Maggie was a bit of a strange character from my perspective. I felt a tremendous amount of sympathy for her as she wakes up at the start of the novel from a ten-week long coma to the heart-breaking news that her daughter died in the same accident that put her into that coma, and that her husband has left, taking all of their money with him and leaving no way of contacting him. But as the story continued and I found out more about her, I found that I didn’t really like her. She was a stay at home mum, but too focused on her own goals and ambitions to pay much attention to her daughter, and whilst she regrets her behaviour now (there’s an idiom about hindsight) she came across as being quite selfish.

If I didn’t take to Maggie’s character, it didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the novel at all, and I read this in a single day, wanting to know the what and the why behind Maggie’s conviction that her daughter, Elspeth, was still alive. This was one of those novels where I had all sorts of theories in mind as to what the grand reveal would contain, but I was a long way from guessing what actually happened. The revelations come late in the novel, and whilst the reader gains a little bit of insight from Maggie’s past and the slowly returning memories from the day of the accident, the reader is kept largely in the dark as to what is going on until the end of the novel. I did perhaps find that ending required a little suspension of disbelief, but again, I don't have a problem with this, particularly when I’ve raced through it as I did here to find out what happened.

I’ve deliberately avoided talking about the plot in any detail as I think that it would be too easy to spoil the novel for other readers – this is a case where the blurb tells you everything you need to know before diving in, except perhaps that it will keep you glued to your seat as you race through it to find out if Maggie is delusional and / or desperate, or if her view that Elspeth is alive might just be correct.

Day of the Accident will be published on 21 February by Penguin. Many thanks to the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy via Netgalley.

Absolutely fantastic. This is a superb book and should not be missed. The main story line runs pretty much in time sequence but with memories of important events in the past cleverly intertwined. The 'letters to mum' are a major component of the book but the timing and purpose is only fully understood late in the book. I wondered if the ending would be a letdown or be unbelievable but it all fits into place. I had difficulty with some sections where Maggie is not in control of her mind but this is a problem with my taste in books rather than the book itself. Thoroughly and highly recommended

This was an extremely fast-paced book. I loved the story and the way it develops along the chapters. The image of grief and devastation when Maggie realises what happened to her child was amazingly well portrayed and I was very intrigued and confused about what happened on the day of the accident. Was Elspeth still alive? What was going on? I read the book in a day and I was truly hooked.

I gave it three stars because of the ending as I didn't find it that surprising. In fact, it was a bit out of the blue and it didn't make a lot of sense.

All in all, it was a really good book and I cannot wait to see what the author decides to write next!

This is my second Nuala Ellwood novel and it hooked me from the start. Maggie is dealing with her daughter's death and her husband abandoning her just when she needs him the most. Does he blame her? Is that why he has left? The book also has some heartwrenching letters from a child to her mother. This author has a style that hooks you in and keeps you turning pages into the early hours of the morning. Plot twists you just will not see coming are one of Nuala's writing fortes. Thanks to #netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #nualaellwood #dayoftheaccident #penguinbooks #goodreads #litsy #amazon #tea_sipping_bookworm

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC.
This is a cracking psychological thriller. I was so totally drawn into the developing strands of the story, trying to guess the plot but failing miserably! There are lots of twists and reveals - didn't see them coming, expertly veiled until the end. Written from Maggie's point of view, waking from a coma she learns she has lost not only her daughter but her home and husband as well. Surrendering herself to be cared for by Social Services and the benefits system, pieces of memory gradually return, culminating in an horrific and surprising confrontation.
The dialogue is excellent and moved me to keep turning those pages to find the final truth. An emotional but satisfying conclusion.

This book is brilliant and kept me gripped throughout, a thrill of a read that kept me guessing, I will be giving this 5 stars and recommending this book to anyone looking for a great thriller, fans of Karin Slaughter and Karen Rose, this book is a must!!!!

Thanks to Nuala Edward and Penguin Books for the opportunity to read and review this book. Intriguing and captivating from chapter one. Maggie has experienced loss like no other, the loss of ones own flesh and blood. She blames herself. While she tries to come to terms with her grief someone starts playing cruel tricks. The Day of the Accident is emotional, disturbing and utterly engaging.

I really enjoyed this book. Maggie wakes up after some time in a coma. She is told that her 10 year old daughter has died in an accident. Maggie had left her in the car and hadn't put the handbrake on properly, and the car had rolled in to the river. Maggie had been seriously hurt trying to get her out. She can remember very little of what happened that day, and now she is told that her husband has disappeared. It becomes clear that she has had mental health issues in the past, so she is the classic unreliable narrator. This is a real page turner, which I stayed up late to finish! Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

Gripping psychological thriller - Maggie wakes from a coma to find her daughter is dead and her husband is missing. Her daughter has drowned in a car and Maggie nearly lost her life trying to save but what caused her to be in that position in the first place? She can remember her past but not the accident - and she's determined to find out what really happened. Fast paced and highly recommended.

This is a first for me by this author.

They say you killed...
BUT WHAT IF THEY'RE WRONG?
Sixty seconds after she wakes from a coma, Maggie's world is torn apart.
The police tell her that her daughter Elspeth is dead. That she drowned when the car Maggie had been driving plunged into the river. Maggie remembers nothing.
When Maggie begs to see her husband Sean, the police tell her that he has disappeared. He was last seen on the day of her daughter's funeral.
What really happened that day at the river?
Where is Maggie's husband?
And why can't she shake the suspicion that somewhere, somehow, her daughter is still alive?

A fantastic but dark psychological thriller with lots of twists and turns that will keep you guessing... and the final twist... how did I not see it coming??
A compelling page-turner that twists a tale centred on grief, loss and human relationships.

Looking forward to more of this authors work and I would Highly recommend to anyone who loves psychological thrillers.

Thank-You Netgalley for my ARC.

Maggie wakes up from a coma to find her daughter has died and her husband has disappeared. She is told her daughter died in an accident she caused but when strange things happen had someone covered up that she isn’t really dead?

This was a good read but I wasn’t blown away which is why it only gets four stars from me. Recommended to my book club as they will enjoy it. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Having read and enjoyed the debut novel, My SIster's Bones, I was excited to read The Day of the Accident - and it didn't disappoint. I was gripped from the Prologue where Margaret Rose Allen (Maggie) is in court accused of manslaughter and Maggie's thought as she enters her plea is that Elspeth forgives her.
From there we return to Maggie coming out of a coma and so the story develops and moves forward apace and yet we are not sure where it is going. Again the characters are well-drawn and believable. The letters that intersperse the plot are intriguing and confusing - real or in Maggie's imagination?
An intriguing read!
Many thanks to Netgalley/Nuala Ellwood/Penguin Books for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 stars
Whilst I did enjoy this book I have to be honest and say it didn’t grip me as much as her last one, My Sister’s Bones.
This book is a little slow start until the huge twist at the end that wraps up a little too quickly and leaves you tantalisingly wanting more.

I absolutely loved My Sister's Bones, the debut psychological thriller by Nuala Ellwood, so when I saw that she had a new book coming out, I jumped at the chance to read and review it. I was not disappointed. Rarely do I come across a second book by an author that is as good as the first - there seems to be a block regarding those second outings - but Ellwood surprised me with Day of the Accident, due to be released in February, 2019. 

Moments after Maggie wakes from a coma, her world is shattered when she is told that her daughter was tragically killed and Maggie may be the one responsible for her death. When she asks to see her husband, she learns that he disappeared the day of the funeral. With no memory of the tragedy, alone and confused and still injured, Maggie attempts to learn the truth of what happened on that fateful day. But, if you are familiar with Ellwood's writing at all, you know those answers involve deeply held secrets, dark and twisty surprises and an ending you will not see coming! 

I don't always enjoy twists and turns in a book, especially when they are thrown in there just to "surprise" you but have little relevance to the story. Ellwood however, slowly allows you to twist and turn, shading the truth in darkness and lies and leaves you wanting more until you reach the climactic conclusion. Every reveal brings more questions rather than answers and has you, the reader, questioning what you once thought of as real. 
There is a reason that Ellwood was awarded so many accolades in 2017 as "the author to watch" and "the new face in suspense," because she really is that talented! I cannot recommend this book highly enough! It is terrific! And, if you cannot wait until February, you can listen to the book now with audible. :) 5 plus more captivating stars for Ellwood and Day of the Accident. 

It goes without saying that I hugely thankful to #Netgalley, #NualaEllwood and the folks at @PenguinUK for my copy of this incredible thriller.

You awake from a coma to find you remember nothing about the day of the accident, the day your daughter died. How do you cope with not knowing what happened and being blamed for the accident? A gripping novel that reveals the past and the twists of the present. A great read right to the last page.

I loved this story right from the start, a few pages in and I was hooked.
When Maggie wakes from a coma she discovers her whole life has changed irrevocably, her daughter is dead and it appears that Maggie is to blame. Sean her husband has left and she has lost her home along with any memory of the fatal accident.
This is such a heart wrenching story you can almost feel the pain Maggie is experiencing, it is really well written and really does keep you in suspense.
Nuala Ellwood is definitely an author I will be watching out for.

This book will stay with me for a long time.A young pregnant girl is disgraced by her community and is sent away to St Margarets , a place where unmarried young women are sent to have their babies and then cruelly ripped away from them. The story jumps from past to present and introduces us to a young journalist called Sam who accidentally comes across some harrowing letters from a mysterious girl known as Ivy who goes into great detail about the pain and abuse she and many others are experiencing at the hands of the evil nuns at St Margarets. Sam becomes obsessed with finding the identity of Ivy and what happened to her whilst unexpectedly discovering some of her own families dark secrets . A really good read!

This novel follows Maggie as she wakes up from a coma after an accident that takes her daughter's life. Or at least, that's what she's told. But, her gut instinct tells her something isn't adding up.

I did enjoy reading this but as a last resort. I felt that while Maggie is written from a first person view and she is the only "regular" character, we don't see much of what makes her her. So much of her identity is tied up into two events and it's like she's barely a person without them. And as those events don't get revealed until much later, there just isn't much for me to relate to, or to sympathise with.

I think that is actually one of the biggest issues. I don't care about any of the characters. Not a single one. The
second issue is that the entire book is comprised of maybe 3? central "twists" but they're revealed SO late in the book, which also means that nothing much really happens in the majority of the story.

As I said, i did enjoy it but in the most passive way imaginable.

I am new to. Nuala Ellwood But I was hooked from the beginning. Great twists and turns throughout and a brilliant ending. Will be looking out for other books from her

I found this book really easy to get into and read despite the jumping backwards and forwards. What I particularly liked what the fact I wasn't quite sure how the ending was going to arrive despite lots of guessing.