I really didn’t know who to believe in this story. Is it possible to make up a whole life with a child that doesn’t exists? I wanted to believe Jen/Evie but there isn’t anything backing up what she is telling the police about her child Angel. And that there once was a child, the same age as Angel, disappearing under her watch, plus her miscarriage, did not help her being sett as trustworthy. Thank god for Charlotte and Jack. Charlotte, an old acquaintance from school and Jack a policeman, are the only once giving the story Evie tells a second thought. I liked that Casey, big sister of Leah, the child gone missing, tells her story in her own words. It’s hard to read about a child, feeling not cared for or loved. And it’s quite clear that Casey is not right mentally. Maybe it’s because she feels nothing than being rejected from everyone in her life or if she is just plain evil, nobody knows. But how do these two missing child cases come together? And what about Casey? She killed herself one year ago. It was a mystery and I really enjoyed finding out what happened to Angel, Evie and Leah. Highly recommended. I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan!

I’ve long been a fan of unreliable narration in novels, while this unreliable narration being achieved through memory loss is not a new idea, it’s one that works really well – The Death of Her is a perfect example of this. I really liked the way Howell chose to display this unreliable narration, rather than Evie as the narrator, the story was narrated mainly by Charlotte – the school friend from years ago, Jack – a police officer investigating the case and Casey – the sister of Leah Danning. Keeping Evie’s first-person narrative from us created the suspense because we were never privy to the inner workings of her mind, without some insight into the what she was thinking and only what she told others, made it hard to decide whether to believe her or if she was hiding information, disguising it as memory loss.

While all narration was in the present day, Casey’s started in 1998 and talked a lot about her childhood – it was the darkest of the narrations but it added another level of uncertainty to the plot because you weren’t sure if her narrative was going to end up casting Evie in a positive or negative light.

The events in this novel don’t come thick and fast, in fact, things happen at a very slow pace, yet this novel is a quick read – I read it in one sitting. As the events moved at a slow pace, it felt sometimes like the plot was dragging a bit, it felt like for too long nothing was happening. As there was no complex character studies on display, I felt there was nothing to push along the excitement or suspense after a while. Howell does give us a look at one of the characters in more detail and this has the potential for psychological thrills but for me, I felt this plot was more reliant on the mystery itself (who attacked Evie) rather than the psychological elements.

The writing style was simple (that isn’t a criticism) and this allowed me to continue reading even when my interest dipped at times. The Death of Her falls on the ‘light-hearted’ side of psychological thrillers and may be perfect for readers who don’t like their psychological thrillers deep and disturbing. This plot may come across as weak to the seasoned psychological thriller reader due to the simplicity of the plot and lack of in-depth detail, you never really feel the danger Evie’s facing.

Overall, I enjoyed this book for what it was; I wouldn’t rush to recommend it but if it crosses your path and you’re in the mood for an easy-read, pick it up.

Book blurb...
The Death of Her is a haunting psychological thriller from Debbie Howells, author of the bestselling Richard and Judy Book Club success The Bones of You. A woman’s body is discovered on a Cornish farm, battered and left for dead in a maize field. Airlifted to hospital, her life hanging in the balance, no one’s sure who she is. Three days later she comes round, but her memory is damaged. She knows her name – Evie – but no more, until she remembers another name. Angel – her three-year-old daughter. As the police circulate Evie’s photo, someone recognizes her. Charlotte knew her years ago, at school, when another child went missing. Leah Danning, who vanished whilst in Evie’s care. When the police search Evie’s home, there’s no sign of Angel. More disturbingly, there’s no evidence that she ever lived there, forcing the police to question whether Evie’s having some kind of breakdown. But even from the darkest place she’s ever known, Evie believes her daughter is alive. The police remain unconvinced – unaware that on the fringes of Evie’s life, there’s someone else. Someone hidden, watching her every move, with their own agenda and their own twisted version of reality.

My thoughts…
I found myself drawn in at the beginning and I loved the twist at the end, however the detail in first person about Casey was overly reflective and tended to slow the story down a bit, in my opinion.

I normally devour a good psychological thriller, but on this occasion I felt removed from the story and found the police Investigation to be more of a convenient plot device and not realistic.

I had difficulty making the connection with Casey’s back story and the reasons for the missing child and would have been more invested in this story if I'd developed a stronger emotional connection to the characters. Maybe some additional editing could have tightened the story.

The Death of Her brings along its readers to a crime scene where a woman is brutally attacked and left for dead. Only, the woman never died and she’s making a recovery. With the woman’s lack of memory and disjointed timelines in her thoughts, it soon becomes clear for the reader that this case isn’t as straightforward as it should be. The case is left in the hands of DI Abbie Rose and Jack Bentley to figure out who committed the attack and whether it could be linked to additional cases.

Debbie Howells’ The Death of Her is structured through four perspectives: Charlotte, Evie, Jack and Casey. With reading about both the past and present, the readers gain insight not only to the flaws of each character, but also gains further insight to both the victim and the police force through Evie and Jack. Characterisation is at the heart of this novel, along with its uncomfortable twists and turns. The Death of Her provides so much unpredictability it can sometimes feel like walking through fog. Only towards the end of the novel can you see it getting lighter and the answer becoming clearer. The unpredictability can latch onto the reader and can even make them question what they believe to be true.

Debbie Howells, author of The Bones of You, seems to have used her now country lifestyle as inspiration for the setting of The Death of Her. Her latest psychological thriller is set in Cornwall but is described as a peaceful and safe county, surrounded by Maize fields and crashing tides. The juxtaposition of safety and danger in a quiet, peaceful setting makes the perfect place for mystery, murder and menace.

Available to purchase from Thursday 24th August or pre-order The Death of Her here.

You can find this review at: https://charlotteannebarker.wordpress.com/2017/08/22/the-death-of-her/

I absolutely adored "The Bones of You" so I was eager to read this book. It did not disappoint! It's thrilling, heart-rendering and overall an amazing read with great turns and twists. I adored Autumn, and would love a sequel!

Pretty good book, no major complaints...

...but am I missing something?
Did my copy get cut off before the rest of the blanks were filled in?
(view spoiler)


As you can see from all my unanswered questions, I'm a little frustrated with this book.
But somehow, I don't think I'll be changing my rating from 3 stars to 2 stars in the future--although this does occasionally happen as I further ruminate over a book and later wonder whether I initially gave it the most accurate rating I possibly could.

Besides the many questions I still have, I did like the book.
It was well-written, had zero typos from what I could tell, and the pace was really, really nice. It was brisk and clipped along without getting hung up on stupid, unnecessary details and characters made to throw me off the scent of the real killer(s)/attacker(s).

And I'll say this for the book: it had a creepy element that I definitely could not shake.
The whole Satanist thing really gave me the heebie-jeebies, and I fully regretted reading it after sundown. The scene in the woods with Jack and the group of people and the stag...I was like, "Holy crap, this is WEIRD!" I think with this scene alone the book would be a great read in October. (Especially since it mentioned October and Halloween so many times!)
In fact, as I wrote this review, I couldn't resist getting up and shutting my bedroom window--after hearing what I hope is a cat jumping the fence--because I'm too convinced that the Satanists are out there, lurking in the dark, waiting for me. AND this is the second night in a row, mind you. So much for sleeping with the window open and enjoying the breezy summer night. Eh.

My only other complaint was Casey's character. The chapters devoted to her were sooooo typical of someone like her.
I want to begin by saying that I am NOT writing off mental illness as something trivial. In fact, quite the opposite.
But Casey's chapters were SO filled with malice, and SO angry with the world around her, and were SO dark and disturbing that it all felt more than a little forced and done to death. I mean, so you've grown up in a crappy family and you resent people and are forced to be classmates with prettier, more popular kids.
Big damn deal. That is basically everyone in reality.
(view spoiler)

Other than this, the book was pretty good, and I'd be willing to read something else written by Howells in the future. She writes pretty good mystery/suspense. :)


*An ARC was kindly provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

This is a psychological thriller set in the beautiful county of Cornwall in England. The reader follows multiple perspectives of various different characters in this story, not just those of the police of the victim. At the beginning of the novel the reader learns that a young woman has been found beaten to within an inch of her life in a field and is being reported on the news as being named Evie. Another character named Charlotte sees this and recognises the injured woman, but she knows her as a woman named Jen. From here the reader follows so many twists and turns as the police try to find out what happened to Evie/Jen and where her missing daughter could be, assuming she even exists.

Debbie Howells is fantastic at confusing the reader, as you go on so many twists and turns as you read this book. I honestly didn't have a clue who to trust, and felt scared for the wellbeing of multiple characters many times. Since you get perspectives from potentially multiple unreliable narrators, this all adds to the confusion and both the reader and the characters don't know who to trust.

I loved the setting for this book, Cornwall is such a stunning setting, and I could imagine myself there with the wonderful descriptions of the locations. The atmosphere was always set so well too, I often felt tense during key scenes, and terrified on more than one occasion.

I'd say the only negatives I have for this book are that, first of all, I managed to correctly guess a major part of the plot, in terms of who the main perpetrator was. The other down side for me was that the police seemed unbelievably incompetent at times, to the extent where I genuinely wonder how they get through life, the stupidness is just too far for me to suspend my belief to.

Overall this is another tense and atmospheric read from the wonderful Debbie Howells, and I highly recommend both this and also The Bones of You. I can't wait to read even more books by this author.

This was a twisty turning book that definitely kept me guessing for a majority of the novel. From the get go, practically everything is suspicious about this story from Evie’s memory loss, the lackadaisical efforts of the police, Evie’s link with a missing girl from 20 years ago and even at times Charlotte’s involvement with the story.

This definitely had me creeped out at times, especially when there’s some suspicions Angel’s disappearance and Evie’s attack may have something to do with a Satanic club in the area (like what?) and then to be honest, for some reason the cover of the book freaks me out as well. I think it reminds me of a halloween I paid to be chased through a maze by a guy with a chainsaw. Yeah, I know.

The ending of this was good and some reveals had me reeling. I did feel like the police in this were at times laughable cause they were so bad. I also am not a huge fan of the ‘safe and sound’ epilogue in a lot of thrillers.

Thank you Netgalley and Pan McMillan for the eARC.
Evie is found in a field in Cornwall, beaten half to death. She has no memory of the attack or anything else for that matter. The only thing she's sure of is that she has a 3-year old little girl, Angel, and she desperately pleads with the police to find her. When they search her home, there is not a single trace of any child having lived there. Shell-shocked and beside herself with grief, the police are trying to be sensitive as they try to jog her memory. It proves slow and frustrating. Worried for her safety and mental health, the lead detective and an old schoolfriend make sure she she's never alone. In the meantime the search for Angel continues, with no results.
The story is quite gripping, with a very satisfactory ending. I had a feeling I knew who the perpetrator was, but that didn't spoil it for me at all.
An excellent psychological thriller with a hint of Satanic rituals thrown in...now I want to read her other books!

I have read and enjoyed a couple of books by this author, so I had high hopes when I started this one. Although a good read, for me it wasn't quite the great read the other two were.
So, a young woman, Evie, is found beaten and left for dead in a cornfield. When she eventually comes round, all she can talk about is her daughter. Sadly, the police can find no trace of her ever having a daughter and it soon transpires that there is something in her past that could mean that she could be mistaken. Evie however is adamant and when Charlotte comes forward, saying that she knew Evie from school albeit under a different name to the one she has given the police, they then try and get her to help Evie try to remember her past, to piece together what really happened to her. And then another girl goes missing. Are the two connected? And if so, how?
Well, this had me running round in circles chasing my tail. Mostly cos I saw things a bit earlier than the police and had to wait for them to catch up a bit. I had to bite my tongue a few times too cos I found myself shouting at them to do this or that. Boy I think I could have got to the truth a wee bit quicker than them if I was on the case. I think if I hadn't got the end early, if the later twists actually caught me, then I think I would have enjoyed the book a whole lot more but, I have to call it as I see it and that's what happened.
All that said, it was an easy book to read. The words pretty much flew off the pages to me and, despite my frustrations, kept my attention nicely the whole way through. Apart from wanting to bang several of the characters' heads together I though they were, within context, well described. I did think Jack was a bit wet at times I thought his heart was in the right place. Didn't really like Charlotte to be honest, but I don't have to like a character, just connect to them in some way and I managed that quite well with her.
Pacing was on the whole good although for me, it did drag at times. Probably due to me guessing some stuff early and having to wait. Patience is not my friend! Similar reasoning could also be behind me not being left completely satisfied at the end either. I also found the final few chapters to be a tad rushed.
On the whole, a good read, again not as good as her others but it definitely hasn't put me off reading more from this author in the future.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

a woman is found beaten almost to death in a field in Cornwall. these things don't happen there. Evie awakes but cant remember much.. except that she has a daughter who is nowhere to be seen. and old school friend recognizes her and tries to help her remember. this is a good story.. a bit drawn out in places but and enjoyable read. thank you to Netgalley and Pan McMillan from a copy of this book to read and review

A young woman comes round in hospital three days after being discovered on a Cornish farm,battered and left for dead.She is suffering from amnesia and only knows that her name is Evie,Until she suddenly remembers that she has a three year old daughter called Angel.

After the police launch a appeal for information a local woman Charlotte Harrison comes forward and says that she knew Evie many years ago,at school.When another young girl Leah Denning vanished whilst in Evie`s care.

After the police search Evie`s house and find no evidence of her ever having a child they begin to wonder if Evie is having a breakdown.Maybe Angel is just a figment of her imagination.

Meanwhile on the fringes of Evie`s life someone is watching her every move,someone with their own agenda and their own twisted version of reality.

The story is narrated by Charlotte Harrison,DCI Jack Bentley and a few chapters told from Evie`s pov.Interspersed throughout the book are chapters set in the past that are voiced by a young girl called Casey who was Leah Denning`s sister.I liked DCI Jack Bentley and DI Abbie Rose,I liked their open mindedness when they were discussing certain aspects of the case.But I didn't think their actions while dealing with Evie were very professional at times and the murder of another young girl wasn't investigated properly.

The mystery of wether Angel was real or just a figment of Evie`s imagination was intreguing,it was easy to understand why most of the officers had doubts about her existence because Evie kept changing her story which made everything that she said unreliable.

It was a enjoyable read about loss,grief and revenge,it kept me guessing and doubting how trustworthy a couple of characters really were as the story unfolded.My only issue with the story was that everything was wrapped up a little too easily and a bit unrealistically but that didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book.I haven't read any other books by this author and I would happily read more in the future especially of the story involved Jack Bentley and Abbie Rose

This book had the potential to be brilliant but it fell short for me in too many ways. No sense in of urgency or pace, very little detail about a child abduction, one dimensional characters and an overall storyline that I just found tedious.

Tense and wonderfully atmospheric, this book had me gripped throughout with its myriad of twists and turns and cast of superbly believable characters. Am sure that this will be another epic success for Ms Howells and can't wait for her next offering.

Thanks to NetGalley and Pan for an ARC of this book.
An insightful and interesting psychological thriller, with as an added bonus Cornwall as setting. Not perfect though. The story was a bit slow in places, the characters did not come to live fully. However, it was good enough for me to finish it in one sitting.

This was my first Debbie Howells book, the premise of an exciting psychological thriller about child abduction was too good an opportunity to miss. The blurb was enough to get me interested and I finished the book in one sitting. That being said, I don't think I would recommend this book any further.

There were some strong points in the novel: the idea of a mother losing her child and suffering memory loss after the trauma had me feeling creeped out. That feeling exactly is why I love mysteries and thrillers. Also, I loved the setting, spooky Cornish farm, maze fields, dark forests.

Down sides were numerous, unfortunately. I had a feeling that the author doesn't have a basic assumption about police investigation. I will avoid spoilers here, but there were so many that is not how it's done-moments for me. I don't want to read and correct the author as I go. Also, the characters... no development, I didn't feel invested in their story, the plot twist was so predictable and it didn't even feel realistic.

I understand that this specific genre is one of the hardest to write. It needs to have a strong research, well-built structure and believable climax. This book didn't have any of these things.

I enjoyed this book and found it to be so gripping that I read it in one sitting. It was, however, quite predictable and I had already guessed fairly early on most of the major twists and turns. I think a psychological thriller probably needs to be a bit smarter than this book so that the reader is actually surprised by revelations. I also felt a certain disconnect between myself and the characters and to a certain extent this was necessary for the story, but it made me feel less connected to the story. I still really enjoyed this book and would recommend it as an engaging, quick read.

Edge of your seat the whole way through. Just who is telling the truth? I enjoyed this one because I almost couldn't guess where it was headed. I liked that the romance was so subtle that you aren't even sure if it's there. When I read a mystery/thriller I don't want romance getting in the way of the story. This was nicely done. I will definitely put Ms. Howells on my list of gotta have authors.

The novel starts well, and initially I was intrigued by the premise of the book: A woman living in Cornwall is beaten up and left for dead, She wakes with no memory of who she is or what has happened, desperate to find her missing three-year-old daughter Angel. And yet the police can find no evidence that Angel ever existed.
Debbie Howells is very good at writing a mystery, but for me, the plot was lacking energy, and the characters were not as clearly defined as those in Howell's other books. Some the descriptions of the sea and the scenery were beautifully crafted and the imagery was sharp.
The writing style is a little clunky and directive at times; doesn't leave a lot of space for the reader to imagine how the characters are feeling. The plot also jumps around a lot. One minute we are in the kitchen having a conversation and suddenly it's two hours later and she's at the hospital. When Charlotte does go to the hospital, she speaks to the Detective for a split second and then leaves. I didn't really understand how that scene and some of the other scenes moved the story forward. For some reason, Howells jumps around like this a lot in this book and I found myself having to double check I hadn't missed something. The backstory is also oddly placed and I found myself re-reading the character 'Casey' only to find it was the same character Charlotte that I had been reading up to that point.
The satanist plot-line is very interesting and I think Howells dealt with this well. It's an intriguing concept.
Overall, it was an entertaining, quick read and one which would be perfect to while away the hours on a plane ride or a beach holiday. The twist I guessed a third of the way through the book but that could be because I am reading a lot of books in this genre at the moment. Perhaps I have become immune to being shocked? However, if this is the case for most readers, they may be disappointed it was so easily guessable. In the current environment, it is certainly a challenge for writers at the moment to shock; there is so much out there with a similar plot line. I think for this reason, the writing has to be pretty special to pull it off, particularly if the reader guesses the end in the first third of the book. If the characters are expertly crafted, we would be happy to follow their journey. Some writer's characters we would happily watch sleep or make a cup of tea, because we are so invested in them and they have been so well written. Sadly, I didn't feel this with this book.
Thanks so much to net galley and Panmacmillan for my advance copy.

This was a little disappointing to me. It's supposed to be a mystery but i didn't feel the mystery was very well defined and the characters seemed to merge together and weren't very memorable. I found a lot of it to be repetitive and saw the ending a file off.