Good read - some sections had me wondering but had figured out the major plot line well before the end, nevertheless would recommend!

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book and so it wasn't for me.

Its another thriller but without anything to make it really stand out. The storyline is different but I found the characters too one-dimensional and just not nice to engage me. Lots of twists and turns and if you like the glamour and Hollywood then it would probably appeal more. I don't so it didn't. Its not bad but not great.

Thank You To Net Galley, the publishers and the author for an ARC copy for an honest review.

June 1980: 17-year-old Kelly Lund is jailed for killing Hollywood film director, John McFadden

Thirty years later, Kelly is a free woman. Yet speculation still swirls over what really happened that night.

And when her father-in law, and close friend of McFadden is found dead - shot through the head at point-blank range - there can only be one suspect.

But this time Kelly has some high-profile friends who believe she's innocent of both crimes.

There are a lot of twists in the story, some easier to figure out than others. To be honest, there weren't really any big surprises in the story, but that didn't make the book less interesting to read. On the contrary, it was satisfying to be able to figure things out before it happened, to have once suspicious proven right. It's like a jigsaw and all the pieces are falling into place. I enjoyed the fact that the story took place in Hollywood among actors and directors, I am sure a world, full of the razzmatazz and glitter and fame but are there people with dark secrets...

Reasons for three star...1980 flashbacks, were a little too heavy going, many characters to follow which 1980 and 2010.

The 2010 story was much more interesting. Pace was too slow and heavy, characters not always believable, no great shocks that I had not guessed. A rather long and slow start to the book.

An okay book for me

What Remains of Me by AL Gaylin is a thought provoking story about the nature of power and friendship and loyalty set in the giddy world of Hollywood- but without all the glitter blinding us. A very fitting title bearing in mind the subject matter of the book.
Told through two narrative strands- one in the past the other in the present. What Remains Of Me is about Kelly Lund who as a young woman is imprisoned for the murder of a famous movie director John McFadden. One narrative takes us through the months leading up to the murder and is a compelling narrative of teen angst, frustration and 'coming of age'. In the present day Kelly Lund has served her sentence for murder and is now married... then there is another murder !
Gaylin successfully plays with our emotions as we veer from rooting for Kelly to doubting her and a range of feelings in between. This is a perceptive story that questions how power and disenfranchisement can profoundly effect our lives. The characters were powerfully portrayed and the contrast between the young Kelly and her adult counterpart was quite beautifully executed. I have no reservations in recommending this book.

I really struggled to get through this book and I am not sure what the problem was. I wanted to like it and there were times when I thought I did but these times didn’t last long. I don’t know if the fault was mine because I didn’t have time to read more than a few chapters at a time.
“It was on June 28, 1980-the hottest night of the year – that Lund, then 17 and hopped up on a combination of marijuana and cocaine, walked into the Hollywood Hills mansion of Oscar-nominated director John Mcfadden in the midst of his own wrap party, shot him to death.”
Years later Kelly has been released from prison and lives in the desert with her husband Shane Marshall, son of the famous actor Sterling Marshall. Kelly is very careful to keep within the parameters of the law since being released but that doesn’t stop people fearing her name and being haunted by the look on her face during sentencing.
Via a series of flashbacks we learn Kelly was once friends with Shane’s older sister Bellamy Marshall and with John Mcfadden’s son Vincent, otherwise known as Vee.
In the present we learn that Sterling Marshall is dead and, although the press initially report it as a suicide, the police believe it was a homicide and Kelly was involved. As well as her past actions the police are suspicious because her father in law had given an interview about her the other day. “Mr Marshall gave an interview two days ago. In the ITALICS Times ENDITALICS. It was for the fifth anniversary of your release. I’m sure you read it. He misses his old pal John. But he doesn’t blame you, not anymore. You were just a kid after all. Raised by an uncaring, irresponsible mother. Tragically lost your twin just a few years before, and besides, you were on drugs. A teen addict. Didn’t know right from wrong.”
Kelly’s husband Shane feels as though he doesn’t really know her despite fifteen years of marriage. Kelly is a closed book; something which her psychiatrist used to tell her was down to avoidance. Kelly sees herself as having a file cabinet inside her head “she could take her feelings and slide them into drawers and lock them up, deal with them later. Problem was, lately, the drawers keep flying open.”

This is a thriller set in Hollywood about a teenager called Kelly who is sent to prison for killing director John McFadden. The novel begins when Kelly has been out of prison for 5 years when her father-in-law (movie legend Sterling Marshall) is killed in the same was as McFadden, and Kelly is a prime suspect.
Gaylin cleverly uses dual timelines in this novel. We follow Kelly's POV when she is out of prison, and we also follow her when she is 17, leading up to the first murder. Reading this we have to piece together what happened as we go, flipping between the present and the past to try to figure what exactly happened and how the pieces all fit together.
I must admit that I found this read quite slow to begin with, and it was heading towards a 3 star rating, but the second half saved the rating! I struggled to get interested in any of the characters, it was all a bit boring. I actually put the book down and only picked it up again because I had received it to review.
However I'm really glad I picked the novel back up, the novel really picks up in the second half. The mystery aspect of the novel is very well done, I was never sure whether Kelly killed either of the men, and this ambiguity really added to my enjoyment. It meant I couldn't really trust any of the characters, and the author made you doubt Kelly's voice too, so you were never sure exactly what the facts were!
The author makes good use of news articles and TMZ reports placed sporadically throughout the novel. This pause in the narrative allowed a pause in the story, and allowed the author to show us what the public's view of the murders and Kelly was. This added to the mystery and confusion surrounding what happened, and just gave me more questions about the characters and what the truth was.
Kelly is an unusual and fascinating main character. As a teen, her journey from quiet shy awkward teenage girl to confident drug taking rebel was very interesting to read about. Her life outside of prison, with her husband is just as interesting, although completely different. The insight into the way the Press and the public view her, and her vilification by them because she didn't act a certain way when arrested, was well written by Gatlin. This was a character that I really enjoyed getting to know and reading about. That's not to say that she was likeable, she was a hard and intense character to read about, but that didn't stop me enjoying her, and feeling some sympathy towards her.
The supporting characters are well done too. Kelly's childhood/adolescent friends are drug taking party goers, children of famous names in Hollywood. Kelly is a lamb among wolves, she is the innocent one that soon finds herself fully involved in the madness of the celebrity children's lives. There is also some fairly problematic parents, all tied to Hollywood somehow, all with problems and vices and pretty poor parenting skills.
With the addition of a detective with a bias towards Kelly, a group of people living in a commune and Kelly's neighbour who likes to sculpt with chainsaws, Gaylin has created a wide ranging and fascinating collection of characters that all keep the story moving, and are interesting to read about.
I personally would have liked to have read something about Kelly's time in prison, she sat on a lot of information for a long time. She kept many secrets in prison, it would've been interesting to see how she dealt with them. However this is a minor gripe!
Overall I enjoyed this novel. It's a thriller filled with twists and red-herrings, and some very intriguing characters, and if you like mystery thrillers I would give this novel a try!

Well, this is an emotional roller-coaster of a read.
I can't say I particularly liked any of the characters, especially the rich and somewhat entitled ones, but their story is completely captivating.
The story switches between 1980, when 17 year old Kelly Lund is convicted and jailed for the murder of a seemingly well respected Hollywood director, John McFaddon, and her teenage life prior to her murder charge, and 2010 when Kelly is free, but living an odd existence with her husband, Shane, who stood by her throughout her prison sentence. They don't have an intimate marriage, they don't even share the same bedroom, and Shane is very understanding. Kelly blames her struggle with intimacy on being in prison for 20 years. I did feel quite sorry for Shane.
We get to know two very different Kelly's as the story progresses. Teenage Kelly, prior to 1980, hanging out with and getting high with her Hollywood friends. Spiralling out of control as she grieves for her sister and learns that John McFaddon isn't the man he is portrayed to be. 2010 Kelly is much quieter. Grown up, but somewhat detached from the world. She only seems happy when in the arms of her neighbour, Rocky 3.
When her Father-in-Law is found shot dead, Kelly is obviously a prime suspect, but did she really risk her future by killing again? Was she ever guilty of killing anyone?
I hope that has piqued your interest because I don't want to say much else for fear of giving anything away, but I totally recommend you read it then I'd love to have a chat with you about it. What Remains Of Me is thoroughly gripping. There are many twists and turns, shocking and totally unexpected. I didn't have a clue what was going on for most of it, although I thought I had it sussed a few times. It kept me guessing the whole time. Quite complex characters with far from straight forward secrets to reveal. Brilliantly written with all the pieces of the puzzle fitting together nicely by the end.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for approving my request on Netgalley.

Did not complete. Read the first quarter of the book, but couldn't get into it and it felt slow. I wasn't keen on the tense changes from past to present. and I also didn't like the perspective change as I'm not keen on mysteries where you can read from the view of a detective or someone of similar occupation, so the book didn't interest me enough to keep reading.

Kelly Lund is jailed in 1980 for killing a hollywood film director. Thirty years later she is free. But there is another high profile killing of someone connected to her and, of course, she is a suspect. But did she do it?

This is the story of Kelly, her family life, her troubles and the effect they have on her life. The narrative chops and changes between the past and present. It paints a picture of Kelly's childhood, the difficult times at school, coping with the death of her sister and a troubled home life with separated parents - seeing Kelly moving from her mother's home to her fathers. In the present, Kelly is married, living a fairly remote existence away from LA. The years in jail have caused further separation from family and friends and she seems to lead a lonely life.

This is the sort of book with loads of twists and turns. Some of them you can sort of predict and you're kept wondering if you're right until it's revealed in the plot. And others are completely unexpected. I love that! It is well written and not packed so full of characters that it is difficult to keep track. The alternating past and present picks up different threads relating to each character - I found the storyline of Kelly's mum particularly fascinating.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

in 1980 17-year-old Kelly Lund is jailed for killing Hollywood film director, John McFadden. Thirty years later, Kelly is a free woman. When her father-in law, and close friend of McFadden is found dead she is the prime suspect. This is a book which sucks you, why is her father-in-law opposed the the marriage. Where are the connections between the families. Did she murder John McFadden. Throughout the book the author weaves suspense and as the book concludes the outcome will surprise many. Really recommend this book.

On a hot summer night in 1980 Kelly Lund killed John McFadden, a famous film director. Kelly is imprisoned for the crime at aged just seventeen, and she does her time. Thirty years later, five years after Kelly’s release from prison, her father-in-law, Sterling Marshall, a movie star, is murdered. In 1980 following her appearance in court she was pictured with a half-smile on her face, that picture has accompanied every story written about Kelly and John McFadden ever since, it looks like it may need another airing now.
The book uses the setting of Hollywood itself to underpin a book which shows us the events of 1980 in flashback. It is a tale of a poor kid mixing with the elite and not fitting in. at school not helped by the fact that Kelly had a sister who committed suicide after getting in with the rich and famous and her mother is terrified that Kelly will follow in her footsteps. That doesn’t seem likely at first with Kelly being of a far quieter nature, but then Bellamy choses her to be her friend and soon she is mixing with her famous friends. We get to see the progression where Kelly doesn’t really feel like she belongs; she lives in Hollywood because her father was a stunt man and her mother a make-up artist, a life where the huge houses and free access to drink and drugs has never been part of her world, but once she teams up with Bellamy, it is.
In 2010 the police don’t immediately swoop in on Kelly Lund their approach being far more stealthy, which is just as well because she has a backer, someone who doesn’t believe she is guilty of the latest murder and will fight to prove it. Her husband Shane is welcomed back into the family bosom, his marriage to Kelly having caused a little bit of consternation, and they are all pointing the finger at the former killer.
Kelly Lund was a bit of an enigma throughout this book, understandably so as part of the mystery is whether she is a murderer or not, but for me, this device meant that it was quite hard to connect with her, and perhaps, not being interested in being rich or famous myself, I wasn’t as impressed by the Hollywood lifestyle as Kelly was. On her release from prison Kelly isn’t that impressed either and she lives a quiet life with her husband Shane some distance away from the scene of the first crime, but the links, however weak, are still there.
This book had many of the individual elements that make for a good read, a strong, well-thought out plot, an interesting protagonist, a whole boxful of secrets and a heap of red-herrings, but for me, it just didn’t culminate in the type of absorbing read I expected. This wasn’t helped by the slow start, the numerous cruel characters and the absence of any real information about what it was that meant that Kelly was convicted of the first murder. It was just all a little too elusive for my tastes. For all that the events that led to both deaths, once revealed meant that a lot of the earlier confusion was cleared up, ideal for readers who enjoy a slow burn and are more patient than me at sitting it out until the conclusion.
I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of What Remains of Me from the publishers Random House UK, this review is my unbiased thanks to them.