Finding Eva is J.A. Baker's fourth novel and I found myself horrified that I seem to have missed one, something I shall need to rectify immediately. It is only 18 months or so since J.A. Baker released her debut, Undercurrent, so it is amazing that she is currently working on her fifth novel. What a writing machine! So I couldn't wait to see what Finding Eva is all about.

Eva has left London and headed North to find her birth parents. Eva has left under a cloud after breaking up with her boyfriend, Gareth, and not telling her best friend, Celia, that she was leaving. So Gareth and Celia follow Eva to Whitby, both of them desperate to find Eva for very different reasons. Gareth could kill Eva for what she did to him, and he just might if he gets his hands on her, but what did she do? I certainly couldn't read fast enough to find out! Celia, meanwhile, is quite another matter and she really creeped me out. She sees herself as Eva's soul sister as they were both brought up in care, but with similarities in appearance, it is clear that Celia doesn't just want to be like Eva, she wants to be her. Creepy!

With Gareth and Celia chasing down Eva, the story is told from these 3 different perspectives. Each character has their own motivations which taints their point of view so it's up to the reader to decide which one is nearest to the truth. I really felt for Eva as she just wants to meet her birth parents and find out why they gave her away but, after reading the first chapter, I also worried whether she had some ulterior motive for visiting Whitby.

There's always a keen sense of place in J.A. Baker's novels and Finding Eva is no exception, set on the cold and wet cobbled streets of Whitby, a little fishing village in North Yorkshire. The setting seems to add to the suspense as Eva finds nowhere to hide, despite there being plenty of narrow alleyways and lots of people visiting during the famous goth weekend.

I found this book a little darker and more menacing than J.A. Baker's previous novels but there is so much suspense that it's virtually impossible to put down. Finding Eva is chilling, suspenseful, dark and menacing; it's another superb book by J.A. Baker.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

A good book, well developed and tense, I prefer more of a psychological type thriller than this type, but still was able to get into and enjoy this story. It had the tense, taught, twisty nature I enjoy.
I will be recommending and using in a daily challenge in Chapter Chatter Pub.

Eva was taken into foster care as a toddler and has had no contact with her birth family since. She tracked them down and has been keeping a check on them for years. After a disastrous end to her relationship with Gareth she moves to Whitby to be closer to her birth family. Her friend Celia finds out she’s moved from London but she’s worried about her mental health so she follows her. Unknown to her Gareth has also followed her to Whitby when the three collide it will lead to something disastrous.

I discovered J A Baker last year and this is actually the third book I’ve read of hers, but think this is the most shocking so far! The story starts off with a bang with a crowd of people standing outside a house that the police have cordoned off. The crowd are getting more and more agitated until two body bags are rolled out, what exactly happened inside that house?

The story is then told from three perspectives, Eva, Gareth and Celia with a few chapters from Trish, Eva’s mother. They may not all be that likeable (especially Gareth, I really didn’t like him) but you can’t help being drawn into their world.

J A Baker really messes with your emotions, I didn’t know who to believe. Who’s telling the truth? Is Eva unbalanced or is Celia? What did Eva do to make Gareth hate her so much? Why didn’t Eva’s parents try to find her?

I have to be honest with you though, the book does start off quite slow, I did find it a little difficult to read but I feel once we get to Celia’s perspective, the story gets really gripped me.

Overall Finding Eva is a slow burning tale of unreliable narrators, lies and painful truths which all leads to an explosive ending.

Wow just wow. J.A. Baker has written a truly riveting book. I was hooked from the very first page and just couldn't stop reading much to the annoyance of my dog Fiona who was clearly insisting that I take her outside. Now or else. LOL. Definitely pick up this winner of a book if you love tense and emotional stories. This will definitely hit that spot. Happy reading!

This psychological thriller focused on four damaged individuals and grabbed me from the first page. The story of Eva attempting to find her birth mother after growing up in foster care, along with her relationships with her boyfriend and the friend she grew up in foster care with was engrossing.

My review is written with thanks to Sarah Hardy at Bloodhound Books for inviting me on the blog blitz and providing my copy of the book via Netgalley.
Eva Tweedie was taken into foster care as a young child, and, after splitting with her partner, Gareth, moves to Whitby from London to go in search of her biological parents. Eva's friend, Celia, is concerned about her mission to find her family, and follows Eva to Whitby to protect her. What will happen when Eva comes face to face with her birth mother?
Finding Eva is a very intense psychological thriller. Baker's writing style is such that she describes things that we all recognise, like feeling hungover or being interested in gossip from the neighbours, in minute detail, so that I was drawn into the action, on edge to find out more.
Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different character, and this means it is not always clear who is telling the truth. The characters also have secrets, which are alluded to, but not revealed until much later on, and I enjoyed the way that Baker kept me guessing and asking questions. I must admit that whilst I did guess some twists, there were a few surprises, and the suspense that they generated kept me hooked until the end.
The majority of Finding Eva is set in Whitby, which is a beautiful seaside town. I have been to Whitby a few times, mostly in my childhood, but found that Baker's descriptions of the town painted a beautiful picture in my mind that transported me to the environment in which the characters lived with ease, and drew me in even further.
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'Finding Eva' is psychological thriller author J. A. Baker's fourth standalone novel predominantly set in Whitby. North Yorkshire, although some of the story is set in and around London.

Eva has had a difficult life having been abandoned by her parents as a baby and placed into care. Since then she has managed to build a good life for herself, has a highly successful career in finance, and decides to sell her London flat and move to Whitby as it is where she believes her biological parents are now living. She also left her boyfriend without informing either him or her friend Celia of exactly where she was going. What could be lurking around the corner for Eva? Who does this danger come from and what do they want from her?

I'm afraid I had a number of issues with the book. It is very slow moving making it a real hard slog to get through, and I wanted to DNF it numerous times, although I did stick it out until the end as I don't like to give up on a book. There is also not much going on and I think this has been further enhanced by the slow-moving plot. There is a lot of description and although I enjoy many authors who write in a highly descriptive fashion, I found the mix of issues meant I couldn't get into the writing style here. It is well written but would be better described as suspense than as a thriller in my opinion. There were a lot of characters we were introduced to also, making it difficult to keep up with who is being talked about. However, Baker does a great job of seamlessly weaving together the perspectives of Eva, Gareth (Eva's boyfriend) and Celia. There were also a few non-predictable twists which I always appreciate, but unfortunately there were too many issues by that point and, as a consequence it didn't quite work for me.

Many thanks to Bloodhound Books for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I’m a sucker for watching the tv programme Long Lost Family so this blurb sucked me right in. Someone looking for their birth parents I find intriguing but of course this is fiction so I knew I was gonna get a good story.

Eva has spent most of her childhood in foster care. The need to find her birth parents is strong so after breaking up with her boyfriend Gareth Eva takes herself to Whitby to look for them.
Celia is Eva’s friend who has been through the foster care system with Eva.

Although I found this a tad slow to start off with I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a really well written story full of suspense. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Eva is looking for her birth mother, she was given away when she was a toddler. Eva has a secret that she has kept from her boyfriend Gareth. When she finally comes clean to Gareth it sets him on a downward spiral.
Celia has a best friend Eva, they were brought up together in foster care. Celia is worried as Eva has gone missing, she needs to find her before it is too late.
Trish is Eva's birth mother and hopes to one day see her daughter again.
This is their story and what happens on that fateful day.
This book is pacy getting into the lives of these four individuals and when the climax of that fateful day explodes I was shocked. This is the story of these four damaged individuals and how they deal with their pasts. Only one has MURDER in their hearts but which one?????
This book is a rollercoaster of emotions and you have to keep on reading until the explosive ending.
This is a marathon of a psychological thriller. I LOVED IT.
I would like to thank the author J.A.Baker, Bloodhound books and Net.galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for giving an honest review.

What a messed up book, and I’m honestly not sure if that’s in a good way or a bad way. The first half of the book had entirely too much exposition. There was a lot of characters thinking things and virtually no action at all. This got very hard to read, because they all seemed so miserable. Told from three different perspectives, Eva, Gareth, and Celia, the author does do a good job of seamlessly weaving the alternate points of view together. And in the second half there is certainly a lot of action. However, everything seemed a little bit disjointed. There was an awful lot going on and even though the perspectives meshed, the action didn’t always do the same. The twists, and there were quite a few, were decent but I felt that the main one was never completely developed. I mean (without giving anything away), it was certainly made clear, but it wasn’t as fleshed out as the other main reveal. I did like how the festival in Whitby mirrored the tone of the first half of the book, because the exposition was very Gothic in nature. But all in all, this book didn’t do it for me; the slow start and despondent characters were too much to overcome. Thank you to NetGalley, Bloodhound Books and the author for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Eva was given away as a baby, unwanted by her parents who were unable to cope with a child at that time. Having had a successful career in finance in London she has sold her flat and moved to Whitby where she believes her parents are living. Whilst in London she had a relationship with Gareth- a turbulent one to say the least. She found respite in the bottom of a bottle and now wishes to put all of this behind her although she does miss Gareth and finds herself calling him more than she feels she should. This is a very descriptive read. Something I wouldn’t normally go for but this is done somehow in a different way. The descriptions drew me in both to the character and the situation- the mark of a good author in my humble opinion. Chapters alternate between three main characters- Eva, Gareth and Celia. Celia is Eva’s lifelong friend whom she was in foster care with. Celia has always had a protective wing over Eva and when she moves without telling her just knows that something is amiss and goes to find her. A book to savour if you enjoy detailed characterisations. In some ways not a lot happens, other than in the minds of the characters- their thoughts of the past and how they want to put things right or confront a situation where they feel they have been wronged. A very clever plot and and ending that made me smile and left me thinking. A wonderful, different read.

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I really enjoyed this book. It had me gripped and I found myself getting lost in it which is a great sign for me of a good read. I hadn't read any books by this author but I'm now on the look out for her others. Highly recommended.

While I was not enamoured of the characters not finding them likeable it is a sign that the book has made me feel something.

I think the story was solid but the characters were distracting for me as I didn't like them. I can see a great deal of potential for this style of book.

Dealing with three perspectives can be difficult at times but the author has done a good job of keeping things clear.

A solid book and am looking forward to more from this author.

This book took some getting into and slightly confused me as to who was telling the story so much so I had to check back on occasion to the title of the chapter as to whose turn of the story it was. But that said once it settled into a rhythm it was a fairly engrossing read. The twists and turns make you want to keep going.
The story tells of how the care system can affect two people who live together in the same environment can turn out so differently, but the back story of how they came to be together gives you more insight into why they are who they are.
Finding her birth parents is the end game for Eva with Celia dogging her every move as she reaches her goal.
Unfortunately for Eva Celia has her own agenda and as she spirals out of control she takes Eva with her.
The story ends on an unexpected twist that you thought would happen but you have to keep reading to confirm it and even then it still throws you yet another twist.

The story flicks between three characters. Eva, Gareth and Celia. It was good to see the point of views from each person as you really get a sense of them and how things affect them individually.

Eva hasn't had the stablest of home life's being taken from her real family and put into care. I could understand why she would want to find her real parents and having lots of unanswered questions. I was very intrigued to find out why Eva had cut herself from everyone, especially her closest friend.

This is such a dark and brooding read. The author has a knack of drawing you in so that before you know it she has you hooked and unable to put the book down even if you wanted to. As things start to be revealed, well I just let the author take me hostage and stayed within the pages until I got to the end. There are a fair few lies and secrets to be revealed and I was dying to find them all out.

Finding Eva is a story full of suspense that you don't quite know what you're walking into. The author is a good story teller and kept me enthralled throughout. I really enjoyed this book and if you haven't yet red any of the authors books, then I highly recommend you doing so.

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

I've shared this before- I review a lot of psychological thrillers, and I review them not on criteria as prize-winning literature, but on the basis of if I am entertained. This one did not entertain me. It also was over-written and poorly written, but it did not entertain. So, no.

Each chapter of Finding Eva by J A Baker is written from the perspective of a different character and whilst this was a useful tool to build up a background for each character it did make the first part of the book seem to be never ending and I found it difficult to get into.

Overall this wasn't for me but will be for others

Enjoyable read. I enjoyed reading the chapters from the point of view from the different characters and how they developed as the book went on. I did guess one of the twists early on, although not all the details (I assumed it had been accidental!) However, some twists came as a pleasant surprise and contributed to the enjoyment of the book.. I would welcome reading books by this author in the future.

Eva is desperate to find her birth parents, so after the break-up with her current boyfriend Gareth, she packs everything up and moves to Whitby. Gareth is furious with Eva about the bomb she dropped on him before the break-up and decides to hunt Eva down. Meanwhile, Eva’s friend Cecila is concerned when Eva doesn’t return any of her calls and decides to go visit in London, only to find out that Eva isn’t there. Cecila decided to go to Eva’s new home in Whitby to make sure she’s not unraveling as both women have been damaged by their childhoods. These meet-ups could be lethal for one party.

I found this book very slow to begin with because we needed all the details of Eva’s life and some details of her and Gareth’s relationship. I found the first almost half of the book to be just minute details that didn’t interest me very much. When we met Cecila, I became more interested in the story because we began to get a different perspective of Eva’s life and see more of where the story was going. I did see one of the twists coming and didn’t quite understand why someone would do that but it becomes more apparent the further you read.

I enjoyed the ending and I didn’t really see the final twist coming and I enjoy that. I also really liked the stand off at the end between three characters! There are definitely some interesting things going on in this novel and I enjoyed most of it. I am not really sure how I overall felt about the book, the writing was easy to follow, but the chapters were too long for my liking and I did enjoy all the characters, but the character development took too long for me.

Pick it up August 27th!

Finding Eva is about how Eva has coped with being brought up in foster care and how it has affected her right through to adulthood. It is about her wanting to find out why her parents didn’t ever come back for her. We get to know Celia, who was brought up in the same foster home as Eva and we meet Gareth, Eva’s now ex boyfriend. I enjoyed learning about each of the characters personalities and how their childhoods had made them the way they are now., even though none of them are likeable. There are a few twists in the story which added to the intensity. I found myself on tenterhooks leading up to the end. I would recommend this book.