Thank you #netgalley and #quercusbooks for the chance to review this arc.

Nan Brown is returning to London for her estranged son's wedding. She hasn't been back to her hometown in fourty years, not since a tragedy occured at Number 4 Paradise Place.
At the wedding Nan sees a face from her past. A face that couldn't be there, because he died fourty years ago.
Nan's past has come back to haunt her present.

This was a very slow book. There was a lot of overly descriptive prose which gave the book pacing problems. I'm happy I stuck it out because the end was good.
This is my first book by this author and while it wasn't my cup of tea, I can see it appealing to people who like slow burns.

I found the pace quite slow. I'm not averse to a slow burn thriller if it builds enough tension along the way but this was lacking here and I wasn't gripped. It got more interesting in the last part.

An average read. It did pull me in as it kept you guess what happened to nan back in the 70s and why she doesn't get on with Ben. A few twists and turn, nothing overly shocking.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

This book has taken me forever to get through - from the very beginning it just dragged thanks to the main character. Nan is such an unlikeable character and I found myself unable to sympathize with her, which I'm uncertain if that was the author's intention or my disagreeablity with her character voice. Honestly, Ben had the right idea to have issues with her.

The decision to have three points of views was alright, I didn't particularly mind that aspect except the past chapters were probably the part that dragged the most for me because I didn't particularly care about Nan enough to want to know what led her to the way she is now. But I did care enough toward the 85% or so mark to find out what exactly was going on, although the previous red herring kind of annoyed me when I looked back on it.

Anyway, the only true good parts of this was anything related to Chris as a person because he actually made me quite sad. And Ben trying so hard to live his life after being raised with a mother like Nan. As well as Ben's fiancée.

This is a very slow burning thriller. I felt it was both predictable and a little bit too far fetched.
I did enjoy both the writing style and the premise.

It's no secret that I am not a fan of slow burn thrillers, unless they have a little extra something to hold my attention while the tension builds. But I found BROKEN FLOWERS to be so slow burning that the pace was non-existent.

Nan Brown is returning to London for her estranged son's wedding to a woman she has yet to meet. She hasn't been back since she boarded a train to take her back to Yorkshire some forty years ago. Then two years ago her husband Chris died and she hasn't seen her son Ben since.

Now she's back and her son has sent a car to collect her from the station and take her to her hotel and from there another car will meet her later that evening to transport her to their house where they are all gathering to celebrate the upcoming wedding. But as the car takes her through the familiar streets of London bringing her closer and closer to her past, all her fears return to haunt her as they pull up in front of an address she had hoped never to see again...let alone return to.

Number 4 Paradise Place - where a tragedy that haunts her nightmares occurred four decades ago. This was not a happy time for her and she has kept that part of her life secret for many years. Is it all about to erupt to the surface?

But as the guests mingle and Nan lays eyes on her son for the first time in two years, there is one guest she has not met...who has yet to arrive. The mysterious godfather of Ben's fiance, Marie-Laure. And then there is a face from her past she thought she would never see again...he couldn't be here, could he? Because he's dead! He died forty years ago! Is she hallucinating?

The narration shifts between THEN and NOW as Nan's past life comes back to haunt her present, as well as through various characters as well as voice from the past. I don't mind past and present stories and usually find them the most engaging...however BROKEN FLOWERS was not it. Nan's constant rehashing over everything that took pages and pages when a paragraph would have sufficed just grated on me as well as the slow to non-existent pace. I am not a huge fan of over descriptive stories and prefer to have an equal amount of dialogue.

I cannot say when the pace picked up, as I gave up before it bored me to sleep. But I have seen most reviewers say that it didn't get interesting until the last quarter of the book. Boy, am I glad I didn't stick around for that because in my view that is far too late to start making things interesting.

This was my introduction to Kate McQuaile and I can't say I was excited about it. But it may appeal to fans who love their thrillers the slow burning simmering type.

I would like to thank #KateMcQuaile, #Netgalley and #Quercus for an ARC of #BrokenFlowers in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Quercus Books and NetGalley
This was a new author for me and this was quite unexpected.
It took me a while to get into but once I did I couldn't put this down. It got better and better as it went on.
I now look forward to reading another of Kate's books.

The decisions you make in your youth, may just come to haunt you later in life. Nothing is more true than in this thrilling read where the reader can't wait to see what the secret is and how it affected Nan. Recommended.

I was intrigued and completely invested in Nan right from the start ! An older woman on her way to her son’s wedding seems pretty innocent right !?
Just you wait - this is such a fun read !! Complicated real Tim shop between mother and son due to some secrets well hidden !!
The twists were so much fun to discover and I just loved the pace of this one - you really get to know the characters and you can’t help but cheer for some and shake your fist at others ! A bit predictable for me but very enjoyable indeed ! I didn’t mind the back and forth between two time lines at all !
Would totally recommend this one and looking forward to reading more from this author !!

I downloaded this at a time I wanted to read this, however years have passed now and I am not longer interested in reading this.

This is the first book I have read by this author, and it has certainly got me intrigued to read her other books.

The storyline is full of mystery, suspense and is brought together beautifully. The author takes us through a range of emotions and produces a storyline that is compelling and impossible to put down.

Perfectly paced, thrilling and unique, this was a wonderful book.

*Thank you to Quercus and Netgalley for my copy of this book in return for my honest review.*

A new author for me, and a good one. A gripping psychological thriller, a bit of a slow burn at first, but a cracking denouement. Very highly recommended, and I look forward to reading more from her.

This book took me by surprise as it took a while to get into it but it was well worth reading ,just got better and better as it went on loved the ending can t wait to read more excellent.

Never read this author but this was a great story. I’d read her again! Interesting twist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An enjoyable book with a few twists and turns, but to me all a bit predictable. Easy summer read if you are looking for a book with a bit of family drama and a mystery that is not revealed fully until the end. I enjoyed the bits of looking back to a bohemian London life in the 1970's with Hugo, Eddie and Nan, but found it a bit slow in places when the story was back in the present day.

I had all but given up with thrillers and their predictability but then came along this book and gave me literal goosebumps.
I love when a thriller has both character development and an edge of your sit plot and this has both in abundance.
Nan A widow is on the way to London to her estranged Son's wedding. What would be an ordinarily happy occasion and a chance to reconcile with her son is far from that.
Nan lived in London in the 1970's where she lived in a house with two charismatic men. Something happened there and shes been haunted by it ever since....
I don't give too much away with thriller reviews so will leave the synopsis there, But let me say this ticked all my thriller satisfaction boxes.
Its edgy, twisty and I love when there's unpredictability and I don't guess the twists or the ending.
If you're looking for a thriller that is character driven as well as plot then this is that book for you. I love the way you really got to know about all of the characters and not just some of them. I love when a book alternates between time periods yet doesn't feel out of sync or disjointed and this did that too. I rarely give thrillers 5 stars but feel that this one truly deserves it.

Nan had something to hide, and someone was determined to expose it.
My first book by this author, the premise and the feeling of dread gripped me. The midsection was a bit slow, but the story picked up pace to end in a revealing finale.
Overall, a fun read

What happens when you make a terrible mistake when you were young and it comes back to haunt you? I liked the flashback form of the book. It was effective in the telling the tale so you understand what and why everything is as it is today. I feel like I could guess the end, but I was hoping for something truly surprising. This was good, but I didn't love the ending.

I received this free copy in exchange for an honest review on Netgalley.

This was AMAZINGLY good!!! I am not the one who goes for that genre but for some reason I decided to give it a try nonetheless and oh my my mind was blown. Loved every minute of reading it. The characters, the back and forth in time, the overall frustration, the inception of different storylines that were cleverly woven together. Definitely reading more of her work! A big five star from me!

Deceitful Nan has something to hide. We know this because her version of events doesn't quite tally with the flashbacks. The story felt a little convoluted in the middle, it felt as if it took the long way round, and then ended quite abruptly, I thought immediately after finishing the story. On reflection though the ending fit the needs of the story and it was just the change of pace between middle and end that made it seem to end so suddenly. I look forward to reading more by this author.