From the depths of Nicole’s Book Cellar (Instagram.com/nicoles_bookcellar):

Book: The Child Across the Street (Release Date: July 23, 2020)

Author: Kerry Wilkinson

Genre: Mystery

Rating: 3 ⭐⭐⭐

Plot: Returning for her father’s funeral, Abi is the sole witness to a hit and run of a little boy named Ethan. The mystery unfolds as Abi is reunited with friends and frenemies that she hasn’t seen in twenty years. The only thing that is for sure is that the guilty person is definitely someone in the small town.

Thoughts: I wouldn’t consider this a thriller but a light mystery. I did not find any of the adult characters likeable at all. Abi had a lot of baggage that had her just literally walking through the town waiting on her dad’s funeral while trying to figure out who hit Ethan. There are many suspects and the final culprit won’t be a huge surprise but I like who was chosen to have done it.

Final drinking thoughts: There isn’t much action throughout the story but more of a small town drama. The best action was the last 10% of the book. I think the book was a quick read that doesn’t make you think too hard. This wasn’t a favorite book but I would like to check out other books by Kerry Wilkinson.

Thank you to @NetGalley @Bookouture for the advanced copy of #TheChildAcrossTheStreet

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The only reason Abi Coyle returns to her hometown of Elwood after twenty years is to bury her father and sell his house. She’s left her job in London and plans to start over with the profits from the sale. It will take longer than she thinks because just as she starts to walk down her street, a young boy on a bike is terribly injured in a hit and run accident. She’s the only witness. The boy, Kevin, is the son of her childhood best friend Jo.

Her quick visit turns into days as she’s interviewed by the police. Jo leans on her for support and tries to establish their teenage friendship - they were a trio, joined by Holly who also still lives in Elwood. The women were like family to Jo and she quickly falls back into old patterns.
The town is a constant reminder of everything she wanted to leave behind. There’s the shoe factory, the unchanged greasy diners, the fairs in the park, the busybody neighbors and the general mood of hopelessness. She has flashbacks to the distant past and also to the day of the accident as she tries to recall more details. Abi is an alcoholic so her view may sometimes be distorted. As she begins to remember and small town secrets are revealed, she finds herself in danger.

The Child across the Street is an intriguing mystery with a very realistic setting. We’ve all known a town like Elwood - it becomes a character on its own. Realistic characters, not always likable, and a well-crafted plot make this a 5 star read.

The Child Across the Street by Kerry Wilkinson is a mystery/family drama.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)

Abigail (Abi) Coyle returns to her hometown of Elwood to bury her father.  She left 20 years ago, and had no desire to ever return.  She is barely off the bus when the town sucks her back in.  A young boy is hit by a car, almost in front of her.  The driver speeds off.  It turns out the victim is the child of an old friend.

Abi is determined to stay long enough to find out who hit Ethan, but she can barely stand being there.  Her "friends" have changed, but the town has stayed the same, except now there are major signs that it is dying.  With every move Abi makes, it seems like she is being drawn back into Elwood and all of its drama.


My Opinions:   

I have enjoyed many of Kerry Wilkinson's books.  This one was just "okay".

I guess I was expecting a thriller, and got family drama.  I didn't really like any of the characters.  I didn't dislike them either (well, a couple).  They bored me.   Nothing was really exciting, and for some reason, the suspense just wasn't there.

The premise was good and so was the writing.  There was really nothing wrong with the book.  It just didn't grab me.  I just sort of plodded along.

However, it was a fairly fast, easy read, probably owing to the short chapters.  Although this book wasn't as captivating as others, I will continue to read books by this author.

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I went into this knowing nothing and came out knowing I want to read more of Wilkinson's works.

Abi Coyle has just arrived at her old home town of Elwood. She has come because her father has died and left their home to her. Her mother left both of them years ago and she has not heard from her since. Abi is surprised to see how rundown and seedy the neighborhood is with very few shops open. As she walks to her street, she sees a car race by and a child’s bicycle in the road that is crumpled. That’s when she spots a young boy lying in a ditch covered in blood. She is shocked but has her wits about her to call 999.

The paramedics say the boy is still alive and take him to the hospital. When the police arrive, they question Abi, but she is still so shocked that she is having a difficult time trying to remember the color of the car.

A woman comes out and sees Abi. It’s Jo, an old school friend. She is surprised to see Abi, but when she realizes that the child that was hit is her son, Ethan. She is overwhelmed.

Abi is disgusted at how dirty the house is but for now, it gives her a place to stay. With Ethan in ICU, Abi meets other people she went to school with and sees how their lives are not the best. The town’s major employer is about to close which means many people will be left without a job. They’re furious.

Abi’s father had pre-paid his funeral which leaves Abi to just choose a date. She has no love for the man and just wants to see him buried.

As Abi talks with more people in town, she realizes that one of them is guilty of hitting Ethan and then taking off. But who and why?

I simply did not care for this story. It was depressing and dark. A number of characters, all flawed, just made for a pathetic mess. Sometimes, you never should go home again. I have read and enjoyed other books by this author, but this one left me cold.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was a fantastic book! It pulled me right in. After being away for 20 years, Abigail Coyle returns to her hometown for her father's funeral. Before she even arrives at the house, she finds a little boy who has been knocked off his bike by a driver who did not stop. This book was written in first person present tense. It was the right choice for this story - it ensures the reader is completely immersed. We find out what is happening along with the Abi.

This book is about secrets, hometown loyalty; dysfunctional relationships; and family. I highly recommend The Child Across the Street.

"Do you ever wonder if we are who we are because of our parents."

Abigail Coyne is returning to the village where she grew up having left and never looked back over 20 years ago but her fathers death forces her return to tie up loose ends. On her arrival she becomes a witness to a hit and run of a young boy who turns out to be the son of her childhood best friend. The book follows the mystery of who was the driver in the hit and run as well as the struggles of Abi revisiting her traumatic childhood.
I persevered with this book and was satisfied with the ending but I didn’t find it as engrossing as other books and did struggle to relate to or understand the feelings of the main character I just don’t know what was missing.
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Abigail Coyne returns to Elwood after 20 years to arrange for her father's funeral. While walking home on the first day, she hears tyres screech and finds a 8 year old boy critically injured, a victim of a hit and run. The injured boy is the son of her school bestie. Abi wants to finish her work at Elwood and head back but someone has their eyes on her. Abi tries to decipher who could be the culprit and eventually figures it out.
The story is not very engaging, Abi's reasons to escape from Elwood and her subsequent return is not very convincing. Other characters too lack conviction and seems to be a tale of small towns, where everyone knows everybody and what they are doing, but somehow they missed the obvious!

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC

★★★ 2.5 stars (rounded up)

I have been a Kerry Wilkinson fan since "The Girl Who Came Back" (which I inevitably loved), so naturally I was excited to take part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for his latest thriller THE CHILD ACROSS THE STREET. Kerry is fantastic writer with a great sense of humour peppering the odd witty quip throughout his books. He never fails to engage me with his ability to draw me (the reader) into each story that I often don't want to leave.

Following the death of her father, Abi Coyle has returned to her childhood home of Elwood where she left some 20 years before. She has inherited the house she grew up in but unable to disassociate it from a time she would rather forget, she decides to put it on the market.

On her arrival she witnesses an accident where 8 year old Ethan Ashworth (though there was a misprint in the book early on when he was referred to as Ethan Coyle) is hit by a car and thrown into a ditch by the road. I don't know if it is Abi's memories of the place or the fact she may have had too much vodka on her journey, but she appears incredibly vague to all she had witnessed. She didn't even notice anything had happened until she saw the bike wheel protruding from the ground.

Then there is the distressed cries of a woman who turns out to be Ethan's mother from across the road who turns out to be one of Abi's best friends, Jo Ashworth, from school. The two reconnect through the tragedy though I'm not sure why. Abi just seemed to drift along on Jo's various and demanding whims. The woman didn't seem to think of others and despite her son being in hospital she appeared to be enjoying the spotlight just a little too much.

Following the accident, Abi gets the sense that she is being watched and begins to feel uneasy. She hears noises in the night and upon investigating, she sees a figure run off in the dark. She starts to wonder if her past has come back to haunt her, though I am not really sure what was so awful about her past that she would feel under threat. The only real threat she seemed to have had is now dead and awaiting burial but even that was a little ambiguous. Whatever the case, Abi solved it all by sipping vodka from the water bottle she carried around...or she just got blotto.

As much as I love Kerry's thrillers, THE CHILD ACROSS THE STREET just didn't do it for me. I don't know what it is but I failed to connect with any of the characters and found most of them unlikable. I disliked Abi almost instantly and, despite her being well-written in relation to the story, I just couldn't connect to her or feel her pain. She had no drive, no real purpose even. Jo was just demanding and annoying. Holly was somewhat uppity which was reflected in her move to an seemingly more upper scale part of the same town in which they all grew up. Even the teenage children were difficult to connect with. They all just seemed to be names on paper, not real characters.

I did like how the town itself became its own character with bits of messy relationships woven throughout and within each character you meet. But that's as far as it went. All the other bits and pieces seemed a bit pointless. I kept waiting for something big to take place...but it never did.

I'm not sure what THE CHILD ACROSS THE STREET was supposed to be about. Is it a domestic thriller? Is it a mystery? Is it a tale of suspense? Is it a story of grief? It seems like it was supposed to be a little of all these things woven together but instead it just unravelled like a ball of string. The premise seemed to promise something different to what was actually delivered.

This wasn't an easy review to write...simply because I love Kerry Wilkinson's thrillers and I appreciate the many hours that must go into each and every book. I wanted to like it but I just couldn't. And to write a review on a book I didn't really enjoy by one of my favourite authors is no easy feat. I can see from others that there are mixed feelings about this book. Some of Kerry's most loyal fans are either united or divided in opinion. And it's quite possible that THE CHILD ACROSS THE STREET will go on to be another raging success.

However in my opinion, I felt it wasn't his best BUT it certainly doesn't put me off the author. He is one of my favourites and I eagerly await each new release.

I would like to thank #KerryWilkinson, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheChildAcrossTheStreet in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

This isn't my first read of a Kerry Wilkinson book but I had no idea just how many books she has written!
Based on this book, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I have now added loads more of her books to my Goodreads shelves to read in the future. I have a lot to get through and enjoy!
This book, The Child Across the Street, is all about Abi, returning home to Elwood to sort out her father's estate, and unfortunately witnessing a hit and run accident just moments away from arriving at her childhood home.
I liked the way in which this book looks at our past, where we grew up and how location can really affect us. Elwood is struggling. There is poverty and unemployment, not made any better by the impending closure of a big local employer Hendo.
Abi clearly left Elwood to escape some very unhappy memories but upon her return she is thrust back into examining just what did happen to make her leave, and in doing so encounters old friends Holly and Jo, as well as ex boyfriend Chris.
It turns out that Ethan is Jo's youngest child and with that knowledge and some unsettling flashbacks to the hit and run, Abi seems set on a course to understand more about her home town and more about the inhabitants, people she knew from schooldays, who grew up like her, but never left the place.
It is interesting to see how perspectives change as well as the physical changes to a town and Abi catches up with who married who, who is doing what now and also what murky low level goings on are keeping the residents busy.
There are some things that are said that just don't add up, and maybe, caught up in trying to come to terms with what happened to her own family, Abi delves a little deeper into the events that take place following Ethan's accident.
I loved the small town feel of the book, the plot was well crafted and as a reader I wanted to learn more about the characters, their secrets and their motives. I was engaged and kept on turning those pages. Suspicion is cast upon more than one person...
Will the driver be caught, will Ethan recover and what is Ethan's friend Petey doing lurking at people's back doors?
Sad and funny, (I particularly liked the dialogue with the funeral director!) this is a book I can definitely recommend reading.
Thank you to Kerry Wilkinson, the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this latest book in advance of publication.
It won't be my last!

Kerry Wilkinson is another author that I have already picked up several books from and had always really enjoyed them so I was quite looking forward to this latest. The Child Across the Street is his latest standalone thriller.

Abigail Coyne has returned to her hometown of Elwood for the first time in the last two decades after being contacted that her father had passed away. Abi really never wanted to look back but having inherited her father’s estate and needing to deal with the funeral arrangements she packed up to return.

After arriving in the small town Abi is walking along when she hears the screech of tires and then comes across a young boy off the side of the road apparently the victim of a hit and run. As the ambulance arrives so does the boys mother and it’s Abi’s old friend leading her to want answers as to who in town could leave a child to die.

Now as I mentioned I normally find myself completely caught up by this author and love his intense thrillers. However, with this read I found myself constantly wondering where the thrills were hiding. The pacing seemed really slow to me and there just felt to me as if something was missing from the story. I did notice that we never really got to know Abi’s past and as much as it’s hinted to that lack of depth felt off too. In the end this one was just so-so but I won’t hesitate to read the next from this author.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Abi Coyle has returned to Elwood, the small town where she grew up in. She's never been back in twenty years but she's had to return to bury her father. She is walking towards her family home when she hears the screeching of tyres, a bicycle that's been overturned and a child in a ditch. The victim of a hit-and-run accident. It turns out that the child's mother, Jo, and Abi used to be best friends. From here on in the book mostly revolves around the investigation into the accident.

I have read and enjoyed a few of Kerry's books but this one did not grab my attention the same way that the others did. I wasn't a fan of any of the characters. There were parts I questioned that didn't seem real. The story is told from Abi's perspective. There's some good red herrings. There are parts that seemed to drag out a bit. This was more a whodunit than a thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy of The Child Across the Street in exchange for my honest review.

Kerry Wilkinson has written another gripping and suspenseful story. It was incredibly difficult to put this one down. As with her previous books I needed to see where the story would go.

The story starts and ends on a Tuesday. Abigail (Abi) Coyle returns to her hometown of Elwood for the funeral of her father. She has not set foot in the town since she left 20 years ago. As she's walking to the house she happens upon an accident. A young boy had been a victim of a hit-and-run as he was riding his bike. Abi soon learns that she knows Ethan's mum, Jo Ashworth - they were best friends when they were in school together.

In a small town, there are never strangers driving the streets, so someone knows who hit Ethan and placed him in a coma. Someone (or everyone) in Elwood is lying. Abi lies about what the clear liquid is in her bottle that she carries everywhere. It's probably not water. Her neighbour's son Chris is lying about something. Abi and Chris dated when they were in high school. Owen (Ethan's brother) said that he was with Beth (his girlfriend) at the time of the accident. Beth had said that she'd not seen Owen since the weekend. Then people start changing their stories, creating bad and very transparent lies. There are several arrests but are they the right people. There is someone mixed up in a pyramid scheme. Someone is a drug dealer. How do all these bits contribute to Ethan's story? The ending is explosive when all the pieces fall into place and the true hit-and-run driver is unveiled.

One tiny bit of confusion was in Chapter 15 where Ethan is identified as Ethan Coyle - instead of Ethan Ashworth. Coyle is Abi's last name.

I'd highly recommend this book and I can't wait for the next book from Ms. Wilkinson. Definitely worth more than 5 stars in my opinion.

The Child Across the Street is Kerry Wilkinson's latest twisty and addictive standalone thriller. Abigail "Abi" Coyle returns to Elwood, the town in which she spent her formative years, to put her father's affairs in order after his passing. She has not visited her hometown for two decades and would not be going back but for the situation, as it's certainly no pleasure trip for her and it brings back memories she has managed to repress relatively successfully over the years. On her way to the house she is wheeling her suitcase down the street when she hears the dreaded sound of screeching brakes. Naturally, she is shocked and startled. The car rapidly leaves the scene and she only just catches a slight glimpse of it as it disappears from view. She realises that a young boy has been hit and knocked off his bicycle; he's still breathing but bleeding quite badly. Abi telephones the police and ambulance and the young lad is taken to hospital where she discovers that he is the son of one of her friends from childhood, Ethan. So she decides to try and find out more about the disappearing driver even though it could put her life in danger.

Mr Wilkinson sure knows how to write an intriguing mystery and this, for me, is up there with his best. He throws you in at the deep end right from the start and has you captivated by the end of the first chapter. The short, snappy chapters are great for allowing you to read "just one more" before bed and the writing style is straight to the point, no-nonsense and no unnecessary padding. The cast of characters is well developed, the pacing is pretty much spot on and the plot well executed and gripping. I particularly appreciated the author's social commentary and witty observations which lighten the mood when it's a dark case. As someone who has, and still does, suffer abuse I felt for Abi as she seems lost and I understand what that feels like. I can appreciate that sorting out the personal effects of an abusive parent after death would be a nightmare and that's without the accident happening to top it all off. You have to do quite a bit of reading between the lines regarding Abi’s past as many times what she is trying to say is not overt. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC.

A simple easy story to follow.

A typical who done it with tragic consequences and a closed local community with a guilty secret.

Leaves you with many unanswered questions about Kerry's childhood and the relationship between her parents and herself.

This haunting and gripping psychological thriller will cure you of any misconceptions you may have about returning to the town where you grew up. Abi's back for her father's funeral when she becomes a chance witness to a hit-and-run. The more the time she spends at Elmwood, the more she realizes that everything is just the same as it was before, and maybe, coming back was a huge mistake.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

This is a decent story about a small community and what hides behind closed doors. I'm a big fan of Kerry Wilkinson, however this one didn't live up to what I expect from one of his books. The characters fell a bit flat. I was surprised by the who dunnit. Other than that the pacing was very slow and it seemed to take forever to truly find out what drove Abi away to begin with. I just didn't feel invested in the story.

I'm a fan of the author's Jessical Daniel detective series and picked up this book with enthusiasm.

Abi Coyle returns to her home town to see to the effects and funeral of her detested father. As she nears her old home she sees a hit an run. An eight year old boy is lying in the ditch. Tiredness from a long journey and swigging from her ever present bottle make her an unreliable witness however.

A very well written but relentlessly downbeat story of a damaged woman, her friends and small town life. I didn't find it to be a thriller, rather it moved forward slowly, with just the mystery of who drove the car to be revealed. The pace picked up towards the end.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Child Across The Street’ by Kerry Wilkinson in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

After an absence of twenty years Abi returns to her home town of Elwood to arrange the funeral of her father. As she walks along the road she hears a car rev its engine and hit a boy on a bicycle before driving off at speed. She discovers the boy lying in a ditch at the side of the road and calls for an ambulance but it’s only when his mother arrives that she’s realises it’s Jo, her best friend from school. Abi doesn’t want to stay in Elwood, she has only bad memories of the place, but the police have asked her to stay in case she can remember the details of the car and its driver.

When Kerry Wilkinson writes thrillers in the DI Jessica Daniels series I know I’m in for a treat as they’re always exceptional, but a number of his other novels, this one included, are fairly mediocre. ‘The Child Across The Street’ is classed as a psychological thriller which I find hard to understand as it came across to me as dull and lacking in adventure. There was nothing special about the characters and very little plot. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen and although there were a couple of pages towards the end when my interest increased, generally it was slow and lifeless.

The Child Across The Street is a great mystery/ thriller.
Abi returns to her childhood home on the death of her father. Her first moments back in the village are horrific when she witnesses the aftermath of a hit and run which leaves a young boy in a critical condition.
Abi was planning to make the funeral arrangements for her father and leave as soon as possible. But as she is now the only witness to the accident, which leads to her reconnecting with her closest two childhood friends, will Abi change her mind and stay in the village? Will she be able to help the boy and his family? Will she find out who committed the hit and run? Will Abi come to terms with what happened in her past that led to her leaving the village abruptly 20 years ago?
Another great domestic mystery/ thriller by Kerry Wilkinson.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.