Not every childhood friendship is meant to last. Sometimes you move and forget about what you went through together. Other times you move to a different country and then years later get a call that brings you right back to what happened and where.

That’s exactly what happens for Harry when Paige calls him and tells them the third member of their trio, Richard, is in trouble. Richard is being charged with murder and the cops seem determined to link him to what happened when he was a teenager as well. Something that Harry went through with him, but can’t remember all the facts of what happened 20 years prior.

With Paige determined to clear Richard’s name and Harry willing to do whatever he can to help, he realizes just how much the people you care for can change over time. Suddenly it’s not just clearing Richard’s name that is his focus, but keeping himself out of trouble as well.

An excellent stand-alone thriller form Kerry Wilkinson. Childhood friendships....childhood tragedy cut to 20 years later and tragedy strikes again. What really happened along the railway all those years ago?

While I've ready more thought provoking thrillers, this one still kept me up at night.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview The Blame by Kerry Wilkinson.
The story centers on a man, Harry, who returns home to help two of his friends in need basically. Things have changed alot and Harry takes it all in upon arrival.
But Harry can't quite believe that his old friend, Richard has killed someone and that's why he's come back. And his other BFF Paige seems to be holding on to secrets, but one thing she knows is that they need Harry more than he really knows.
Slow to start but overall a good mystery.
3 stars.

‘There’s something about a childhood best friend that never leaves a person. We move on with new relationships, friends, work, colleagues, flings, deep conversations, soulmates. We can get married, divorced and remarried. We have kids and pets. We travel the world and see things we never forget. And yet, beyond that, those connections we make when we’re kids feel fixed and permanent’

The Blame follows the story of Harry, a British man living in Canada when he receives a call from his childhood best friend to inform him that their other friend has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Harry returns to his small town where things seem so different, yet somehow the same. The story looks at Harry’s relationship with his old best friend, and the journey they take to discover the truth.

Overall I enjoyed this book, but I did think it took a while for me to get fully into it (despite this I still read it in an evening). The storyline was interesting, and as someone who grew up in a village - I can definitely relate to some of the feelings about coming back. The story did lack some character development I think would have improved the plot, and the main character in this felt like a bit of a mystery man. The ending was a shock, which was good, but I also think it could again, be further developed.

I am intrigued to read more of Wilkinson’s books as I found it quite different to usual thrillers, worth a read if you like thrillers.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an early release copy of this in return for a review.

Oaige, Richard and me. We thought that we'd bee friends forever. But everything changed that day we took the shortcut home from school along the old railway line. I wish we'd gone the long way. I wish we hadn't seen our classmate, pale and still in the undergrowth.

Twenty years later, i have a brand new life and try never to think about the old one. That is until Paige calls looking for help. Richard has been accused of somethin terrible.

The pace is slow to begin with but it's not long before it picks up. There's a lot of character building giving us the background to this story. The suspense soon starts building. Harry was living in Canada but went home to Macklebury when he got the phone call from Paige telling him Richard was in trouble. The characters are well rounded and believable. I liked Paige's mother when she helped Harry out of a situation, it actually made me laugh. I really like the way this stoy has been told, there's so much more to this story. You wil be kept guessing just like i was and in the end i still did not get it right. Full of twists, this is an intriguing read.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #Bookouture and the author #KerryWilkinson for my ARC #TheBlame in exchange fo an honest review.

⭐⭐⭐ .5 Stars
Only a true owner would write a message in the BACK of a book!
People Change. Then they change again ~Except us ~ we’ll be forever.
-Paige & Harry
Paige, Richard and Harry were BFFs since they were little children, continued to be friends in high school often walked to and from Macklebury High School together. However, one unforgettable day Paige and Richard took the short cut home from school and find a body in the bushes near. It was Graham one of the boys from their school. It appears he has been hit in the head with something heavy perhaps a rock. The murder was the talk of the town but remained a mystery.
.
Now nearly twenty years later Richard is accused of killing a former teacher. In the investigation, the police now “blame” him for Graham’s murder.
Paige and Richard still live in the small town but when Richard is accused of murder. Harry lives in Canada but when Paige calls him with what is happening to Richard he returns immediately to his home town to help.

Although the story is a slow pace; it kept me curious. Had a hard time figuring out Paige felt sure she knew more what really happen years ago. There is no doubt someone is NOT telling the truth. I certainly had no clue whodunit!! I love a story with twist and turns ~ this did NOT disappoint!
Like that there is a sample of so many of Ms. Wilkinson’s stories in the back of this e-galley. I certainly will read another! Oh and I liked this cover 😀

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for this early release granted to me for an honest professional review. Publishing Release Date scheduled for February 19, 2021

Thank you Bookouture and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a (very) slow-paced mystery with a half-baked plot. Actually, the plot was pretty decent and nicely wrapped up, but with weak characters and past-present narratives, it didn't hit the chord I was hoping it would. I, as a reader, was not sure what to look for when reading through the pages except very tiny details being covered every second and the dialogues were very loose, the characters did not give each other anything but cold/defensive vibes until the very end so I couldn't fully buy into their "childhood" friendship. The author does well to tap into more serious topics like drug addiction, homophobia, and small-town mentality (esp. class differences), I'll give him that, but these probably also constitute the very cliches of a modern yet regressive society that we live in.

Overall, the slow-pace is a massive bummer for me and it isn't one of the reasons I read mystery (these I receive better with literary fiction).

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This was an okay book but I have been reading similar books along the same line and this was not as good. Worth a read though

The Blame is the story of three friends who are separated by time. Now they join together when one of them is blamed for a murder in town and also gets linked to a murder occurred 20 years ago.

The plot is fascinating but the pace is slow and it takes time to get a grip on the story. The character development could be better but the suspense was interesting. In short it’s simple crime thriller about a murder happening in town and some friends try to solve the mystery around.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the Review copy.

This book was ok but lacked something to make it noteworthy.

The story is about three school friends who meet up again when one is accused of murder. One of them Harry lives in Canada and returns to the UK after a call from Paige his childhood neighbour. Life hasn’t treated Paige well and she has issues , Richard is the last of the trio and he’s accused of murder.
I found the story lacklustre and just ok , I felt it lacked pace . The characters seem genuine and reflect what can happen in today’s society and how people change from childhood , due to the opportunities or lack of them.
The writing is free flowing and easy to read , but I hoped for more although I enjoyed the twist in the conclusion.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this arc copy.

Another standalone novel from Kerry. I love his Jessica Daniel’s series, I highly recommend those. This was just ok. Three friends from childhood regroup years later when one of them is accused of murder. Another friend has become a drug addict and the other is going through a divorce and wants to help his friends. During the investigation, people want to know what really happened when two of the friends stumbled upon a murdered boy years ago. The story was fine. Nothing really wrong with it but nothing really exciting about it either. It was an ok ride but will soon be forgotten.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a gripping read. School friends, Paige, who still lives in their small childhood town, rings Harry, who now lives in Canada, but, is recently separated from his wife, to explain that their close schoolfriend, Richard has been accused of murder.
Harry races back to the UK and finds himself torn between schoolfriend allies and his memories.

It's such a well told story and takes us from the school friend reunion, to the 2 friends trying their best to find out what happened. But there's so much more to this story; there's a murder from when they were teenagers, drugs, family and twists and turns as they explore the possibilities.

I read in pretty much one sitting and loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley, BookOutre and Kerry Wilkinson for the opportunity to preview this excellent thriller.

My thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy of “The Blame “ for an honest review .

I’ve read , and enjoyed ,other books by Kerry Wilkinson in the past and this one is no exception.
I was intrigued by the premise , and the storyline kept me hooked right up to the end.
Other reviews seem to think it is slow paced , but I felt the story kept up a good pace , and I will definitely be recommending this to others. as a very satisfying read.

The Blame Kerry Wilkinson

Harry lives in Canada and one day he receives a call from Paige ( a childhood friend ) that their other friend Richard has been arrested for murder.
When Harry and Richard were teenagers they came across a body.
I'm usually a big fan of crime fiction , but sadly this one didn't quite hit the spot.
Don't get me wrong the plot is good, the characters and the interaction between them is intriguing enough to hold your interest but as I was reading this it did not pique my emotions in any way .

I found this story to be very slow paced to the point where I felt like giving up the read. It was 3/4 of the way done before it got some grip to it. That last quarter was good but that is not enough for me. The beginning was a lot of Harry reminiscing, and Harry and Paige walking around town with more reminiscing. Suspense was low and descriptions long. I have enjoyed other books by this author but I cannot recommend this one.

This book was just ok. The storyline was interesting but the book itself, especially the first half, was pretty tedious. It centers in Harry, who was best friends with Paige and Richard growing up but has lost touch with them over the years. He gets a call from Paige telling him that Richard has been arrested for murder, and he travels from Canada to his tiny hometown in the UK to help.

As I said above, the first half of the book is really slow- lots of conversations and random details but not much action. The action did pick up a bit over the 2nd half of the book, but it never really became fast paced. Secondly, the characters were under-developed, in my opinion. We never find out what Harry does for a living, how he can afford to stay in the UK for a while, why he is divorced, or what even happened to make him lose touch with Paige and Richard. He also talks regularly about how he can’t remember details from his childhood, which is odd in itself and doesn’t do anything to endear us to him or the friendship.

The ending of the book somewhat redeemed it for me, as I had not figured out what was really going on up until that point, and when the truth comes out, it makes sense. The author also tied up the loose ends and gave us another twist at the very end.

Overall, this was a slow read that felt a bit like a slog, but with a pretty good ending. I’ve read other books by this author that I have liked more; I would give this one 2.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was... fine. I've been a Kerry Wilkinson fan for quite some time but his recent novels have been a bit samey. The story is always that the main character goes back to the small town they grew up in and has to contend with small town drama, it's just getting a little bit cut and paste.

The story was pretty good and I was interested to find out who was behind both murders. I didn't immediately guess the perpetrator of either murder so that was a bonus.

I thought the characterisation was quite poor. It was a few chapters in before we even found out if the main character was male or female, and after that we found out nothing about what he looked like, what he did for work or anything about his personality really. Please give us something to root for!

As always with a Kerry Wilkinson book the writing style was witty and he made me smile with some of his observations. This wasn't a bad book by any means but it was also nothing new.

2 stars
This book is not at all what I expected. I truly did not like it. It was hard to follow. And I did not finish.

When Harry gets a call from home to say one of his best childhood friends has been arrested for murder, he drops everything in his new life in Canada to go back to England.

Richard has been charged with the murder of their old teacher Mr Wilson. Harry doesn’t believe Richard could do it and together with Paige, the third member of their teenage trio of friends, he tries to find something to help prove Richard’s innocence.

Bad memories from the past come to the surface, and Harry learns that life for those he left behind has been tough. Slowly he begins to wonder whether his belief in the innocence of the people who knew as a teen is blinding him to how much they have changed.

Everything in this story is from Harry’s perspective, so from the start we’re sure of Richard’s innocence. But, as Harry uncovers details about the lives Richard and Paige are leading now, and the realises how much he was either ignorant of or has forgotten from their teenage years, he begins to doubt everyone around them.

A great story about how hard it is to return home and the power childhood friendships and promises can retain over us as adults.

Overall a good thriller. Lots of suspense and moral ambiguity kept me engaged right to the end. A recommended read.

This is my first book by this author but it won't be my last. I was hooked from the beginning. Richard is accused of murdering a former teacher. Paige calls Harry to help. He flies from Canada before realising all he can offer is support. A past, unsolved murder is brought back up and Richard is accused of being involved with that too. Harry, Paige and Oliver who is Richards brother but also Paige's ex husband start looking through newspaper cuttings to see if they can help Richard.

I was drawn into this book from the beginning. You knew something dark was about to unfold when he dashed back to England so quickly. As the story unfolds it turns into quite the page turner as you need to find out what happened in the past and what they have all done. Loved it.