Mel has practiced law for twenty years. She is well-regarded by her peers. Her clients are happy. But behind the scenes her life is disordered. Her son grows increasingly distant from her. When a trainee lawyer is allocated to Mel, it's poor timing. The last thing she needs is someone watching her every move. And Natasha does watch. She sees every detail and every mistake.

Could Mel be right about Natasha and everyone else be wrong. Mel is paranoid as Natasha is quite young, a good barrister and she's ambitious. She's also had a colourful past. The story is told from both women's perspectives. This is a story of devious tactics and manipulation. Mel finds her life getting more complicated. I didn't like either of the two women. Part drama, part thriller, this is an enjoyable read.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Canelo and the author Ros Carne for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A book of revenge. Mel a practising lawyer for 20 years on the outside appears efficient, organised and successful. Her private life is falling apart, she is losing her son and involved with a married man. When she is allocated a trainee she is fearful of what Natasha will see. Natasha makes it her job to see and know everything. She wants things but Mel refuses to cooperate. Mel's secrets will surface. Who will be the winner in this?

I love legal thrillers and this book did not disappoint me! It seemed like it just flowed and was meant to be read in one sitting which is what happened! If you like legal suspense, then you will love this!

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for approving my request to read on netgalley.

I believe this is the authors debut and its such a great book. If you enjoyed apple tree yard and blood orange then pick up this read.

Packed with suspense and anxious anticipation this is the epitome of female friendship and rivalry.

Cunning and sly, what is natasha really up to?

Tense and thrilling and will have you hooked.

Published 13th August.

I never repeat the blurb. This was great. Unusual premise and well thought out and considered. Characters were interesting and credible. Only 4* due to slightly lack lustre ending.

From reading the blurb this sounded like an interesting concept but it wasn’t exactly what I had expected. Overall I enjoyed the story but I really didn’t care for the main characters Mel and Natasha which meant it wasn’t quite as much of a page turner as I’d hoped. It would have worked better for me as a reader if I had liked one of them enough to get behind them and root for them to succeed.

Mel has practised law for twenty years. She is well-regarded by her peers. Her clients are happy. But behind the scenes her life is disordered. Her son grows increasingly distant from her. The married man she is sleeping with fails to give her what she needs. When a trainee lawyer is allocated to Mel it is poor timing. The last thing she wants is a pupil watching her every move. And Natasha does watch. She sees each detail – and every mistake. Mel cannot shake the feeling that Natasha isn’t just learning the job. She is learning Mel. Natasha is good at getting what she wants, and now Mel has the power to give her all she desires. But when Mel chooses not to, Natasha knows just what Mel’s vulnerabilities are – and how to turn them against her. Mel’s secrets could ruin her. But who will be believed?

As I started this I found myself addicted to the atmosphere that Carne creates. From very early on, there is a deliciously, thick and suspicious atmosphere to the read and this carries on for the whole book which was really good. However, to my disappointment, it did not really go anywhere. Carne really sets this book up well and then it falters and nothing really happens. I mean events do happen but they are nothing like what I was expecting, and I do not say this in a good way.

Whilst reading this, it felt like Carne was setting up some really excellent plot twists. There are clues during the read that I thought were going to go somewhere dramatic and then nothing happened with them. It was really odd and meant the read lost all impact and originality. Then there is the length of this read, it is way too long, dramatically too long. There are whole sections that could be cut and the read would not be any worse.

So I did not particularly enjoy the plot and found it very weak. But could the characters save this read? Well, sadly not. Mel and Natasha are incredibly unlikeable. I do not think I have anything good to say about them. I do think they are supposed to be these ruthless, ambitious characters but Carne does not give them a likeable factor to counter-balance this. Nor, is there another character I could cling onto. This read really suffered from a lack of likeable characters and people to root for.

'The Pupil' is too long, too dull and does not have anything much to like about it. However, Carne does create an electric atmosphere, so there is one thing positive. It is just a real shame the atmosphere leads nowhere.

Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for an advance copy.

Mel has practised law for twenty years. She is well-regarded by her peers. Her clients are happy. But behind the scenes her life is disordered. Her son grows increasingly distant from her. The married man she is sleeping with fails to give her what she needs.

When a trainee lawyer is allocated to Mel it is poor timing. The last thing she wants is a pupil watching her every move. And Natasha does watch. She sees each detail – and every mistake. Mel cannot shake the feeling that Natasha isn’t just learning the job. She is learning everything there is to know about Mel.

Natasha is good at getting what she wants, and now Mel has the power to give her all she desires. But when Mel chooses not to, Natasha knows just what Mel’s vulnerabilities are – and how to turn them against her. Mel’s secrets could ruin her. But who will be believed?

I loved this book and I couldn’t read it quick enough – I was in that dilemma of wanting to know what happened, but at the same time, I didn’t want it to end. The pages seemed to magically turn themselves over feeding my addiction of Natasha and Mel.

The characters were very well written I hated Natasha from the first time she entered the story, and I had the urge to boo at her like a panto villain!! I wanted to protect Mel and her son Jacob and as for Isabel, I originally started to like her, and then got very cross with her, but perhaps I’m unforgiving!!!!

If I could give this 100 stars I would, it's the best book I've read this year and my favourite book I've read in a long, long time and I want to talk to everyone about it!! This would make a brilliant BBC drama!!!

Ros Carne has an exquisitely charmIng writing skill that captivated me and made me just curl up and finish this book in two sessions.
Mel is a well established barrister with 20 years experience although her working life is on track her personal life is the exact opposite, a single mother of a 16 year old boy and a married lover do not bode well for her. To top it off she gets a pupil appointed to her for mentoring as part of the barrister training programme.
From the outset Mel is unhappy with this encumbrance in her life and I think slightly jealous of the over confident and capable Natasha.
Natasha has her own agenda and watches everything Mel does but what lengths will she go to to get what she wants and who will suffer as a result.
A good legal suspense thriller not to be missed.

This book took me by surprise. It kept me interested throughout the story and I needed to see what was going to happen. I truly enjoyed the pacing of the story and the well written characters. I would recommend this story to all.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Canelo for the ARC.

I found this an absolutely fascinating and engrossing read, though this wasn't so much a 'mystery/thriller', rather a sinister psychological drama. It's well-written with really good characters and dialogue, but the story's multi- layering makes for a complex read needing a good level of concentration to join up all the dots.

Mel, a defence barrister at Bridge Court Chambers in London, has a Pupil, Natasha, foisted upon her when she could really do without it. Her elderly mother really can't manage the large family home on her own; her son Jacob is a moody teenager who is increasingly distant with her, and her married lover Paul shows no sign of making a commitment to her. But she's a talented and successful barrister and well-liked at Chambers.

Natasha is single-mindedly ambitious, bordering on the psychopathic. She has a 'colourful' - to say the least - past; a penchant for shoplifting as well as adopting a younger profile on-line to interact with young men - all of which she treats as games - games to play and games to win.

Mel now becomes the focus of Natasha's games. She manipulates situations, lies and manages to insert herself into Mel's personal and family life, all of which nearly destroy Mel in the process, landing her on the wrong side of a courtroom.

Natasha is definitely not what she seems!

Absolutely fantastic read! I haven’t been able to put this one down. I have absolutely adored reading this one. I have devoured this book in just one sitting and cannot wait to read more by this author.

This was an interesting legal type psychological drama and was an entertaining read and one that kept me hooked. Mel has been practising law for many years when she is allocated a trainee pupil Natasha and this comes at a difficult time for Mel, her life is a mess and her new pupil Natasha doesn’t seem to be quite what she seems, full of confidence and endearing herself to everyone she meets it’s just all too much for Mel. What follows is a tale of manipulation and devious tactics as Mel finds her life getting more and more complicated and she begins to see that Natasha is seriously disturbed.
I enjoyed this read it was well written and the characters were good but I was a little disappointed somewhat as I didn’t always connect with the story. A solid three star read that kept me reading and I’m sure that others may enjoy it also.
My thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Really good read. Would recommend to friends and family. I could sympathise with characters (important for any fiction novel!) and looked forward to picking it up and reading the next few chapters! Interesting plot line and a good ending. Will look out for more novels by the author. Thank you.

Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this book. I found it slow and hard to get into, and it was quite predictable.

Addictive right from the outset.

Tells the story of a qualified barrister called Mel, whom life is slightly complicated. Then a young pretty pupil is thrust upon her and instantly dislikes her lack of vulnerability. She's way to confident and it throws Mel sideways

As their relationship starts to fall apart even more, Mel's private life is exposed and the even more unusual pupil starts to toy around with her life.

Really well written story and a real page turner.

Thank you to Netgalley for advanced copy

I mean no disrespect to the author but i am getting tired of publicity advertising "A page-turning suspense thriller that will have you hooked". I enjoyed "the Pupil" a lot but "a page-turning suspense thriller" it is not.

What it is is a perfectly satisfying story of 2 women, both of whom are living rather unsatisfactory lives, caught in a peculiar situation in a peculiar place - it's a drama which kept me interested and intrigued but not in supense.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Canelo for the ARC.

Really enjoyed this story and Mel was easy to liken and understand as a character. Lots to keep you questioning what would happen next...

Mel and Natasha, two very different people at very different stages in their lifes.

Mel, a single mother of a hormonal teenage boy, a successful Barrister working out of a top London Firm.

Natasha, a young woman who lives beyond her means, shop lifts for fun, and strings her boyfriend along whilst carrying on affairs as her alter ego Lola.

Natasha has just become Mels trainee, on her second six months of training, and is hoping to be selected for a full time job, but can she curb her self destructive personality.

Meanwhile Mel is on a downward spiral, she’s struggling at work, making mistakes in court, and Natasha’s watching, not getting on with her son, and Natasha notices.

Using her alter ego, Lola, Natasha starts to flirt on line with Mels son, and at every opportunity undermines her at work.

And so it starts, a twisting turning plot of a psychological thriller.

I have to admit for the first third of the book I couldn’t make up my mind who to sympathise, or empathise with, which was really clever writing; because when the plot starts to unfold I was torn between which of the two characters I was rooting for, even though it was fairly obvious who was the good guy, and who was the victim.

I really enjoyed this book. It turned me upside down and inside out with my conscience being pulled like a tug of war rope. I love books that make me reach for google to research something. This was was different. It had me looking into my own mind. Clever, very clever.

hanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Never expected this legal drama to be as good as what it was. Loved the characters and the storyline. Would recommend.