Ellen was a helicopter mom, putting her life on hold while she catered to her children and in particular to son Lucas. Added to this was were some health issues and a phobia called high place phenomenon . Ellen had lots of baggage and when her mind was made up about anyone or anything she was not to be messed with. Most of her relationships suffered because of her inability to see anything from another perspective. All the characters in this book were flawed in a negative way whether they harboured revenge, hate , deceit, lack of compassion and integrity. The book was very slow at times . The ending had some drama but a little too late for me.

Wow page turner!! I liked the way this book is written. It’s a sad story about a family who lose their son Lucas. Vic & Ellen are Lucas’s parents. Ellen is married to Justin and they have a teen daughter together. Ellen, Justin & Vic get along well. Lucas becomes friends with Kieran who is a bit of a bad Apple. Things go bad from there. I don’t want to spoil the book but there are lots of twists and a surprise ending! Enjoy I read this very quickly as I couldn’t put it down.

A gripping page turner, from beginning to end!
I had no idea how it would end, and was pleased with the conclusion.
A book that left me wondering how i would cope in a similar situation.
i wish it had delved more into Ellen's past mental health - why did she have such a fear of heights?

I can't wait to read more books by Lousie Candish!

Thank you for the advanced copy

This hooked you in right from the start. There were times I hated Ellen but felt her pain, and could to a certain degree understand why she did certain things. Then a twist and well readers will just have to read it for themselves to find out.

Highly recommend

I read The Other Passenger over the summer and loved it so I was quick to request this from NetGalley. I didn't so much read this book as feel it. I felt the main characters pain at losing her son and the way she raged at the one she blamed for it. Ms. Candlish can write tension like no one else. Right away I was engrossed in this story of a mother's love for her child and the plot she devises to seek her revenge. There are a lot of characters in this story but really only two points of view, with the exception of a newspaper article. I loved how character driven the novel was BUT it also had an amazing plot and a pretty unique one at that. The author mentions that the novel gave her "In the Bedroom" vibes, I really enjoyed that film and have to agree completely.

I loved the flow of the story and how the author was able to give twists that were not expected. Can you feel sympathy for a person who is out to kill and destroy another human being? I did and that is a credit to the author's talented writing style. This is definitely a slow burner but in the best possible way...as the tension escalates it has you flipping pages...and that ending was just perfectly spectacular. This is my third book by Louise Candlish and they just keep getting better and better. She is now one of my favourite writers.

This is one slow burning psychological thriller about a mother’s revenge. Oh and there is nothing like a mother set on revenge for her son - she will literally stop at nothing. So it is with Ellen our protagonist. I really don’t want to give away any parts of the story but I honestly couldn’t put the book down. It is an entertaining story with twists and turns. I have always loved Louise Candlish and this doesn’t disappoint. Highly recommended
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

This was a bit hard going, because it was so miserable. I don't think any of the characters ever laughed. I found Ellen unlikeable, but also unreal - what were her hobbies? what did she like to eat? who were her friends? what books did she read? Her relationship with her ex, Vic, was well drawn, but I had little sense of her love for Lucas or Justin, and as for poor Freya, they seemed more like acquaintances than mother and daughter.

It picked up for me when Vic took over the narrative, and the first twist was pleasing, but after that it dragged and although there were further twists I found myself increasingly bored. By the end I wasn't really sure what the point of the book was. The framing device was a bit unnecessary, and it was obvious from early on where Ellen was attending her writing class. I never felt I really got a handle on what made Kieran tick, and there was so much ambiguity at the end that I wasn't sure exactly how much we were supposed to hold him responsible. Prisca was another person whose characterization was all over the place.

Disappointing and unremittingly dark. The blurb gives a false impression of what this book is like.