heartbeat, she is plunged into every mother’s worst nightmare.

This seems very mysterious to me and it could go in many different directions. There are secrets, lies, maybe a cover-up, mistakes…it has all the ingredients for an excellent story! It’s going to be a rainy weekend here, perfect for cuddling with the dogs and reading this book in one sitting!

Guilty is a engrossing thriller that is chilling to the bone. The story is well written and the characters are well developed. I could not put it down.

I have sent this review to New York Journal of Books where it will be posted the evening before the release date!

"Guilty" by Laura Elliot
Grand Central Publishing
May 7, 2019
10-153876427X
978-1538764275
Psychological Thriller
400 Pages


When a crime is committed, it should be considered the suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Unfortunately, this is not the case with Karl Lawson.

Set in Glenmoore, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, Karl and his wife Nicole have a small daughter, Sasha. They live a few houses away from Karl's brother, Justin, his spouse, Jenna and their three kids, thirteen-year-old Constance, and the younger children, Matthew and Lara.

The two families are close and teenaged Constance is showing a rebellious streak. Karl offers her and some friends tickets to see the Blasted Glass, a hard-rock band Constance adores, but her parents refuse to let her go stating she is too young to attend a concert with a group acknowledged for their offensive lyrics. Karl, an editor for "Hitz," music magazine receives exciting perks for Constance, yet prohibited from attending this venue, she feels she is being treated like a baby.

One night on a dare Constance hopes to prove herself in a "gang" known as The Fearless. She takes spray paint and her flashlight and heads to an abandoned and allegedly haunted house not far from her own residence. There, she goes into the basement and paints the words "Blasted Glass" on the walls then videos it to send to the members. However, she does not return home and the next morning her parents panic.

They immediately call Karl, thinking she may have gone to him after a blow-out between them the night before regarding the concert. Whenever Constance fights with her folks, she uses Karl as her sounding board. But, she did not go to her uncle.

Frantic, Justin and Jenna contact the authorities while Karl searchers the nearby area. He goes to a beach cove called "Ben's Shack" where he and his bother hung out as kids, and where present-day youth also go. It's a place to drink, dance and let loose, but Karl discovers no one has been there for a long while.

Karl kept a secret from his brother and sister-in-law regarding Constance. Three weeks prior, she was at Ben's Shack and phoned him asking him to pick her up. She had been drinking and got sick and didn't want her parents to know. She promised Karl she'd never pull anything so stupid again and swore him to secrecy. He trusted her, so he never relayed the situation to Justin, which when admitting it to them now, they believe he is involved with her going missing.

To make matters worse Amanda Bowe, a reporter for the local rag, "Capital Eye" is out to condemn Karl by printing things about him which are inflammatory and misconstrued. Karl believes she is seeking retribution because he turned down her application for an opening at the magazine. The information she reports is a hair-breath short of libel.

Though innocent, Karl is arrested and jailed when it is learned Constance's death was an accident caused by Karl's long-time friend, Dominick Kelly. Overcome by guilt he took his own life. However, Karl's life is now over. He loses his job, Nicole took Sasha and flee to New York to her parent's home, his house is repossessed, and Justin and Jenna break all ties with him, making him a pariah in his town.

Amanda, ashamed of her scandalous reporting does a turnabout by organizing a campaign to right a wrong. This is not enough. Karl's life is destroyed and he now lives on the street, becomes an alcoholic, wondering if he will ever be free.

Meanwhile, Amanda receives threats on her life which she concludes is from Karl. Though she also solicits information on a drug gang, she does not believe they are targeting her, though they are reputed to be extremely dangerous. She runs into Karl after his release from jail at Dominick's mother's funeral.

"His voice came from behind her. 'Vengeance is mine.' He spoke softly but distinctly. 'And recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip. . .' The quote sounded biblical and threatening. Was he reminding her of Dominick Kelly? His religious fervour as he waited for death to claim him? Amanda stood up from the kneeler and turned to face him. She had never noticed the colour of his eyes until now. Cloudy green-grey, like the sea before it stormed. He paused, as if allowing the words to settle between them. She remained silent, struggling and failing to find something to say that could connect them. She was the first to look away. He walked back to the car part, folded his long figure into his car and drove away."

Six years pass with Amanda married to the wealthy owner of a conglomerate including the magazine where Karl worked. She is doing prosperous and has a son named Marcus. While on a tryst with a colleague, Amanda receives a call from her sister sayings Marcus is missing. Now, it is Amanda who is on the receiving end of speculation. Why didn't she pick up the boy from school? Where was she? And, most important, who took her child?

Wild with grief and guilt, days pass and Amanda feels Marcus's abduction is due to Karl. But why would he do this? Years have passed, and she tried to help him after his exoneration. Now, her marriage is in shambles as well as her career, and no one believes Karl is involved. It is easy to surmise Karl's duplicity in this after Amanda caused the ruination of his life, but isn't that what journalist's do? Proclaim guilt before innocence?

Well written with unexpected twists and turns, the suspense is spine-tingling especially with Karl's suffering and later Amanda's, but could Karl be so devious as to prove revenge really is sweet?