Louise Candlish knows how to write a thriller! The suspense builds up from the start and I always enjoy when there are multiple points of view. I found it a slight bit too slow at times but it did pick up and I was more invested near the end.

She's done it again! Was happy to include this book in my latest “Thrills and Chills” round-up for Zoomer magazine, highlighting winter’s best suspense and mystery reads. (see mini-review at link)

As a fan of female written thrillers, The Heights by Louise Candlish offers a fresh format. Written as an “article” with highlights from multiple narrators, the story truly centres around the death of Ellen and Vic’s son Lucas. It is at times a story about unconditional love of a child, and at others obsession and revenge. The first-person narrative help set up the twists in this story along with the commentary by the author of the article that highlights the writing of the book by Ellen as part of a writing class. The City of London and modern skyline along the Thames near the Shard is a critical character in this story. At times a symbol of success, and at others a place of darkness. The story starts out by revealing that Ellen is responsible for the killing of Kieran Watts who she sees through the window of an exclusive building. How can it be? This is the catalyst that takes the reader back in time to when Kieran was introduced to the family and how he was involved in the death of Lucas. Never to be forgiven. At times, it is difficult to understand and empathize with Ellen’s character, but when Vic’s voice provides additional context, critical pieces of the story are revealed. This story was anything but predictable, and will leave you guessing even when you finally know what happens. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading this book from the multiple POV's in the storyline. A story of obsession, loathing. revenge, and a cat and mouse type vibe. I really enjoyed learning about Ellen's past and what lead her to the decisions she has made in life and what made her who she is today. A read I would recommend.

⭐️ Review ⭐️

The Heights, Louise Candlish

Tragedy. Heart break. Obsession. Revenge.

Just when Ellen Saint thought she was finally able to move on from the events that turned her life upside down (no spoilers, right?), she glances out of a client’s window over to a neighboring building, called the Heights, and sees a familiar figure she never thought she’d see again. He is supposed to be dead.

And so the story unfolds with multiple points of view - the past events that got Ellen and her family where they are, Ellen in memoir writing mode, Vic (the ex husband) and a journalist covering Ellen’s story.

This is a slow burn thriller until part 4. That last section takes off and reveals some twisty turns, as often happens in thrillers.

If you like Candlish thrillers, this one is true to form; a thriller that digs into deeper themes, in this case, family, parenting, love, grief, obsession and what you would do if you were pushed to the edge.

My honest opinion is that none of the characters are really likable. They are well created and told…they’re just not likable people. Be ware if that is something you look for.

The Heights by Louise Candlish is one of those twisty and misleading family dramas with a strong dose of mysterious goings-on. Not much can be revealed about the excellent plot as, no matter what the reader perceives, there will be many curves along the telling of this story. Therein the reader finds parent-child relationships, ex-spouses’ connections, crimes, mental illness and all forms of love. Louise Candlish has put together a wonderful group of characters: some will frustrate, some will confuse but all appear real in the scope of most troubled families. The reader is led astray many times along the way. You will not figure out the ending until the literal last word. I found myself reading quite slowly so as to appreciate this very original mystery. If you are searching for a book with a difference, this one certainly fits the bill. I will most assuredly be reading more Candlish novels. Highly recommended. Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Usually this authors books pull me right in.
This one was slow for me and I had a hard time sticking with it. I did finish it finally as it did get better, the beginning was just very slow to me.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

I have mixed emotions on this book. I think from reading the synopsis, I imagined the story to be different in my mind than what it ended up being. However, I will say that this story does pull you in and make you want to understand exactly how unreliable Ellen's story is and what exactly happened to Lucas all those years ago. While this wasn't my favourite thriller book, it was definitely a quick and fast paced read.

Louise Candlish latest novel The Heights will keep you at the edge of your seat.

This is a story all about obsession and revenge, Ellen Saint becomes obsessed with revenge when her son is killed. This novel was totally riveting. The story is told from several points of view. The back and forth between Ellen and Vic was captivating the twists and turns kept coming until the nail-biting conclusion.

Thank you #netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 *rounded up to 4 stars

This story of Ellen's hatred is a very slow burn. I really struggled to become invested in this story and the plot. It felt like for a majority of the book I couldn't see past Ellen's emotions of disgust and loathing. I found myself frequently putting this book down because it wasn't a real pager turner for me. The twists and final 25% were redemptive.

I usually appreciate the multiple POV plot and I liked the different skewing of perspectives here. Vic's portion however was very slow.

This was my first introduction to this author and I remain interested enough to read her backlist if I come across them. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance e-copy.

Ellen Saint is at a client meeting when a man on the rooftop of a nearby building catches her attention. Kieran’s a bit older now, his appearance changed but she knows it’s him and she can’t believe it. He’s supposed to be dead because she’s the one that did it.

I loved the author’s previous book The Other Passenger so was very excited to read her latest. The synopsis on the book is a bit more vague than how I’ve summarized it here in my review, yet I also don’t want to say too much and give away anything.

Mostly told from Ellen’s POV, we get to know this woman who designs lighting in buildings, has a debilitating fear of heights (specifically the fear of the urge to jump), and a mother of two who is not too pleased, to say the least, at her son’s school for pairing him up with the new foster kid in town. Immediately she gets a bad feeling about the new boy, Kieran, who she finds rude, abrasive and disrespectful. Her concerns are validated when she notices her son fall under Kieran’s spell and his behaviour starts to change as well. She becomes fixated and obsessed with Kieran and how he has ruined the peaceful dynamic of her family.

I found the story a little slow to get going, but understanding that it was setting the scene to lead to what Ellen would ultimately do. I appreciated the method of storytelling – with Ellen writing her memoir – which lends itself well to seeing the world through her eyes and really getting readers to understand her intense obsession on what she believed to be the crux of all things that have gone wrong in her life. Her immense helplessness and desperation to try and remove this bad influence from their life leads her down a dark path. Because of this playing out in Ellen’s words, it was also interesting to see the privilege and disdain for the less privileged come through in her “own” words via the memoir. Despite Ellen’s surname, it was truly the people in her life that are the saints. To me, she did not come across as likeable at all and I commend the others for being such good support systems to her. (Her husband lives up to that name!)

Overall I did enjoy how this played out, especially once it hit part 2. Louise Candlish has quickly become a must-read for me, I find her thrillers have a unique aspect to the story that throws the usual genre tropes slightly askew.

The height of suspense…

I read my first Louise Candlish book last year, and after this one she’s now made my auto-buy list.
There are 3 POVs in this book:

🙋🏼‍♀️ Ellen - she’s a lighting specialist for London rich bitches. She’s consulting in a posh highrise and she sees a man on a terrace in the building next door. He looks a bit different, but she’s convinced it’s Kieran, the man she killed two years ago. Her POV bounces from 2017, 2019 and 2021. Oh and she has a fear of heights … you know that will be worked in.

💁🏻‍♂️ Vic - He used to date Ellen. They had a son together, Lucas, when they were in college. Now, twenty years later, they’ve both moved on and started new families while remaining united coparents. That is until a traumatic event brings them back together and closer than ever. Vic’s POV is told from “then” and “now.”

📰 Sunday Times Magazine - we get snippets of a true crime style article writted from December 2021 throughout the novel. It gives us glimpses into Ellen and her story.

The first part of the book focuses on why Ellen hates Kieran and the lead up to his murder. I gasped out loud when I read the inciting incident that sets her plan in motion.

The second part drags a bit with Vic’s POV. A lot of his “then” storylines we already know via Ellen’s chapters. His sections explain why Kieran is still alive, but it takes too long IMO.

BUT the ending!! Wow this is a good one. You know there is a showdown coming between Ellen and Kieran, and the suspense had me swiping furiously to find out what happens. You think you know, then Candlish is like nope, I’m going to slap you with a vertigo finale.

This book was slow going for me, all the characters were unlikeable, and I felt there was very little character development. It was told in an interesting format though, and from a couple of different POVs which helped. It wasn’t for me, but I can see how others may enjoy it more.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC

Loved this book! Louise Candlish has a way of making you think you know what's coming, but then delivers twists and turns that aren't quite what you expected but even better than you imagined.

Well, I found The Heights to be a pretty intense read. Although filled with unlikable characters from the beginning (Kieran! Lucas!) I was so intrigued to stick through the pretty slow burn of Part 1 and then flew through parts 2-4.
I am not a mother, and even I really struggled reading a lot of what was told from Ellen’s perspective. I know this book won’t be for everyone (my own mum didn’t like it and gave up part way through!) but I’m glad I stuck with it and saw how the story was able to unravel. There are definitely no shortages of twists, turns and surprises in this one! Candlish writes well and was able to capture my attention (even in parts I found difficult to push through), finishing this read this in less than a day!
Big thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada as well as Atria Books for this ARC!
3.5/5 rounded up

Absolute page turner. I burned through this book. Louise Candlish has an amazing poetic yet real and relatable writing style.

Highly recommended.

Helen takes an immediately dislike to her son's new friend. Over the years she watches them grow until a tragic accident.
I disliked the characters in this story and found Helen to be an annoying person, I realize the intensity of the story but found it a bit overbearing. That is just my personal opinion, others may love it.

This was a seriously slow burn, a little painfully slow and it felt long. It was hard for me to get invested into the story and I contemplated DNF'ing it at a few points... kind of wish I had..
While it did pick up once I got to part 2 and we got to see Vic's perspective, instead of Ellen's, it still didn't have me super invested in their story. The ending was generally predictable expect for 1-2 small parts.
Huge thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Simon and Schuster Canada for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I really liked The Heights, a novel of revenge, grief and obsession. The story asks just how far you would go to seek justice for a loved one and what costs you are willing to assume to right a wrong. I was pulled into the story quite quickly and, as the story unfolded, I became more and more engaged. In fact, I stayed up late not being able to put the book down!

There are many things that I liked about this novel. There were some unexpected turns to the plot which were really good.and the last part of the book had some well-executed surprises and twists and a satisfying ending. The main character was fascinating in an almost “I can’t look away” type of way - she evoked many emotions for me. This is an intense, dark psychological suspense novel which is well-executed.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada and Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Although I have enjoyed other titles by Louise Candlish, I struggled to get through The Heights. It reads easily but it didn’t keep me engaged enough to not keep putting it down. A mother’s anguish and need for revenge is a very distressing subject matter.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for the opportunity to read this ARC.