Two strangers meet on a pier. Only one walks away……

The Woman on the Pier follows Caroline, a grieving mother, whose daughter Jessica was killed in a terrorist attack, when her parents believed her to be on holiday with friends hundreds of miles away. Months after the event, her family are still trying to piece together why she was there and come to terms with their loss.

I have to start by saying that the story was nothing like I expected. I was prepared for a thriller/mystery about the daughter’s death, with a twist, but there was nothing more to it than what the reader is told at the outset.

The narrative drags out for several chapters focused on the mother’s rather unhinged obsession with holding an innocent person responsible for the tragedy and the blurb barely fit the story at all until nearer the end.

Events are told from two perspectives: The Mother (Caroline) and The Boy (a friend of Jessica’s), and I found it really hard-going to be in the mindset of someone as self-involved, grief focused and illogical as Caroline.

Both she and her husband Alec are thoroughly unlikeable. While the various other characters should carry so many trigger warnings (self-harm, drug use, terrorism, child abuse, etc) that this book definitely won’t be a good fit for everyone.

There was also a lot seemingly unnecessary focus on Caroline purchasing a large Smart TV. It was mentioned so many times across several chapters, that it felt distracting and almost like product placement in a movie.

Overall, this story just wasn’t what I was expecting – not for me!

Great twisty and turny mystery read. I didn't enjoy it as much as The Dinner Guest but still flew through it.

I felt this book was dramatic and made for quite compulsive reading, I had to know more about the storyline. However, I found it hard to like the main character or to understand some of her actions. There were some good twists and things were tied up neatly in the end. Brutal in parts, unbelievable in others, I needed to finish it though. Bit mixed feelings on this one, well written, good twists but didn't quite float my boat.

Caroline is devastated when her daughter Jessica is murdered in Stratford as part of a terrorist attack. She cannot understand why she was there and is determined to find out.
By looking at recent online activity Caroline believes she had found a boy, Michael, who she was meeting.
She blames this boy for Jessica’s presence on Stratford station and sets off to confront him.
A study of how grief can completely overwhelm you. This coupled with a crumbling marriage and events from childhood that are unresolved leads to compulsive reading. Something a bit different

The title of this book is misleading. What is this about? Where is the pier? What direction is it going in?

Told from the perspective of The Mother, a married couple struggle to cope with the death of their daughter during a terrorist attack. She was not where she was supposed to be, where she would have been safely away from the attack and for the first half the story is about the grief. Following two timelines, the unpleasant couple bicker, snipe and irritate each other. All very depressing.

Three months after the attack, the mother reads her daughter's messages and finds out that she had arranged to meet a boy and that was why she was somewhere other than where she said she would be. The mother decides that he is the one to blame for her death and sets out to find him. From this discovery (which should have happened much sooner) the story takes off in some strange, unexpected directions, none of which I predicted. That makes it an engrossing read.

This is a dark story, dealing with some horrific issues that don't include the daughter's death by terrorists. After the first half, which was slow and dispiriting, the book slides into a fast new path where revenge is taken over by other things. Not really suspense but plenty of surprises. Still wondering why this title was chosen though...

This stunning novel is dark and disturbing. It is about love, grief, loss and hate. It is innovative and original, and the clever plot is full of surprises and shocks. The voices of the two narrators are clear and crisp and chilling. The story unfolds a bit like a Shakespearean tragedy but the writing is also tender and beautiful and full of empathy.

After her daughter is murdered during a terrorist attack, Caroline is struggling to get on with her life, haunted by the question of why Jessica was in London when she had told her parents she would be in Cornwall. What follows is a dark and gripping tale of wanting for revenge and dealing with the sins of the past. Recommended.

The Woman on the Pier by B. P. Walter is a drama pretending to be a mystery, there are some mystery elements but far more drama. My example was you wouldn't call Hamlet a mystery we find out early how hamlet's father dies but there is a whole lot of drama surrounding that death. The Woman on the pier is much the same way the mystery of the death is solved fairly easily, but it open repressed memories, and a lot of secrets. This is my second B. P. Walter, the publicist actually reached out to me to read this one, thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for the opportunity to read this book, The first book I read The Dinner Guest was a great "who done it" mystery, which The Woman on the Pier is not. The Woman on the Pier is more of a "I think you're are responsible, but can't punish who is so I might punish you if you did what I think you did" kind of mystery. The main character Caroline is totally unlikable, I think I rarely felt sorry for her. I have never read a mystery that involved ISIS, but can not say that now. Walter likes torturing his character's all his characters it worked better in the Dinner Guest but not so well in this book. There's a couple of good reveals, but there really no twist that change the narrative. There's lots of character reveals but really lacking on character motivation. This book does have some trigger warnings : sexual abuse, rape, child abuse, and drug abuse.

Plot Summary: Jessica a teenager is planning on secretly meeting a boy, she makes of a train ride to somewhere else. Jessica has to play her unhappy parent against each other to go, which she does but causes a bigger rift between her parents. England is attacked and like any good parents want to reach out if their daughter is okay, but get nothing. The day goes by and they haven't heard from Jessica. Then the police inform them that their daughter was killed in the terrorist attack. Caroline and Alec but deal with losing a daughter with out any answers, 3 months later Caroline goes through her phone and see the messages from the boy she was supposed to meet. Caroline finds out the boy Michael lives and takes it on herself to confront and maybe kill him? Will she kill a teenage boy to fulfill her grief?

What Liked: The humor, there's a scene where Caroline briefly losing her memory and sees what she's doing with fresh eyes and thinks she's lost her mind which she actually has. I loved everything with the big TV. I liked the family reveal at the end which made the most sense. I liked the scene with Caroline and Michael's family.

What I Disliked: It takes Caroline 3 months to throughly look over her daughter's phone after she died. You find the messages between your daughter and the Michael the guy you blame for killing your daughter and only read the last part, not the beginning. You resent your husband for doing the exact thing you were doing. Not enough character motivations for how crazy this story gets. The their is big reveals involving brothers one was good and the other was so unnecessary.

Recommendation: This book was not for me and I can not recommend it. I will recommend you check out The Dinner Guest but skip The Woman on the Pier. There is no mystery angle and just too many missed variables. I will give B. P. Walter for doing something totally different than his first, but B. P. Walter is better than the writing in The Woman on the Pier. I rated the Woman on the Pier by B. P. Walter 2 out of 5 stars.

Enjoyed reading this book with its twists and turns. The short chapters written from the mother and the boy's perspective made it interesting, although I didn't like Caroline the mother character. Not so much a thriller though and not sure where the title comes from either as the woman was only on the pier briefly towards the end.

Caroline Byrne is consumed with grief following the death of her daughter Jessica and desperate for answers. The storyline follows Caroline in her search for the truth after she discovers messages between Jessica and the mysterious Michael – the boy she was due to meet on the day she died.

This was a dark and twisty tale and one that I was immediately drawn into. There was a few heart stopping moments which always make for a thrilling read.

This was the second B. P. Walter title I have read this year, the first being The Dinner Guest which was also a five star read for me. Highly recommend this title.

Many thanks to B. P. Walter, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the review copy.

A most excellent read a story that kept me guessing from start to finish.Would recommend this book and author to anyone who likes mystery crime thrillers.Well worth reading.

Caroline is a grieving Mother. Her daughter, Jessica, was killed three months ago in a terrorist attack. The relationship with her husband is falling apart and she cannot come to terms with the death of Jessica, even more so as Jessica was meant to be miles away safely in Somerset.

Caroline finds Jessica’s phone and starts to look at old messages. Suddenly a boys name pops up, that she has never heard of, and then after reading some messages she soon realises that the day Jessica was killed she was meant to be meeting this boy.

Caroline soon convinces herself that this boy is to blame for Jessica’s death and she decides he has to pay !!

This is a great book showing the depths of despair that one mother goes through trying to find the truth about what happened on the day her daughter died.

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

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for an e-ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
Two strangers meet on the pier Only one walks away…
Screenwriter Caroline Byrne is desperate to know why her daughter Jessica died, murdered in Stratford when she was supposed to be at a friend’s in Somerset.

Review:
There was a twist in this book which I've only experienced a handful of times. It isn't always done well, but this twist floored me! I didn't see it coming at all.
The characters within the novel are flawed and clomplex, and there are lots of layers to the story that are revealed throughout, up until the last page.
My only negative is that it kind of ended up meandering in the last 10-20% and if there was more back story to this end plot, it would've hit home a bit more.

I LOVED The Dinner Guest, but I couldn’t find anything to like about this book. I hated the characters and most of them made me cringe.

It didn’t even feel like a thriller, but more like a disturbed family drama.

I’ll give BP Walter another chance because I loved The Dinner Guest so much, but this one I can’t recommend.

This is absolutely well written, high tension, thrilling read! It is twisty and you won't want to put it down!
The premise intrigued me because it seemed that there was only one outcome, so I figured it would be an interesting road-- YES it was! I was pulled in from the start. I definitely want to read more books by this author

I enjoyed BP Walters last book so was looking forward to this one.

Caroline and Alec are Jessica’s parents. Alec let’s Jessica stay with her friend when a bomb goes off and they receive the knock on the door from the police to say Jessica was caught up in the bomb and has sadly died.

Caroline finds that Jessica was meant to be meeting someone called Michael not the friend she said she was staying with. Is Jessica’s death Michaels fault, Caroline wants to get to the bottom of it.

A well written book that was quite slow paced. I did enjoy it

Caroline wants answers - why was her daughter killed? As she digs into Jessica's life, she finds out that Jessica had been communicating to a boy named Michael. Is he why her daughter is dead? Caroline thinks so and she sets out for revenge.

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An enjoyable book but not as good as the author’s previous one. Still well written and a good ending. Well worth reading

I struggled with this novel as it was more domestic emotional drama rather than psychological thriller. Disliked the characters and the pace of writing. I enjoyed the author's previous novel The Dinner Guest so will read another of their books.

Really enjoyed this book, was drawn in by the cover and after reading the dinner guest by the same author I was very excited for this one.

I enjoyed the opening and it hooked the reader in- a tale of revenge, mother and daughter relationships, terrorism- it had it all going on.
I found there were parts where I lost a little bit of interest and felt the characters were not likeable at all!
I was however, mostly gripped throughout the story and quite a few red herrings made me keep guessing how it was all going to end.
Nit the most uplifting of stories but overall quite enjoyable.