I really enjoyed this book, if you like psychological thrillers, this one is a must read, especially if you're into psychological thrillers about families.

Iain Maitland has perfected the art of getting inside someone’s heads as their lives unravel and they have increasingly difficult choices to make. The story builds to a shocking finale. Whilst I suspected all was not as it seemed I did not expect the twist at the end.

So I did enjoy it.... but....it also was a but of a struggle with all of the characters just being really awful! Usually I love a good villain but these guys were unbearable and trully loathsome. It was a struggle to really care what was going on. It felt like you know the kind of people where there's just always drama n it's always caused by their own terrible decisions and they never deal with it in any responsible or mature way so everything you try n give them advice to help themselves, they ignore you n then complain about still being at square one! That!! It's engaging! The end was decent but jeez, it took a lot for me to get there lol. Tbh I think it'll appeal more to those who have families and kids and can relate coz I was just ready to punt them all out. Probs a me thing though

The description of this book sounded so good I was really excited to get my hands on this.

I personally don’t enjoy stories where every character is intolerable. I couldn’t connect with any of them and it didn’t hold my interest.

There are a few twists and turns and if you don’t mind unlikable characters definitely give this a try!

The mom in this book was so selfish and kept doing the dumbest things. Any choice she could make she chose the worst way to go about her life.

Thank you NetGalley and Iain Maitland for this ARC and experience.

As a person who genuinely enjoys a great thriller, I was excited to read The New Son.

My two things I look for specifically in a good thriller is the ability to throw me off with the twists and complicated characters. When it came to the twists in The New Son, I found a few to be overtly predictable, but a few threw me off as well which was a pleasant surprise. I also love a good epilogue twist. That being said I struggled with the characters. I found myself not really liking any of them, which isn’t the case usually. It was to the point that my dislike for Nina and her actions was putting me off from reading for a bit. So this story took me a bit longer than normal to read. However, overall I did enjoy it for the twists and I would say that if you enjoy thrillers and don’t mind characters who are a bit insufferable this might be the book for you!

This book started off well then seemed slow down a bit. The epilogue made it all worthwhile though !
Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC

BLOG TOUR REVIEW


Review for 'The New Son' by Iain Maitland.

Read and reviewed for ZooLoos Book Tours, Iain Maitland and Inkubator Books.

Publication date 24th March 2024.

This is the third book I have read by this author. I have also read the first book in the Bloomfield & Palmer series ,The Wickham Market Murder, and 'The Soulmate' which I would also highly recommend.

This novel consists of a prologue, 19 chapters and an epilogue set over three parts. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is extremely well written with vivid and evocative descriptions that really put you in the storyline, feeling the hair on your arms raise and putting you on the edge of your seat!!!

'The New Son' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Iain discusses miscarriages and domestic abuse.

The New Son by Ian Maitland had me hooked from the beginning to the end and although it is not my favourite book by him by far I still found that I could not put it down. the storyline is filled with secrets, drama, family, regrets, lost love and unlikeable characters. The fact that I didn't actually like the characters normally means that I cannot get into the storyline at all but Ian is one of the few authors that can create characters that you despise but that will also have you hooked on their stories. In this new book by the extremely talented author Iain Maitland we meet 35 year old Nina Bolintho who lives with her partner of 6 months Gary and his daughter Chloe from his previous wife Gemma. Nina is absolutely desperate to have another child and Gary would prefer a son. When she gets a knock at the door one day from a 19 year old boy claiming to be her son Alexander James Bolintho, renamed Liam Peter Riley. Nina is absolutely over the moon that her son has found her after all these years but is petrified to tell Gary as he has a temper and will explode when he knows she has kept this from him. Nina fell pregnant at the age of 15 years with her one true love Ryan. However, her parents were extremely religious and made her give him up for adoption. Liam says that when he turned 18 his adopted parents suggested he find Nina to make peace. Gary and Chloe start looking up Liam online after he is introduced to them as Nina's second cousin, They become convinced something is not right and he is not who he says he is. Is Liam telling the truth? Will Gary discover that he is not her cousin but her son? Grab your copy to find out the answers today! I must admit, as mentioned earlier that this is not one of my favourite books by Iain as I struggled with the fact that it just seemed so unrealistic, the characters as well as some of the situation. I know people struggle to leave abusive relationships but the fact that Gary is just so completely vile to Nina, as is Chloe, they both treat her like a slave and a bank, they have only actually been together 6 months and she is already suspecting him of cheating and although Nina has suffered a miscarriage they have no living children together or joint properties so it is just so easy for her to walk away and yet she is a complete doormat. I absolutely despised Gary and Chloe and the way they treated her but I did not really like Nina either as I just found her to be such a weak and gullible character. I understand that if she had been stronger then she would have left Gary and there would be no story to tell but I think it would have worked better if there was just something tying her to him whether it be a secret or that they had been together longer. Regardless of the fact that I did not like any of the characters at all I still found it to be an enjoyable and fast paced storyline. Unfortunately I cannot say I was surprised when certain things were revealed but I was quite shocked right at the end as I was definitely not expecting the final outcome so well done Iain. It is getting harder and harder to surprise me with all the books I have read which is probably why the rest of the twists were pretty much expected for me but probably wont be the case for readers who have not read as many books as I have but the fact that I was not expecting that final ending definitely deserves a congratulations. Iain's fantastic evocative writing skills ensures the readers are dragged straight into the storyline with Nina seeing the house and characters come to life and feeling the fear, joy and hope that Nina is going through with her. I was sucked in from the start and couldn't put it down until I had finished that fantastic twisty and chilling epilogue. I kept telling myself I would read just one more chapter but with each chapter ending in a way I just had to know what happened next I continued this over and over until I had flown through the book in one sitting being unable to put it down. Although I absolutely love the majority of Iain's books and he still remains one of my favourite authors I am only going to be able to honestly rate this book a 4/5 rather than the 5/5 all of his other books have received from me due to the fact that, for me, the book just was not realistic enough in regards to several of the events and Nina's character. I would, however, still recommend this fast paced page turner to anyone who is looking for a fast paced psychological page turner!!!

Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read the prologue and first chapter of Iain 'The Girl Downstairs' which promises to be just as addictive as this book and is one I'm definitely looking forward to reading myself.

Overall an absolutely addictive and creepy psychological thriller, with an explosive epilogue that you won't see coming,that will keep you turning the pages until you've devoured the book in hours!!!

265 pages.

This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle, free with Kindle Unlimited and £9.99 at time of review via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 4/5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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Thank you to Netgalley and Inkubator Books for this ARC of ‘The New Son’ by Iain Maitland.

At first I found Nina a little frustrating but then I grew to love her. I couldn’t put this down and throughly enjoyed it. It’s well written, fast paced and an easy read. The epilogue was fantastic too.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this. Nina is stuck in an abusive marriage. When her 18 year old son that she gave up for adoption when she was young shows up at her door she is so happy. This is her chance for a new life and with her son!!! This was a great thriller. Loved the plot and the twist.

I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.

Possible spoilers alert!

The main character started off being one of those wishy washy posh women who waffle a lot and wouldn’t say boo to a ghost. Nothing much happened through out the book to make her a murderer, but that’s what happened! Obviously some stuff happened, but she didn’t seem that affected by it, more nervous and scared than angry or vengeful.

Thankyou @netgalley for sending me this Arc book to review! What a riot this book turned out to be. I honestly thought that this book will be on the nose and won’t surprise me but it totally did!
This book starts off slow and then picks up full speed ahead!
This is for readers who enjoy thrillers about the past coming back to haunt you and a protagonist that herself is playing catch-up all the time.

Nina was forced to give up her baby for adoption as a teenager. Now, 19 years later, she feels trapped in a loveless relationship and has just lost another baby, when suddenly her long-lost son shows up on her doorstep. Suddenly, happiness and fulfillment seem possible. But is her son really who he claims to be?
This started off promising, but quickly veered off into a pretty standard, repetitious mystery. The main character keeps making the stupidest decisions all the while we're waiting for something to happen. I just expected much more from the story.
The epilogue, though, ended the book on a satisfactory note.

Thank you, NetGalley and Inkubator Books, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! All viewpoints are entirely my own.

Not only is the cover art absolutely stunning this book was written amazingly. I read it in one sitting. It was fast paced and incredible. I loved it.

I'm torn on this one. The premise was good, it started well but then it somehow fell flat. I felt I was reading something by a different author. There were good parts - Iain builds tension well. I did finish it but felt it was lacking.

I knew at once that this was going to be a devour in one sitting kind of book, and boy I wasn’t wrong! I was gripped from the very first page, and had no idea where the plot was going, and that twist at the end? I did not see that coming at all. If you love your domestic thrillers twisty, then you will absolutely adore this.

Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator Books for the eARC.
This is a difficult book for me to review. It started off well, but slowly descended into a very depressing read. I didn't like any of the characters and that turned into a creepy feeling as the book progressed, especially at the end. Not for me, sorry!

I enjoyed this read. The author has done a fantastic job of bringing the scenes to life and giving real insight into the characters without needing to write a huge amount about them. Some of the plot was predictable. but there was enough happening in the story to grab my attention. The ending twist, paired with the epilogue, was brilliant. I could really imagine the character in that moment, and it gave me chills.
This was my first read by this author, and it definitely won’t be my last.

Thanks to Net Galley and Inkubator books for this ARC.

The cover makes this book so intriguing!! This is forst by this author and i found the writing awesome+

The storyline is great but man those characters make you wanna throw your kindle! When they are so unlikeable its hard to empathize with the characters.

The dialogue is strong and how the story comes together was very well done!

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review

I absolutely loved the mystery at first but as it went on it felt predictable with undesirable characters,

Nina feels trapped. Her partner Gary is controlling, his daughter hates her, and she’s recently suffered a miscarriage. Just as her life seems hopeless, Alex, the son she gave up for adoption nearly 20 years ago, shows up at her door. Somehow, he has tracked her down! Everything goes wonderful, Nina finally has the family she's always wanted! But her partner Gary has a bad feeling about Alex, he's hostile towards him and argues frequently! Nina realizes she must choose between the two! How will abusive Gary react?! And can she really trust Alex?! She's starting to question his motives! This book was a good read! I would recommend reading it as it was worth reading, it wasn't one of my all time favorite but still worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!