In 1938 there was a play, a thriller and its name was Gas Light, which was later popularised by a film version called Gaslight. Gaslighting is the term which describes the emotional abuse someone experiences when they question their own sanity as a result of external manipulation. So, we have the source and the explanation, now the novel. It's about a succesful TV personaility whose personal life is falling apart. She has running battles everyday with her 12 year old, going on 20, daughter. A daughter, who has been expelled from her school because of a small fire in a locker. It isn't long before a pretty, young and well qualified young woman turns up on her doorstep for the position of personal tutor.
Frankly the rest is very predictable and that fills the majority of the novel. However, there is a twist at the end which makes the hours of ennui almost tolerable.
If this is your first gaslighting novel, then you will probably love it. This wasn't my first and I didn't love it. Frankly, all gaslighting novels follow a very predictable path where only the ending can be tweaked.

I’ve seen some hype around this read and was eager to get stuck in but honestly I think I missed the memo. I found it extremely slow paced and predictable an it was missing the intriguing aspect. I found the storyline boring and didn’t really hold my attention. Sophie for me was such an irritating character. The ending was just rushed and unbelievable and really just meh. I’m all for a storyline that’s a little different and stretches the truth but this one just didn’t ring true in any way. Not for me I’m afraid.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review #TheHomewrecker

Oh my god this book! It is incredibly gripping and terrifying. I was scared so many times reading this. My heart was pounding. The twists honestly they are crazy. Once you pick this up be prepared to cancel your plans as you will not be able to put this down. I will definitely be recommending this book.

Wow! This was a book packed with thrills. This kept me on the edge of my seat and kept me reading until I was finished in one sitting! Very fast paced and exciting read!

Yikes. That's all. That's the review. It's yikes. This book scared the crap out of me! And for those who know me, knows that's an achievement!

This book kept me on the edge of my seat. it gripped me for the very first scene and I couldn't read fast enough I wanted to know what happened and then bam the plot twist occurred. I am stuck between expecting that twist and not expecting that twist. I knew something was off but still, it threw me off. Anyway, the book was great. highly recommend. Detailed review is coming on my blog and socials

I enjoyed this book but felt that it finished too soon. It was dramatic but needed more suspense. The twist was a good one, but again, needed a bit more drama. The characters were ok but needed a bit more fleshing out - particularly the children. All in all though I would recommend. .

When a television presenter's daughter starts to show signs of being disaffected, the answer is to employ a home-based tutor. But this teacher integrates into the family too well and the insecure presenter believes that she wants to steal her life.

Following a very brutal and gruesome prologue, the story gets off to a slow start demonstrating the shallow world this family lives in, with cliques and an obsession with appearances. Easy to skip the pages of description of clothes and gazing into the mirror - not that I did of course, but I really wanted to. Around the halfway mark another narrator joins in and then the option arises that perhaps the petty grievances are not so outlandish after all.

This is an easy read for the most part, written in the first person and despite being a tad frivolous at times, it is totally believable. There is a section in the conclusion that is a little over the top, but it makes a tense thriller. Furthermore, situations such as this do exist in real life. A story about power and control as well as resilience.

When Sophie's 12-year-old daughter Katie gets expelled from school, her husband Scott decides to hire a tutor instead of enrolling her somewhere else. Wanting only the best, he hires Deanna who comes highly recommended and is the top tutor in the agency he uses. Young and beautiful, Deanna waltzes into their house and almost instantly charms her way into every aspect of their lives. Katie adores her. Scott does too, spending more time at home than ever when she's around and even moving her in. Everyone thinks Deanna is the best thing since chocolate. Except for Sophie, that is. Sophie sees the lingering glances she gives her husband. The gentle touches. She sees the game Deanna's playing. Deanna wants everything Sophie has, and she's determined to take it. Her husband. Her kids. Her life. But Deanna is messing with the wrong woman. Even as Sophie spirals toward what she fears is a mental breakdown from stress, she will do anything to save the family she loves.

Ominous, creepy, and more twisty than a corkscrew, "Homewrecker" by J M Dalgliesh just rose straight to the top of my "books you must read in 2024 " list. Fasten your seatbelt before you begin, though. There's so much going on in this book, especially early on, that Deanna being a homewrecker is only one captivating facet of the story. The first handful of chapters create so many questions. It's clear Sophie's hiding something, but what? There's a lot more going on than a potential affair. The prologue is enough to know that. That said, if you keep the prologue front and center in your mind as you start to read, you'll have even more questions. In the beginning, this book will give you chills and send you scrambling to re-check the genre. It feels haunted. Who is that lurking in the window (on the cover) anyway?

Masterfully written, "Homewrecker" is a character-driven story with a fast-moving plot. The characters are unique, fascinating, but also a little mysterious. You feel like you never completely know them, and you're missing some large pieces. In most books, that can be a bad thing. Not in this one. In this one, it's great. Sophie has a woman enter her home (Deanna) whose intention is to steal her husband and children. That alone would make a good book. Single white female, anybody? But Sophie's mental state weighs heavily in the story. As she unravels, so does her life. Or does it? The story is told through Sophie's perspective, and the characters are viewed through her prism. What's true and what's not? Sophie's mental state makes her an unreliable narrator, doesn't it? One of the other characters want you to think so. But can you trust them?

In the end, Sophie, Deanna, and Scott are each keeping secrets, one of whose is deadly and creates a huge final twist. It all leads to a can't-breathe ending that's just as enthralling as the rest of the book. The conclusion was so satisfying that I'm glad I didn't glance at the last page to see how it all worked out. I wanted to, though. It's been years since a book was so dang good that I felt like I couldn't read it fast enough and needed to skip ahead to satisfy my curiosity. I'm glad I didn't. The ending was worth the wait.

A brilliant read!!! I could not put this book down. I devoured it in a day! The twists were insane! I definitely recommend reading this book!

I almost gave up on this book as it started of quite slow at the beginning, but I'm so glad I stuck with it, it's ended up being such a great book, I literally couldn't put it down,

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book started a little slow, a little bit too much gaslighting against Sophie, and the story heated up significantly with plenty of twists and turns. Recommended.

I read the prologue and one question hit me immediately- who was my narrator for this unnerving opener? Was it my longer term narrator or someone else I was going to meet? I went back to the start when I finished and reread this starter and in some ways it made a lot more sense however the “I” could have been a number of the characters! But even on the second read through, I was still rattled with what I read.

What a ride!!!!! Yes this family has that level of celebrity and money behind them but bejeezus they really have problems. Shows money and fame doesn’t always bring happiness!! This is one messed up family, just waiting for someone aka Deanna to take a sledgehammer to their relationship!!

This whole saga is told from one perspective- Sophie’s. She’s the maternal figure in this familial setup but she’s a step mum to the offspring. She’s a successful local TV star, known for her hard pressing interviews. As the story progresses over the fortnight it is set and her life starts to fall apart, I began to question her. Her behaviour and thoughts became concerning, obsessed with Deanna. What I’m trying to say is, Sophie becomes that oh-so unreliable narrator which I love in this sort of read!

In my (maybe naive) mind J M Dalgliesh writes police procedural style crime thrillers (apologies if this is my misguided preconception) and they get brilliant reviews. This stand alone psychological / domestic noir thriller is expertly written. Dalgliesh definitely has traversed the crime fiction plain and created an addictive read, using intrigue and tension to hook me in. I so need to read his series now!

Psychological thrillers are a genre I can't get enough of. Homewrecker is my first one from this author. I had no expectations when I started reading, but boy, I shall when I read the next book by this author.

Sophie and Scott have everything, amazing careers, a home to die for, and two children, who are the apple of their parents' eyes. Then Katie, their twelve year old making trouble of all kinds at school. She is sent home and has to stay there until school decides her future.

A home tutor is employed and paid for by Scott. Deanna is perfect. She gets on well with Katie, so what else do they need? Nothing, until Sophie begins to notice Deanna seems to be a tad too comfy in their home and everyone, but Sophie is smitten with her. Is Sophie imagining things? or does she need to put Deanna in her place and her family back in line?

This is the first psychological thriller by JM Dalgliesh, and it certainly won't be the last one I read by him! As long as he writes more, that is. It's a slow burn start, but boy, it certainly ramps up the tension.

Every character is so unique, and they are so well written. Strong and believable, so believable that you don't know who is gaslighting who, or even IF anyone is gaslighting! My head was so wrapped up in this tale. It's a thriller that brings clever twists that have the power to make your jaw drop.

There is nothing better than being convinced of one thing, then the bombshell drops, and you realise you were wrong anyway! Homewrecker is one of those books! Twisty, gripping, immersive, and an addictive read. I am looking forward to this author's next psychological thriller. Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the gifted ebook.

I loved this one. I was not expecting anything. I would think I had it figured out and then BAM huge surprise. The ending was especially amazing. I hated Scott but not completely because we see the Protagonist's perspective.
I will definitely read this author again.

Never ever let another woman worm her way into your home. But then again….
Dalgliesh offers the story from several prisms and each view presents reader with a different view.
I was convinced one thing was happening but when it appears one character is becoming delusional, but then the rug is pulled out from under the reader and the story totally turns on its head.
The narrative definitely kept me guessing!

I really enjoyed this book. It had me gripped from the first few pages until the very end. The build up of tension was excellent and, at times, I found myself holding my breath and speed reading to get to the next revelation. Simply could not have predicted the ending, which was a very satisfying one. I liked all the characters and thoroughly recommend this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to advance read and thank you to the author for such a good story.

Great little book but a bit slow to begin with . It soon picked up pace and wow that ending was totally unexpected. I didn’t like the husband to begin with and could see a bit of gaslighting going on and I thought it would have an about turn in the story . Won’t give any spoilers, just read it . Five stars from me

This was so gripping, I read it in one sitting. The story was increasingly tense and the main characters are so believable that the twist at the end is totally unexpected. This novel takes a different direction for this author from his series of detective fiction which I love, and is all the more surprising for being a different genre.
I would recommend anyone to give this a try you will not he disappointed!

I really enjoyed this story and it had a great plot. I found it to be a slow burn start but as the story unfolded the tension built up and I was frantically turning the pages. It was well written and the twist was insane ! Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for an early copy