The Woman on the Pier

I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book since I put it down and it will take me some time to process just what impact this story will have on me

The synopsis for this book sets out a tale of revenge. A grieving mother who cannot come to terms with the fact her daughter was murdered in a terrorist attack and seeks revenge for her death.

The terrorists were killed at the scene at the time of the attack however Caroline discovers her daughter, Jessica, was only at the scene of the attack to meet a boy who did not show up for their date.

Caroline then focuses her attention on this young boy, blaming him for Jessica being in that area, with tragic and devastating consequences for all involved.

Whilst this gives the impression of a thrilling, revenge-seeking novel (and it is), this book is far more than that. Whilst the need to avoid spoilers prevents me from discussing too much the stories of the children in this novel are heart-breaking and give the novel a depth that you do not normally see in these types of books.

This is my second novel by this author and I genuinely hope this catapults B P Walter to where he belongs - in the homes of every reader!

Thanks to Harper Collins, One More Chapter and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I genuinely can't recommend this novel enough. Please, please read!

#TheWomanOnThePier #NetGalley
A good novel.
Two strangers meet on the pierOnly one walks away…
Screenwriter Caroline Byrne is desperate to know why her daughter Jessica died, murdered in Stratford when she was supposed to be at a friend’s in Somerset.
When Caroline discovers the messages Jessica had been sending a boy named Michael, she realises it’s because of him. Because he failed to meet her that day.
He’s the reason why her daughter is dead. And so she makes a choice. He’s the one who’s going to pay.
I'm a huge fan of this author and this book is a good read. Go for it.
Thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for giving me an advance copy.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy! I loved reading The Dinner Guest, so I was excited for this new read from this amazing author!

Wow! This book left me speechless by the very end. The second half of the book sucked me in, I stayed up past 1am to finish, then the end kept me awake. My brain could not stop spinning! Wow B.P. Walter, you really dropped some plot twists up until the very end! Caroline, our main character recently lost her daughter in a terrorist attack and she can't understand why her daughter Jessica was even there. She obsessively digs and finds a boy her daughter was interacting with. She leaves her home after another terrorist attack occurs to track down this boy who she believes is the reason her daughter is dead. Though we learn, things are not always as they appear, in more ways than one!

A sad disturbing tale, compassionately written, dealing with the grief of parents, whose daughter has been murdered in a terrorist attack. I like the real life references to book titles.
Thank goodness the story is based on imagination rather than factual, but I found it very sad to read of a terrorist attack on an area I know so well.
Nevertheless, cleverly plotted and had me gripped. Its five star.
Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins, One More Chapter for my digital copy.

As a die-hard B P Walter fan I expected to love this book but I LOOOOVED it.

So twisty, turny and delicious, I was riveted as I raced to the end, even as I regretted that it would end. I read it in one day, I just couldn't put it down.

Thank you to the author and publisher for gifting me a copy of this delight. It was my absolute pleasure to write an honest review.

I am a huge fan of this author already and his debut was amazing but this is next level!!!!! I could not put this brilliant book down

One More Chapter I can't thank you enough for this advance ebook copy!

I read The Dinner Guest by Walter and freaking loved it. So knew this had to be good!
The Woman on the Pier is an amazing thriller read!
I loved everything about this book. The character portrayal and the suspense.
Walter has done an excellent job in keeping us readers hooked on to the story till the end.
This is very well written and has a twisty plot which flows extremely well and with surprises you don’t see coming. The plotting feels like a coiled spring, it’s taut and tense with ripples of unease, a sense of impending danger and you wonder when all the turbulence and altered dynamics will unfurl.

Thanks again NetGalley, Publisher and Author for the chance to read and review this amazing book!
I'll post to my Social media platforms closer to pub date!

When I see B. P. Walters’ name on the cover, I didn’t read the blurb or I didn’t care what this book was about, I just went blind!

That’s the rightest thing to do! Because in my opinion the blurb not truly summarizes the story, actually it gives a major spoiler about it! Normally the plot summary informs us where the story starts but for the Pier, its blurb gives away the opposite!
So you’d better not read the blurb and dive into this story directly! Be hundred percent sure to be hooked up at first chapter! It’s absolutely intriguing and picking your interest after reading the first pages. You’re literally drawn into the characters and you don’t want to put it downN

This book is not about a woman who avenges her daughter’s killer by confronting at the pier!
This book is about pure, earth shattering, heart ripping, painful, intense grief and disturbing, fist clenching, rough, heart wrenching abuse !

A shortest summary: THE MOTHER loses her child at the Stratford terrorist attacks. Her daughter shouldn’t have been there if she hasn’t lied to her parents to meet with THE BOY! THE MOTHER’s desperation to blame someone leads her to Southend to confront with THE BOY which results with tragic consequences.

THE MOTHER: Caroline Bryne, left her family life in Australia behind after her father’s suspicious death, building her successful TV writer career, having bleeding marriage that her husband keeps cheating on her and interestingly she buries her head in sand not to confront with him but when their sixteen years old daughter Jessica starts acting more rebellious, screaming at her parents to stop hiding behind their lies, she couldn’t realize that was just the silence before the storm!

When her daughter dies she finally understands everything she’s built in her life consisted of lies and illusions.

THE BOY is devastated not to meet with the girl, giving himself self inflicted pain, dealing with her junkie mother and the strikingly traumatic effects of his long gone father’s abuses. He’s struggling! He’s barely existing!

What happens when THE MOTHER finds his trace, learns where he lives and sees him the reason of everything destroyed her life!

This is a story doomed to be tragic! A story with no happy ending! No closure! Because nothing may bring back what they lost!

This is absolutely well written, high tension, psychologically challenging, shaking you to the core kind of extra intense, harsh, dark, sad story which will haunt your soul for a long time!

It’s more a psychological and domestic thriller with triggering subject such self inflicted pain, psychical and verbal abuse, cheating, addiction, domestic violence!

B. P. Walters rocked my entire world one more time! I’m rounding up 4.5 stars to 5 heartbreaking, tearful, sad, grim stars!
I cannot wait to read anything he writes in near future !

Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK/ One More Chapter for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

One of my favourite books of the year so far! From the very first page you are gripped. As in you will not be able to put it down at all . This book has many twists & turns, excellent characters & brilliant storyline.. You end up really caring about my characters especially Caroline .This book would make a great TV series & is absolutely brilliant

The Woman on the Pier by B.P. Walter, published by Harper Collins UK/ One More Chapter, is a heartwrenchingly, fast paced, complex read. Excellent written kept me the story in suspense from the start til the last page.
A mystery/thriller of its finest, I read the book, cover to cover, in one sitting. I recommend the book, 5 stars.

Wow… This book is going to stay with me for a long, long time. Such a heartbreaking story covering many devastating topics, mixed with a bucketload of suspense.
It had me completely gripped throughout.

After reading and loving The Dinner Guest earlier this year, I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of this book. B.P. Walter has fast become one of my favourite authors and I know I’ll read everything he writes from now on. I love his style of writing and that he tackles real life, uncomfortable issues with sad and thought provoking endings.

This book is absolutely a 5 star read, I’ll be recommending it to everyone!

Wow…first off, The Woman on the Pier was nothing like I expected from reading the blurb. I was expecting it to be a thriller about a mother tracking down her daughter’s killer. (and in a way it kind of is...and yet really isn't. lol) It didn’t take long for me to realize that wasn’t quite what this book was. And while I must admit to being a little disappointed when I discovered this (in my mind I'd been picturing a kind of female Liam Neeson out for revenge, lol) I still must admit the story was quite gripping. Spoiler here: (though it’s learned early on so I hope you’ll forgive me) Caroline’s daughter Jessica was supposed to be away for the weekend, but for reasons unknown to her mother at the time she isn’t where her mother expected her to be, and she ends up being killed in a terrorist attack. This book takes in depth look at Caroline’s (and others’) struggle with grief and her search to discover why her daughter was where she was when the attacks happen. BP Walter does an excellent job of making us feel the anger/depression/grief that Caroline struggles with in her search for the truth. He also does an exceptional job of getting us to know and sympathize with a number of the other characters (being rather vague here to prevent any further spoilers). Just a fair warning: The Woman on the Pier is an intense and often dark exploration of loss, grief, and abuse. And given that, it kind of feels wrong to say I ‘enjoyed’ it, not sure what the right adjective to use would be. This book may not be for everyone, but I will say I found the story quite gripping, often heartbreaking, and well worth my time. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
I’d like to thank HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of The Woman on the Pier.

BP Walter is one of the most exciting authors on the scene at the moment. His previous books were exceptionally well written, sharply intelligent, disturbing and gripping, and his latest is no exception. I was drawn in from page one, on the edge of my seat throughout, and shocked by the ending!!! Highly recommended.

A true page turner I got caught up in the authors web and could not put the book down.So many twists and turns so many surprises.I highly recommend the book the author.#netgalley #harpercollinsukonemorechapter

Beautiful, thrilling and captivating. And oh so very heart breaking.

I really enjoyed The Dinner Party but The Woman on the Pier is even better than that. As before, the writing here is accomplished and taut, the plotting is excellent. The setting of the sea side town off season is wonderfully depicted. You can almost feel the salt air blow across your skin.

But what makes it magical for me is the emotion the characters evoke in the reader. I cried at this, was shocked by this and emphasised with everyone in it. Except one. I despised that person.

I felt Caroline's pain as if it was my own and I felt so very sorry for her. But then I was also distressed for the boy and his set of circumstances. But I won't say anymore about that and let you discover it for yourself.

This is a thriller yes that will keep you hooked to the page with its intelligent twists and turns but it is much more than that. It has an emotional depth and rawness that is seldom seen in this genre and a set of characters that are so realistic and layered that they may even be your neighbours.

The themes of grief and finding someone to blame is sensitively and beautifully captured. I wish I could discuss this more but to do so would give too many spoilers.

Highly Recommended.

Disturbing, Dark Suspense…
Things are not as they may seem in this disturbing, well written, dark suspense. Written compassionately and with empathy, a tale of secrets, lies and tragedy and, with clever twists aplenty, the reader may well be fooled along the way. Wholly engaging.

I really enjoyed BP Walter's first book, The Dinner Guest but this book was even better, if you can imagine that! It was disheartening to learn the main character's daughter died in a terrorist and she happened to be at the wrong spot at the wrong time because a date was a no show. Obviously the rest of the book was how the mother goes for revenge on the mysterious Michael and we learn about the events leading up to the attack and also is justice was served. And the twists, O-M-G!!!

I am definitely purchasing this to own at publishing and recommending this as must read to my friends and acquaintances who enjoy thriller/suspense read. I thought this was going to be predictable but it was far from that. So very glad. Think I found another author to get hooked on and look forward to the next book by BP Walter.

Thanks to Netgalley, BP Walter and Harper Collin UK 1 More Chapter for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 11/11/21

Oh this was so well done, you could really feel the pain of the characters and I was completely caught up in the story. Tragic, gripping and well written..

I think I gave the blurb a cursory glance when I selected it to read through Netgalley. From the cover one would expect a somewhat different story. After reading the book and looking at other reviews I was amazed at the vast difference in the ratings, particularly the less favourable ones.

Caroline a successful writer is married to Alex a somewhat less successful person. Their daughter Jessica is killed in a terrorist attack in London when she is supposed to be many miles away. Unknown to her parents, she had arranged to meet a boy that she had been in contact through social media but he failed to arrive.

The action is split into roughly two halves – the first focusing on Caroline and her faltering relationship with her detestable husband, her need to find out what happened to Jessica and her need for revenge.

The second half is more focused on the boy Jessica was supposed to meet, is circumstances and situation; and Caroline’s need to meet with him and her plans.

This book is amazing. The characterisation was superb. I hated Alex, stunned by Caroline at times and then heart-broken for her and as for the brothers – OMG, tragic, tragic, tragic! Sometimes I was shocked at Caroline’s plans and horrified at the reality of the brothers’ situation. As for the content, so much distilled into this story.

Don’t read the blurb, do read the reviews but ignore the negative ones. Clearly they have relevance as it someone else’s opinion, but trust me, BP Paris has, I hope, a winner.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

The dinner guest has been one of my favourite reads this year so i was excited to see what B P Walter did next. The women on the pier did not disappoint. An engrossing, well plotted and pacey read, i demolished this, i couldn't stop turning pages. A tale of revenge, Caroline the main character lost her daughter in a terrorist attack and seeks to find her own form of justice. There are twists and turn aplenty in this and I thought that grief was dealt with in a compassionate if heartbreaking way, no sensationalised or minimised. Highly recommend.

Having loved the dinner guest I was really excited to start reading this. It didn’t grab me immediately however once I got into it I was hooked. The book was incredibly well with written with likable and unlikable characters. I didn’t enjoy the part in Australia as much but it was an important part of the story and needed to be included. Some parts of the book are tough to read and it may not appeal to everybody but I enjoyed it. Thanks to net galley and HarperCollins for an early copy.

You should always tell the truth.. you should always say where you are going. And whatever you do don’t upset a mother! Just great.

The Woman on the Pier by B.P. Walter
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CW: Child loss and bereavement, acts of terrorism, mass fatalities, inference of Ephebophilia, discussion of pedophillia and sexual child abuse and self-harm.

From the outset, this book garnered my undivided attention. Every chance I got, I would sneak out my kindle just to catch a glimpse of a few pages. The plot was ridden with emotional trauma, met by the exasperation of a parent in turmoil. The writing was on the wall from the very first page which made the build up to this devastating event, thick with tension and unease.

I cannot emphasise enough how addictive this book was! There were times that I physically wanted to reach through and change the choices of the characters to prevent certain disasters and travesties.

Simultaneously, Walter crafted a high stakes, high reader-investment family drama, thriller in ‘The Woman on the Pier’. Highly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter, Harper Collins UK for an eARC copy to read and review. I can safely assume now, after reading 3 of his books, that anything with B.P Walter’s name on will be an engaging masterpiece.

Caroline has lost her daughter, Jessica, to a terrorist attack. But Jessica shouldn't have been there. Caroline finds out Jessica was on social media with a boy named Michael. They had plans to meet. She finds out where Michael lives and goes to confront him. He stood Jessica up. He caused her death.
Caroline's downhill spiral is not surprising. Her marriage is broken. She can't work. Her relationship with her mother is nonexistent. Michael must pay.
On her quest for vengeance, we learn more secrets. Everyone has them. I was surprised about some of them. Michael has a horrible life. Jessica bonded with him. It left me with so many questions. I'm not sure how I feel about Caroline at the end.

Than you, Netgalley.

The Woman on the Pier is an intense and often dark exploration of loss, grief, and abuse. And given that, it kind of feels wrong to say I ‘enjoyed’ it, not sure what the right adjective to use would be. This book may not be for everyone, but I will say I found the story quite gripping, often heartbreaking, and well worth my time. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

For once I was happy for a rainy day, and a tweenager who doesn’t want to do anything with me as it meant I could spend a guilt free day reading this book! This book is seriously addictive. I don’t want to give away any spoilers but what I will say is that this book took me to places I didn’t expect to go thanks to a couple of perfectly timed twists and turns. This is a very dark and disturbing psychological thriller but oh so good!

Wow! What a truly twisty novel that grabbed my attention from the start and did not let go until I turned the last page.

BP Walter is a new to me author but one that I will definitely be looking out for in the future.

This psychological thriller felt raw but because not one single character was sanitised in that they didn't behave as if they were on show, they behaved as people do when things are raw, and that is often not pretty at all!

I loved the twists and turns, the tale took from middle class home to a drug and drink addled single mother, from on-line meetings to intimate marital backbiting, from past hurts to present traumas, this book has it all.

Excellent definitely one of my favourite reads of 2021