My favorite thriller of the year thus far is the novel, Greenwich Park by debut author, Katherine Faulkner. An engrossing tale of domestic and psychological suspense, this one had me turning pages until late into the night.
Helen’s life appears to be idyllic, she has a handsome and successful husband, a lovely home in the upscale London suburb of Greenwich Park, a close circle of longtime friends and after four miscarriages a pregnancy that seems to be going perfectly. However, all of that changes the day she attends her first prenatal class and meets mom to be, Rachel. Confident and dynamic, Rachel is a force of nature. At first Helen is intoxicated by the breath of fresh air Rachel infuses into her life, but soon she begins to show up every place that Helen goes and she claims to know things that Helen doesn’t remember. Eventually, even Helen’s family and friends become concerned by the situation and it becomes increasingly apparent that Rachel is not what or who she appears to be. Who is Rachel and what does she want? As Rachel insinuates herself more deeply Helen’s life, secrets tightly guarded for years begin to bubble to the surface with catastrophic results.
Told from multiple perspectives and shifts in time, Faulkner manages to construct a tale that is at once complex and yet easy to follow. The shifting narratives keeps the reader off balance and you are never quite sure which character is telling the truth. This sophisticated and character driven thriller begins as a slow burn but quickly picks up in pace and the suspense continually increases until it reaches a fever pitch that leaves the reader desperate to know the final answer to the puzzle. As with any good thriller Faulkner leaves enough bread crumbs along the way to keep the reader engaged but is also is able to shock and surprise with twists and turns you will not see coming. This is a story that took me someplace I hadn’t expected to go and I loved every second of the journey. And just when it appears that all the secrets had been revealed, the last line of the novel reveals a twist that you will not see coming and that will leave you thinking about it for years afterward

Relationships, pregnancy, public face/private secrets,

“Greenwich Park” opens with a question; “Dear Helen, what did you do that day, after I was convicted?” The story unfolds in Helen Thorpe’s first-person present tense narrative, so readers get to know her well. She shares what she thinks and feels. She reminisces, remembers, evaluates, and judges. Her home is being remodeled, and she just left her job on maternity leave. This is not her first pregnancy; the others did not end well. At her first prenatal class she befriends Rachel, a young girl who arrives alone. Chapters then count upward from 24 weeks until the arrival of Helen’s baby is imminent.

There are also alternate chapters in other voices, friends, and relatives. The narrative is filled with everyday activities and family get-togethers; however, there are always casual mentions of things that happened “before,” echoes of a traumatic past “something.” Katie Wheeler’s story also unfolds in a present tense narrative. She is covering a high-profile rape trial with prominent defendants. The victim has been vilified on social media, and Kate desperately wants to talk to her. There is yet another voice, an alternate present tense voice, quite different, in Greenwich Park, watching, commenting, continuing to watch.

Faulkner creates a narrative that starts innocently enough with a family and a friendship, but it takes a gradual turn; many things are not what they seem to be. Several secrets are buried in the past, traumatic ones, and they come bubbling to the surface. I received a review copy of “Greenwich Park” from Katherine Faulkner, Gallery Books, and Simon & Schuster. Things might seem to be over, but they are not and may never be truly over.

I enjoy reading psychological thrillers and, after I kept hearing about this novel, I decided I needed to read it and see for myself if it lived up to the hype. It was definitely worth reading and very well done for a first novel by this author. The characters were well developed and the plot was pieced together nicely so that the novel flowed smoothly. I am unfamiliar with England, but the description of the various settings were detailed enough that I was able to visualize what was happening.

Each chapter was narrated by different characters, allowing the reader to be presented with multiple perspectives of what was happening. This helped to hook me into the story more and make connections with multiple characters.

There were twists within this novel, as there usually are with psychological thrillers. However, I was able to anticipate most of what happened, so it didn't have that shock value that I look forward to when reading a thriller. I do appreciate the way the author chose to end the book though.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel and give it 4 out of 5 stars. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future.

Thank you to #NetGalley for an ARC of #GreenwichPark by #KatherineFaulkner in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the idea of this book and think I will give the author another shot, but the book was too long. It felt like it dragged, I wasn't entirely sure I particularly liked any of these characters.

The cover was the best part about this book-- should have been shorter, hated all the characters and not even in the "love to hate way."

This is one of those books that I never really fully got into but kept reading to find out what happens.

*ARC provided via NetGalley

It took me a little bit to get into this book, but once I did, it didn't let me down. The characters all put their flaws on display, leading to a very twisted ending. It caught me by surprise, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I think Faulkner does a great job here of weaving different stories and suspense to lead to such a plot twist. It's always such a gift when an author can grip you there are the very end.

Wow! What a debut novel for Katherine Faulkner in Greenwich Park. Love her writing style. Could not put this one down and it kept me guessing until the very end! #NetGalley

Thank you Netgalley and Gallery Books for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I had higher hopes for this book. I enjoyed it and it was a page turner, but I'm still kind of scratching my head. It went sideways at some point, but I'm still deciding where.

This story is told in alternating timelines by three different women, Helen, Katie and Seren, all three of which are somewhat unreliable narrators. Helen has two brothers, Rory and Charlie and a husband named Daniel. Helen, Daniel, Rory and Serena studied at Cambridge University together and upon Helen, Rory and Charlie's parents untimely death, Rory and Daniel are left the family business. Rory and Serena marry and youngest brother Charlie has a high school sweetheart, Katie, that he keeps running back to. Confused? Yes. I was too. Then, throw in a mysterious woman named Rachel and you've got Greenwich Park.

Don't get me wrong, this is a good book. I just think the author tried the shock factor too much and the story got muddled. The book was not predictable. I thought I knew where things were going a few times and man, was I wrong. I liked the plot twists, I just thought the story lacked clarity in places. I found myself confused more frequently than I should have been. All in all, it was enjoyable, but not memorable. Three stars.

Absolutely loved this! Well developed, interesting characters. Kept me guessing the entire time! This book will appeal to fans of thrillers and domestic fiction alike.

Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner is a thriller set in London. Helen is attending a pre-natal class where she meets Rachel. Rachel is loud and shuns all the “pregnancy rules.” As Rachel infiltrates aspects of Helen’s life, secrets threaten to come to light.

I enjoyed that the story was told from three different points of view with short chapters. I felt like this really kept the story moving. The chapters told from Katie were my favorite and I wish there would have been more from her point of view. This was a page-turner that I didn't want to put down with an ending I didn't see coming.

I wish Helen would have stood up for herself and questioned what was going on around her. I stopped reading thrillers for a long time because the unreliable female narrator felt very overdone and this book seemed to fall into that with Helen.

While I didn't see the ending coming, it was all tied up a bit too cleanly.

Overall this was a book I couldn't put down but won't rate as one of my favorites.

This book was a good one overall. I kept turning the pages and trying to figure out what happened next. My only issue is that it ended up too perfect and tidied up in the end.

An outstanding debut by Katherine Faulkner! Greenwich Park is told from multiple points of view and is full of twists and turns...like give you whiplash from all the twists and turns!

Of course it's set in an exclusive community with affluent couples and things are NOT at all what they seem. Why am I such a sucker for books about rich people....my poorness probably. Anyway. this debut novel focuses on the fragile nature of adult friendships and the impact a pregnancy and parenthood have on couples and their relationships.

The characters were mostly unlikeable but I did still root for the protagonist, flaws and all. This book held my attention, kept me guessing and had a VERY satisfying ending. Looks like I need to keep my eye on Faulkner, can't wait to see what she does next.

Thank you @gallerybooks and @netgalley for my digital copy of the book to review.

Greenwich Park is both a debut and a hyped up thriller, with a cover that took over bookstagram in the weeks leading up to its release. Katherine Faulkner writes about a woman who, after being abandoned at her first prenatal class, befriends another solo attendee. Soon, that other woman, Rachel, is involved in every aspect of Helen's life and what initially seemed like a new friend now feels like a threat that will tear her world apart. It's not a unique storyline, but it is a unique presentation of it and the downfall of the characters is fun to read.

I'm just going to come out and say it, Helen is an idiot. I know everyone really enjoyed it, but I could not get over the stupid choices she made. She allows herself to be walked all over and puts her boredom over the care of her body and unborn child. For such a good girl, she doesn't come across as good or honest at all. I just couldn't get past it and it impacted my entire read.

With multiple POVs, Greenwich Park is a suburban thriller that will leave you hesitant about new friends.

Couldn’t resist this debut thriller and I’m so glad I read it! An intermingling of long time friends and family, three quirky couples get wrapped up in a web of deceit and odd happenings which don’t fully come into focus until the last pages of the book.

I loved the twists and turns in this book and while some parts were more predictable than others, I stayed engaged all the way to the end.

Helen is a woman with a high risk pregnancy who has stopped work early. She attends her first prenatal class and is stood up by her husband and her sister-in-law who is also pregnant. She is left a bit vulnerable and finds herself drawn to a young woman in the group, Rachel. Rachel is not your picture perfect pregnant woman and no one seems to like her hanging around Helen. She seems to have a motive but Helen can't quite figure out what it is.

I would call this more of a mystery than a thriller and really the real mystery doesn't start until 2/3rds of the way through. The characters are pretty unlikable but I was interested in just why Rachel was so interested in this group of friends and then what happened to her. For a while, I thought, "oh this is predictable" But in the end there were a few elements that I hadn't predicted. I think I felt it was going to be predictable because there were good breadcrumbs along the way and the red herrings were not so garish as other modern "thrillers." The last chapter was absolutely perfect, if you think you know what's going on before that, you don't.

Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me advanced access to this novel. All opinions above are my own.

I sat down to read maybe a few chapters and got out of the chair when the book was finished. It kept me guessing to the end and none of my guesses were correct. The characters were complex and interesting--I wanted to know more about them and the pregnancies just made the story more involved. I dare anyone to begin this book and then put it down!

This was a great twisty turny debut read. It can be as good or better than Gone Girl. It follows three women during the last few weeks of pregnancy. Is someone cheating? Is someone really pregnant?

Thanks, Gallery Books and NetGalley.

YASSS QUEEN!

Katherine Faulkner makes a strong debut with Greenwich Park, a smart, twisty and addictive thriller with a quirky cast. Told from the perspective of three women — Helen, Katie and Serena — this well-paced story is overflowing with dark secrets, jealousy, troublesome men and dangerous women. And the best part — it kept me guessing until the very end.

This book far exceeded my expectations. Post-Gone Girl, thrillers experienced a huge surge in popularity. It’s been seven years since Gillian Flynn penned a new novel, and while the genre has introduced many good authors, few have lived up to Flynn's caliber of storytelling. Faulkner hits the mark. I cannot recommend this book enough. It’s five stars from me.

I’m looking forward to Faulkner’s next book. Let’s hope its another thriller.

Thank you Net Galley and Gallery Books for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you #Netgalley for this early copy!

Loved this! Finished in less than 24 hrs as I was intrigued in trying to piece together the many players involved in this story. Helen is pregnant after years of so many unsuccessful pregnancies. Helen attends a local labor class where she meets Rachel. A young single mom who quickly latches on to Helen. Helen who has struggled with mental health issues and trust, has a difficult time when she is pulled from work early and supposed to be relaxing prior to the baby arriving. Helen's husband works in architecture with her brother whose wife is also pregnant. We quickly come to learn that each person in this tight knight group has their own secrets they have been hiding, and they are all more intertwined than they even realized. Helen begins to question things and then her memory gets fuzzy, what was happening? Who should she trust? Should she keep digging when she knows she needs to stay calm to keep this baby healthy! The spins of this read keep you shocked until the very last pages.