David met Tara five years ago, when he was a 35-year-old history lecturer at Dublin's Trinity College and she was a 25-year-old student in his class. David was very taken with the beautiful young woman, who was smart and had 'curious brown eyes, full lips, and free-falling auburn hair.' At the time, Tara was dating a working class bloke named Ryan, and David reluctantly kept his distance.....even after the class ended.

Eighteen months later David happened to see Tara again, displaying her original paintings at a sidewalk art show. David and Tara began to chat and - due to a rainstorm and happenstance - David helped Tara sell several paintings to a very rich American buyer.

Skip ahead a few years and David and Tara are married. Tara is a wealthy, successful artist and David functions as her business manager while still teaching and pursuing his Ph.D. degree. The sudden prosperity is a big change for the couple, who grew up in rough, impoverished neighborhoods.

David and Tara - who are expecting a child - have renovated a huge home on Lawrence Court, and are about to move into 'the best house on the best street in Dublin.' Ironically, Tara's old boyfriend Ryan is the builder who's upgrading the mansion under the direction of Gordon - a snobby blueblood architect who looks down his privileged nose at all of them.

On the evening before David and Tara are scheduled to move into their gorgeous (but not quite completed) new house, David decides to stop by on a whim - to look the place over and revel in his good fortune. David is shocked to see Tara kissing Ryan, and - after she drives off - finds her panties on the floor. Furious and hurt, David confronts the builder- whose tan, muscled, tattooed body is clad only in jeans. The two men argue and tussle, and Ryan falls off the unfinished balcony. Looking down, David sees that Ryan has fallen three floors into a pit, and appears to be bloody and dead.

David starts to run downstairs to check on the builder, but accidently knocks himself out. When David wakes up the next morning, there's no body and no pit. Instead, there's a patio with freshly laid limestone and travertine slabs. Ryan's workers have inadvertently buried the body!

Before long Ryan is an official missing person, and David doesn't know what to do. If he goes to the police, he'll be accused of murder. And - though David is very angry at Tara - he still wants to be with her and the baby. While David is mulling it all over, he's hit with terrible news. Someone knows he killed Ryan and wants a HUGE amount of blackmail money to keep mum. So much moola, in fact, that David and Tara will lose EVERYTHING they own and be forced to live in poverty.

What to do....what to do? That's what David has to decide. Should he confess? Kill himself? Pay the extortion money? And there's an added problem. David and Tara's neighbor, Shay, comes over to report that something under their new patio is blocking the sewer - and smelly, disgusting sludge is backing up into his house. Shay insists that the builders fix the problem immediately. If not, he'll take matters into his own hands.

The story alternates between the present - where David has to deal with Ryan's unexpected demise, and the past - where David and Tara meet and embark on their relationship. This literary device works up to a point but results in too many cliffhangers, which is annoying and impedes the continuity of the story.

The book's plot is engaging, with plenty of twists and turns - some of which the astute reader may guess (or maybe not. LOL). The villains are appropriately venomous, and I was hoping they would get their just deserts. However, I didn't find the 'good guys' totally likable either. David's 'mooning' over Tara - 'her presence, her voice, her warmth, her mind, her art, her body, her gaze' - was too adolescent and soppy for my taste. And Tara - when confronted with her adultery - couldn't understand David's anger. 'David was suddenly a stranger to her. The David she knew would try to understand.' (Understand her shagging another - much hunkier - guy? Are you kidding me?!)

Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable psychological thriller, good for a few hours entertainment.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author (S.D. Monaghan), and the publisher (Bookouture) for a copy of the book.

Thank you so much NetGalley & Bookouture for sending me the book! What really caught my eye when I requested the book was the cover & the synopsis. The book is a really good one where the twists made it even better. It’s told from David’s POV mostly & has short chapters. The way the book is written is great, it was interesting from the beginning. I honestly thought that the plot was going to be one of those over-done plots but it really was well done. I mainly wanted to see how far would Tara & David really go to save everything they have.

Haunting...sily riveting, It is to tame to say I read this.

I experienced it.

And its bold, yet subtle darkness held me captive.

The book begins with Tara and David moving into their dream home with a perfect life ahead of them. Then their lives fall apart and change for ever with 'the accident'. This is not s a fast paced thriller, and a little slow at times, but it is a good story with some twists and turns along the way with an unexpected conclusion.. As a debut novel, it is cetainly worth a read and I look forward to reading S. D. Monaghan's next book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

When David sees his wife, Tara, kissing another man, his world falls apart.
She doesn't know he knows and what follows is a terrible tale full of lies and deception.
I absolutely cannot talk about the plot without risking spoilers, but I will say this, the present day will keep you gripped!
I felt all the characters in The Accident were well developed, Monaghan has a very descriptive way of writing and with chapters that flick between past and present, he was able to really show us how the characters grew and met and developed in to the people they are in the present. I personally would rather have had more of the present day story as some of the past chapters didn't feel like they added much to the present. Monaghan really does know how to show and not just tell the reader what is going on, I could practically see myself on the sidelines, seeing the story unfold in front of me.
As I mentioned, the chapters are split between past and present with David and Tara having their points of view in separate chapters too, this worked really well for me, it gave us both the main characters views and showed us what was going on with each of them at the same point in the book. The present chapters are fast paced and as we get past the past chapters, the speed really picks up and the story starts to pull together.
All in all, The Accident is great book

I loved that the concept of this book was so simple. A mistake, that gets out of hand, and a moment in time that changes the course of every character. It really reminded me a lot of Big Little Lies by Liane Morarity; the similar idea of a small moment that steamrolls out of control. I really like books that follow this pattern; I appreciate the realism! The plot ended up being completely different than what I first anticipated but I actually ended up liking this direction; it felt refreshing and did not follow the same framework as other domestic style thrillers.

Another thing that stuck out to me about this book was the pacing; it was very fast paced and kept me entertained throughout. I, personally, did not find there to be too many twists or turns but I still enjoyed the general direction of the story and found myself surprised once or twice. I also found the characters to be a little bit unrelatable; they almost seemed a little bit too aloof for my liking, almost like they were stuck up. It didn’t really change the way I read the story but I didn’t really find myself concerned about any of their plights.

Even with the small issue of characterization, overall, I still found this one to be a fast paced read that I think most people will enjoy in a single sitting!

This review is written with thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for my copy of The Accident.
Tara and David have just finished building and renovating their new home. On the night before they are due to move in, David goes to the house and finds Tara with her former boyfriend, Ryan. David is devastated, but as he goes to punch Ryan, Ryan stumbles and falls backwards over the banister. That one punch will change the course of Tara and David's life.
The first few pages of The Accident set the novel up brilliantly, and as a reader, I could instantly feel the tension in the atmosphere. Is Ryan dead? Will anyone find him? Will David be held responsible? I wanted answers to these questions, and I felt sure I would be placed on a rollercoaster ride to get them. Whilst the tension is maintained for some time, and does pick up again towards the end, I felt that the novel came to a lull in the middle, when the plot did not progress as fast as I would have liked. Some of the chapters in The Accident are very long, and I found that this also slowed the pace of the novel.
Some of the longer chapters in The Accident are flashback scenes, which give the reader insight into how Tara and David met, and came to be living in such a luxurious home. Whilst I appreciated the background information, and enjoyed the way the characters developed, I found it quite difficult to warm to both Tara and David. After all, Tara has cheated on her husband, and David has pushed someone over a banister - they're not nice people! As a result of this, I felt less invested in their story, particularly as the tension died down in the middle.
There is a twist at the end of The Accident. I didn't see it coming, and I felt it injected some much needed tension into the climax of the novel. However, there were parts of it that felt slightly implausible to me.
I like the premise of The Accident, and it starts strongly, full of tension and unanswered questions. However, I did not feel that this was maintained throughout the whole novel, and as such, it failed to fulfil its potential for me.

The book opens with a bang. David sees his pregnant wife Tara with another man. He confronts him and accidentally kills him.
Parts of the book were too much inner turmoil for me, but overall the book was good. I'd have liked less background and inner dialogue and more action.
Overall though a big twist in the book made me up my rating to 4 stars from 3.

3.5
David and Tara have what they believe is the perfect marriage, about to move into their dream home, Tara decides to have one last fling before settling down to starting a family. What follows destroys David’s trust for the wife he adores and looks as though it will destroy his life as well.

The accident is just the beginning and what follows is quite a ride.

Although I did enjoy this book and the plot was brilliant, I did find it a bit slow at times and I started to lose interest, only to be brought back again with a bang. The ending was great for me as well, did not see ALL of that coming, but some of it.

Tara, and David especially, were the only two characters I liked in this book, the rest of them I was wishing bad things to happen all along.

I will definitely try this author again.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing a copy of this book and this is my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, and to the publishers for an advance e-copy in return for an honest review.

The blurb on this book made it seem exciting. Married man kills wife’s lover, and then finds himself mixed up in a terrifying events that will leave everyone fighting for their lives.

This book starts off well. As stated the husband David sees his wife leaving a lovers tryst, and very unintentionally kills the lover, Ryan. David‘s life unravels as he tries to pick up the pieces, and for me he was a bit to hapless. The decisions he takes after the murderous deed seemed to me to unlikely. There are also a good few pot holes for me that were more gaping sinkholes

The end of the 'drama' was pretty farfetched and for me, was almost comical. I was left that I was not sure what to think about the novel. The story started off well, but for me it moved very quickly into farce. Its 3 stars which means that it’s not a bad read, but for me it wasn’t a complete page turner.

I was glad to receive a copy of this book because it sounded like it was going to be a good story and honestly it did start off very interesting but then I found myself skimming the paragraphs because there is so much that was not needed. Basically, I stuck with it because I was interested in how the story would wrap up but I didn't find anything unexpected or thrilling.

One mistake. That's is all it took for Tara and David's life to go haywire. One mistake that quickly turned their life into a living hell. Now, they have to figure out how to get out of the mess.

The Accident is a fast-paced thriller that thrilled me from the beginning until the end. Tara's mistake of having one last fling with her ex quickly unravel her and David's life. At first was I unsure about how I felt about David and Tara, but as the story progressed and through flashbacks did we get to know them, how they met, etc. did I start to feel that I liked them more and more and wanted them somehow getting out of the mess. And, what a mess, this is like one of those movies when everything keeps getting worse, every decision just pulls David or Tara deeper into a web of duplicity and danger. I loved it! I loved the twist and turns and I loved that you never knew for sure what was going on.

The Accident is a fabulous book. I came to really like David and Tara, how they each had to figure out a way out of the mess that Tara's fling and David punch created. I love the whole chain reaction story, and there were several times during the books progressed when I thought "what now? What can go wrong now?"

The Accident is a great thriller (Although the cat scene towards the end of the book could I have lived without) and I recommend it warmly!

The opening to this story is intense and sets the whole story up brilliantly making me wonder which way things would go. Events quickly spiral way out of control and I was soon on this thrilling journey as David tries to come to terms with the accident. Actions most certainly have consequences as David shockingly finds out. The Accident has a few different elements that all worked well together. There were betrayals, lies and a great tense storyline that pulled me into Tara and David's life.

The characters are complex and have flaws and at times I found it difficult to put myself in their shoes especially Tara. However I don't think the reader is necessarily supposed to be fully sympathetic to the characters. It makes them more human and people can have darker sides to their personalities especially when put in certain situations. As the story went on and the characters developed I did find myself hoping that their would be a way out of their situation. I thought that showing the reader the flashbacks of Tara and David's backgrounds and how they met helped to show some of the reasoning behind their actions.

There are a couple of neat twists that made this story all the more entertaining. It helped that I was caught up in the characters complex lives with a smoothly paced plot that kept me engaged throughout. If you like a slightly more character driven storyline this could be perfect for you.

Tense and twisty!

With thanks to Bookouture & Netgalley for my copy. This is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Great pacing kept me constantly engaged with the plot.

A gripping thriller with an brilliant hook in the beginning which instantly draws you into the story. I did feel like it dipped a little in the middle with one or two too many flashbacks which slowed down the pace of the story but there are plenty of twists, turns and cliffhangers to keep you reading till the very end.

The story follows married couple David and Tara who with a baby on the way and their dream home almost complete are about to start the next phase of their lives together. For some reason though Tara can’t resist one final fling with ex boyfriend Ryan before she settles down. When David stumbles upon them together he confronts Ryan, throwing a punch that results in a three storey fall for Ryan, setting in motion a series of events that could potentially destroy them both.

The story is told from the points of view of both David and Tara and this dual perspective makes for some really engaging reading. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I liked either character and at times their actions frustrated the hell out of me (yes I shouted at the book) but they were very believable and I found myself questioning how I would act in their situation.

There’s a really fast pace in the beginning of the book making it addictive reading but around a third of the way through it kind of loses it a bit as the story flits back in time to explain how David and Tara met and how their relationship developed. It is interesting to read and explains a lot about them but I felt like the tension which made it such a gripping read was lost. There are twists and turns and chapters end on cliffhangers to keep you reading but it bugged the hell out of me that these cliffhangers would be followed by a jump to another time or place.

I won’t say much about the story for fear of spoilers but while there were bits I guessed there were certainly a few twists I didn’t see coming and the ending, while possibly a little sudden, was for the most part satisfying (am I being suitably vague?).

Overall therefore, it’s a pretty good read and while it suffers from some pacing issues I’d still recommend to anyone who likes a good thriller. I will definitely be looking out for other books from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. As always all views are my own.

An interesting premise that didn't completely work for me. I can't rate it lower than a three, because it had some great lines and kept my attention. It would need work to earn a four or five, though. Many chapters end with a cliffhanger, but the next chapter shifts perspectives so we don't learn what happened right away. Cliffhangers work for me quite often, but done in this manner I could feel the suspense dissipating until there was none left. The storyline is crazy and twisted, even outlandish. The characters are pretty unlikable, but I appreciated how unpredictable they were. I couldn't guess what they'd do next!

Married, happy, and expecting a child, Tara and David are the couple you want to be. She's not showing yet, but their family will soon become three. They've just completed the build (well, paying people to) of a stunning house and they're ready to move in. They're attractive. They're successful. They're in love. Why does Tara have one tryst with Ryan, ex boyfriend and builder, the day before they move in? It's hard to imagine. Her one infidelity will change lives forever.

Intending to have a moment alone in the new house before the chaos of moving day, David skips out early and drives there alone. He sees Tara leaving after sharing a kiss with her ex. He can't help himself. He goes in. There he finds Ryan still in the house. Black panties left on the floor. It's all too much. He attacks.

What should have been a scuffle between two men resulting in a black eye or two takes a deadly turn. Ryan stumbles back, falling off the balcony that hasn't had the rail installed yet. He falls three stories and meets concrete and his own pooled blood.

I'm not going to touch on much more than was already revealed in the blurb, because this is a wild and complicated story you should go into relatively blind.

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley and Bookouture, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.

I loved The Accident by SD Monaghan so much so that I read it in a day by the pool.

This book drew me in hook, line and sinker and had a good twist towards the end. I found it to be very well written, pacy and with excellent characters. Each chapter throughout the book moved on seamlessly and it was interspersed with chapters from the past to give extra character backgrounds.

This was the first book I've read by this author and I look forward to reading more. A fantastic 5 star read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

I love the premise for this, the idea that one moment in time can have a huge impact on ones life is both intriguing and terrifying! When David gets in a scuffle with Ryan, (the man who has been sleeping with his wife) and dies his and Tara’s lives will be forever changed. He didn’t mean to kill Ryan, but that doesn’t change the fact that he did. The accident itself is just the tip of the iceberg in this tangled story, there were loads of twists and secrets making for a highly entertaining read.

This was a breathless read, the pacing was solid and I was engaged throughout. I wasn’t a huge fan of any of the characters but that never bothers me, I still like to read about people I don’t have much in common with. Though I did find it to be mostly fast paced, even frenzied at times, there were a few chapters that had a more sedate feeling. This worked for me though, it almost lulled me into a false sense of security so when I was blindsided with another twist it was all the more shocking. The conclusion was surprising and exciting, definitely unpredictable and appreciated.

The premise of this novel appealed to me instantly. It's a look at how life can spiral out of control due to just one error of judgement, one mistake.

The main characters are David and Tara and we see things from both of their points of view throughout the story. David is a history lecturer and Tara is an artist. Their life is good and about to get even better until The Accident happens and Ryan falls off the balcony. David and Tara's life together is about to become a nightmare.

The Accident is a thriller and personally I think it's more of a crime one than a psychological one. It's full of action from page 1 and is a race against time sort of story. It's certainly fast paced and kept me wondering how on earth it was going to be wound up.

I didn't take to any of the characters at all, I'm not sure I was meant to really. Because of that I didn't really mind what happened to any of them but when I got to the end I thought it came to an appropriate conclusion.

This is a book that is like a winding country road - you never know what's round the corner!

Having just finished this book, I find myself both agreeing and disagreeing with the synopsis - it really doesn't do this mind-boggling read justice. Twists and turns galore, each drawing the reader deeper and more uncertain about how this whole story is going to play out. The one thing which I find staring me in the face is that this would make an exciting and very thrilling on-screen drama.

Tara and David are what most would refer to as 'nouveau-riche'. Both from working class backgrounds, it is a combination of both their talents which has resulted in them renovating and rebuilding a house to become the home of their dreams. Just as they are reaching the final few finishes, their world begins to crumble - and boy, does it crumble!

I don't 'do' spoilers, but it strikes me that this novel will appeal to those who read psychological and crime thrillers alongside lovers of police procedurals and yes, even domestic family sagas. Full of surprises and revelations and there is no way I could have guessed the ending - but, having read it, find it finishes off the story beautifully.

S. D. Monaghan is definitely an author firmly on my radar and I'm looking forward to the next release already.

I received an arc via NetGalley in exchange for my original, honest and unbiased review.