Gripped me from the start but lost me a little as it went on. There’s no explanation for what happened in the 20 year time gap between Then and Now chapters and I felt the ending to be a bit rushed and unexplained.
3.5/5 stars

Engaging and entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.

The third novel I've read by B.P.Walter.

This one is certainly darker, but with the same twists and turns I've begun to expect.

Oliver and Douglas are brothers in their early twenties when their parents decide they are all going for a holiday to Santorini. Whilst Douglas is an extrovert Oliver is the opposite, happy to sit on a beach and read whilst Douglas is off chasing female company. This is a very strange book but completely engrossing, I couldn’t put it down it was a compelling story with some very interesting characters and so well written. Told in two timelines, now and then, the latter in Santorini and 20 years apart.

Briefly, one day Oliver meets a stranger, Alastair, on the beach and immediately falls for his charm. Out one evening they meet Argento, a business friend of Oliver’s father. Argento invites the two friends to his island villa but instead of the lovely dinner they expected Oliver finds himself in a very dark place! In the present we meet up with Oliver again staying in a Wellness Centre, to help cure his addiction to prescription painkillers, when he see’s someone he never expected to see again…

A story about how choices made earlier in a life can determine your future. Where nothing and nobody is who they seem to be. It’s quite a disturbing and unusual story and although quite slow paced this just increases the tension. A short and deeply dark suspense thriller and such a satisfying read.

I have heard good things about B.P Walter. I couldn’t wait to get stuck in. Notes on a murder is the first book from the author that I have read.
Oliver has gone on holiday with his brother Douglas and his parents who now are having trouble with their marriage. They just want to get away from it all so they all go on holiday to Greece. When they get there, Oliver meets Alistair, and they start forming a strong bond together. Wether or not it is just a holiday fling or something more, time will tell.
When Oliver’s father says he has a business meeting to attend to in a nearby restaurant the family are not happy and decide that even to go their own ways. Olivers decides to go out with Alistair. Only to go to the same restaurant as his dad. Where he meets Argento, his dad business assocate. This chance meeting leads to dark sinister world of manipulation.
I have mixed feelings about this book. I can’t quite describe how weird and unusual this book was. I have not read anything like it before. At first, I found it quite slow to get into. But as you read on it gets more interesting. How far would you go to commit murder? What reasons did they have for them to deserve to die? This is a thought-provoking book and very dark and sinister. And will leave me with a lot of questions for a while. 4 stars from me.

I discovered this author last year & was excited to see this one come up on netgalley as I saw the cover on Instagram and looked intriguing. This story is told over two different timelines but I struggled a bit with this book and with the authors last book the locked attic too. After I finished this book I just found it unusual and a bit dark. Overall I didn't love or hate this book but not one of my favourites,
Thanks to Netgalley & Harper Collins for sending me a copy of this arc

A dinner party on a Greek villa turns deadly. I think it took too long to get to the mystery here, especially since a lot of the setup didn’t feel super necessary. I also found the writing style especially dialogue a little chaotic.

This story is told in two timeframes, which worked well. In the present we meet Oliver, who is at a wellness retreat, when he sees someone who he thought would be impossible to see again. Previously we see Oliver on holiday in Greece with his family, where he becomes obsessed with another man and while there he visits a luxury villa, where dark decisions need to be made.

I tried to not look too much into this book before going in to it and think it works better this way. The story is a slow burn, unsettling read that takes quite a dark turn. It raises moral dilemmas which may work well as a book club read. I usually enjoy faster paced books but I think the pace of the story works well here by creating a dark atmosphere and building up to the main points. The length of the book means that it isn’t lost in too much detail. The characters are mainly unlikeable, however the relationships between them are done well. There were a few twists dotted about but some areas were a bit unbelievable. Overall a pretty good, although slightly odd, thriller. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

This time last year I read The Locked Attic by this author and it was a pretty good read. The marketing was a bit off as it really wasn’t a thriller but I did enjoy the story. This one is definitely a thriller though, it’s a bit of a slow-burn one but with murder afoot, it is marketed properly this time.

This book was less than 200 pages on my tablet and nothing happened for the first half of it. It was just two young adult brothers (20s) complaining about being on a Greek vacation with their parents. There was lots of moaning and complaining from everyone and it was a slog to get through. We get no explanation as to why the parents behave the way they do, or why any of the character’s actions are what they are. I felt the book was just too damn short, to be honest.

There are then and now chapters but they were twenty years apart and we have no idea what happened in those twenty years. The story had no cohesion and what eventually played out made no sense to me. I hated every single character in this story and connected to none of them. Walter tried to be serious and his writing wasn’t bad but the latter half of the book was just too over the top for my liking and not in a popcorn thriller kind of way. This is a very dark tale and I get what the author was trying to ask what are we capable of – what would we do for love, lust, excitement?

I don’t think I’ll be picking up any more of this author’s work because they aren’t really my cup of tea. But please do not take my word for it, he is beloved and has many great reviews. Mine just isn’t one of them.

Notes on a Murder was an interesting concept told in two timelines, the then, when Oliver meets Alister and Argento on a family holiday in Greece, and the now, when Oliver is in a wellness centre and Alister returns from the dead. I enjoyed the alternative timelines and would just get enough in each timeline to pique my interest.

The style was different to what I'm used to and I found it quite unusual. It was from Oliver's point of view as if he were talking to Alister, but was written as if the reader was Alister (e.g. you said etc).

Whilst I enjoyed the story, I didn't really connect with any of the characters and wasn't swept away into the world. I felt like the story could have been set anywhere as I didn't get a sense of Greece. Overall I found it an easy to read, but unusual book.

I loved the first books by the author but struggled with the last one and again with this
the writing just does not flow for me and it's quite stagnant storyline throughout made it an ok only read

I was initially excited to read the book as BP Walter is a new to me author. Unfortunately I struggled with the book. I liked the synopsis but somehow I couldn't get into it. The writing style didn't grip me.

Thanks to BP Walter, NetGalley, Harper Collins, and One More Chapter for the advanced copy of this book

This was a tough one for me. I kept going between “Do I like it?”, “Do I not like it?”, “Do I even know what I think about it?”.

After finishing the book, I let things percolate a bit and finally concluded: I still don’t know.

It’s somewhat disturbing and absolutely dark. There isn’t an iota of positivity in this. There’s also a ton of manipulation from each and every one of our characters that makes you feel kind of ick.

As for our main character? I didn’t like Oliver. But that’s okay, I didn’t like a single one of the characters we meet.

In the end, I just felt a little non-plussed. I just thought: Well, that was a book and I read it.

Moving on.

• ARC via Publisher

“No two people could be expected to always agree about something as subjective as literature.” Amen.

My sixth book by BP Walter. Another solid, tense and twisty read! It’s a book about choices, infatuation, and retribution. Could you kill someone if there would be no consequences? It’s a dark story contrasting with the beautiful Greek summer setting. John Marrs summed it up perfectly: ‘The Talented Mr Ripley meets The White Lotus’

Oliver and his older brother Douglas join their parents to holiday in Greece over summer. Delightful! Oh, but they’re a rather dysfunctional family, so when Oliver meets someone, he’s keen to spend time away. One night they visit a private island to dine with a couple they’ve met – what happens that night changes the course of Oliver’s life for ever.

Presented in a ‘Then’ and ‘Now’ format spanning twenty years – showing how acts from the past have a habit of catching up with you. I had no idea where it was heading! Some of the twists completely blind-sided me. As I often say, avoid the reviews before reading this, I’m forever dismayed at how much people give away.

I thought the family were written brilliantly, the somewhat hysterical mother, the quick-to-anger father – the dynamics between the four brought humour to an otherwise dark story.

I also enjoyed Q&A at the back of the book; it’s always fun to read a little about the process and inspirations etc.

Huge thanks to BP Walter, NetGalley, Harper Collins, and One More Chapter for the advanced copy of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own

This is a book told twenty years apart. In the past, Oliver heads to Greece for the summer with his family. There he meets Alastair and Argento and he’s quickly pulled into some dark deeds. Twenty years later and Oliver’s past has finally caught up with him.

I’ve read the authors previous novels and enjoyed them but for me, I found this book slightly hard going. It didn’t grip me as much as previous books have and I found it a little drawn out in places. I’m sure I’m on the minority with my opinion and I look forward to reading future works. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK One More Chapter and the author for the chance to review.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Oliver is off on his annual holiday with his brother and parents. His parents seem to be having a rough time in their marriage, but Oliver wants to get away from that and enjoy this holiday in Greece. Oliver meets a man called Alastair, who he has an instant connection with. They start to enjoy each others company, until they bump into Argento, who is a “business associate” of Oliver’s father. Then things turns weird.

This book was top drawer creepy and twisted. It was full of tension, twists and turns. The author completely ensured this book was deeply disturbing, riveting, and ensuring the audience are questioning themselves on morality and choices. Extremely cleverly and well written. The characters were bang on, and I did like Oliver. He was a great character to get to know. Another great read from one of my favourite writers.

I made it to chapter 6 and just couldn't get into this. It was a little too close to "Call Me By Your Name" by Andre Aciman. This did not keep me on the edge of my seat, as promised. I would personally skip this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Really dark and sinister with so many twists! I had absolutely no clue where this was going and I loved every second of the journey

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

Unexpected, Unsettling..
Unexpected, dark and unsettling. When an evening of fine dining at a luxury villa takes a very dark turn indeed, what on earth will the consequences be? Will there even be any? One thing is for sure, the fall out could well be drastic. Unique and unusual, a tale that may well take the reader by surprise with a pacy narrative underscored by a relentless underlying thread of ominous menace, a deftly drawn cast and a compelling plot bubbling over with tension.