I enjoyed this book and thank Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read it.

I couldn't put this book down! It follows the police interviews of two friends after the tragic death of one's daughter. Each chapter switches back and forth between the two women, each telling their side of the story. Each woman blames the other for the death of the child. I found it sad to realize that such a long friendship could be ended in a moment.
The story is well written and flows easily. I like that you end up with a good sense of the background of each character, without it feeling dry. The ending was a twist I didn't expect, which is great. It's hard to surprise me.
The only thing I wasn't happy about is that they don't tell you what happened to the daughter or why the women are being investigated until about halfway through the book. It was hard for me to understand why the detectives were acting like they were and why the friendship broke apart until I found out how the daughter died. I think it could have easily been introduced earlier without ruining the flow of the story.

Blame by Nicole Trope is a hard hitting emotional roller coaster involving a dead child and two best friends. Heartbreaking in places and highly gripping too.

EXCERPT: You're not supposed to bury your child. . . . . And when you do, it feels. . . it feels like one of those movies where the characters realise they're about to die because a tsunami is on the way and there's nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. It feels like it is literally the end of the world (and) you're not supposed to survive the end of the world.

THE BLURB: 'I am here because they suspect me of something. I am here because I am a suspect. I know that, she knows that. Everyone knows that.' Anna

'It wasn't my fault. None of this is my fault!' Caro

Caro and Anna are best friends... they were best friends. Over a decade, Caro and Anna have bonded while raising their daughters, two little girls the same age but living two very different lives. The women have supported each other as they have shared the joys and trials of motherhood, but now everything has changed.

There's been a terrible car accident, an unimaginable tragedy that leaves both families devastated. Over two days as Caro and Anna each detail their own versions of events, they are forced to reveal hidden truths and closely guarded secrets.

The complicated lives of wives and mothers are laid bare as both women come to realise that even best friends don't tell each other everything. And when hearts are broken, even best friends need someone to blame.

A hard- hitting, provocative and gripping read from the queen of white-knuckle suspense and searing family drama.

MY THOUGHTS: This was a heart-wrenching read. At first it all seemed so simple. Caro, driving drunk, has run over and killed her best friend Anna's daughter Maya. An open and shut case? Not quite.

Trope does a wonderful job telling each woman’s story, interweaving them, entangling the story lines and emotional responses. I became so heavily invested in Blame that I read it in one sitting, then sat stunned. Even thinking about it now, some months later, I can feel my pulse quicken and my chest tighten. Nicole Trope is an author to follow.

4.5 shimmering stars

Thank you to Allen & Unwin via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of Blame by Nicole Trope for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

I'm sorry to say I won't be reviewing this book after all. I've lost interest in reading it. Thank you for the opportunity.

Anna and Caro are best friends with daughters the same age. Anna's daughter has severe autism that brings with it huge problems for Anna and her child. Her only friend and saviour is Caro she understands that Anna needs to be there for her daughter Maya but she is always there to support her. That's what real best friends do. But would you lie for your best friend? Would you lie to save your own life? A story that discovers what happens when things go badly wrong and what we do to survive.

I found this book very difficult to put down. Great story and looking forward to her next novel.

I found this novel a little stiff and the language used made the novel seem to progress slowly. I like the direction the novel was going in though.

Having read Trope's 'The Boy Under the Table', I was very pleased to get my hands on a galley copy of her latest novel, 'Blame.' I was immediately drawn into the plot which focuses on two previously best friends Caro and Anna. The two bonded at baby clinic when their daughters were small and have been firm friends through thick and thin ever since. That is until a dreadful event occurs and an accident kills Anna's daughter Maya.
The story focuses on two days of interviews at the police station with chapters alternating between Caro's and Anna's version of events. Slowly the reader builds up a picture of two less than perfect mothers. Caro is an alcoholic and Anna is on the brink of a breakdown. Both have a role to play in Maya's final hours but who do we blame. Each tries to blame the other and I felt myself swaying from one to the other as I tried to establish my own version of blame. I loved the way the story made me do this and I read with great speed to get to the final outcome.
I found the novel very moving and felt for both characters, even though they were both in the wrong. A 5* read.

Excellent book gets you in from the first chapter, very truthful engaging book would definitely recommend any one especially mothers to read this.

Thank you to the Author Netgalley and Publisher for a chance to read this book

This book kept me on the edge waiting to find out what would happen next. I really liked the ending and it's honesty. Great read.

This is a page turner from start to finish. Both women are easy to sympathize and at times empathize with and although a tragic story, it's brilliantly written.

Oh wow! I've read other Nicole Trope books but this one is by far my favourite. We open the book with a total mystery, an accident has occurred, we know that much and two women, Anna and Caro are being interviewed by Police a week or so later. Anna is distraught, crying and we quickly find out that her daughter was the victim of the accident.
The book moves back and forth, chapter after chapter between the two women. Caro's preparation for her police interview is having a vodka and orange after her coffee so it seems a fairly safe bet to guess that this book is about best friends, one who lost her daughter to a drunk driver and the other; is that drunk driver.
Though that would have been a fine premise for the book, Trope steps it up a notch and makes the water much more muddy and pitches the two women against each other and against themselves. They are each interviewed by two detectives who bring to the table their own behaviours and reactions and often, encourage the two women to say things they didn't intend to.
As we get in to the story we learn that Anna's daughter Maya, the tragic victim of the accident, is profoundly autistic and had violent meltdowns. Going back in time as they tell their stories, both women give us their perspective on how they met, became friends and raised their children together, mostly centred around Maya's behaviour and how it affected Anna. Despite the police wanting to get to the end of the story, both women hold their own and insist that the end can't be told without the beginning and middle and we as readers agree with them. The story is page turningly exciting and yet set it the ordinary, domestic settings of play-dates, baby clinic and a police interview room. As the perspective shifts so does your sympathy and the characterisation is so good that you never can begin to hate either woman despite their obvious flaws.
This book is a fantastic read, introducing us to a seldom talked about severity of autism, of the way we present a face to the world that rarely mirrors the face we use at home, the power of friendship and the power we have to destroy those we love. All I can say is....read it.

I could not put this book down, what a book! I enjoyed the characters, and while they both battled their personal demons I found so much to relate to in them both. A real page turner, I loved the plot twists through out. Every parents worst nightmare, such a sad yet thrilling read.

I thought this book was an awesome story. This is the first book I've read by this author and I'm looking forward to discovering more books by this author. Nicole Trope is a great storyteller and I would definitely recommend Blame to other readers.

Anna and Caro have been best friends since they met at their daughters one year check ups. Anna is the mother of a severely autistic daughter who she devotes all of her time and energy to. Caro is the mother of a "normal" daughter who often puts her family aside to help Anna and act as her support system. A horrible accident happens that tears these two women apart. Both women have their version of what happened but who is telling the truth? This book gives a glimpse at how hard it is to raise a child, not to mention a special needs child. This book was such a great read!

Really enjoyed this book! Both of these women's struggles were heartbreaking and at the same time so relatable. It was easy to read, and at the same time felt ljje there was a lot of depth to the story.