I'm not sure if it was intentional, but I thought this carefully crafted novel sent out a powerful message about the dangers of alcoholism especially those in denial and also the need to be vigilant on dating sites. Certainly, it gives an amazing insight into alcoholism. Alex Smith is a journalist, but because of her obsessive drinking problem, with vodka, she becomes unreliable absent-minded and disorganised. She stresses about losing her job. She lives from one drink to the next as she tries to "manage" drinking by detoxing. Deep down I think there is an underlying theme of isolation, loneliness, running out of childbirth years, and other factors prevalent in our modern society which is saddening. I learnt the shocking facts about the agonising grip alcohol has on Alex - fighting hard against her need and also on Sarah Wilcox who wanted the oblivion of gin to block out pain and memories but becomes a recovering alcoholic. Sarah tries AA and goes onto Rehab. Is it really SO expensive!!!? It crossed my mind several times that Alex was not too kind to everyone in a bid to escape herself. Was that her dilemma side-effect of the evil drink? Sobriety must be hard to maintain. The slightest thing and you are so vulnerable to hit the bottle. I was fascinated by the job of a journalist. A mix of excitement and nerve-wracking! There was humour, four dead bodies and loads o suspects. It's a food-for-thought novel. Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo.

This book had me hooked but I did work out some of the twists before they were revealed.
Alex is a high functioning alcoholic and is currently off work following an on air drunken incident. There’s a murder just round the corner from her home so she calls the producer and asks to be the live reporter. She’s given a chance and makes it work - most of the time.
Alex needs her vodka with her each day and more in the evenings when the day has not gone to plan.
Soon four women have been murdered and it seems those closest to Alex are suspects. She can’t get her head round this and soon the situation spirals out of control.
There’s also chapters written in the form of a diary from a woman called Sarah, who Alex met many years ago when she was drinking more heavily.
This is a gripping read.
Thanks to Canelo and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

An interesting and informative insight into the life of an alcoholic and the importance of The AA for those people affected. Needless to say a very interesting storyline about investigative journalism, thoroughly good and engrossing read, leaving the reader wanting more.

A story told through up to date details of a news reporter and a diary of someone she met and friended the year before. Who's the killer and is one of them to become a victim of the serial killer.

A well told, interesting story, which gives an insight into the world of the alcoholic, with the results of both drinking and the hard found sobriety following it.

I'm glad I read it.

This was a pacy, entertaining read and the main character's alcoholism was skilfully dealt with, engendering both sympathy and frustration. I found it harder to engage with the Dear Diary writer and her story arc felt slightly less convincing, but switching between the two narratives worked well.

Although the second half of the novel was a real page turner, the ending felt a little abrupt to me and I also found myself wondering about the title after I'd finished. It felt like a slightly odd choice for the story. But certainly an enjoyable read overall with a memorable main character and a fascinating insight into the world of crime journalism.

It took me a little while to get into this, but when I did I couldn't put it down. Although a flawed character the book gives an idea of how a alcoholic can function on a day to day basis. The pressurised job that she had as a high profile TV journalist made everything worse. I couldn't decide who the killer was, and had various suspects in mind, a great twist at the end that I did not see coming. I would definitely recommend this.

This was an interesting premise let down by the lack of supporting characters and too much time devoted to the MC's alcoholism. Understand that it's clearly pivotal to the plot but sometimes felt a bit like reading a memoir or cautionary tale of an alcoholic. Started full steam but ran out about half way through.

Bit of a slow pace for me but nevertheless I am glad I read this book through to the end. The story focuses on one main character who is battling alcoholism and trying to hold onto her job at the same time.

It took me a little while to get into this, but when I did I couldn't put it down. It was an unusual plot focusing on a high profile TV journalist who juggles this extremely pressured job with being an alcoholic. It was interesting to see how her career, her alcoholism and the high profile story she was covering interlock in an intriguing way.
Whilst reading it, I couldn't decide who the killer was, and had various suspects in mind, but it wasn't until just before the end that I worked out who it was, but not the whole scenario! I would definitely recommend this and it was great to be able to read it before it was published.

This is one o f those books which is difficult to review without giving too much away. Alex is a functioning( just) @alcoholic on the brink of meltdown when a scoop falls into her lap. She has to hold it all together and try and rescue her credibility as a journalist. There is also a parallel plot, concerning a diary from her past.
This all comes together at a cracking pace. A good read.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

A fantastic book. I especially liked that the main character was very dysfunctional, but more than that, the author chose not to put in some soppy superhero to save her and fill the pages with silly love scenes! A very gritty read that kept it real throughout. Excellent.

Interesting take on a psychological thriller . I liked the way that it intersperses diary entries ( you quickly work out who’s diary it is) with the narration of Alex,a journalist who is also high functioning alcoholic in denial about her problems. How reliable is her recollection of the events surrounding the murders of women in her locality that she is reporting on ? Her lack of honesty about her past life and her drinking to others and herself actually make her more endearing and human than I at first thought . You end up willing her to sort herself out ,unlike Sarah the other alcoholic who I found it hard to warm too. Believable account of modern day life pressures and enough to put you off internet dating!

Enjoyable read that keeps you guessing to the end. Alex main character is realistic and found myself routing for her to have. a happy ending.

I thought the whole concept of this book was very interesting. There was s whole story within the life of the main protagonist, and adding in the murders made for a very complex tale. There were a number of threads, but very easy to keep the strands going, and they knitted together fabulously at the end to make an extremely satisfying result. This is my first book by Jody Sabral, but it definitely won't be my last.

Alex South is a high - functioning alcoholic wh is teetering on the brink of oblivion. Her career as a television journalist is hanging by a thread since a drunken on - air - rant.

When a number of murders occur in the area where Alex lives, she has been given a second chance to prove herself. She thinks she can control her drinking, but she can't. She's done things she can't remember doing. There are entries in her diary from an unknown person who seems to know Alex very well.

I found this books pace to be very slow and that is also how I read it. Normally I would read this type of book is a day. This was more a book on alcoholism than being a crime thriller. The plot is split between current day and diary entries from a year ago. There is a bit of suspense and a few twists but nothing that really kept my attention. I'm sure there will be many other readers who will enjoy this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Canelo and the author Jody Sabral for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great read. A real page-turner that kept me gripped throughout.

I would recommend this book and look forward to reading more from this author.

I enjoyed the story behind this book, it just didn't flow very well for me at all, which unfortunately ruined the enjoyment of it for me.

This is a suspenseful thriller about murders of women in the Hackney area. It’s told from the perspective of an alcoholic journalist that ends up being involved in the story.
I enjoyed this but did guess the ending. I didn’t feel like it was a huge twist or massive shock, but I found myself wanting to find out what happened.
It’s an easy read and enjoyable, but not ground breaking and shocking in my opinion.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this book. It definitely transcends genre conventions with character development, and gives a wonderfully accurate picture of high-functioning alcoholism, even though the ending was a bit obvious. Better read as a novel than a thriller

I got an advanced copy through netgalley. I thoroughly enjoyed this book which had me gripped me very quickly. This was a proper page turner reminiscent of The Girl on the Train.

Like TGOTT, this book is about a functioning alcoholic, devastated after a miscarriage and the end of a relationship. Alex is also a TV journalist, reporting on a potential serial killer.

I agree with a previous reviewer about the cover/blurb highlighting a potential plot twist in a somewhat pointless manner.

I would definitely read books by this author again.