I read this in one sitting. It is told from the different perspectives of the people within a family, after their father dies in mysterious circumstances. Jo paints a clear picture of each family member, with some chapters set in the past to explain the present day story. It kept me guessing right to the end. Brilliant!

This book is a very character-driven one, and would probably be appreciated more by those people who like such settings. I do enjoy a good, twisted narrative with different people thrown into the mix and I got exactly that with this.

We have two separate timelines intermittently alternating: the then and the now. The past is when the entire Lattimer clan is together under one roof(minus the eldest), but things are rocky as always, and it appears as if there is not a lot of love lost between the siblings. They are an entitled bunch, born into money with the expectation of even more money coming to them. Then Adam vanishes. In the now, Adam is back and the family have all gathered to toast to the current scenario, but it ends badly. The now is further split into before and after the death of their father. The detective works his way through all the people trying to catch someone out in a lie and may just succeed. No one in the crowd we were introduced to was especially nice, but the circumstances make them.

It was a surprisingly quick read for the content, and it is the kind of suspense that you see coming, but when it does, you welcome it all the same. I would recommend it to the readers of the genre who like ominous settings and morally ambiguous characters in the mix.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

The thriller genre is full of dysfunctional family dynamics but they don't come more twisted than this. The Lattimer family is made up of a deceased mother, a narcissistic father, and six children, each of whom has their own reason to hate their father. One of the brothers, Adam, disappeared ten years previously but, when he suddenly returns, the family have a lot of questions for him. When the father of the family, Frazer, is killed on a yacht when celebrating Adam's return and his own recent engagement, it soon becomes clear that he was murdered. What follows is an examination of each member of the family and their individual relationship with the rest of their siblings, their parents, and with money, which is an important element throughout the book.

Each sibling narrates their own chapters and the book is incredibly balanced and engaging throughout. Each narrator has secrets as a result of growing up within such a dysfunctional household and, although not all are completely sympathetic, we can identify with all of them because of their upbringing. Frazer is one of the cruelest and most narcissistic characters I've read in a long time. He tormented each of his kids with his vicious tongue and mind games and drove many of them away from him. On a personal note, as the child of a toxic father, each of the siblings' relationship with Frazer feels startlingly real and authentic.

The book also features both past and present narratives from the various perspectives and DS Rob Downes, who has a personal connection with the family, investigates Frazer's death. The book feels like an Agatha Christie novel, as Downes questions each of the suspects in turn, including family friend Danny whose yacht the family was on when Frazer was murdered and Frazer's new girlfriend. The book gradually culminates in a truly satisfying conclusion, which is quite rare these days, illustrating just how well it's constructed and how much Spain is still at the top of her game. Jo Spain never disappoints and this is no different. It's an outstanding whodunit that feels like an old fashioned murder mystery.

My thanks to Jo Spain, Quercus, Milly Reid, and NetGalley for giving me an advanced review copy in return for an honest review.

Six Wicked Reasons is the latest stand-alone domestic noir/psychological thriller from bestseller Jo Spain and it is, in my opinion, her best novel to date. It centres around Adam Lattimer who, after a whole decade of being “missing”, returns home to his gobsmacked family. Since 2008 he has not spoken to any of them and was presumed long dead. However, his return to Spanish Cove prompts his father, Frazer Lattimer, to call a family meeting which doesn’t exactly go too well; naturally some members of the rather dysfunctional Lattimer clan are bitter towards Adam and his selfishness in letting them believe he was dead for all of this time. Each of them now have their own lives and worries but each still attends the meeting where something murderous happens. One of them is about to take vengeance... and the victim is not who you’d believe.

This is a well written and immersive read with clever plotting, twisty reveals and a gradual unfurling of the narrative. Ms Spain is a superb storyteller and knows how to command your attention from the beginning right through to the end. I loved that the perspective switches between the point of view of the six Lattimer children as it builds a chilling picture of disturbing family secrets and the way each of them felt about the situation at play. Also, the fact it primarily takes place on a boat gives it a more claustrophobic feel to it and lent an extra tension to this slow-burning page turner. Despite the limited suspect pool it still isn’t easy to guess who carried out blue murder and that is testament to Spain’s writing skills. An entertaining and addictive read. Many thanks to Quercus for an ARC.

I was a bit disappointed in this truth be told. I’ve read other books by Jo and have been gripped and this just didn’t live up to expectations. I found the characters a little underdeveloped for a large portion of the book and I didn’t really know who anyone was or what they were about. It picked up in the final third but I found I didn’t really care what had happened. That being said there was enough about it to say 3.5 was a fairer judgment. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and Quercus for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

In 2008 Adam Latrimer disappeared without trace. He was presumed dead. Hi family was devastated.

It's now 2018 and the remaining Lattimer siblings have been have been summoned back to their home in Spanish Cove by their father. Adam has returned home. Frazer (the dad) hires a boat so that he can throw a party to celebrate. But tragedy strikes when Frazers ody if found floating in the water.

The story is narrated by the 6 Lattimer siblings. The story is gradually revealed to us. We learn a out each characters past and their relationship with their father. Frazer was not a likeable character. He was cruel to his children in different ways. This is an intriguing whodunnit. The tension is high throughout the book. I really felt for some of the siblings and what they had to endure. There are plenty of twists in this steady paced read. I do recommend this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Quercus Books and the author Jo Spain for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Six Wicked Reasons by Jo Spain
This book tells the story of a very dysfunctional family. As it's a large family there are a good few characters to get to know and remember. I found it easy enough to keep track as the book went on.
I enjoyed the murder mystery in this book and was kept guessing right until the end. I loved that the book was set in the town that I live in, it not often Wexford gets a mention in books.
If you are a fan of Jo Spain, you should enjoy this book.

Six wicked reasons is the new domestic noir from the brilliant Jo Spain. As Frazer Lattimer is dragged from the water he’s surrounded by his family but most are not sad he’s dead and one of them killed him, but who?

When Adam returns home after 10 years missing, most of his family had presumed he had died but they all hurried back home, to see him was to believe. Clio, the youngest sister who was illegally living in New York, Ryan the drug addict living in Italy, the older children James and Kate who had made it big in Dublin and the home bird Ellen, who still lived with her dad in the family home in a small town in Ireland.

Having not been together for a long time, the family strain was obvious, all the tensions of past revisited and new secrets emerging. The children managed to remain relatively civil until the culminating celebration on a family friends yacht where their father Frazer met his end.

The story is told from the children’s perspective from the time they head home to meet Adam, each sharing some of their past. This is intertwined with the story of 'after' when the police interview everyone who was on board when Frazer died.

The characters are well developed and believable, coming from a wealthy background there was a spoilt attitude among them that was evident. They all had secrets and reasons why they were upset with their father, which makes this a great whodunnit with each chapter revealing another secret the plot continues to thicken.

The plot is gripping and entices you in, although a little jumpy going back and fourth with the time line and there was quite a bit of ' a secret we can’t tell you yet' in the first few chapters but all the details were filled in nicely with twists throughout which I enjoyed.

Overall a smashing thriller, well written with great characters and a gripping plot, 4.5* I’ll be patiently awaiting Jo’s next offering! Thanks to Quercus books and NetGalley for the ARC.

#SixWickedReasons #NetGalley
An ok read.
It's June 2008 and twenty-one-year-old Adam Lattimer vanishes, presumed dead. The strain of his disappearance breaks his already fragile family.
Ten years later, with his mother deceased and siblings scattered across the globe, Adam turns up unannounced at the family home. His siblings return reluctantly to Spanish Cove, but Adam's reappearance poses more questions than answers. The past is a tangled web of deceit.
And, as tension builds, it's apparent somebody has planned murderous revenge for the events of ten years ago.
Dialogues were boring but sometimes they were ok and the pace of the story is really slow.
Characters were awkward and didn't know what they were doing in that scene. However the defective's character is good.
Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus for giving me an advance copy of this book.

Thoroughly enjoyable, if completely daft, mystery, that is ideal for fans of Lucy Foley. My biggest issue was that I really didn't like any of the siblings as they were all so awful but I was pulled along because of the intrigue, pace and twists. A solid thriller.

Omg this book! It’s non stop from start to finish. I literally couldn’t put it down until I finally found out who the culprit was. Kind of reminded me of one of the old Poirot films which always kept me guessing until the end. In fairness, Frazer Latimer truly needed killed. He’s up there with my least-likes characters of all time. Controlling and narcissistic and just urgh 😒 Overall, I suspect this will be another major bestseller for author Jo Spain and I was delighted to get an early copy!

I'm not a huge fan of psychological thriller but when I read the name of Jo Spain on the cover I couldn't resist.
I am happy I requested this ARC because it was a gripping and entertaining read, one of those book you cannot put down and you keep on thinking about them when you are not reading.
There's a murder but there's also a story of damaged persons and secrets. Something happened and caused a lot of hurt to the characters.
All the siblings are interesting, well developed characters that can grates on your nerve and fascinates you at the same time.
You don't know what happened and you keep on reading waiting to learn what happened and why.
The whodunit takes the backseat to the description and the analysis of the different characters.
Frazer is the perfect villain: suave, narcissistic and ready to make everybody suffer in order to achieve what he wants.
There're some elements of the Golden Age Mysteries in this story: the big house, a weekend, secrets and strained relationship. Even if it's marketed as a psychological thriller this book could have been written by one of the Golden Age Queen for both quality and atmosphere.
It was a great read and I can't wait to read the next book by Ms Spain.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to Quercus Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

She's done it again, another gripping read from Jo Spain.

Ten years after Adam disappeared, he has returned to his family's home.
His disappearance shattered his family,

He then shows up unannounced at the family home in Spanish Cove.

However, his reappearance creates more trouble and tension is bound to bubble over.

Six Wicked Reasons has all the ingredients of an excellant psychological thriller. Murder and a really messed up family.

This has a bit of a slower start but - then the tension really ramps up.

It's the third part of the book though, that fans of Jo Spain will adore.
I simply could not put it down and I certainly had no idea of where it was going to end.
Well done Jo, keep them coming.

Adam Lattimer returns home after a long absence which alters the family dynamic considerably as all is really not well in the Lattimer family. Each of the six siblings have reasons to be distrustful and as the story progresses we learn just where this dysfunctional family keeps its secrets.

Set mostly in Wexford in Ireland, in the gloriously named Spanish Cove, the hidden dangers and dangerous shadows of the Lattimers proves to be addictive reading. There is much to take in, both in terms of plot and malice, and the author does a great job of moving forward and backwards in time so that we get an indication into what makes each of the siblings tick, and yet there are other game players to to be considered, particularly that of Frazer Lattimer, the family patriarch, who rules the family with manipulative ease, and whose narcissistic personality creeps and crawls throughout the whole of this complex crime story.

It would be far too easy to reveal something inadvertently and this suspenseful plot is much too clever to be spoiled. I was intrigued throughout the whole of the story and enjoyed putting together all the puzzle pieces. Six Wicked Reasons is another clever psychological suspense thriller by an author who really knows how to bring this genre alive in the imagination.

Hi and welcome to my review of Six Wicked Reasons!

It’s Jo freaking Spain!
Secrets
Family drama
Little is what it seems
Little twists and turns galore
Locked room trope (kinda)
Well, there you have it: six (not so) wicked reasons why you should pick up Six Wicked Reasons!

Before I continue, let me wish Jo Spain a happy publication day and give a huge thanks to Quercus books for the eARC through NetGalley, and for adding me to the blog tour!

Jo Spain’s last novel Dirty Little Lies was one of my favourite books of 2019 so naturally I had high hopes for Six Wicked Reasons. Sometimes high hopes set an author up for a fall, but not Jo Spain! I love her writing style and her intricately woven stories filled to the brim with secrets, hidden truths and wicked reveals and Six Wicked Reasons was no exception. If you’re a regular here, you’ll know that I can’t get enough of secrets, and the promise that a book will have secrets and pasts unravelling is enough to have me make grabby hands at it (somewhat ironic, as I truly detest secrets and secrecy in real life). I’m so happy I made grabby hands at Six Wicked Reasons, it followed through on all its promises!

At the centre of this story stands a family, an ordinary family at first sight but not quite so ordinary upon closer inspection. Ten years ago, Adam disappeared from the face of the earth. Now, he’s back. His siblings, who have all built up their lives far away from their childhood home, have been summoned back as well. None of them want to be there, and there’s a lot of tension to say the least. When the entire family is out at sea, one family member falls overboard and dies. A tragic accident? Or something much more malicious? It’s clear that there are tons of unresolved issues and plenty of reasons for wanting revenge, but was there someone wicked enough on board to actually go ahead and exact it?

The narrative takes us back and forth in time, allowing us to get to know the Lattimer family in the present, as well as to uncover their pasts, to join the investigation into the tragic events and to reveal what really happened.

Six Wicked Reasons deftly takes advantage of the locked room trope without actually being said trope: the number of possible and plausible scenarios is very limited, it’s either an accident, or it’s murder, and in the latter case, the number of suspects is very limited too. However, there are few scenes actually set on board, and as such the story takes a step back from the regular locked room mystery.

Six Wicked Reasons is a twisty thriller rife with family secrets and family drama that sucked me in from the very first page and that I’d happily recommend to any and all thriller lovers out there!

When the long lost son returns after ten years without a word, Frazer Lattimer calls his six children for a family reunion. It is only reluctantly that they return to the family villa in Spanish Cove, all of them had a good reason for leaving. Yet, Adam‘s unexpected knock on the door when they all thought him dead makes them change their mind. However, from the very first minute, underlying suspicions and open hatred dominate the atmosphere and their anger escalates on a boat trip when one of them kills their father. None of them is innocent, but who really hated the old man that much that he or she could kill him?

Jo Spain‘s mystery is a highly suspenseful murder investigation combined with the psychological analysis of a family which is dominated by secrets and lies. Six children with six different fates, a controlling father and a mother who died from the grief over her lost son - there is a lot to discover under the surface of the successful and rich Lattimer clan.

I highly adored how Jo Spain slowly unfolds the secrets around each of the now grown up children. Starting with the murder of their old father, you are highly alert when hearing all their different stories, looking for motives that could lead them so far. The author created individuals who all have their flaws and weaknesses that they try to hide but which ultimately have to come out, so in every new chapter, you have something totally unexpected come to the light adding to the picture of this young and pitiable generation.

Suspense rises slowly the better you get to know the family members and yet, the conspiracy and murder nevertheless came as a surprise to me since it was brilliantly set up and convincingly motivated. A great read in every respect.

There are a lot of family secrets in this story. There are secrets and lies and rivalries. It was a good read and well written.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Family / domestic thriller with a big twist. In this addictive story we gradually get to know all of the members of the Lattimer family, their desires and also their darkest secrets. Jo Spain reveals more and more about each of the siblings of this dysfunctional family as the police investigate the crime. With every revelation the reader becomes aware of possible motivation against the father but somehow each sibling has been ruled out by another and there are plenty of red herrings in there to confuse things further!! You will be left guessing who the killer is and why right up to the last chapter.

Cancel all of your plans when you pick up this thriller, it will keep you on the edge of your seat reading to the end...

I’ve loved all of this author’s previous books so it’s always very exciting to get to read a new book from her. This was another fabulous, intriguing read which I thoroughly enjoyed.

This book provides an interesting look into the life of a big Irish family which was fascinating to read about. The reader slowly gets to know each of the six siblings and the father as the story develops. We learn more about their lives, especially their past which also lets us know more about the grievances they have which was very interesting.

Frazer is a really horrible person who I loved to hate and was actually very glad had met such a sticky end. Throughout the book we learn of the nasty things he’s done to his children and his wife which gives any one of them reason to kill him. I think it would be fair to say that he’s caused most of his children’s problems.

The setting of this book was very clever and I think helped add to the tension throughout the book. The boat and it’s inaccessibility gave the story a bit of a classic crime story feel to it as it had to be one of the people. As the reader has a fly on the wall view of everything I felt very involved in the story almost as if I had actually been there too.

This book does start off slow but slowly builds as we discover more about the families history and their relationship with each other. Each of the characters have reasons to want to kill their father and I enjoyed trying to unravel everything to work out who might have done it. The ending was brilliant and I thought a very clever way to end everything.

Huge thanks to Quercus for my copy of this book via Netgalley and to Milly Reid for inviting me onto the blog tour.

In 2008, 21 year old Adam Lattimer disappeared, and was presumed dead. His family were devastated by the loss, and his mother's early death was attributed to her never getting over the loss of her son. Ten years on, and the remaining Lattimer children are summoned by their father: Adam is not dead, and is back in Spanish Cove. 

The family are drawn back to their childhood home, and their father, Frazer, rents a boat for a celebratory evening out on the water. Frazer has double cause for celebrations: not only has his son returned, but he plans to remarry, which he announces at the party. 

When Frazer's body is found a short time later, it seems that someone had a reason to murder him. And with the narration then split between the six Lattimer siblings, we discover six motivations for murder. But who just who killed their father? And where has Adam been for the last ten years?

This is a well-told, gradually-revealed story, and I loved how the author used the split narratives to inform the reader on each character's past, and their relationship with Frazer. I loved the twists, and I also enjoyed the final reveal (no spoilers from me). A well plotted and well written mystery that felt like something of an homage to Agatha Christie, but was also distinctly Jo Spain. Would definitely recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, who provided me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.