This is a good read; a story with twists and turns and a couple of intertwined stories.

Leona and her daughter have always been close, but as Beth hits her middle teens the barriers are up. Leona feels her life beginning to fall apart when she suffers a series of panic attacks. Unable to confide in her partner or her beloved daughter, she finds the past closing in on her. Beth has her own worries - attending a school where she stands out for being normal, she is unhappy and unable to share with her mum. As the story unfolds, we get to understand more of what's going on with both their lives . . .

I enjoyed this one. Flowing smoothly, it's a well-written novel. However, for me, the clues were just a bit obvious and for the most part what happened next was what I expected - it held few surprises for me. Perhaps I've just read too many psychological thrillers lately? Not that it takes away from the fact that this is an excellent debut novel and Wendy Clarke is an author I would be happy to read again. For me, it's well worth four stars.

My thanks to publisher Bookouture for my copy via NetGalley. This is, as always, my completely honest and original review.

This is a tense psychological thriller set within the Lake District. Leona is a single parent to Beth, and they have always been best friends as well as mother and daughter. There have been no secrets between them, but as Beth gets older secrets begin to emerge on both sides of their relationship.

The tension in this book began to build quite early on. The setting of the Lake District, whilst beautiful, added to the suspense which ran throughout the book! The writing was great and it kept me well and truly hooked from the very beginning. Whilst the pace was slower at the beginning, as the story moved on the pace picked up and it moved along at a rate of knots, not giving you chance to catch your breath before it moved onto the next twist in the story!!!

The story is told from several character’s perspectives and the characters all fit well into the story and give it great depth and realism. The storyline twisted and turned so much that towards the end it began to make me feel dizzy! The end was fabulous, it was certainly an ending I didn’t expect or see coming, and it was full of heart-stopping moments and nail-biting tension! If you like a psychological thriller that drags you right into the heart of the story, makes your heart beat faster and keeps you thinking about it long after you’ve finished, then this is the book for you!

Overall this is a good read. Leona has a secret that will not stay buried for ever. Her daughter Beth finds out. This book is well written but I guessed the plot early on and that spoiled it for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I'm honestly disappointed. I love thrillers. I started this book with high hopes and was let down. The first half of the book was very slow going and somewhat tedious. At around 60% or so I figured out what the plot twist would be. I plugged through and finished the book, hoping that it would get better. It's well written, it just didn't hold my interest.

*Thank you to the author/publisher/Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review*

I received this arc from the publisher Bookouture and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is a fast paced book that will keep you up at night. It'll keep your interest peaked with a few twists and turns here and there, which will keep your heart pounding. A definite 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 read for me.

A page turner! This is a great debut novel of mystery and secrets! I had a very hard time putting it down. Enjoyed the plot and the characters. I will be looking for more novels by this author!

My thanks to Bookouture for an eARC via NetGalley of Wendy Clarke’s ‘What She Saw’ in exchange for an honest review.

Leona has lived in the Lake District for the past twelve years with her teenage daughter, Beth, and Scott, her partner of nine years. She makes handcrafted silver jewellery that she sells at craft fairs while Scott leads walking tours for tourists. It all seems idyllic though it wouldn’t be much of a psychological thriller if that was the entire picture.

Recently Leona has been experiencing panic attacks linked to her past and the memory of her friend Ria. She is anxious about Ria coming back into her life. Why? She soon is seeing a therapist to resolve this.

In addition, Beth is been bullied by a group of mean girls at the private school she attends and she has been bunking off. Leona is over protective while Beth is being sullen and uncommunicative.

The chapters move between Leona, Beth and Ria. In Ria’s chapters we learn of her marriage to a controlling man, who slowly cut her off from her friends and family.

I found this a gripping read. Clarke does take her time in establishing her characters and the atmospheric setting before increasing the tension to a nail-biting climax. Still there were times when Leona’s behavior drove me to distraction. Still that does demonstrate how invested I was in her story.

Overall, I felt that this was a strong debut and will certainly be looking out for her future projects.

"What She Saw" Wendy Clarke

My first time reading that author.

I liked it, especially the second half of the book.
Well written, interesting story with good characters.
I had mixed feelings at first because I felt it was a bit slow and I like things moving fast but I quickly understood that things would happen...
I would give 3 stars for the first half and 4.5 for the second half of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

"What she saw" by Wendy Clarke was a slow start and I nearly gave up reading it. But then all of a sudden Bang this book was brilliant. So stick with it.

Leona is living in the Lake District with her partner Scott and her fifteen year old daughter called Beth. Leona makes her own jewellery for a living and is very happy with everything However, However, Leona is hiding a big secret and she has hidden it from Scott and her daughter.
Whilst visiting her local shop to pick up a few bits Leona becomes spooked when she sees someone who looks like Ria, a face from her past. She leaves the local shop in a state of panic and becomes scared of everything around her.

Who is Ria?

What has Ria got to do with Leona?

Leona's past starts to come out and she has to visit her therapist to talk about who Ria is. Leona has become very protective over Beth. WoW............Leona has a dangerous past and you will find out throughout this book why she is this way.

This book will keep you on your toes and has lots of twists and turn that will leave you amazed.

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased

I hve never read anything by this author before, but after reading this story, I just have to read every single book she publishes from now on. 

The beginning might be a bit slow, but the author gives you the feeling something big is going to happen and it keeps you alerted. The story takes us back to the past to start the revelations and I thought the idea behind this book was brilliant.

You know the feeling when you actually should stop reading but you can't keep your hands from turning the pages and add one more chapter and one more and ...? Well, to me, this was this kind of story. 

It was a very good debut and I am looking forward to what she will do to keep us entertained with in the next book. 5 stars.

Thank you, Wendy Clarke, Bookouture and Netgalley.

First of all, I want to thank NetGalley and Wendy Clarke for giving me the opportunity to read this advance copy.

The story is told from the point of view of Leona, Ria, and Beth. I like the character/chapter style of writing and the chapters are short enough that you can stop after finishing a chapter rather than stopping half way.

The story line is very easy to read and intriguing. You know there's a secret but don't know exactly what it is....until you get around 65% at which point the secrets start to unfold. At this point, I could NOT put the book down. I needed to know what was going to happen next. I stayed up and finished it!!

What She Saw by Wendy Clarke is my first Advanced Reader Copy experience since starting my book blog, and it was the BEST ARC to start this part of my reviewing experience. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Bookouture for the copy!

In her thriller, Clarke expertly weaves several stories throughout the book, keeping us wondering how they will all end up coming together. Each chapter is told from one of three main character’s points of view: Leona, Beth, and Ria. Leona is Beth’s mother, and Ria is…well, we aren’t exactly sure.

The book kicks off with Leona, out and about running errands, when she suddenly thinks she sees someone from her past: Ria. Leona has a minor panic attack, and this stress and anxiety continues as she keeps having memories and flashbacks of Ria. Leona and Beth have always been close – so close that Beth really doesn’t have many friends because she hasn’t needed anyone besides her mother, but their relationship is starting to become strained as Leona’s anxiety is all she can focus on and Beth struggles to fit in with bullies at school. And all the while we’re left to wonder and try to figure out…who is Ria? What happened to her? How does she fit into Leona’s life?

The book started a little slowly for me; I needed a chapter or two to get hooked into the story, but once I got sucked in after the beginning, I could NOT put this book down. I was reading every chance I got and struggled to stay up way past my bedtime to find out what was going to happen next. I loved the alternating perspectives – that really kept me wanting to read “just one more chapter (or ten)” because I’d get hooked on what was happening from Beth’s point of view, but then we’d switch to Leona and I’d want to get back to Beth…until I got swooped up in Leona’s story. And on and on! Clarke does an excellent job at building the suspense up until the final climatic third of the book. Even though I guessed a lot of the ending, I still didn’t get everything right and because the story was so good, I didn’t mind figuring out a lot of it before the end. It was still an amazing ride to find out how everything really fit together.

This book comes out SOON – look for it May 1!! This is Clarke’s debut novel, and it is an excellent first book – the kind that I dream of writing myself someday! If you love thrillers and want something a little different, this is an excellent choice. It’s the perfect summer thriller – I could definitely picture spending a day out in the sun, reading this all day, drink in hand.

4/5 stars – the only reason it’s not a 5 star is because I guessed a lot of the ending, but I still highly recommend!

What She Saw was a slow burn of a story to begin with but once you get into it you really do struggle to put it down. Set in the beautiful Lake District this story just gets to you, even though it takes some time to work out really what is happening. Definitely worth sticking with, a twist that I did not pick.

Leona and her daughter Beth are close. Leona is a very protective mother and Beth is now a teenager and wanting some independence and freedom. But Leona has dark secrets that not even her husband knows about. She begins to have panic attacks and goes back to see her therapist. This is where we learn all about Ria... but who is she and how does she fit into the story?

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased

Everyone knows Leona would do anything for her daughter Beth: she moved to Church Langdon to send Beth to the best school, worked hard to build a successful business to support them and found them the perfect little cottage to call home. Leona and Beth hike together, shop together, share their hopes and fears with one another. People say they’re more like best friends than mother and daughter.
It’s the relationship every mother dreams of.

What if you’ve been protected from strangers your whole life, but the one person you can’t trust is the person closest to home?

This is one heck of a ride! It's crazy that this is the author's first novel because of how great it was and the storyline was so well written! At first it started out slow but when it picks up you won't want to put it down.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of #WhatSheSaw
Pub Date: 01 May 2019

This is a great psychological thriller that had me hooked throughout.
The story is told from three points of view, Leona, Beth and Ria.
Leona is struggling to cope with panic attacks that have started up again recently, and her husband and daughter notice something is wrong.
Even though they are a close family, Leona does not share her problems, and neither does Beth.
Beth is not enjoying school due to a group of nasty girls but can’t speak to her mum about it.
We find out that Leona has had a difficult past but it’s not until later in the book that we find out what happened.
Ria’s story links in with the two of them and has also had a difficult time.
This story comes together in a breathtaking way and I was glued to it until the end.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

An amazing debut novel. This was gripping with a great twist. A family of Leona, her partner Scott and her daughter Beth. The backstory of Ria pieces this tale together. A family saga of many secrets. A very satisfying ending.

Leona is Beth's overly protective mother but who is Ria? Told in their alternative voices, this is a story of secrets and lies that might linger in your head. Beth's having a hard time- she's 15, they've moved to the Lake District (love that btw), and her mom is making her a bit crazy. In other words, she's a typical teen. Then things change when she finds something that makes her question everything she knows. Leona has a past and she's having trouble coping with it. So much trouble that she can't bring herself to marry Graham, the good guy. What happens next- no spoilers! Thanks to net galley for the ARC. This is a nicely written twisty tale.

This is a debut book from Wendy Clarke, I was given a arc from netgalley and able to read this early as the publication date is may 1, 2019. Great book that pulled me in from the start. The story follows Leona who is a single mother living with her boyfriend but has a mysterious past. Many twists and turns in this book keeping me guessing from the very beginning! Only took me a choke days to read it and I kept reaching for more. Great story, pick up a copy 5-1-2019 from a bookstore near you. You won’t be disappointed.

Oh my goodness I absolutely loved this book. It has a bit of everything and the artistry and scenery just add to the gorgeousness of it.

Leona lives with her partner Scott and daughter Beth in the picturesque Lake District. Leona makes her own jewellery and her life is a happy one but something from the past is haunting her. A visit to the local shop leaves her is a state of panic as she is sure that she has seen the face of Ria !! Who is Ria and what could she have done the has made Leona so scared of her reappearing in her life. To try and stop her dwindling mental health Leona visits a therapist and we gradually find out the truth about Ria.

This is a great psychological thriller with some very complex characters that I absolutely loved and really wanted to find out about their past and present. This really is a book that needs to be added to you reading list and one that you will be sure will keep you hooked until the very last page.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

3.5
This was an entertaining story. I liked the writing and characters. It takes a bit of time to get going but when it takes off it’s a fun ride.

The chapters alternate in narration from Leona to Beth, mother and daughter, both grappling with issues and secrets. This slowly layered the story and added a nice depth to the characters.

As for the mystery and conclusion... I did figure this out prior to the reveal but that didn’t take away from its enjoyment and there were still a few surprises in store. Impressive debut, would recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Bookouture for a copy in exchange for a review.