A large family run company and there’s a car crash, accident or something else? Generally I usually enjoy “Sally’s” books but not this one. It was ponderous, hard going and felt terribly dated as if it belonged in a much earlier time than the early 90’s. It wasn’t so much a thriller, more of a family drama. Sorry to say it wasn’t the sort of book which lingers in your mind long after it’s been read. I was given this ARC by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Conroy Enterprises may be owned by the Conroy family, but total control is held by Rob Conroy’s grandfather. While he provided each member of the family with a business to run, he was ultimately responsible for all decisions. On a business trip, three members of the family are killed in a car accident that left Rob Conroy and Bill Harper, his uncle’s assistant, alive. Police determine that the car had been tampered with, but who was the intended victim? Owen Flint was Rob’s friend at Oxford and is now the officer in charge of the investigation. His priority is to catch the person responsible while also keeping Rob alive.

Rob is currently seeing Marie, a private investigator who has displayed an interest in his family. She has her own reasons for investigating the Conroy family but is reluctant to share them with Him. Rob had suffered a loss in the past that led to a breakdown and now he must take a careful look at those around him. The disappearance of his father’s assistant, secrets held by his brother John’s widow, an attempt on Rob’s life and the murder of another employee pulls the investigation in different directions.

Rob runs a publishing company as part of Conroy Enterprises. While his cousin Philip takes control of the business he is willing to step away as long as he retains control of his firm. When he discovered Andy McBride, a homeless alcoholic with a fascinating story to tell, he offers compassion and support, leading to Andy’s success. It is Andy who offers support when Rob loses his family. Bill Harper is also sympathetic at first but soon uses his knowledge of the family and the accident to his advantage, eventually becoming arrogant. Rob was close to his brother John, but with problems of his own he was blind to John’s situation. It is not until his brother’s death in the accident that he begins to see him for who he truly was. Sally Spencer’s keeos the action moving at a steady pace with twists throughout the story. It is a mystery that will keep you guessing to the very end. I would like to thank NetGalley and Severn House Publishers for providing this book for my review.

An unusual read for me but all told I did enjoy it,the character of Rob and trying to solve the mystery of what happened on that day,I guess quite an old fashioned read but that doesn’t make it a bad one,not the right cover for the book imo

Despite the ominous-looking cover and the blurb’s claim, this book is more a cozy mystery than a thriller. It also felt a little old-fashioned somehow.

Rob is one of two survivors of a horrible car accident that claims the life of his brother, his father, and his uncle. But the police don’t think it’s an accident. Inspector Flint, an old friend from Rob’s school days, is in charge of the investigation.

POINT OF VIEW
For the most part, the story is told in first person by Rob, mostly from his present day viewpoint, but he gives little asides told in hindsight. These roused my interest because they hinted at later, ominous hints that present-day Rob couldn’t know.

But for parts when Rob can’t be there, Inspector Flint narrates the story to him. It’s a lot of “as Flint told me later”, followed by Flint’s narration from a third person point of view. It’s a bit odd and somehow off-putting to me. I wondered why the author didn’t simply divide the narration between Rob and Flint, as many other authors do. There are a lot of flashbacks and people gossiping while taking tea.

CHARACTERS
The characters feel a little over-drawn. But even so, the characters you want to hate are immensely hateable and the characters you want to love are immensely loveable.

The storytelling is quite assured and confident, even though the narrator is anything but confident. Following his fiancée’s tragic death, Rob has had a mental breakdown and ended up hospitalized. His grandfather helps him by buying a small publishing house for him, which gives Rob a sense of purpose. Is it any wonder, then, that when Rob encounters a brilliant but alcoholic writer, he wants to help the man?

Rob isn’t the most sensible or savvy man. When doing research on a particular person, it takes him (and others) a very long time to do the most sensible thing and search archives for proof. Even though the story takes place before the internet became a huge source of knowledge, many things would’ve been easily (relatively speaking) accessible through county records. He’s also incredibly naïve. He tends to hold himself responsible for things, such as his fiancée’s death, that he had absolutely no control over. I also wondered why he clings to false ideas about his new love interest Marie, which have almost no empirical evidence backing them up, and accuses her of lying to him.

Yet despite his flaws–or perhaps because of them?–I liked Rob. He often plays the role of a dunderhead trying to investigate a murder that he has no business investigating. Marie is a hard-nosed private investigator with more sense and street savvy than her love interest, but her intense private nature tends to come between them.

There are some colorful side characters, like the sweet-eating Inspector Flint, an old friend from Rob’s past. (Really, the entire mystery could’ve been easily solved if Rob had confided in Flint.) Let’s not forget the brilliant former alcoholic Andy McBride, whose breakout novel was written in composition books and anonymously hand delivered to Rob, who can apparently recognized literary brilliance but is completely clueless about the dynamics of his own family.

(And contrary to almost every other major character’s belief, I didn’t believe that Rob is intellectually bright. I simply wasn’t convinced. But I still found him sympathetic and loveable.)

GENRE
Despite the violence of the murders and despite what the cover, categorization, and blurb would lead you to believe, this isn’t a thriller or even psychological suspense. I was never convinced that Rob was in physical danger; he seemed more likely to have his heart broken. Given how hapless he is, he’d probably be more injured tripping over his own shoelaces. The author made valiant attempts to make me believe he was in danger; I just didn’t buy it.

The story held my interest. But as is usual with cozies, I had to suspend my disbelief on a number of points. I also didn’t find it particularly-Agatha-Christie-like, either. While the clues aren’t necessarily all available to the reader, it still was fairly easy to figure out whodunit (especially for avid mystery readers). It does have the quiet, slightly sanitized, quaint village filled with busybodies, so that might appeal to fans of Miss Marple.

SLIGHT QUIBBLE
And this is a petty complaint. . . . But there were far too many exclamation points! All the time! And it was rather distracting!! Maybe that doesn’t matter to many readers, but it annoyed me. It also seemed odd, given the assured confidence of the storytelling from an obviously experienced novelist. It seemed strange! Was this supposed to reflect Rob’s way of thinking?!

SATISFYING & ENJOYABLE
Even with these faults, the book is enjoyable. It’s a satisfying story, and (exclamation points aside), I had an enjoyable time reading it. It will appeal to many cozy readers. Thriller readers will need to look elsewhere for their adrenaline fix. Three stars.

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

(This review will be live on my blog on 31 May 2021.)

Well, this is one heck of a family business. Conroy Enterprises is a huge company and Rob's publishing company is just a tiny piece of it,. Then everyone but Rob and his cousin Philip die- his grandfather first and then the rest in a car accident which Rob survives. As he's recovering, DI Owen Flint, advises him that it wasn't an accident but murder,. How far would members of the family go to get control of the company? That's the question Rob and Flint both try to answer, hopefully before that person comes after Rob. This one is hard to describe because it's quite complex but that's also why it's a rewarding read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

It is a long time since I read a book like The Company written by Sally Spender (an author that is new to me). The best way I can describe it is an old-fashioned kind of thriller/suspense novel.

We are introduced to Rob Conroy, part of the Conroy family who own The Company – founded by his grandfather who dies in the opening pages. Within the hour, his two sons, his grandson and an assistant are killed in a car crash – in which the only survivor is his other grandson, Rob Conroy. Later in hospital he is advised by the police that this was no accident but murder.

Rob then becomes entangled in the quest to unravel the various strands of the plot, murder, blackmail, family secrets, and corruption. Is naïve Rob able to fathom what is going on, or who is manipulating events; not without help.

Although the plot involves murder and mayhem it is very subtle, no outbursts of vivid violence, any explosions are muted, any blood briefly described. This, I believe, is why it seems to be somewhat old-fashioned, but don’t be fooled by that, the plot is well-constructed, the characters perhaps not quite realistic but strong enough to carry the vehicle and be credible, but more in a Jeeves and Wooster mode.

If you like your murder understated, and your hero guileless – this is for you. Heartily recommend this.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Sally Spencer made an interesting narration choice in The Company. Part of the book covers the police investigation of a car “accident”, while one of the survivors, a man who was hospitalized with mental problems, is responsible for other aspects of the story. Maybe others will appreciate Rob Conroy’s thought patterns more than I did.

Set in 1991, the story opens with a hired car speeding along a road. The occupants are four members, two generations, of the Conroy family, Tony, Edward, and brothers John and Rob. Tony’s administrative assistant is jammed in the back with John and Rob. Uncle Tony is upset that they’re going to be late, but his nephew, Rob, is a little gleeful and angry. Uncle Tony’s plans for Conroy Enterprises could make the family company even bigger, or he could bankrupt the entire business, including Rob’s beloved publishing house. As the car picks up speed and Tony can’t slow it down, there’s a terrible collision with a military truck.

Rob wakes up in the hospital to discover he and the administrative assistant are the only two survivors. And, two hours before the car accident, the family patriarch and company founder, Charles Conroy, died. Now, his will has even greater importance to the surviving family, and to the police. Chief Inspector Owen Flint has even more interest in learning about the family when he discovers the hired car was sabotaged. The crash wasn’t an accident. And, he informs Rob that it’s possible the dead men were not the intended victims. He wants to protect Rob, but finds a man unwilling to play the victim. When Rob’s fiancee died, he had a mental breakdown and ended up in the hospital for two years. Now, he doesn’t really want to reveal all of his family’s secrets to the police. And, it takes Rob quite a while to discover he doesn’t know or misunderstood many of the stories from his family.

To be honest, while I felt sympathy for the man who only wants to save his small publishing company, and doesn’t care about the family enterprise, Rob was a difficult character to like. The entire plot could have been uncovered earlier if Rob had told the truth to Flint, who was a friend from years before. That’s always one of my pet peeves, though, amateurs who will not confide in the police even when the police are friends.

I was reading this book for a review for a journal, so it didn’t really matter than everything I saw from the publisher referred to this as a thriller. However, for readers who do care, The Company is not a thriller. It’s a somewhat confusing book about family secrets.

Sally Spencer is one of my favorite all time authors for she always has unusual plots and colorful characters. Chief Inspector Flint, a character in this standalone thriller should be added to this impressive list of memorable characters.

The Company was a welcoming addition to her present day series of books. I am still in the process of reading all of her older books when I can obtain them for they are still captivating as the present ones.

Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House Publishers for their e Arc.

Solid Mystery, Deftly Drawn Cast....
When a car crashes with five representatives of Conroy Enterprises inside Rob Conroy is the sole survivor. Things do not seem to make any sense and Rob soon realises that the accident may not have been an accident at all - in which case is the intended victim still alive? A solid mystery, well plotted and populated with a deftly drawn cast. A compelling read.

Bristol, 1991. Crammed into a hire car, on their way to a vital appointment, five representatives of Conroy Enterprises are running very late. Rob Conroy, the black sheep of the family, is torn between spiteful amusement at his Uncle Tony's irritation and anxiety for the future. If Conroy Enterprises fails, it will bring Rob's own small publishing company down with it. But in the space of just two hours, everything changes. The car crashes, leaving Rob the only survivor.

This book is full of suspense, mystery, action, thriller and of course a slight psychopathic hint. The cover gives the impression of hard-hitting violence and gangs but it is far from that and so much better. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of her work. Overall, 3.5 stars. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Rob Conroy is crammed in a car on business with his father, his uncle, his brother and his uncle's executive assistant, comprising Conroy Enterprises, when a horrific crash kills all, except Rob and the executive assistant.
While in hospital, heartbroken and dazed, he's informed by the police it wasn't an accident, but murder. However, it's not known who planned the crash and who the target was.
Both he and the Detective Inspector, an old school friend of his, go on separate paths to try and find the truth.
What follows is a an excellent novel featuring an intricate mystery, a family history, a love story and a cold psychopath who will do anything to rise to the top. Rob is a sensitive, almost naive character and the book itself reminded me of the older mysteries I read in the past...the kind of books I miss. No graphic violence or language, just a totally absorbing read. Highly recommended!