An excellent read from John Nichohl all about a dodgy character named Shady & how he likes to rape women before moving onto worse. Can DS. Lewis rid the streets of this awful character? This is an enjoyable read, more of a police procedural than a mystery. Its still a very enjoyable book with relatable characters.

The boyfriend, who is the aptly named Shady, appears to be Mr Nice Guy but he is constantly getting away with accusations of rape and then moves onto his next victim.The story does not always make for easy reading however it is gripping and whilst making you think about the grooming and the rapes, by the end you have to question how justice is meted out and why we do need a robust legal system in place. The ending comes out of the blue as well. Very thought provoking.

Thanks to Netgalley/Boldwood books for the ARC to review

Anna thinks she has found the perfect boyfriend in Mark but how wrong she can be? Things turn sour and she presses charge against him for a crime, but he gets off in Court. He then thunks he is invincible and his behaviour gets darker and darker and his next girlfriend may not be as lucky as Anna and get away from him. We follow the detectives dealing with the case and trying to get him convicted of a crime and off the streets before his crimes turn deadly. Is everyone in danger or is he targeting relatives of police officers chasing him?

Quite dark in places but keeps you guessing until the end.

The subject matter/storyline may be triggering for some. It’s well written but the story is very dark -the descriptive writing paints very clear pictures of the horrific situations that transpire. It’s not a book that I would say I enjoyed reading but I was unable to put it down until I knew how things panned out. All too often, in real life, the victims are further victimized and the predator gets off. Shady wasn’t so lucky. Karma’s a #,*#!!
Thank You to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the invitation to read a pre-approved copy of The Boyfriend.

Gripping, chilling and very, very satisfying
Superb writing from this author, a very eye catching cover, this book will go far, 5 stars. Blindingly excellent ... This book should come with a disclaimer as once you start reading you aren’t going to want to walk away.

Anna Edwards boyfriend does to her what no woman should go through, Mark Shady thinks he can get away with it, detective Sergeant Raymond Lewis helps Anna to get justice but Sadley not. but Raymond will not stop until he gets Mark behind bars. a very addictive read

Very dark thriller for sure! You can't put it down once you start! Very fast paced enjoyable thriller!

Decent enough psychological thriller that I found to be a particularly easy read and absolutely flew through this book, the first one I've read by this author. Very much liked the ending and would probably read further publications by this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an unbiased review

Just finished reading this book and it's so dark! It is incredibly gripping, luring us into the darkness with its compelling storytelling. Nicholl crafts a tale that’s as addictive as it is unsettling, sending shivers down my spine and raising the hairs on the back of my neck. The characters are disturbingly real, making it completely unputdownable. If you’re in the mood for something dark and disturbing that will keep you up at night, I can’t recommend this enough!

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

A brilliant thriller with a monster of a man in Mark Shady - i loathed him - which is exactly what the author wanted me to do.

On the other hand I adored DS Ray Lewis who was full of flaws and totally relatable.

Excellent plot, fabulous fully fledged characters and a satisfying finale - whats not to love?

An easy 5 stars from me.

A quick, easy and dark read that I finished in one sitting. It was well paced with an intriguing story line and well developed characters. I was kept guessing all the way through

Title: The Boyfriend
Author: John Nicholl
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Pub Date: April 4, 2025
My Rating: 2.3 Stars
Pages 264

Anna Edwards is an attractive student and believes Mark is the perfect boyfriend - wealthy and charming, and he showers her with gifts, compliments, everything that makes her feel special.

As we know, Mark Shady (what a perfect name for this awful man!) has not been found guilty of the countless rapes in the past. So will he once again get away with hurting Anna as he has with all his other girlfriends?

Yikes! I struggled with this dark story – After I was well into it and it was NOT meeting my expectation I checked for trigger warning that are typically at the beginning – none were listed.

About the Author [author: John Nicholl|13795294]
While fictional, story was inspired by true events. John Nicholl was a police officer and social worker, he was faced with cases that left him incredulous as to the harm sexual predators inflict on their victims.
This story reflects that reality.
So sad I have no doubt that it true but not an enjoyable read😥

Thank you to NetGalley and to Boldwood Books for granted me this eGalley.
Publishing Date scheduled for Thursday April 4, 2025.

The Boyfriend by John Nicholl

TW scenes depicting SA, mentions of SA

Thank you to Boldwood Books for approving my request for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows the aftermath of a court verdict of Mark Shady winning against his victim of SA, Anna. Anna, distraught by the outcome and feeling like she trusted the authority for nothing starts to blame the system for enabling criminals like Shady. The cop, Ray Lewis, tries to reason with her to not lose hope but Anna is done. Now, Shady has moved onto his next victim, a daughter of one of the police force and Lewis’ close friend. Lewis would do anything to put Shady finally behind bars and be prosecuted for his crimes but would the system ever side with the victims?

Okay, I tried very hard to write the synopsis as how I felt reading it. This book is more like a true crime rather than a psychological thriller (in my opinion). I wished I knew this before going in so I know what to expect. First, it opens with an SA scene right away –which totally caught me off guard so I think TW would be necessary. About 50% of the book is filled with only dialogues basically about Anna, Mark Shady and his MOs and the police officers, mainly Ray Lewis. To be honest, it was hard to push through the 50% of the book because of so much ‘telling’ and no ‘showing’. Information are being fed to you about Shady, how he lures his victims and what he does to them. Then, about his background and some little interviews with Anna, and Lewis’ discussion about the case with Kesey (his superior). It’s not much, but it drags on and on and on. I also have some comments about the writing –which is great but too much descriptions of insignificant details. The story starts to pick up once it hit the 65% mark (which is way past half of the book & could put off some readers).

[minor spoilers ahead]

When the plot finallllly starts having a mystery, it piqued my interest, --it starts the moment Shady’s restaurant burned down. So you are left wondering who did it? I will say, idk how I didn’t think of the identity of the culprit whilst listing down the perp in my head lmao. Then, the kidnapping and the incidents that occur after that was genuinely scary and to think that these horrors could’ve been prevented if the system had protected the victims more instead of the criminals! It was jarring and eye-opening.

The ending is satisfying to me. I think everyone got what they deserve though I wish we could know more (in the last chapter) about some other characters like Lewis’ friend, Daisy and public’s reaction with the reveal, and also Kesey’s live reaction because she doubted Lewis the most!!!!

Examples of the sentences: ‘..he said to himself as he parked, switched off the engine, and pulled up the handbrake’ , ‘he perched the spectacles at the halfway point of his nose before picking up the computer’ , ‘…led Lewis into a comfortable, well-furnished, pale-yellow painted lounge to the left of the hall. There, he was invited to sit on one of the two tan leather armchairs located to either side of a three-seater sofa festooned with variously coloured cushions. There was a roaring matt-black wood burner in the ancient hearth, blue-yellow flames dancing behind the glass.’

That was a mouthful and exhausting to read the first time and reread the second time…. It was a good read but the experience could be better if the author didn’t write paragraphs of paragraphs of insignificant descriptions. That’s all.

This is one of the best thrillers I've read for a long time.

On the outside Mark Shady is handsome, charismatic, wealthy and an all round good guy!!!!! To begin with he wines and dines the ladies and makes them feel loved and cared for but after a while his mask slips and he shows his true co!ours. I've never hated a character as much as I hate Mark Shady. He's a wolf in sheeps clothing, a monster.

DS Ray Lewis is a great character, I can picture him in my mind because the author describes him brilliantly and he will nail Shady if it's the last thing he does.

A dark read that will have you on the edge of your seat throughout, it's fantastic. Oh, the ending ............ Wow. Huge 5 stars.

This was a brilliant psychological thriller that had me gripped from the first page. Shady is a manipulative guy that powers over woman to get what he wants. He’s a cunning person and deranged. When Carly brake up their relationship he steps up a gear in his torments. DI Lewis wants it all to stop, but at what extend. A nail biting thriller with great characters and a great plot line, it’s twisty and you’ll devour it in one sitting. A fantastic 5 star read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

Well this was my first read by this author. I loved the sound of the description and was curious to introduce a new author into my library so thanks to NetGalley I was accepted to recieve an arc.
The story was very deep and very dark for me. I loved the narration through the story but I felt there were unnecessary scenes at times which didn’t enhance the book during my reading process.
Overall I stuck with it but it was a little too shocking for me to want to rush to read more from the author unfortunately.
The plot line and character development was good and I loved the scene setting so I haven’t marked my star rating based on the fact it was a little too gory for me but on the writing style etc as I can understand for many people this would be a highly rated book.

I have read and enjoyed John Nicholl’s full back catalogue and for me, this latest book is up there as his best work! The Boyfriend is a dark, and in places, uncomfortable and disturbing read, in which we enter the mind of Mark Shady – an absolute psychopath. I was thrilled by the return of the flawed but lovable cop, DS Ray Lewis. Ray really is tenacious in his approach to pursuing Mark Shady – he is someone I would want on my side if I had been wronged.

This tale really does have it all - macabre murders, rape, significant twists, obsession and manipulation, it is not for the faint hearted. I have to say I was pleased that the author was able to portray the sheer strength and bravery of Anna throughout – I went through the full range of emotions with her. All in all, this is an unsettling and heartrending tale about secrets and retribution – very highly recommended.

THE BOYFRIEND is a gripping psychological thriller by international bestseller author, John Nicholl. After having read all his novels, which include The Dr. David Galbraith series, The DI Gravel series and his standalone psychological thrillers…this novel is another winner! The author has written books, each dealing with different issues, drawing on his experience as police officer and child protection social worker. This is a dark tale of revenge.

His Standalone Novels Include:
The Cop (2019)
aka The Girl in Red
The Student (2019)
aka The Girl in White
Mr Nice (2020)
The Sisters (2020)
aka The Sisterhood
The Victim (2021)
aka Killing Evil
The Cellar (2022)
The Bride (2023)
The Holiday (2024)
The Boyfriend (2025)

This is my review of The Boyfriend.

Trigger Warning: This book deals with themes of abuse and obsession and is not for everyone.

When Anna first meets Mark, she thinks he’s the perfect boyfriend. She had fallen for what she thought was a kind, generous person…but that wasn’t true. He raped her even though she had said no. He had hurt her. And now he just kicked her to the curbside. He was a monster!

She went to the police station, to file a report…he deserved to be punished. She wanted justice.

DS Ray Lewis wants Mark in prison, but that wasn’t going to happen. He always could talk his way out of a bad situation. Ray’s boss and friend, DI Laura Kesey work well together and support each other. I liked Ray’s character, a kind soul, out for the good of the people.

Lewis wants this monster off the streets, and he soon realizes that Shady was more dangerous than they thought…a likely killer!

Shady was quite the actor, a successful businessman, generous with money, and knew how to make every girl feel special…and then when the timing was right and they were alone, he attacks his prey.

But how many more victims?

This was a well written dark gripping suspense/psychological thriller with likable and unlikeable well-developed characters and an intriguing plot. The brilliant ending blew me away, and one you won’t forget.

Many thanks to the author, Boldwood Books and Netgalley for my digital copy.

Expected publication April 4, 2025

This was a good read! The narrator, Ray is fantastically written and I really appreciated his POV throughout the novel. However, the story is heavy and features themes of abuse and obsession. While it is dark, it is written well, it is twisty and interesting.