A woman who works in a grocery store with no one in the world but a sweet little dog is struggling to pay back a substantial debt. She finds herself the recipient of an envelope full of money that shows up in her bag after riding on a crowded bus. Who does it belong to? Should she return it? Can she spend it and cover some of her debts? Kerry Wilkinson gives us a nicely woven mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. The author takes us down some paths that seem logical, but nothing is what it seems. A Face in the Crowd will have you looking over your shoulder!

As someone who has been hooked on the.Jessica Daniel series since book one I know Kerry Wilkinson writes a great police procedural story. Now I know that he can also write a really good psychological thriller.. It is, however, a difficult book to say too much about without spoiling it for other readers so suffice to say it is not a book to start reading if you have an early start the next day. You simply won't be able to put it down. 5 star plus all the way.

Review posted on goodreads.com and amazon.co.uk. Recommended on twitter.

3,5 stars
Lucy gets in the same bus everyday, but one particular Friday after getting out of the bus she finds in her bag an enveloppe full of money. From that moment her life starts to change.

I enjoyed reading the book, the pace was by no mean fast or the plot one to make you hold your breath and yet i had good time reading it. It seemed somehow more realistic than many thrillers, a young woman struggling with an unrewarding job, with paying bills, buying the simple necessities and then she discovers a new side of herself as she is faced with what to do with that money. Of course the story is more complicated than that with her past coming back to hunt her.

The end was a bit rushed i think, and somehow it had a rather negative effect for the rest of the story but i still enjoyed reading the book.

A Face in the Crowd got an intriguing plot and since it's my second book from the author, I got some expectations. Only, it fell a little short from what I expected. I can't seem to connect and fully sympathize with Lucy. And though I find it slow at times, I still want to see how things will turn out. It wasn't really a satisfying ending for me as everything has been predictable from the beginning. I was kinda hoping for a surprising twist. Overall, an okay read.

Kerry Wilkinson never disappoints she shares you in from the start and keeps you captivated until the very end and Bang the final twist blows you out the park.
Great characters, relatable storyline, more twists than a helter skelter and a final twist that will leave you reeling.
Exciting mysterious captivating thrilling all the ingredients for a thoroughly great read.

Loved the beginning, it’s a brilliant setup but then I wasn’t really a fan of the resolution to this sorry. I like stretching the ideas of real-life and what is possible in my reading, but perhaps this one was a stretch too far. Still, a fun read.

Another brilliant book by Kerry.
Lucy finds an envelope in her bag stuffed with over £3,000 when she gets off the bus. Where did it come from, who put it there.
Lucy is determined to give the money back and decides to go to the police even though she is struggling with the debts her boyfriend Ben has left her with . But over the weekend her trainers fall apart her laptop stops working so she has to dip into the money but she will put it back .
Lucy feels like somebody is watching her at every turn .
Why was she given the money
You’ll have to read the book to see.

Lucy is broke. We learn that she hasn’t always been broke. Five years ago her and Ben were planning on getting married and so they were saving for their wedding when Ben and his brother were among the casualties in a rail crash. After Ben’s death Lucy found that she had been left penniless as unbeknown to her Ben had taken out loans in her name. She is now living in a tiny flat, struggling to even afford to eat and having to work in a local supermarket. One day on reaching home after travelling on the bus from work Lucy finds a package In her bag. On opening it, to her amazement she finds it contains over £3,500 in cash. This starts Lucy’s quest to find out who put it there and to give them it back. She becomes obsessed with counting it and eventually cannot resist the temptation of spending some of it, but is still determined to pay it back to whoever it belongs to. The tension then begins to build as Lucy is convinced someone is following her and strange things are happening in the neighbouring flat. This book has an intriguing and original plot, with a big twist at the end. Another good read from Kerry Wilkinson.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Perfect psychological thriller! It moved at a fast pace with twists and turns throughout! I couldn’t put it down! Highly recommend!

This is my second book from this author, having very much enjoyed The Wife’s Secret last year. Unfortunately this one was dull and unconvincing - it started well, and for the first quarter I was happily engaged, but then nothing really happened until the unsurprising twist and a rushed “is that it?” ending.

Lucy Denman lives a threadbare life in a tiny flat, counting every penny earned from her unsatisfying job in a supermarket and happy only with her lovable Staffie, Billy and her friend and neighbour, single mother Karen. Five years earlier, her boyfriend Ben was killed in a train crash, leaving her with massive debts from loans taken out in her name. When an envelope stuffed with cash mysteriously appears in her handbag after a bus ride, she wants to hand it in, but the rush of having money after so long is too much temptation. Lucy can’t stop herself from spending it, but then the mysterious phone calls and feelings of being watched begin...

I wanted to like Lucy, although found it hard to relate as she obsesses over money, but then makes stupid mistakes and fritters away her newfound bonanza. There’s a rather patronising afterword from the author explaining that he wanted to write about what it’s like to be poor. I’m not sure he does anyone any favours. Billy the dog was definitely the best character in this. The plot dragged on as Lucy bumbles along feeling sorry for herself - self pity and angst don’t make for entertaining reading.

There’s a murder mystery side plot and a dating agency romance that I think was supposed to be funny but was instead just cringey, although that did feel realistic I suppose. It’s reasonably well written and there are some humorous asides that suggest a glimmer of intelligence in our protagonist, it’s a shame she doesn’t use it more consistently. There are plenty of positive reviews up about this one so others may well enjoy it more than I did.
2.5 rounded down for the annoying first person present narration.

I received an ARC from NetGalley which allowed me to give an honest review.
A Face in the Crowd is available now.

3 for neutral! I tried a few times to get into this book and read it, but ultimately could not. It was just so slow, in my honest opinion. And I love those thrilling, fast paced thrillers that hardly leave you room to breathe. I will update if I ever am able to enjoy, but truly think it wasn’t a mood; but just isn’t for me.

An interesting plot that moves so slowly you don't know what's the p!it really is for most of the book. Lucy's trials and tribulations takes you through a life going seemingly nowhere but the friend s and dogs make for some fun
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for allowing me this arc in exchange for w n honest review

This psychological thriller is full of tension. The pacing is slow and builds up suspense in a way that normally I wouldn't enjoy. The way this book is written though makes it work. By the end I was still not sure if I liked Lucy or not. I am a big fan of this author and while this isn't my favorite of his books, it's a good read.

A Face in the Crowd is a thriller I couldn’t put down and I can honestly say I enjoyed each twist and turn. It’s a story where there is so much going on but it all fits together – some aspects of the story are hard to believe but at the end of the day this is fiction and I like when it’s unpredictable and a bit far from reality at times.

In this novel, Wilkinson has written a protagonist who I feel many people will empathise with and learn something from. Lucy is a woman who has been dealt an unfortunate hand in life and finds herself down on her luck and struggling financially. After a tragedy which claims the life of her fiance and the resulting grief, as well as a string of secrets, Lucy resigns herself to working non stop and trying to find her way to a better life. So when an envelope with thousands of pounds ends up in her bag she can’t believe it. She finds herself wondering whether she should use it or try and find its rightful owner, then she starts receiving unsettling calls…

The novel poses an interesting question to both Lucy and a reader; if all this money just landed in your lap and you were in desperate need, would you use it or would you report it missing? I think it would be a hard moral or ethical question for anyone to deal with. I feel like the way Lucy deals with it is realistic and makes sense. You can understand her being torn up as she needs it so badly but still has reservations.

As well as the moral and thriller aspect of the novel, there’s also such a moving portrayal of Lucys financial struggles. Her situation is so dire that she has to ration her food and sometimes even go without in order to feed her beloved dog Billy. It was heartbreaking to read how isolated Lucy feels and how much she has to struggle but at the same time, she does have friends in her building and her life isn’t all bad. I feel like this is another nuanced point which Wilkinson explores and also mentions in his authors note at the end of the story.

Overall, A Face in the Crowd was an interesting, unique and well written thriller which has an emotional impact. I have yet to read any of Wilkinsons other novels but after reading this one, I’m definitely looking forward to reading more of his work.

I was expecting more of a roller coaster ride when I read the" An absolutely unputdownable psychological thriller" tagline. While A Face in the Crowd has an interesting premise and a compelling heroine, it just wasnt the thrill a minute with which I was hoping to spend my weekend. I was entertained, don'y get me wrong. I may not have been riveted by the action/suspense, but I enjoyed the read. I appreciated Kerry Wilkinson's sense of whimsy in making the heroine's dog a character. The pacing is even, the story interesting, and the read worthwhile.
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

A Face in the Crowd by Kerry WIlkinson is the perfect thriller for a stormy night.

Lucy's life has been turned upside down when her fiance died in a horrific train crash. Even more so after all his secrets came to surface.
Five years later, Lucy is living in a dingy part of the town, in a tiny run down apartment and holds a minimum wage job while she is trying to pay off debts that her fiance has made under her name.
Her only "luxury" is her dog, Billy. She lives a solitary life, keeps to herself, not sharing her past with anyone, she doesn't have many friends, just couple people from her building.
One day she gets off the bus to find that someone has put a large sum of money into her purse. Terrified and excited at the same time she thinks about what she is going to do with it, when strange things begin to happen. The feeling of uneasiness and being watched is persistent.
And then, after she has spent some money for emergencies, she gets the message to return the money.

This book had gripped me from the first page. Despair and desolation and loneliness of her life really touched me.
It is at times very slow going but it still maintains a steady pace. There are many details but they just serve to describe the situation in depth.
I liked how we get to follow her thoughts and worries. I also appreciated how slowly suspense builds up to culminate when you least expect it.
And even if it doesn't have scary scenes you simply feel the evil and danger lurking underneath just waiting to grab you.
Well portrayed set of characters, with masterfully built suspense story so absorbing you won't be able to put it down.

Here's an author that always writes gripping books with a brilliant twists and turns throughout their books. So when Kerry Wilkinson had another book out I had to put it on my to read list.

A Face in the Crowd is a a stand alone novel and he never disappoints with all of his other books. This was was Just brilliant with wonderful twists and turns. The ending was outstanding as always.

I'm already looking forward to his next book

I highly recommend all of his books.

10/10 read.

Big Thank you to Bookouture and Kerry Wilkinson for my ARC. I have given an honest unbiased review in exchange

A Face in the Crowd has an interesting premise. Lucy is obviously struggling to get by. She found herself in a precarious situation where each day is a struggle to get by. She doesn’t even know when or if she will get her next meal. However, an incident in a crowded train now offers her some sort of hope. Someone has stashed an envelope full of money in her bag. She doesn’t know who it is. She does need the money obviously but can she really keep it? Who put the envelope in her bag?

This story took a much different direction from what I was expecting. I thought it would mainly be about the mystery surrounding the money. However, this ended up being more of a character study. We get to follow Lucy after she received the money and witness her battle between spending the money and giving it to the cops or waiting for someone to claim it. Along the way, she also tries to solve the mystery of who put the envelope in her bag. I had a few suspects at first but only figured it all out after the halfway mark.

The crafting of different characters was done really well. Lucy was easy to sympathize with and I was rooting for her all the way. Her entire situation especially with finances was just heartbreaking. I loved her dog, Billy. The author didn’t such a wonderful job in bringing his character to life. I feel like I know that dog and can even tell you what he would and wouldn’t do. I loved his relationship with Lucy.

Most of the story is set at Lucy’s flat, the Hamilton House. This was an interesting setting; the flat had such an atmosphere to it. I could picture it as old, falling apart but still a haven for the tenants who needed a nice, low-rent place. Through the chapters, we got to meet some of the tenants, some were nice, others were mean and there was a mysterious one who nobody really saw.

I don’t know how well to describe my experience with this story. I enjoyed reading about the characters and I understand that this is the kind of story where the pace moves slowly because the focus is more on the people. However, towards the end, I found myself wondering when things would move along a bit faster. I was ready for the reveal, a twist, anything … That said, I loved the character development, setting and absolutely adored Billy. If you enjoy mysteries that are more character-driven, you will love this one!

I really enjoyed A Face in the Crowd. I love a good ending and twists throughout as well. This book definitely felt creepy and even a
Iittle stalker-ish at times, but I loved that aspect of it. Overall a really good read for me. 4/5

Wow what an interesting book that had a little bit of everything I could hope for including betrayal and even the suspense of what is happening