This is such a good book for a debut novel. It is paced with twists and turns. This is so compelling and addictive. It did feel a little bit too long but otherwise no complaints

I LOVED this read.

It took me a bit to start it, as I was reading other books. Now I regret not reading it sooner! This is a true psychological thriller. With twists & turns & red herrings galore.

It kept me guessing til the end, which doesn’t happen often.

I highly recommend this read!

Clemmie is devastated that her beloved little sister has committed suicide. She is shocked and bewildered that she didn’t know Poppy as well as she thought. Then things didn’t seem to add up….. I liked it, found it easy to get into and read. But it did seem to be stuck in a groove a lot of the time. Too many, FAR too many mentions that Clemmie didn’t answer her sister’s calls that night. The premise was great even though it was predictable but at least it wasn’t pretentious in any way. A great read for anyone who likes fishy tales because this book had a whole shoal of red herrings!

Really enjoyed this book and I read it in one sitting. Lots of twists and turns and a gripping plot. I'm new to the author but will definitely look out for more from them.

I'm always eager to try the work of first time writers, so was excited to read "The Edge".

This debut novel touches upon many difficult themes such as confirmation bias, suicide, misogyny, self-reproach, and guilt.

When Clemmie's younger sister Poppy is found dead at the bottom of a Sussex cliff, everyone believes it to be suicide. Clemmie though, has doubts. Her lovely, vibrant sister would never do such a thing as take her own life. Clemmie travels back home to England from her life in Boston where she is studying science at Harvard.

The inquest into Poppy's death brings an official verdict of suicide. Still, Clemmie, does not agree. She begins volunteering at a crisis hot-line, where she talks to other family members of suicide victims. One man in particular, Daniel, has also had a sister who died of supposed suicide. He too, does not believe the verdict. Clemmie and Daniel join forces to prove what they believe to be true... that their sisters were murdered. No one will listen to their claims and people think that they are distraught through grief and not thinking clearly. They persevere, gathering evidence to back their belief.

This novel was a bit longer that I thought it needed to be. The first half moved along at quite a snail's pace, but it picked up considerably in the second half. For a very intelligent woman, Clemmie made some very ill-considered choices and the story was repetitive at times.

The author very cleverly includes several red herrings, so that suspicion was cast on several of the characters, making the ending reveal all the more satisfying.

This novel would make an excellent movie. Keeping in mind that this is the author's debut, it was a sound and commendable plot. I would read more work from this author.

3.5 stars rounded up for NetGalley and Amazon - rounded down for Goodreads where the star values differ.

Clemmie is struggling with the suicide of her sister. Poppy had tried to call her the night it happened and Clemmie had ignored the call. She cannot believe that her beautiful sister would do this.

Whilst Clemmie is volunteering at a suicide helpline Daniel calls to talk about the suicide of his sister, although he is adamant she was the victim of foul play and has proof that she was pushed. Could the same thing have happened to Poppy?

This story kept me hooked, I cannot believe this is the author's debut novel and I will be looking forward to her next book.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Fabulous!! This was a great story which I could not put down. Would recommend this to everyone who loves this genre.

I’m upset I’ve put this book off for so long. This is unbelievable - could not put it down - so many emotions. 10/10 recommend. I felt like I was right there with Clementine the whole way - feeling all the emotions and going crazy trying to figure out who her sisters murderer was. The writing just in general was phenomenal. Fantastic debut and I can’t wait to read more books from Lucy Goacher!

This was such a fun and thrilling read! Was captivated from the beginning and the twists had my jaw on the floor!!

Absolutely loved reading this book
Had me hooked from the first page and I didn’t want to put it down
First book by this author but definitely won’t be the last
Thanks NetGalley

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this book. I enjoyed this story and it is very impressive as a first novel from Lucy Goacher. Excited to see what she produces in the future.

Firstly I would like to say Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this before release.
It was an excellent read. Had me hooked throughout.
Would highly recommend.

I don't even know where to start. I felt like I was at the edge of my seat the whole time! There will be part where you have your suspicious of what is going on but the plot twist is really good!

Get ready to love/hate this! the phycological war is insane, and the betrayal!! OMG.

Lucy did an amazing job! can't wait to read more of her work.

Hard to believe The Edge is the debut novel from this author! Great plot, a lot of twists, can't wait to read more from Lucy Goacher!

This book was wow!! It was really good. I was not expecting this book to be as good as it was. I could not put this down. I had to read it until the book was done. Even then I didn’t want it to end. I will be reading more books by this author.

This is tense, gripping and completely addictive. I have felt as though I have been watching the events of this one play out. This is realistic and believable, guaranteed to send shivers down the spine of the reader.

This has been completely unpredictable and been a book I have devoured. I literally thought I had this figured out then BANG, a twist thrown in that completely pulls the floor from under you.

This book was a pleasant surprise. I went in completely blind and it kept my attention throughout. There were a lot of times when I thought I had things figured out and I was accusing all sorts of characters of being the “bad guy” but in the end was surprised by the outcome.
My only gripe is I feel like there was a lot of build up and the ending felt a bit rushed. Overall a great read though.

★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)

Who pushed her sister...and is she next?

“I didn’t check the voicemail until the next morning, after I already knew she was dead. The sound of it taunts me again: wind on a phone receiver; the churning of waves. Silence.
Whatever she wanted to say to me, she never got the chance. Her last words died with her.”

This is a debut? Seriously? But it is soooo good! THE EDGE has all the hallmarks of an accomplished writer who has already made their mark on the genre. It is gripping, it is intense, it is pacy and it is skillfully plotted with twists and red herrings that leave you questioning who to trust...

Clementine Harris has returned from her studies in the US after the death of her sister Poppy, whose body was found on the beach below Hope Gap after a dogwalker came across her phone and backpack on the cliff's edge. An open and shut case, Poppy's death was ruled as a suicide. And Clementine accepts that but she blames herself. Because Poppy had tried three times to contact her on that last day and she ignored all of her attempts. What if she could have stopped her? What did she want to say in that last phone call before she jumped? She will never know because she never answered it.

So now, Clementine volunteers at a helpline for those who want to talk, who need to talk, to help talk them down from the edge. To be there, to be a voice in the night (or day) at the other end of a phone...to listen. If she couldn't do that for Poppy, at least she can do that for someone else. It's there she meets fellow helpline colleague Jude, who sketches out his callers as he pictures them whilst talking to them. He is sympathetic and caring but Clementine tend to shut down to the hands of friendship extended to her. She does with housemate Liam, with his exuberant pink hair, who does everything in his power to get her out of herself and to live!

She gets a call one night from a man whose sister had died two years before, having been ruled as a suicide. But he believes different. He knew his sister and she was murdered. But no one believes him, no one will listen to him writing him off as delusional. And now he can't imagine a life without his sister in it. But at the other end of the line, Clementine tries her best to talk him down...and fails. Or at least, she thinks she has. But if someone has decided to take their lives, they have already made that decision and nothing you can say will change that. But Clementine feels this failure as much as she did when she heard of Poppy's suicide.

When the inquest draws a line under Poppy's death, ruling it as suicide, Clementine thinks that's it. She had expected closure but all she has are more unanswered questions. She takes herself off to a suicide bereavement support group where she meets newcomer Daniel. And something in him, and his story, resonates with her. This chance meeting then throws into question everything she thought she knew about Poppy's death. Maybe Poppy didn't take her life. Maybe she was pushed... And if she was, then who pushed her? And why? What did sweet, sunny, smiling Poppy do to make someone want to kill her?

So Clementine and Daniel go in search of answers into their respective sisters' deaths to see if they can dig up any new information, anything that will cast doubt to it being suicide and pointing towards murder. Someone somewhere must have seen something, known something...surely? But as she investigates it seems every obstacle is being thrown in her path, which begs the question...does she know the killer already?

For the rest of my life, I won't be able to trust any man – because any man could be him."

If this is indeed fact...then who could he be?

THE EDGE is an intense psychological thriller that is at times heavy in subject matter. The story unfolds from Clementine's perspective with the odd inclusion of a random woman that will all make sense by the end. It begins with Poppy in the prologue with various others peppered throughout. Who are these women and what do they have to do with the story? Well, it's not hard to figure out but it does add another dimension to an already complex mystery.

There are a handful of characters within Clementine's life that could be the villain and, as a scientist who deals in hard facts, she carefully and methodically lists everything surrounding Poppy's death and gathers whatever evidence she can. But the closer she gets the more obstacles in her path. And pretty soon, she begins to doubt just about everyone. She can't trust any of them because it could be any of them!

As readers, we are given a handful of suspects and by a process of elimination, are we able to figure it out? I had two solid suspects, owing to Clementine's theory about the killer - which I won't reveal but it does give you cause to really look at everyone. And it was by that theory that I eliminated one of them on that very basis. But it did ruin the twist at the end that I had already figured out by this point. Lucy Goacher threw in a ton of red herrings to throw you off track but I would not be swayed.

THE EDGE is compelling and complex but an addictive read that will have you turning the pages. My only complaint is that it was a little long and dragged a little in places but as a debut, it totally rocks. I felt the similarities to John Marrs' "The Good Samaritan" in part, particularly with the mention of Beachy Head (a paramount location to Marrs' climax) and yet it was different. The chemistry between Clementine and each of the male counterparts was intense. Even the scenes with her parents were.

Overall, THE EDGE is fantastic debut psychological thriller. It is addictive, complex, dark, gripping, intense...everything I love in a thriller. I'd certainly be interested to see what the author offers us next.

I would like to thank #LucyGoacher, #Netgalley and #AmazonPub for an ARC of #TheEdge in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

Great debut. This one was really exciting to read. It didn’t have the fastest pace but it wasn’t slow either, most of the time I felt like it was happening in real time.

I liked the characters, and how there were some chapters scattered around giving us glimpses to the other victims and how they’ve fallen for the killer’s ruse, but what I most liked about this book was the constant back and forth I had with the possible suspects. It definitely kept me on my toes, I could never look away for a second for fear of losing a breadcrumb that could be the key to the mystery. And I loved that. I might’ve had some more questions and doubts in the end as to the how of things, but I’m gonna let that slide because the ride was so good.

Highly recommended if you like serial killer stories where you try and solve the case with the main character who isn’t police. Definitely worth checking out more from this author in the future.

📚: The Edge by Lucy Goacher
⭐️: 2.5/5 (rounding down on #goodreads)

Clementine is back home in London, grieving her little sister, Poppy’s, untimely death. The court ruled it a suicide - but Clementine has the nagging feeling that it wasn’t. And as she gets closer to the truth, it seems like no one around her can be trusted anymore.

Don’t let the same day read fool you, this was a tough read. The first half felt verrrrryyyyy drawn out (I picked it up and put it down several times today). Honestly, I found myself skimming through parts to try to keep this read going.

By the second half, the pace picks up, paranoia around all of the central characters is there, and I felt like it was leading up to a big, redeeming twist.

And then the ending ultimately is what I guessed 25% of the way in. (With a bit of a twist, but not one large enough to be satisfying.) Overall, not the thriller for me.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer (Amazon Publishing UK) via @netgalley for the digital copy. The Edge is out now.

TW: suicide