3.5 stars -I thought this was a good twisty debut that held my interest throughout. Slightly different from how the blurb reads but that didn’t make a huge difference.

This book was sent to me by Netgalley on Kindle for review. Character driven with some likeable people in the book. Try it. A quick read.

I tore through Greenwich Park, a page-turner that combines a domestic thriller with a satisfying jaunt through posh British upper middle class that includes home remodeling, drinks parties and Cambridge memories. Greenwich Park centers around a group of siblings and their college friends who then become spouses. The relationships are complicated and complex but its the longhand secrets that hold them together. And ultimately tear them apart. Well plotted and well paced. Enjoyed very much.

Quick Synopsis: Helen is pregnant, bored, and feeling alone until she meets fellow mother-to-be, Rachel. Rachel is in need of a friend and quickly inserts herself into Helen’s life. The events that transpire soon after force Helen to question whether their friendship was a coincidence or if Rachel had ulterior motives all along.

Thoughts: I love a good book with alternating character POV and never knowing who to trust. Although I felt like Helen was a bit too naive and trusting sometimes, overall I really felt for her. Daniel, her husband, is a total piece of crap who neglects his pregnant wife and does nothing but argue with her when he is around. Rachel is a total nut case from the start but by the end you have no choice but to feel for her as well and understand why she is the way she is. A little slow to start, but once things got rolling I had a hard time putting this one down. Every time you think you have it figured out, Faulkner throws a wrench in your theory. A great read that keeps you guessing until the last page. Can’t wait to pick up a physical copy once it’s released this fall!

Mystery woman Rachel turns up. She interrupts the lives of Helen and Daniel, who are about to have their first baby.

As the story progresses, Rachel turns out to be a mystery. Her past is sketchy at best. The reader eventually finds out why she attaches herself to Helen and those close to her.

This book was more suspenseful than I initially thought! Amazingly written and intriguing for a debut novel.

Greenwich Park is the author’s debut novel. The premise of this book was intricate, involved, and utterly unpredictable. The story is told through the view points of the three women in the family, Helen, Serena (Helen’s sister-in-law), and Katie (Helen’s brother’s girlfriend). Helen is the primary narrator, but Serena and Katie fill in very important detail for the reader. Helen and Serena are both pregnant and their relationship seems strained, at best. It takes the majority of the book to make sense of why.

I loved the character development. Helen was far from my favorite lead character, I wanted to yell at her several times, but she was complicated and nuanced, as were the other players in the book as well. The husbands/boyfriend of each of the female narrators are also intertwined in ways not really thought possible. Several times I thought I knew where the story was going, but I was wrong multiple times. If you like complex thrillers, this is the book for you!

Trigger Warning: Pregnancy and infant loss

Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher through Net Galley. All opinions are my own. Greenwich Park is set to be released in September of 2021!

A fantastic debut novel — I’ll be anxiously awaiting this author’s next work!

Helen is finally in her second trimester with her rainbow baby — after numerous losses, she and her husband are anxiously awaiting the birth. They’re renovating their gorgeous home, Daniel is thriving in the family architecture business, and her beloved sister in law is even pregnant at the same time! She begins prenatal classes and meets Rachael, a young single mom that is living a flighty, untethered life. She seems to see Rachael everywhere around town, so the two fall into an unlikely friendship. Helen seems to see more and more of Rachael and eventually wants some space — which is where everything begins to go wrong. Will Helen get the happily-ever-after that she believes is coming?

I found this book fast-paced, thrilling, and a bit heartbreaking. I found myself irritated with Rachael, cheering for Helen — despite some of her flaws — and anxiously awaiting the arrival of the babies. I did anticipate some of the thrills, but I was quite surprised by the end. Superb! A writer to watch.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

B o o k R e v i e w

🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner

I was a bit between a 3 & 4 with this book, but the many twists and turns helped me quickly settle on a 4! Greenwich Park is a thriller that really kept me guessing to the very last chapter. You think you have it figured out, but the author did a great job slowly revealing the plot, which I loved!! Also, who doesn’t love to read about huge beautiful houses in London?!

This thriller is based out of London & follows the children of a famous architect, Helen, Rory & Charlie. The story is told from the women’s point of view, everyone leading seemingly perfect lives in their beautiful large houses. Of course, things are never perfect. When Rachel comes into the picture out of nowhere, inserting herself into Helen’s life, things start to unravel. Why is Rachel so obsessed with this family? I recommend picking this up on September 7th when it releases!

Thank you NetGalley for this gifted copy! 💚

Slow paced the first half, moves a bit quicker the second half. I’d suggest this one to anyone looking for a new genre and one to help ease into it.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. I literally couldn’t put this book down and finished in one reading. A mom meets a new friend in prenatal class and they become fast friends. Then it turns into a sinister friendship where intentions might not be what they seem. This page turner has a lot of twists and turns to an end I did not see coming. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a fun read, or at least the second half was. I get that the first half was setting the scene, but it definitely felt slow at times. For the most part, I didn’t find any of the characters all that likable, but I didn’t mind. I think it worked for this particular story. I also was able to guess about 95% of the “twists”, but at the same time it didn’t ruin the story for me. I felt like the author was leaving clues and as long as you followed everything then you could guess what was happening and what had happened.

After reading the summary and seeing so many glowing reviews, I was excited to read Greenwich Park. But unlike some of reviewers, the pacing didn't work for me. I need a thriller to hook me in the first few chapters, and this one didn't. I'm glad others really like it, but I just couldn't get into it.

Quick twisty read where you figure out what happens but you’re pleased with yourself for figuring it out. The pacing was a bit scattered at parts but still a good read.

Okay, this was SO good. I absolutely blasted through it—it kept me up at night, interrupted my workday. I finished it in 24 hours. Great twists and turns, intriguing characters (though perhaps overly focused on Helen), and a genuinely fun twist at the end. Highly recommend if you like mysteries & thrillers.

This novel pleasantly surprised me. I was intrigued, roped in, searching for clues, hypothesizing what would happen and who would do it. Reminded me of twisty plots of Paula Hawkins and Ruth Ware. Suddenly insert a pregnant woman, Rachel, into the lives of two couples and the story takes off. Rachel becomes the catalyst of the plot which is complicated, historically caused, and involves affairs and secrets of the past and present. But who was with whom and when? And why did Rachel just happen to arrive in these lives? That’s the intrigue.
At some point the reader recognizes that there are subtle clues being given. What’s the crime? Who is responsible? Ah, I know and in the next chapter—nope I didn’t! A solid and intriguing read with relatable characters with plausible flaws. It will capture you and keep you reading. WARNING: Don’t read the end first, it would take away the fun.

I rarely ever do this, but this was a DNF for me. The pacing was off and the writing was so bad! There's one line in particular where Helen says, "My heart feels full of blood." Um...it's supposed to be full of blood?!
Not sure how it has 4-5 stars rating based on that alone. I'm glad other people were able to enjoy this book, but it wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m writing this review at 1am despite having to be up at 4:30am. I should have gone to bed hours ago but I had to stay up and finish it because it was just THAT good! I read this book in one sitting because I needed to know what happened and it is the type of book that sucks you in from page one and keeps your attention every page until the end. Great characters, great story, great writing... Loved this book and highly recommend it!

I’m actually editing my review a week later, to add a little more which is something I’ve never done before but felt I needed to. I needed a new book to read and was just looking for other books by the author since I enjoyed this one so much when I found out that this was her very first book and I’m even more blown away now! I have definitely read more psychological thrillers than the average person and I’ve never read one where I truly thought, for sure, that every single character was guilty at one point or another. The way the story developed and came together was brilliant and I will definitely be on the lookout for her future books!

This is an excellent book. It is told from several viewpoints but mainly.
well paced mystery which kept me guessing throughout and the final reveal came together really well, with a well written climactic scene.
Really loved this book! Not bad for a debut author!

This story focuses on siblings, Helen and her brothers, Rory and Charlie, and their spouses, Daniel, Serena and Charlie's journalist girlfriend Katie.

Helen meets Rachel at a prenatal class. At first Helen is unsure of her, Rachel drinks and smokes and certainly doesn't act like a mother-to-be. After this, Rachel starts to show up in Helen's everyday life. Helen is lonely so she starts to befriend her. But before long, things get out of control. What does Rachel really want and why is she always around and turning up wherever Helen goes?

This was an incredible debut, I had a hard time putting it down. It was filled with many secrets and lies that kept me glued to the pages as I read. Although I wasn't crazy about any of the characters, I absolutely loved the brilliant ending!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book started strong and I ended up crushing through it in less than two days. I just had to know what was happening and needed answers immediately!

What I liked a lot about this book is that it wasn’t creepy or gross. However it was suspenseful, just in a less stressful way than many thrillers I’ve read in the past. I don’t personally enjoy really graphically gory books or ones that are so tense I can’t sleep, so this was a win for me in those categories.

It was also a fast and compelling read and even though it didn’t end as strongly as it started, I still really enjoyed the entire book. I can easily recommend this for mystery/thriller lovers.