This book a raw, edge of the seat page turner. The story is told in four parts, all of which lead into each other beautifully.
Part one focuses on Constance Lawson, age 13 she has a fight with her parents and sneaks out that night to take part in a "challenge" set by "The Fearless". She is never seem alive again. Her uncle Karl, with whom she is very close becomes the focus of the media attention and through that becomes the centre of the investigation after Constance's body is found.
Part two centers on a journalist from a local tabloid paper Amanda and her single minded focus on Karl. How she gets her information and why she is so determined to prove Karl is behind the death of his niece.
Part three fast forwards in time again to Amanda, now with an extremely successful career, happy marriage with a baby on the way. Karl on the other hand has lost everything. His hate for Amanda and society in general is palpable. He is jobless and homeless and is sinking further into alcoholism. Because of her he has lost everything.
Part four...well I don't want to ruin the book. But part four is where it all really kicks off. And all four parts of the story come together in an ending that will have you in a spin.
The plot of this book is fantastic, the characters are realistic and believable. This is an easy five stars

Thank you to Laura Elliot, Bookouture, and NetGalley for providing with me an advanced reader copy of Guilty.

I rated this book a solid 3.5 stars. If I had to rate the first part of the book, I'd give it 5 stars. I'd give the second part of the book 2 stars. This is one of those books that starts off so incredibly well, and then takes a divergent path that leaves you wanting so much more for the characters and from the plot. I couldn't put the book down the first day I started reading it.

Karl is the uncle of Constance, a 13 year old girl who goes missing in the middle of the night. Karl was known as the "cool uncle" to Constance; because of his writing gig with a popular underground music scene magazine, he gets Constance and her friends into concerts and gives Constance unreleased CDs.

Justin, Karl's brother and Constance's father, disapproves of this relationship because of his strict parenting style. One night Justin grounds Constance for her behavior and tells her she cannot attend one of her favorite musician's concerts with Karl as a consequence. Constance runs away, engaging in dangerous behavior that results in her disappearance.

Karl becomes a key suspect in Constance's disappearance, and is subjected to the typical rash of social media speculation and online gossip in an age where news is often reported before it is vetted. Karl loses his family, his job, and his friends over such speculation, his life essentially ruined by the media. Amanda is one of the reporters that pushes questionable stories about Karl, helping to incite violence against him and what remains of his family.

I won't give away the plot or spoilers, but the book becomes an entirely different story about 40% of the way in. The second part is about revenge and the desire for power, which was interesting but not as compelling or heart-pounding as the first part of the book. I think the book would have been more successful if it had focused on the story of Constance and drawn that out much longer.

Laura Elliot, the author, is a good writer, so I kept reading because I did enjoy her writing style and prose. Karl's character was written very well at the beginning, but I felt like his actions and behavior became questionable once I started the second part of the book. The twists and turns seemed out of character for Karl, and also seemed a bit unbelievable in an age where everything we do and say is captured digitally. I wish I could say more, but I don't believe the things he did in the second part of the book would be possible.

After a blazing row with her parents 13 year old Constance Lawson sneaks out of her home in the middle of the night and vanishes without a trace.

A few days later Constance`s uncle Karl Lawson finds that he is the prime suspect in her disappearance thanks to a media frenzy created by journalist Amanda No we.

Six Years Later

Karl's life is in ruins but the woman who took everything away from him now has a successful chat show,a husband and a baby boy.Amanda has the perfect life until the day she receives a phone call and finds herself plunged into every parents living nightmare.

I think Guilty is going to be one of those books that will divide readers opinions.Some will love it,some will hate it and some like me will find their opinion falling somewhere in the middle.I enjoyed certain elements of the story but I also felt that it dragged in places,at one point I was uncertain wether I was going to finish the book or not.

The search for Constance was gripping and intreguing and had a surprising and unexpected conclusion.Amanda's systematic and cold hearted destruction of Karl`s life was scarily realistic,we all know the media don't care what damage they cause to people's lives as long as the story makes headlines,who cares if the facts are true or not.I would have liked there to have been more background information on Karl and Nicole`s marriage,that might have explained why Nicole reacted the way that she did to what was happening to Karl.

The characters where complex,believable and mostly not very likeable.I felt a lot of sympathy for Karl,I mean you would have to have a heart of stone not to feel some sympathy for the poor man.It's not a fast paced story but there is the odd twist or two and it does have a satisfactory ending.Unfortunately I thought parts of the story where a bit too slow but that's just my opinion,I'm sure other readers will love this book.

BTW - I LOVED the Plinks.....lol

Guilty was such a great book. It was filled with so many twists and turns. It made me anxious the entire book because of the twists. It was well written and definitely made you wanting more with every page turn.

This was a stunner of a story! I loved it! Starting with a missing child it then takes you into the dark side of journalism, corruption, adultery, broken families and the ultimate revenge. A breathtaking ending. Highly recommended. Read it!

Goodness gracious me, this is one dark read!

I requested this book on Netgalley because of the cover. It was the pretty pink balloon that did it. Never mind reading the description so I didn't actually know what this book was about. Except someone made a terrible mistake that could ruin their family. Thank you tagline. And so I was pleasantly surprised.

When thirteen year old Constance goes missing, reporter Amanda Bowe zeroes in on Constance's uncle Karl and absolutely vilifies him in her articles. Six years later, Karl's life is in ruins. He's lost his job, his house, his wife and child. Mud sticks. Meanwhile Amanda is thriving. She has a successful career, a husband and a son.

This is a story about revenge but also about how powerless you are when nobody believes you, even when you know it's the truth. In this day and age of "fake news", this story is incredibly apt. "Guilty" highlights the power of the media and how quickly and easily they can distort facts and turn them into something they're not. Yes, they do good but they're also capable of utter destruction.

You can't help but feel for Karl. Watching him go from being a valued member in a close-knit family to being completely alone, was heartbreaking to read. Despite his actions, I sympathised with him all the way.

"Guilty" is one gripping psychological thriller with a well constructed plot and realistic and believable characters. I felt it was quite slow but I was still mesmerised. The addition of newspaper articles was genius as it truly showed the difference between what actually happened and what the reporter wrote. It really added an extra layer and proves you shouldn't always believe what you read.

Incredibly thought-provoking, it'll make you question everything.

Dark, twisted and bang up to date.
A story of murder, revenge, lies, kidnapping, affairs, manipulation perception and how actions have consequences that can destroy you at any time.
In this book karma really is a hitch and when the past comes back to bite it hurts like hell.
Very cleverly written, different and intriguing read.

Excellent book. Great storyline and characters. A real page turner. I would recommend this book.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read it. From the first page of the prologue I was hooked! It was a gripping psychological thriller which kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page to the last. It definitely wont be my last book by Laura Elliot! I would definitely recommend it!

After a disagreement with her parents thirteen year old Constance Lawson decides to sneak out of her house to perform a dare given to her from a secret club she’s joined. After completing the dare however something happens to Constance keeping her from returning home so the next morning her parents are frantic and begin the search for their daughter.

Karl Lawson is Constance’s uncle and had been close with his niece so when the search begins he shares that he knew of her being in the secret club but had thought he’d gotten her to give it up. As the days go by with no trace of the missing girl the media runs wild with the story and when her body is found suddenly Karl finds himself the main suspect in the crime.

Guilty by Laura Elliot is going to be one of those psychological thrillers that plenty of people fall in love with but unfortunately I wasn’t one of those people leading to my low rating with this one. For myself I found this one a bit on the slow side and hard to connect with while reading. The focus on the media or more specifically the journalist Amanda Bowe left a lot of the book being news articles which to me throws off my pace with connecting with the characters and feeling it becomes more of reading the evening news.

This book is told in four parts and to be honest if the entire story was only the first part dealing with the missing Constance I might have scored this one a bit higher also. Searching for a missing child and wanting to know just what had happened is rather intense and engaging so that part of the book had my attention. After moving on though is when it started to drag for me and I really start to question what is going on and the characters interactions. I can see why others would love it I suppose but just in my own opinion it wasn’t anywhere near as engaging a story after a certain point and this one turned out to just not be for me.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Guilty is a mesmerizing psychological thriller that is driven by revenge, and will leave you completely fulfilled with a flawless ending. Guilty is the first novel I have read by Laura Elliot and it will NOT be my last. I found Guilty to be impossible to put down, the characters are intoxicating, and the story compulsively addicting.

Even a glimmer of suspicion in a case involving the disappearance of a missing child can ruin a person’s life. That’s what happened to Karl Lawson after his 13-year-old niece disappeared. Police may not have picked him as their prime suspect, but journalist Amanda Bowe did, and her stories crucified him in the press and the court of public opinion. Lawson loses everything, while Amanda goes on her merry way, with a thriving career and a happy family, complete with a little boy. Then everything changes, and Amanda finds out what it’s like to have your life destroyed and everything you love ripped away from you

This tense psychological thriller grips you tight from the prologue and adds layers of tension with each page you turn. The overall mood of the book is dark, and it touches on taboo subject matter. Laura Elliot has skillfully crafted an excellent novel. Her writing style keeps you flipping pages at a frantic pace.

The plot of part one revolves around the disappearance of a 13 year old girl, Constance, and her uncle, Karl. The initial investigation is marred by a personal attack and smear campaign against Karl and the magazine he works for. This attack is carried out by a reporter for the local tabloid who always seems to be one step ahead of the story. Ghosts from his past have come back to haunt him.

Part two focuses on the tabloid reporter, Amanda. The author focuses on her background, her motives, and the anonymous source of her information. Then we learn about her relentless pursuit to focus on Karl and attempt to destroy his life. The mighty hand of the media and the public eye can unfortunately paint the picture that best suits their needs and motives. Reporters have a huge influence on public and legal opinions.

Part three flashes forward and finds Amanda in a successful career, married with a baby on the way. Meanwhile, Karl is slowly fading away, finding himself jobless, homeless, and seeking comfort in a bottle. His resentment for Amanda and society in general is palpable. He soon receives help and encouragement from some unlikely sources and gets his life back on track.

Part four begins with an alarming phone call that sends Amanda's world into a tailspin. Karl launches a devious plan to give Amanda a dose of her own medicine.

The characters are complex, well developed, and relatable. There are many twists and turns in this book that will keep you guessing. The multi-layered plot will keep you reading long into the night to figure out what the next chapter holds. I highly recommend this book to fans of thrillers and psychological suspense. I received this as a free ARC from Bookouture on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.