Loved this book! I’ve read all of Alice Hunter’s books and have enjoyed every single one. It sucked me right in from the beginning and kept me wanting more and more. I throughly enjoyed Bad Apple

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I was instantly gripped by this suspenseful, gritty thriller. I found the story to be fast paced but some of the dialogue did become a little repetitive in my opinion. I found the characters to be quite dark and everyone seemed to be very untrustworthy. Lots of unexpected twists and a very relevant storyline. An enjoyable psychological thriller that I would recommend. 4 stars

2.5 rounded up to 3.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avonbooks UK for this free advance review copy of the ebook Bad Apple by Alice Hunter.

Great premise let down by poor execution

'She shouldn’t be driving. The roads were narrow, unfamiliar; each bend took her by surprise as it appeared like magic through the ominous entrails of mist hanging a few feet from the ground.' This opening paragraph shows the tension, which only mounts as the story goes on.

Unfortunately many errors spoil what would otherwise have been an absolute gem of a book. As you can see with the opening quote, the author uses some wonderful descriptions at times which enrich the narrative, such as the use of 'ominous entrails of mist' rather than a simple 'the mist'. When I read the opening page, I felt sure this would be a 5-star read, especially with the brilliant and topical story premise.

However, scene shifts occur throughout the book, as do passive writing, clumsy sentence structures, and misspellings. At one point, I found myself asking if the book had even seen an editor. [Reviewer's note: any errors I discovered in the PDF on Kindle, I also double checked in the better formatted version on the NetGalley shelf to ensure it wasn't down to the format of the PDF.]

Two examples of a good and a poor ...

The good: 'Grief has a habit of knocking on the door again, [...]'

The poor: '[...] though this is a TV show and the viewer has pressed paused on the remote.' The pertinent change needed here is to swap 'paused' for 'pause'. Sadly, many more examples abound.

Another thing that had me roll my eyes and complain aloud quite a few times was a plot hole around the use of the main character's mobile phone. Time and again she questioned whether other people's phones were bugged or had trackers installed but she never, not once, questioned her own. And if I missed an instance where she did, then most definitely she didn't check it or change it. The continual overlooking of this basic yet crucial plot point drove me nuts and, along with the other issues, ruined the read for me.

I so wanted to love this book, and the idea is a good one as well as being important and topical. The pacing slowed again and again, and repetitions grew boring, and then there are the wonderful phrases and spot-on observations of human foibles which make this an otherwise great read.

***

NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.

5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.

Who do you trust when the very people that are paid to protect you are corrupt to the core?
A compelling read of Becky Lawson, a Detective, who was discredited and blamed when she took a case against her husband John, who she suspected of rape charges.
We follow Becky as she gets herself deeper and deeper into her own investigations, sometimes repetitively. But if John is being protected who can she trust.
This was a fast paced read, a gripping, tense thriller with a surprise at the end.
I was gifted this advanced copy from Netgalley and Avon Books UK with no obligation to leave my review

A Terrific Psychology thriller Book.
Bad Apple by Alice Hunter is a new author for me. The book hooks readers into it from the beginning. It is a gripping story about Becky Lawson whose life has been shattered after she finds out her husband who is in the police Force is a serial rapist after finding a burner phone down her couch. Becky reports him to the police but instead of him being sacked she ends up looking like the scorned wife and she leaves her job at the police force and leaves the family home and moves into a flat in a rough part of town.
Becky decides she must stop John from raping women and there must be a trail left behind, if she can just find it. Becky knows John wants her silenced at any cost and she also wonders who she can trust and who she can turn to as there will be more corrupt police as the apple never falls far from the tree so Becky must be very careful at all costs as john seems has eyes on every move she makes.
You will find yourself hooked from the first page in this gripping drama with a twist at the end you will not see coming. This book had me guessing up till the last page. A terrific psychology thriller book. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

2.5 actually.

This wasn’t at all what I expected. The description is different than the book turned out to be.

The original description sounded great. But the book was much more of a woman repeating herself over again and telling rather showing.

I think I just wasn’t the audience for this. I’d recommend it to people I know that like this type of book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, the opinion is my own.

Bad Apple by Alice Hunter was a great read! Becky has lost her husband, career and respect of her colleges. She discovered her husband is a rapist but no one is willing to bring him to justice. She has all but 2 colleagues willing to help her but soon she will find that she can trust no one.

Bad Apple is a fast paced, chilling thriller. Full of secrets, lies and deceit, I could not put it down and read it in just over a day. The plot unfolds quickly and you’re taken on a rollercoaster as former police detective Becky tries her hardest to seek justice against her former husband. Gripping and shocking, I can highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author for the chance to review.

How do you defend yourself when a member of law enforcement is the one ruining your life? This story was interesting, but did drag in places. The twist at the end was good…I never imagined who all was helping John with his crimes!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I thought that this book was an interesting thriller. I think I prefer thrillers set in suburban neighborhoods though. This book wasn't as exciting to me as those kind of domestic thrillers. It wasn't a bad book in any way though, and I would also consider reading more by Alice Hunter in the future.

Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.


2.5 rounded up
********


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When detective Becky Lawson discovers her husband of five years, detective John Lawson is a serial rapist whose crimes have been covered up by his mates in the force, she reports him to her superiors but he is exonerated and she ends up losing her job as well as her marriage and house. John meanwhile is promoted and moves to another station and is living with his new girlfriend Nina and her daughter. Determined not to let him get away with treating Nina in the same way he has hurt her, she becomes determined to find evidence of his crimes and bring him down.

I enjoyed the author's debut novel [book:The Serial Killer’s Wife|54697845] and this sounded like a good premise for a psychological thriller but unfortunately, I found the execution underwhelming and felt it could have been a lot better. Apart from a few chapters narrated by some of John’s victims, the novel is mostly narrated by Becky so we are immersed in her thoughts and actions. She is so obsessed with revenge that her thoughts become repetitive and she makes many stupid mistakes that, for an experienced detective, didn’t ring true.

It was also disappointing that there wasn’t more character development for the other central characters – John himself as well as Becky’s two police friends Charlie and Hannah, who all remained flat and underdeveloped. A few examples were given of how John was coercing his victims and some colleagues to prevent them from reporting him. However, it didn’t seem plausible that he could get so many in the police force, including the upper echelons, to cover up his despicable crimes, so some insight into his personality and actions would have been helpful in understanding the hold he had over people. Although quite a gritty thriller, I never found this very suspenseful and only read it quickly so I could finish it and move on to something better.

Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this book as much as The Serial Killer series from this author

I found it hard to get into the storyline and for me personally I was a bit disappointed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for this ARC.

This sounded really good, and the cover really caught my eye, but I have to be honest in that I found it a little underwhelming.

There was a lot of repetition in Becky's actions throughout the book, and whilst I understood what drove her as a character, it became a bit dull to read in places. I also would have liked to have seen more of John's positive traits - it would have been interesting to see the night and day in his personality and get a bit of an insight as to why Becky and Nina were with him in the first place.

I did like the writing style, I found it pleasant to read, and the story did hold my interest in that I looked forward to unravelling how certain situations in the book would play out. The best thing about the book was Agatha, my favourite character by far.

I wasn't very impressed with the ending - the reader is left with a lot of unanswered questions and I prefer my endings to be wrapped up in a nice bow.

Overall not a bad book by any means, but not one I will be rushing to recommend either.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this, it tackles subject matter that is quite pertinent in today's society sadly. I was pleasantly surprised at how good this was, a real solid thriller, well written with characters I loved, and hated! I would definitely recommend this one.

This was sooo good, i actually didn’t want to put it down. An amazing intense gripping thriller that kept me on edge.
I loved the characters and getting to know about them.
Well written and definitely a must read

Bad apple is about Becky, who has pretty much lost everything after coming forward to the police department. Where she works with John, her husband, who is a policeman. He is abusing his power doing the unthinkable to other women. Becky will do whatever it takes to make sure John pays for what he's done. But John will not make it easy for her. The books synopsis got my attention, but this book just seemed a bit repetitive and slow for my liking. I did enjoy how Becky wasn't going to be silenced and did what she could to help the victims get the justice they deserved.

I really enjoyed The Serial Killer's Wife & Sister, I wasn't as big a fan of The Serial Killer's Daughter and unfortunately this one fell under the same category. It was enjoyable enough but I didn't feel as gripped and swept away by the story as with previous ones.

A good read, very pacey and really enjoyed it. Really strong characters. A very surprising ending that I didn't see coming at all

When Becky Lawson discovered that her husband John was an opportunistic rapist, she tried her best to see that justice was done. But although they were both police officers, Becky discovered to her cost that policing is still very much a male preserve - and the influence of a rotten apple can go quite far, if unchecked.

Now she is living in straitened circumstances, and without any kind of support. Meanwhile, John has a new family, and is living his best life!

But here's the thing about Becky: she does not give up easily. Unfortunately, that's also something that John is well aware of...

This is a gripping tale, which takes no prisoners in terms of its grittily realistic portrayal of life on the fringes of society. There are points at which the tension is ratcheted up to a degree that is almost painful. Knowing that, you read this absorbing story at your own peril! It gets 3.5 stars.

Alice Hunter

Although I didnt find this story quite as gripping as the author's earlier books it is good. Also, impressively, it is quite different.
Whereas others were in middle class fairy cake type venues this finds Debbie struggling without a wage in a low quality flat in a terrible neighbourhood.
Having been part of a police detective couple her fall in fortunes is keenly felt. But what is more galling is that the now unemployed ex-wife lost her home smd career through a shady husband who discredited her with her colleagues and superiors.
An apparently stray cat is her only companion and to her credit, Debbie remembers to make arrangements for her to be fed even when things get somewhat distracting. Only her ignorance of getting the stray scanned for a microchip to see if lost is a jarring note (surely as ex-police this would spring to mind?l). As the devious ex-husband tries to isolate her she discovers just how he operates. This is not in a gentlemanly fashion and things turn quite dark