What happens when the very people you trust to keep you safe and to follow the letter of the law are the same people who are monsters behind closed doors?

Police officer Becky discovers that her husband John, who is a police detective, is a rapist. Bravely she confronts John and reports him to the authorities however no-one believes her story and it is her that is punished instead with redundancy, loss of friends and even the loss of her home. Down on her luck and now living in a dodgy area Becky is triggered when she finds out that John now has a new partner, who has a young daughter. From this point she is determined to make John pay for his actions but with everyone viewing her as mentally unstable and a liar will she be able to prove how much of a monster her ex husband really is?

This was a really thought provoking book and the different timelines made it a more interesting read. At times it was infuriating to see John getting away with so much and I really did feel for Becky.

A great read.

Well I was certainly hooked from the beginning on this one. With corrupt cops and never quite knowing who you can trust it was a rolllerclaster ride from start to finish.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book a bit harder to get into, it was a bit of a slow burn. Becky used to be a respected police officer but she has lost her job and home, as well as basically her life, all because she reported her Husband who was also a police officer. But Becky would not give up and wanted to save other women from her ex husband. A little frustrating at times, but plenty of twists and turns.

I didn't think that I would enjoy this as much as I did. I haven't read anything else by this author but I will definitely be picking up something else of hers in 2025. Really enjoyed the pace of the book as it allowed me to read lots of it in one sitting and keep me engaged and entertained. Lots of twist and turns too so if you are a keen thriller reader this is 100% for you.

I have loved all of Alice Hunter’s previous books but I found this one repetitive and I couldn’t really get into it.

A great read
Brilliantly written
It will have you gripped from the first page and not wanting to put it down
Thanks. NetGalley

I love a good thriller, and this one exceeded all my expectations. The pacing was perfect, and the suspense kept me glued to the pages. The shocking twist at the end still has me thinking about the story, I loved it…

What do you do when you find out your husband the police officer is also a possible rapist? She does what I would like to think most woman would do.. report it to the authorities! But now she’s losing everything her marriage, her home, and with no evidence.. no charges are brought against him.

This book starts with a bang! Right from the prologue we jump right into the story and straight away I was hooked.
I enjoyed the writing style, which flowed so well chapter to chapter it made me want to keep on reading. I was totally invested throughout.

This book was darker and more intense than I expected it to be going in, but I found that to be a good thing. It really made me like it more.

This does cover some very timely topics (for example how women can't trust police), and this book seems to take some inspiration from real life stories. This was the first novel covering this topic I have read and I think it was handled well.

Despite the subject matter I did find this to be an easy read but do check your trigger warnings. One thing I would have liked to see though were some chapters from John's POV. I feel like we never get to know anything about him or his motives at all. This would have added a bit extra depth to the story for me.

I also felt like this book did become slightly repetitive and there wasn't a lot of plot progression. It felt like we were going round in circles a little following our MC Becky doing the same things without making much progress.

I also felt like the twist near the end was extremely easy to figure out and there were no surprises plot wise. This played out exactly as I thought it would going in.
Despite this I did have a good time reading it and I would recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon books, and the us TV or for the ARC of this book.

Nothing is as it seems with this book, and there was twists and turns galore. Was an excellent read, can't wait to read more.
TB

I found this book to be really disappointing; not a match to Hunter’s debut novel. I thought the plot was incredibly slow with not much happening, and I grew incredibly frustrated by the protagonist’s behaviour.

The story opens with a dark scene of an off-duty policeman abusing his position of authority. We are therefore introduced to a predator and his ex-wife, Becky, is determined that he shall pay for his crimes. Except that an internal investigation sees John given the all-clear and Becky out of a job. Yet, Becky is determined that John’s victims will see justice served and this book is all about Becky trying to get enough evidence together to raise the suspicion about this seemingly very good police officer.

Yet, this was never going to be an easy task and Becky soon finds out that her ex-husband has many contacts and Becky is thwarted at every turn. I was frustrated by how she is able to lean so heavily on two of her ex-colleagues, especially as I wasn’t particularly convinced that they believed Becky’s accusations. In addition, it is like the character is running around everywhere, nearly stalking John’s new partner, in a desperate attempt to get what she needs for a conviction. But it doesn’t really lead anywhere and doesn’t add much pace to the story.

The book is predominantly told from Becky’s perspective but I found the chapters from the victims to be most powerful and reminiscent of Hunter’s debut. I would have liked to see more from John’s point of view: he remains mostly distant in the narrative – a far off target – that I couldn’t appreciate Becky’s claims. Yes, there are scenes that demonstrate a dark side of his nature, but I wanted this to be continued in the present day narrative.

This story left me feeling a bit flat. I thought the final showdown to be a bit far-fetched and convenient, although I did like the ambiguity of the Epilogue. The plot explores the corruption of the police force, which left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I struggled to believe that this dishonesty was as far spread as implied. Personally, I would have preferred for a much pacier, intense narrative that had a definite conclusion.

With thanks to Avon books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

• Book 98 of 2024 •

📖 Bad Apple by Alice Hunter

The story in emojis: 🍎📱🐈‍⬛

My Top 3 things from this book:
•Psychological Thriller
•Corruption
•Unlikable Characters

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bad Apple is a suspense filled psychological thriller with a lot of unlikeable characters and a massive part was about corruption - which I enjoyed.

Becky was a force to be reckoned with; she was hellbent on proving that her husband was guilty and that made for a good story.

This was a quickly progressing book and a lot happened - I thought I had figured it all out, but I was wrong on some things!

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I loved this one and all the twists and turns. It was such an addictive and gripping read and had me hooked from the very start.

This novel presents a husband and wife team that have recently split up, after she made the accusation that he is a serial rapist. They are both police officers.
She is ultimately drummed out of the police force for her accusations when it becomes obvious that there is no proof of his activities.
The wife then takes it upon herself to go about proving his guilt.
It is a twisty novel that will leave you ( until the end that is ) wondering if she is nuts or if a guy could be that deceitful .
It is a pretty good read,
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me this ARC.

Great thriller kept me hooked the whole way through. Great writing and plot. Love this authors work and unpredictable till the ending

I raced through this in one day. A fast paced book about a police officer who uses his position to wield power over everyone he comes into contact with.

I enjoy reading topical books, and in her latest release, Alice Hunter delves into the hidden world of corruption within the police force.

Becky, once a highly respected officer and married to fellow cop John, had a seemingly stable life—until the night she discovered a burner phone with a disturbing message from another woman. Reporting John, however, turns out to be far from the path to justice she expected.

The story moves at a gripping pace, with Becky fearlessly pursuing justice for herself and John's victims. A fast-paced thriller that raises complex and thought-provoking questions.

I loved novels with a lot of twists and turns, and this novel has just that. A great plot and an enjoyable read.

An edge of your seat thriller. with a twist I didn't see coming. I would thoroughly recommend and will be giving 5 stars.

Gosh this was a hard but good read. Highlighting how people in a position of power can manipulate that and get away with such terrible things. I found it hard to put it down, wanting to read just one more chapter. A real thriller with lots of twists and shocking bits.

Being in law enforcement myself, this hit close to home. There are always bad apples in every profession so the plot was realistic. A man using his profession and status to take advantage of unsuspecting women is common and I wanted to see how this played out. Would the betrayed wife and ex police herself be able to find justice? Destroying her life and career. Decent suspense novel but I expected more anger, hurt and revenge from this woman.