This is Katherine Faulkner’s debut book and I felt the first half was a slow burn - but it picked up speed at around 55% and didn’t stop. Helen meets Rachel at a prenatal class and Rachel wants to be her new bff. Rachel is a bit “off”, seems to always want attention, etc. and Helen seems happy to have a new friend. Lots of secrets and lies emerge in this small town. Then it all comes crashing at the end. A gripping thriller and I can’t wait to see what else this author writes in the future!! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published January 2022.

I was pleasantly surprised by this well plotted story from a debut author. And can we talk about that beautiful cover?

Helen, far along in her pregnancy and with an all too absent husband winds up in her pre-natal classes alone. When an outgoing younger woman chats her up, she's glad to have someone to talk to. Who would expect the new "friend" they made in pre-natal classes had ulterior motives?

While there were a couple of intervening chapters, or interludes, that were designed to set up some of the background, but seemed to pull you out of the story; however, they were short and easy to gloss over, Faulkner does a great job of building Rachel from an outgoing mom-to-be, to a sinister stalkerish character. After too many coincidences, is stuck in a friendship she can't seem to break out of, and feels compelled to put up with Rachel and her weird behavior - smoking, drinking....and worse.

In a bizarre series of connections, Helen, her brothers, and their significant others are all wrapped up in a secret from their past. And while you might think you know what happened, the ending comes with a twist that will sneak up on you!

I can't wait to see what else Katherine Faulkner has in store for us.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an advance reader's copy.

I didn't finish reading this book. I wasn't in the mood for another domestic suspense novel. I could not get into the book and DNF at 13%. I may revisit and review this title at a later time. This will not be posted publicly.

I was so excited for this one! It was twisty and the chapter ends had me intrigued to start the next. Although i felt it was a bit predictable and often long winded. I felt like it was lengthy and could have been cut shorter. I wanted to know what happened and how it tied up but i also figured it out. It was a solid read but took me awhile to get through.

Wow! Hats off to Katherine Faulker's debut novel. I devoured this book in two sittings and loved it!

Helen and her husband, Daniel, are finally expecting their baby while living in a gorgeous house inherited from Helen's parents. Helen's brother Rory and wife Selena, who is also expecting, also live close to the couple and spend lots of time together. When Helen starts attending prenatal classes she meets a mysterious woman named Rachel. Things take a quick turn for the worse when Helen starts finding Rachel's behavior erratic and weird.

Overall, the book was fantastically written over multiple POVs. I do think some chapters were a little drawn out, however, the overall suspense to the book sucked me in all the way until the end. The many twists and turns left me thinking I had figured out the mystery, just to be shocked by something new. I am incredibly impressed by how well written and how engaged I was the whole time spent reading. I cannot wait to see what else Katherine Faulker comes out with in the future.

Wow, this book took me by surprise! In this story, you are following Helen, who begins going to prenatal classes in her neighborhood and befriends a woman named Rachel, Rachel is a bit odd but means well, and starts to insert herself more and more into Helen's life. Helen thinks everything is fine, until odd things start to happen with Rachel, threatening Helen's "perfect" life.

This is such a strong debut novel! The story is definitely more of a slow burn, but the mystery is so complex it always kept me guessing! The author did a great job of keeping me engaged, with short chapters and sinister interludes, making this a definite page-turner. The three women we get POVs from, Helen, Katie, and Serena, were all fleshed out and felt very realistic. Overall, I really loved this story and I cannot wait to read more from Katherine Faulkner!

An interesting read - neither life-altering or can’t-put-downable… might follow the author for backlist & future reads.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

The only part of Helen’s life that wasn’t perfect was her inability to carry a baby to term. This time is different though. Her pregnancy is going well and she just met a new friend at her prenatal class. Rachel is eccentric, but oddly enticing as well. Over time though, things with Rachel start to feel a bit off. Why does everyone have this reaction toward her new friend?

Ok first of all, the last line of this book…..chefs kiss! That is all! Second of all, can we stop comparing books to The Girl On The Train? Besides the overused comparison however, I really enjoyed this book! It certainly had me unable to stop reading to find out what the heck was going on with Rachel, and what everyone in Helen’s family seemed to be hiding. This book had all the characters I needed, someone to love, a few to hate, an

After suffering several miscarriages, Helen is thrilled to be far along in her pregnancy. She meets a fellow pregnant woman in her prenatal classes and quickly becomes close. But Rachel is strange… and why is she always around?

I am surprised this was a debut! It was really good and sucked me in from the very first page. The characters are all very vivid and real, which we don’t always get in thrillers. There was mystery, suspense, and a suspicious backstory that we get hints of. Also if you are looking for remodeling ideas, there are tons in the details!

“How do you unmake a friendship? It turns out it is strangely difficult - especially with someone as persistent as Rachel.”

Greenwich Park comes out 1/25.

I will admit I was drawn to Greenwich Park for its cover- it is absolutely gorgeous with its ivy-covered porch, but not only that, the summary drew me in as well.

However, as well written as the story was I found it way too slow-moving for me. While reading I found my mind wandering, or I put it down and moved on to do other things. The story was interesting enough, the pace of it all was just not for me.

Written in three viewpoints, which I enjoyed. It is just the right amount to make the story move along, I do not like a story with too many that seems bogged down and confusing. Honestly, it did not take me long to figure out the mystery and that is a bit unusual for me as I am a crap detective when it comes to solving a mystery.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. Overall, I thought this was a really solid thriller from a debut author. I often feel like I have read every domestic thriller that has come out since Gone Girl and can see almost every twist coming very early on in the story. I was pleasantly surprised to be surprised with some of the twists that occurred in this one. I had most of the culprits/villains figured out early on, but I didn’t predict the way it all unfolded, which was really fun. I will definitely pick up future novels from Faulkner.

Helen has it all. A perfect husband, brother, and sister-in-law. Enter: Rachel. She meets Rachel at a neo-natal class and life starts to spin out of control. Single mother-t0-be Rachel appears to just want a friend. But she starts appearing everywhere and wanting to know everything about Helen and her friends and family. What secrets are each of them hiding?

I picked this up thinking it would be a neighborhood secrets type thriller, and it was more a domestic thriller with a bit of possible unreliable narrator. It was less psychological suspense than I thought it would be, but I still enjoyed it overall! I saw all of the twists coming, which made it a bit less exciting, but overall it had decent momentum that had me turning the pages to find out what happens next. My main critique is the harshness of chapter cut offs. It's a writing style that others may love, but for me it left a bit wanting.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Greenwich Park is an excellent debut novel by Katherine Faulkner. From the first page she makes the reader wonder about the rather interesting and mysterious Rachel.

Kate and Rachel are the main characters that bond over a Lamaze-type class. Kate's husband Daniel, brother Rory, and his wife Serena are also important parts of this story. They're well done characters that are deeply flawed, filled with secrets, and all acting rather oddly making me distrust all of them. Rachel came in for most of my skepticism due to her strange behavior.

The setting of this book took me back to my time living in England and brought back so many memories that it was like visiting an old friend.

If you like solid psychological mysteries and family based mysteries, you'll definitely enjoy Greenwich Park. Check it out today!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for approving an ARC at my request. All thoughts are my own.

I enjoyed this book. I couldn’t believe the way Rachel inserted herself into Helen’s life, and basically made Helen be her friend. I kept watching Rachel and Helen, waiting for something to happen, and missed the clues that were dropped along the way, so I was surprised by the ending, but that made it that much better.

3.5 stars

This is my favorite genre to read, and this book is a great example of the why I enjoy them. Helen did seem a bit naive at times, but it did work well for some of the plot points. The pacing was uneven at times, but there were enough twists to keep me guessing until the end. I've never read anything by Faulkner, but I certainly plan to check out future books!

Helen lives in a beautiful house and is married to her college sweetheart, Daniel. He is a partner at her family's architecture firm where he works alongside her brother. She's finally pregnant with a healthy baby and goes to her first baby class. Her husband texts that he's going to be late - and her brother and his wife, who is also pregnant, also no show. Luckily, a young woman shows up and quickly partners up with Helen.

Rachel quickly pushes her way into Helen's life. She shows up in the park, at the cafe, at Helen's house. Suddenly, she's everywhere. Helen doesn't know how to say no - so, before she can say no, Rachel is living in the space bedroom at Helen's house.

And then one day, Rachel is gone.

And then, she's missing.

And then, everything starts falling apart.

This novel from Katherine Faulkner is a bit of a slow burn, but once you get to the last 40%, it takes off at rocket-speed. The twists start coming and do not stop until the last page.

It's a well-written thriller and I expect many more to come from this writer.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Helen Trope and her husband, Daniel, are expecting their first child in a matter of weeks, after a series of losses. At her childbirth class, which Daniel for work reasons can’t attend, Helen meets young, loud, tactless Rachel, who takes an immediate interest in Helen, and becomes the human version of cling wrap for the ensuing chapters, always seeming to be everywhere Helen is. For reasons that never make a single ounce of sense to me, Helen keeps enabling this dysfunctional “friendship”, putting strain on her relationships with Daniel, her brother Rory and his wife, Serena, her other brother, Charlie, and journalist friend, Katie.

Who is Rachel, and what’s behind her sudden appearance in these people’s lives? That’s the thread this book is pulling, suggesting there’s more to Helen’s insta-friend than meets the eye.

Katherine Faulkner’s debut novel, Greenwich Park is an admirable effort that gives me confidence she’ll have more enticing books to offer in the future. Her prose is vividly descriptive and atmospheric, giving me a feel for all the places this story took me to and engaging my senses, with the sights, sounds, smells and tastes being described. The plot is solid, despite some issues (more on that in a moment), and the overall writing is engaging.

That’s the good part. Unfortunately, I struggled quite a bit with other aspects of the book:

Length. It’s 384 pages, but feels much longer. Possibly because Faulkner’s career has been in investigative journalism, where detail reigns supreme, this was TOO detailed for me, slowing the pace to a crawl at times. I found myself looking at my reading progress A LOT and wondering why it felt like I wasn’t making any.

Characters. I liked Katie. That’s about it. The rest are pretty insufferable, each in their own ways. I dare you to find a character more annoying than Rachel. Go on. I’ll wait.

Believability. Helen and Daniel have wanted this baby for years, but the poor thing seems to be treated as an afterthought continually, while Rachel drama takes front and center. Daniel is, almost literally, never there, and Helen is constantly frustrated or put off by Rachel’s behavior, yet bends over backwards at every opportunity to help her, regardless of the cost to her marriage and family. NO. This just wouldn’t happen. The characters’ running motto should be: “Make stupid choices whenever possible.”

Pacing. No pregnancy has ever felt so long in the history of pregnancy.

Plot. I liked the plot well enough, but I could see pretty much every major reveal and how this would play out from very early on, so there was no “KAPOW!” moment that’s so fun in thrillers.

Despite that list of issues, I was still engaged with the story from start to finish, the writing itself is quite good, and for a debut, it’s a really solid effort to build from. I have no doubt Faulkner will work out the hiccups from this one and have even better books to offer in the future, and I’ll be in line for them! Be sure to check out other reviews before deciding on this. Plenty of readers are loving it!

★★★ ½

A great debut psychological thriller! The story is told from 3 POVs (3 siblings & their partners) There is a woman becoming entangled in their lives that may just be the downfall of this family! Interestingly enough, I didn't really find any of the MCs particularly likeable, but the excellent writing and story made up for that. Had some twists and turns I did not see coming, and the end....wow! It's a fast paced read that kept me up until the early morning hours. I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes psychological thrillers/domestic thrillers!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for a honest review!

If you are looking for your next psychological thriller, Greenwich Park is a great option! The novel is told from three different points of view, and I was immediately sucked in to the storyline. While the plot is definitely slow to unfold, in the first few chapters you realize that you may be potentially dealing with one (or more!) unreliable narrators so it keeps you guessing. I began to catch on to most of the plot twists by the second half of the book, but there were plenty of red herrings to keep me questioning my instincts!

This book was unique in that I actually didn’t find any the characters to be particularly likeable, but the multiple POV and plot twists kept me interested and engaged in reading it.

I am very impressed that this is Katherine Faulkner’s debut novel - I will definitely be reading anything she writes in the future!

I tried to like Greenwich Park. The beautiful cover of this book is what drew my attention to it at first but it failed to hold my attention for very long. Thanks to author Katherine Faulkner, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for an honest review.