Member Reviews

This is the first book I have read by this author, it was an enjoyable read , I felt it was a little rushed and far fetched in places but it kept you guessing right to the end

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Grace’s student daughter Abi is away on holiday in South Africa when she is murdered. Grace cannot accept the local police's version of events and is desperate to find out what happened to her daughter, while battling her own personal demons at home.

The book flows well and is easy to follow. While Grace could be a frustrating character, you did truly feel for her quest to find justice for her daughter. Some elements did require a suspension of disbelief, but I don't mind that in a thriller. I particularly enjoyed getting Abi's POV in her blog posts. It's a quick read that will keep you turning the pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for this ARC.

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Every parent’s worst nightmare: something happens to your child. Grace is caught up in the worst nightmare of her life. Her daughter Abi has gone away on a dream vacation, ad something terrible has happened. What is a Mother to do when her worst imaginings have become reality? Does she accept what she is told or does she set out to determine what has really transpired? There are questions that she needs answers to, and things that she didn’t know before. She has to reconcile her reality with that of Abi’s and determine how to continue on this journey to find the truth. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for allowing me to review this book. It truly is a thriller with a surprising twist! I think you will definitely enjoy this read!

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I was intrigued by the synopsis of this book, however, I unfortunately found it to be a bit run of the mill. The characters were well built but found it hard to get into at the start and I feel this may have affected my overall enjoyment. May be one for other readers

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When Grace finds out her daughter Abi is dead and she was a pregnant sugar-baby her whole world is upended. This is a fantastic read but was damped by the way Grace turns to alcohol to cope with her daughter's murder. The ending plays out so well and it was hard to put down!

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A young woman is murdered. Her mother struggles with grief and the need to know why, who, what happened. Her two best friends try to help.
What will she find? Did she really even know her daughter?

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A good and interesting read!

I would recommend this to everyone who loves a good story with captivating characters! Definitely a good read!

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Wow, what a Shockingly good book! Will be looking for more and more written by this author! It provided my musts in thrillers, kept me on the edge of my seat, shocked me, thrilled me, and even chilled me! Character development was excellent, while plot may seem to be unoriginal it was actually very uniquely done! Highly, highly recommend! Don’t delay, grab today, but clear schedules for this thrill ride full of twists!

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Miranda Rijks has got it figured out. This is the fourth book of hers that I’ve read and they just keep getting better. This is a great twisty turny book. You aren’t sure about the narrator and everyone seems a little shady. I didn’t know the twist until the last second.

This was fast paced, well written, not too wordy and a quick enjoyable read. I will continue to read this author as she never lets me down.

I was provided this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

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I really enjoyed the way Ms. Rijks writes, she was able to write a really good mystery with interesting characters. I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to more from the author.

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This is my second book I have read by Miranda Rijks. The plot, the pacing and the writing were all good but like the previous book I read of hers I was a bit frustrated with the MC, in this case Grace Woods, the mother to 21 year old Abi Woods who is killed while on a holiday in Cape Town, South Africa. Grace does not believe that Abi's death was a result of a random crime and she takes it upon herself to find out what exactly happened and is shocked to find out that not only Abi was a sugar babe but she was also pregnant at the time of her death. However, the biggest hindrance in Grace finding out the truth is herself. As a person who has had issues with alcoholism in the past, Grace goes back to drinking heavily which makes her family, friends and police question her actions and reasoning instead of helping her figure out the truth. It was frustrating to see Grace, who is on the right path to figuring out what happened to her daughter, nearly spoil all her hard work as a result of her alcoholism and wallowing in self-pity.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Inkubator Books and the author for the e-Arc of the book.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐💫

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I absolutely love this book. Definitely top ones that i have read this year. The main character I had love/hate relationship. I like the writing style of it. Only thing i wished was more point if view from the daughter side before she died.

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Dark and disturbing, you have to read The Arrangement!

I loved this book, I hadn’t heard anything about it other than the synopsis and so I went in blind....and so should you! Stop reading reviews and get it ordered! The less you know the better. All you need to know is.....read this book ASAP!

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If I had known I wouldn't be able to put this book down, I would have read it sooner. The story grabbed me from rbe beginning and I neexed to fi d out what happened. As Grace kept discovering more about Abi and her secrets, I was down further into the story and need to know what happens next.

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The Arrangement – Mirana Rijks
A seemingly simple beginning to a mystery novel. Abi, a young woman is murdered on a beach in South Africa. But, what follows is not simple at all. Back home in the UK Abi’s mother is understandably devasted as is looking for answers. She cannot accept that this was a random attack. Nothing is adding up as it should be.
The pain of losing her oldest daughter, puts Grace Woods into a downwards spiral. She drinks, when she knows she shouldn’t. She smokes, and she grieves. But then she discovers that she didn’t know her daughter as well as she thought she did. The poor student who worked part time as a barrista has a closet full of designer clothes, and some interesting files on her email account. She also wasn’t going to Cape Town simply to meet up with her school friends.
As Grace starts digging into Abi’s life, she finds out some uncomfortable truths, and realises that not only is her life in danger, but so is her remaining daughter. The police feel that the case is closed and anything she brings up with them is politely put down to drunken delusions.
Her only support comes from her two closest friends and their husbands. They support her, they help her and she confides in them as she searches for the truth. Sometimes though, it is those that are closest to you that perhaps you shouldn’t trust.
I really enjoyed reading this book – and consumed it in a day. It is unputdownable. I needed to know the outcome. What I found really interesting was that my feelings for Grace, the main character, and her friends Natasha and Ruth, fluctuated. There were times when I felt sympathy for Grace, but other times when I just wanted to shake her. This really is an interesting commentary on friendship.
I would consider this a must read! My rating is four stars.

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Abi was on vacation in South Africa when she was murdered.

Her mother, Grace, is beside herself with grief. Who would want to killer her daughter? She needs to find answers ... but as she starts digging into her daughter's life, she's finding more questions than answers.

Seems like she didn't her child as well as she thought she did. And there's someone with eyes on Grace .. someone who doesn't want her digging in Abi's past.

With an intricate plot spread across the pages, I found it to be well-written. Deftly drawn characters, especially the mother, invoke the feelings of loss, love, bewilderment. Twists and turns keep the reader turning pages determinedly to get to the unexpected conclusion.

Many thanks to the author / Inkubator / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

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3.5/5 Stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. At first I thought the cover photo with the title was a little too on the nose, but the author's prose and reveals hooked me in about a third of the way into the book. The entire book is told in the first person point of view of a grieving mother who is slowly descending back into addiction. While this could have given the author the opportunity to give us an unreliable narrator, they did not take this opportunity and that choice was wonderfully done. It made me side with Grace and feel her anger as the people around her did not believe her and cast her fears and concerns aside. The reveal of the real culprit was artfully done and I did not see it coming at all!! The build up and the tension had me on the edge of my feet for the last couple of chapters. Some of the Grace's choices and the author's word choice brought me out of the book at times hence the 3.5, but overall I really enjoyed this book. It would make an amazing LifeTime movie that I would watch in a second.

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The Arrangement by Miranda Rijks is a familiar trope that I kind of lost interest in. While the writing is solid, the story itself was not that interesting to me. I gave up about 2/3 of the way through.

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What a read.... this kept me on my toes from start to finish!

It's not the first novel I've read that had a 'Sugar Daddy/Sugar Baby' plot BUT I loved the way the author chose a completely different perspective to write from, showing the motivation behind it all and the reasons why.

A storyline stuffed full of trauma, deceit, shocks, thrills, lies and tragedy.. so much going on but it flows seamlessly.

It's definitely a book that keeps you guessing for a long time and even if you did guess the 'who dunnit' it doesn't take anything away from this brilliant read.

The characters are well written and well executed, each with their own backstory and no character felt lacking.

Overall a brilliant read that I'll definitely be recommending on!

Huge thanks to netgalley and Inkubater Books for the ARC.

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The prologue was really intriguing and I was ready to dive into the story, however, I found myself eye rolling and skimming through the pages after the prologue. Every character introduced within the tight circle of friends just seemed bitchy and self absorbed.
I had to stop reading around 35% in. I didn’t like the characters and I felt the beginning story was a tad bit all over the place.
Thank you for the ARC. I wish the author much success.

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