I loved the premise of this book, the characters are well developed, I really felt for Jake and I was intrigued to see where it was going, who killed Jordan?

The killer reveal is a surprise largely because the reader wasn't really given enough about the character to make him a suspect before that, it is explained and fits with the rest of the book.

BUT that plot twist with the Mayor? That is a surprise I cannot get on board with it comes out of nowhere, is confusing and far-fetched, to say the least... It really distracted from the main story and I'm gutted it ruined it for me.

Thanks to HQ Stories and Netgalley for sending me this in exchange for an open and honest review.

⭐⭐

Plot

Jordan Radcliffe is found stabbed to death.
Her boyfriend’s finger prints are on the knife and his clothes are covered in her blood.
Case closed… Or is it?

When Jordan’s estranged father Jake learns of his only daughter’s death, he is convinced that there is more to her murder than he is being told. But Jake hasn’t seen Jordan for over three years and, with secrets of her own, she was far from the child he abandoned all those years ago.

Jake’s ex-wife Jules, is reluctant to let him waltz back into her life. But with a question mark hanging over the case, Jake knows that he must piece together the fragments of evidence before it is too late.

Will he ever discover the truth?

Review

I have very mixed feelings about this book.

It’s atmosphere is compelling but it’s very repetitive. You get the same side of the story at least three times over when it’s really not needed. The storyline is strong but I felt it was let down but the extremely slow nature of the plotting.

I admit I almost gave up but I persevered and sped read most of the way just to get to the ending. The plot twist is clever but after a while I’d kind of already worked it out.

It’s a shame really as this book could have promised so much more.

Thank you to the publishers for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rating

3 stars

Recommend

Sorry not really.

3-4 stars. At time this book was really chilling, fast paced, and unputdownable, but at others it was way too drawn out and slow paced, which made it harder for me to finish. Overall it’s worth a read, as it has some good shocks, thrills, and chills. The characters are well developed, and it is well written. I think if some was shaved off, it could definitely be a 5 star read! If you like those creepy, atmospheric thrillers and are okay with not being super fast paced at all times you will definitely love this one!
Will make sure I buzz it up!

Unfortunately this was almost a DNF from me which was sad since it was a new to me author.
This book was too long winded to get to any real point of the story and was confusing at the best of times.
Once you finally get to the action the red herrings and actual truth are too close together to work well.
Also you are left with loose ends.

I could not connect with the characters! And the story was too slow for me. I wish there was more action and chapters that got to the point.

#HerLastSecret #NetGalley
Such a compulsive, claustrophobic read. It made my heart rate climb.
When Jake learns of his troubled daughter’s death, he is determined to find out what really happened on that fateful night. But Jake hasn’t seen Jordan for over three years and, with secrets of her own, there was a lot he didn’t know about his only daughter.
Jake’s ex-wife Jules is reluctant to let him waltz back into her life. But when Jake makes a shocking discovery, he is convinced that there is more to her murder than they are being told.
Characters are at their peak. Jake's character is awesome and make you feel connected with him. Other characters are good.
Narration of the story is good and keep you engaged till the end.
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital for giving me an advance copy of this awesome thriller.
Highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced copy for an honest review.

Sadly this is a DNF for me. I thought the story line was very interesting and could have been good.....but felt each chapter just drug on and on for me. It was extremely slow and at the 40% mark I couldn’t read any more. There was a lot of repetition and I was just bored. Other reviews say that the plot twist was epic but unfortunately I couldn’t make it there.

This was a good story but it seemed a little drawn out. It took me a while to read and didn't really hold my interest.

After the murder of his estranged daughter Jake tries to figureout her life and death..

What an utterly fantastic story, the emotion absolutely pours from the pages. Although Jake was flawed I think he worked perfectly as a character. The only downside is it’s very slow, I thought I was near,y finished before looking and seeing I was on 40%!

I really enjoyed this book! The plot was fantastic! I read this in one sitting! I loved the strong characters in the book!

Jake is told the most awful news that a parent should never have to hear. His daughter Jordan has been found dead, stabbed, but the police already have a suspect.. Her boyfriend's prints were on the murder weapon and so it seems an open and shut case. Jake and his wife Jukes have been divorced for some time, Jules has re-married and Jake has been estranged from his daughter for many years, but he is determined to find out exactly what happened to her. He has a friend in the police force who agrees to help him and so Jake starts his own investigation.
I thought this story took a long time to tell as there were many passive chapters which only reiterated what had already been said. I do thank the publisher, author and Netgalley for allowing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

An OK read, but for some reason I just couldn't identify with the main characters...which made the story less suspenseful and the ultimate outcome less satisfying. Not bad, but could have been much better.

*Thanks to both the publisher and the author for allowing me to read an ARC of this book free of charge, in exchange only for an honest review."

This book was a disappointment for me. The idea & description were great, but I found this to be very slow & repetitive - the fact that it took me 10 days to read 35% of the book is an indication of this.

Thanks to NetGalley & HQ Digital for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dark, creepy and dangerous this was a fantastic book and very well written. I loved it and was on the edge of my seat the whole time

Plot was great, I really enjoyed the twists, and the descriptions were also really good. I thought the first half was fairly slow - too slow for a thriller. It picked up at the halfway point though. I thought the characters were okay; nothing unique but not unlikable either. Overall, a solid 3 star read.

This is a good quick read. There is a lot of action and I was gripped the whole way through.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I did not enjoy this book. The premise was interesting- instead of a parent looking to find out what happened to a missing child, we have a parent trying to find out what happened to his adult daughter, who we already know was murdered. That was an interesting take on a common theme, and there were multiple twists towards the end that, though unrealistic and a departure from the rest of the story, were surprising.

The first 50-60% of the book spends a lot of time with Jake and Julie reminiscing about the days of old, which was repetitive and didn't add anything (in my opinion) to the story. I wasn't interested in the "what could have been" plotline or reading them both sharing the same feelings separately. The mystery intertwined with this was interesting, but it felt like it got a lot less plot time than the relationship piece.

That last quarter of the book got really action packed, but to quote another reviewer, went from domestic suspense to full out action thriller, which felt like a huge departure from the rest of the book. The plot became confusing and far-fetched as the book marched on, despite the fact that it was more interesting to read than the first portion of the book. Though the final reveal of who did it was a huge surprise, one reason it was a huge surprise is because the author never gave you enough information about that person to suspect them.

Overall, this was a bit of a slog for me to get through, and the fast pace at the end was convoluted and enough of a departure from both real life and the bulk of the rest of the book that it didn't pull me back in. I would not recommend it. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me this book in exchange for an honest review.

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

PROS:
• THE PLOT TWIST! I swear on anything you want, not even for a second I had seen this coming! This thing entirely made me raise my rating from 2 stars to 4.5 stars. It is a huge difference between the rating before I have come across the plot twist and after I finished reading. I know. But hear me out, please! Even though there are a lot of CONS for this book, in my opinion, as always, the plot twist and the plot twist of the plot twist (yeah, you read it right! the plot twist of the plot twist) it is WORTH. EVERY. SINGLE. CONS. THAT. I. HAVE. FOR. THIS. BOOK! Then why I didn't rate it 5 stars, you may ask. Well, because exactly of this thing, too many CONS. You will read them bellow.
Now, let me continue what I was saying about the plot twist. Without giving any spoilers, of any kind, it took me from the almost falling asleep state to fucking pull myself up because (cliche) I was just forgetting how to breathe! In a matter of a few pages! And, it almost made me forget that I have to prepare lunch for my family. Luckily, my 13-months-old baby boy started to grab my hands and I was able to see what the time was. During the lunch, I was on edge and restless because all I wanted to do was to go back to read!!! I didn't give a fuck about what my fiancee was telling me about I don't know what thing he did! I was daydreaming to go back to read my book! Do you get it?!
If this insight in my life wasn't convincing enough to make you grab this book, despite all of the next CONS, then I don't know what would make you do it. And I don't care. Just do it! Read it, and thank me later!

CONS:
• Annoying repetitions. From place to place there where these repetitions of certain sentences. I understand that they wanted to put an emphasis on some memories and point them out, but all they managed to do for me was to annoy and disturb me.
• Slow pacing. For about 75-80% of the book, I almost fell asleep so many times! So, obviously, I had to put this book away every time this thing almost happened, which, let me tell you, was more than 5 times.
• Philosophical vibes. I think at around half of it these philosophical vibes started to hit me. There weren't strong ones, just very subtle, but either way, it was freaking me out. In a subtle matter. Maybe I was dreaming because I had so many times when I (thought) I was falling asleep?!
• I don't know how to form this one, but the bad guy, the person who killed Jordan, had such a short time in the book! I feel like there wasn't enough time to even fully understand the why, even though it sais why. It failed to explain the hows of why it got to this why. Didn't give background for it, more simply said.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:
• This is not a perfect or an easy to go thriller. But, as you saw so far, mostly in my PROS, it worth all the struggle! I had a few times when I just said I will DNF it, but something (as Jake liked to point it out sometimes) didn't let me do it. And I am happy that I continued reading! And, to be honest, I don't think I would change something in this book if given the chance. All these "bad" points are the structure of it, the things that make it so damn good! How to put it more simple... You know the feeling when you take a sip from a glass of a good whiskey? How it burns you and you probably say what the hell is this shit that is killing you? And then as it makes it's way to your insides, it starting to heat you up? And you want more of that heat? Well, this is what this book is. A very good sip of whiskey!

Thanks to the publisher via netgalley for the ARC. An interesting synopsis, but DNF at 45% because its felt very slow and dragging. Still privileged to have had a digital copy for an honest opinion. But its sad it didn't work for me

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the ecopy. Jake's daughter Jordan is murdered and he hasn't been in her life for years. He tries to find out the truth of what happened to her but doesn't know if he ever will. All evidence points to her boyfriend but it's not as it seems.