Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded intriguing to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have
decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

Slow and twisty and twisty a little more. I can't say I liked a single character in this book, but I could not put it down.

Every time I read a Louise Candlish book, I always find myself saying the same thing at the end. "Jesus Fricking Christ. What just happened?"

Holy Cow, this was good. I read the last chapter at 200 mph.

Amazing!!!! I absolutely love Louise Candlish’s novels! This one did not disappoint. Excellent thriller and I love the writing!!!

Talk about slow burn thriller done right! This is the second novel by Candlish that I've read (I read last years The Other Passenger) and I think I liked this one more! The whole premise is unique, a woman spots the man she had paid to be killed, and the backstory combined with the present slowly feed the reader the whole sordid tale. The characters played off of one another well and added to the mystery and suspense.

And surprisingly, this thriller gave me some deeper thoughts to ponder such as the relationships between mothers and sons and the plight of the tighter mom. And I always love when a book makes me wonder: what would I do in this situation? I felt like Candlish strongly developed not only the characters and the plot, but the way each supported the other. The ending was a little abrupt, but I did enjoy the book within a book aspect.

Wow!! This was excellent! Great characters, masterfully laid out story line, suspenseful and twisty! I cannot ever get enough of Louise Candlish!!

This book was LONG. When I was sent the advanced copy, I thought it's be a quick thriller, but it's more of a psychological slow burn. This is my second Louise Candlish book (my first being The Other Passengers, which I enjoyed) and I like her writing style. She includes a lot of great visuals and details, painting a great picture of locations and characters. This one was just a little too drug out for me. I felt like Ellen's obsession/disdain in the beginning was somewhat unwarranted and when I finally found a real reason for her harshness I was already almost 30% through the book. I'd recommend it to Candlish fans, people who enjoy the more psychological aspects of crime, and definitely parents with teenaged children- though I couldn't connect on that level with most of the main characters, Candlish still wrote them very well.

Ellen Saint is a woman it is difficult to like. She and her partner had a son, Lucas, who died in an automobile accident in which the car went into a canal. His friend, Kieran was the driver and came through with no injuries at all. Ellen’s resentment of Kieran started when the boys were younger and escalated through the years. Lucas went from being an overachiever to being a drugged out party boy and Ellen refused to see that. Following a trial, Kieran is sentenced to prison and put into a special unit for young men who are believed to be redeemable. Two years later he is released. I won’t go any further into the plot because of spoilers but readers will find themselves sufficiently involved with these dysfunctional characters right until the last page. Thanks to Net Galley and Simon and Schuster for an ARC for an honest review.

This was pretty good! One of the better I’ve read in the last 6-8 months.

I enjoyed the story’s layout. The switch between past and present is always a favorite method of storytelling for me.

Ellen was an intense character. Her grief palpable. But an extremely unreliable narrator too. I had no idea how much of what she said was fact. Clearly much of her memory of her son was clouded by love and loss. And as such, her hatred for Kieran was built on those same terms.

I wasn’t sure how things would end at first. It did become clearer as the story went on just what would happen. However, I guessed the “twist” long before it was revealed. It just becomes expected, I think.

Overall, it’s really enjoyable. There were times when the story slowed down, but it didn’t take away too much from the story.

From the very beginning to the end, my attention was so riveted to this book I lost all track of time. The Heights is intense, clever and dark and jam packed with tension and suspense. It is akin to not being able to look away from an imminent train wreck in slow motion. Author Louise Candlish writes with a masterful anxiety-inducing touch. I cannot fathom weaving dual timelines, different points of view, suspense and hateable (and hateful) characters you want to throttle together so wondrously!

Ellen Saint suffers from high place phenomenon. From a high building she shockingly recognizes Kieran in the next building, the person she killed. How is this possible? Her world turns upside down. She is reeling from the death of her teenaged son, Lucas, Kieran's best friend and would move heaven and earth to find answers. She lives with her longsuffering husband and their daughter and has close ties with her ex. This story is about her terrible grief and obsession and told from her perspective, that of Vic and also interspersed with snippets written by a journalist who follows Ellen's story. Brilliant premise.

If you are looking for a tense and dark book full of angst, do read this and others by this author. I loved the slower pace of the first half when you get to know the characters and back story. The ending was satisfying.

My sincere thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this engrossing book.

"The Heights" is another dark thriller by Louise Candlish, and it does not disappoint. Ellen Saint is finally getting her life back together after the death of her son, in which his friend Kieran Watts, was held responsible, and was killed upon being released from jail. Ellen knows he's dead because she was responsible for his death.. Ellen always saw something wrong with Kieran ever since her son became friends with him at school- he was disrespectful, and led her son into the partying/drugs and alcohol lifestyle. After a car they were driving in together went into a lake, and Kieran was the only one to escape, she tirelessly led a campaign calling for harsher sentences and to ensure his conviction during the trial. But Kieran serves his time and is released, while Ellen is still grieving over the son that Kieran took from her, and she and her ex-husband Vic team up to pay a hitman to kill Kieran.

Fast forward to present day, when Ellen sees a man who looks just like Kieran Watts in building across the street from where she is working with a client. Ellen once again becomes obsessed with Kieran and "The Heights", the building where she believes she saw Kieran, and sets out to prove that it was him that she saw and to once again try to end his life.

"The Heights" is told from multiple viewpoints, first from Ellen's, interspersed with bits of an article about her that is written from a journalist about her, and then from her ex-husband Vic . Alternating between present day, with Ellen first spotting Kieran in The Heights, with the past, and Kieran's first becoming involved with her family, and back to the present, it is the story of one woman's obsession with hatred and revenge, and the disturbing descent into it that Ellen takes as the story unfolds. Ellen is definitely a disturbed, and unlikable character, and one must decide as the story unfolds how reliable of a narrator she is. "The Heights" was a fast read, and it was hard to put down as it moved from one twist to the next. Another wonderful book by Louise Candlish!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an advanced copy of "The Heights" to read in exchange for an honest review. "The Heights" is scheduled to be released March 1, 2022.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Ellen sees a man who destroyed her life and who she killed a couple of years ago. She watched him die. This book caught my attention from the beginning. 1

This is a difficult book to rate and review. I found all of the characters to be intriguing and well-written, and I liked seeing the dynamics between the different characters. Ellen was realistic and relatable. The plot itself also really worked for me. While the story wasn't filled with twists and turns, it was nicely plotted and I liked the way it built throughout the book. The writing style also worked for me in many ways. I enjoy slower-burn, steadily building suspenseful reads, and this one was definitely that.

The strongest part of the book for me was the moral explorations between Kieran's, Vic's and Ellen's POVs. This was brilliantly executed, and I think would make for great book club discussions.

However.... The beginning chapters felt a little clunky and confusing, and the first half of the book didn't hold my interest that well. I think better editing could have tightened it up and made it not quite as repetitive or dragging in places. I also felt like the big reveals in the ending were predictable. That being said, I prefer a slightly predictable ending to an outlandish, eye-rolling one.

I think if about 10% of this book had been edited out, and maybe the Jade angle delved into in a more complex fashion, I would have enjoyed this one a lot more. All in all, an enjoyable read and I will definitely read more by this author (this was the first one I had read by her).

The Heights is a tall, slender apartment building among warehouses in London. Its roof terrace is so discreet, you wouldn’t know it existed if you weren’t standing at the window of the flat directly opposite. But you are. And that’s when you see a man up there—a man you’d recognize anywhere. He may be older now, but it’s definitely him.

But that can’t be because he’s been dead for over two years. You know this for a fact.

Because you’re the one who killed him.

Dabney and Maggie read Louise Candlish's The Heights, then (virtually) got together to discuss the novel and are here to share their thoughts.

Maggie: Something that I love about the current suspense/thriller/mystery market is that the characters are clever, nuanced and surprising. Almost every novel you pick up has this in common. Candlish is different. Having read her previous work, I know to expect three characters from her  - one selfish jackass, one naive but earnest damaged individual and one middle-aged man who desperately wants to pretend he's in his twenties and sleeps with younger women.  She uses them effectively but they are always present. All three of those stock characters are easily identified in this novel. What is your experience with Candlish and would you agree those characters make an appearance here?

Dabney: This is my first Candlish and, after what you've said, I'm grateful for that. None of these characters felt stock to me. In fact, I'm not sure who would be who in your first two characterizations! I found Ellen, whom I describe as the main character, mesmerizing and unique. Her particular combination of rage, self-awareness, and intelligence was blazingly compelling to me. I'm guessing you see her as the earnest damaged individual? I'd argue she is, in her own way, a selfish jackass. But perhaps we are getting ahead of ourselves. What did you think about the plot?

Maggie: I loved the plot ! It captures a lot of factors about modern family life really well in spite of its deeply atypical premise . Ellen epitomizes the way the modern mom feels - we are pressured to helicopter parent, to make sure our kids are achieving optimum performance scholastically while also having meaningful after-school activities (music, dance,sports etc.)  and yet we are also expected to give them a great deal of freedom, to know when to stop hovering over them and allow them to spread their wings. It's an extremely stressful tightrope to walk on and I empathized a lot with Ellen. She's also symbolic of the pressures of co-parenting with an ex, that difficulty of getting them to agree on what is best for the child and carry through with the agreed-upon rules and boundaries. I didn't find her selfish at all - tired, stressed and a devoted mother but not selfish. She also characterizes every mother's deepest fear, that everything we do isn't enough to keep bad things from happening to our kids or bad people from influencing them. 

What did you think of the plot/premise? 

Dabney: I, too, thought it was fabulous. You know, from the beginning, that something terrible happened to Ellen and her family and that she blames someone she thought was dead. Ellen's loathing for this man is visceral: 

Kieran Watts is the monster who destroyed my life. Whose actions will torment my soul until my dying day, and perhaps even beyond—I wouldn’t put it past him.

Ellen thinks he's dead because she claims she killed him and yet suddenly, while standing in a client's home in London, she sees him, standing on the penthouse deck of the apartment across the street. Ellen's hatred for Kieran is visceral and, once she's seen him, she is determined to find him and make sure that, this time, he pays for what he did to her. 

To say that Ellen is obsessed with Kieran is to miswrite.Since the moment Kieran became friends with her son Lucas, seven years ago, Ellen has been sure that Kieran is, as you wrote, a selfish dangerous jackass whose friendship with Lucas is ruining her son. And, as the book goes back and forth between today and seven years ago, we don't really know if Ellen's right about Kieran or if Ellen's obsession keeps her from seeing Lucas, Kieran, and Lucas' sister Klara clearly. It's mesmerizing.

Maggie: It is mesmerizing, although I think the last several chapters show us the truth pretty clearly. That is another aspect of the thriller market I love right now  - pages and pages of uncertainty and then shocking clarity. It's seductive and addictive. You mentioned Kieran, a disadvantaged teenage boy who earns a scholarship to a posh academy. He could easily have been a boring, clichéd caricature but seen through Ellen's eyes he becomes an almost other-worldly harbinger of evil. How did you feel Candlish handled that aspect of the plot?

Dabney: Parents do not see their teenage children with clarity and, man, did I think that applied to Ellen. Part of the great fun of the novel is trying to figure out what is and isn't true in Ellen's narration which, we should add, takes up most but not all of the book. Candlish doesn't make it easy to sympathize with Ellen consistently--her rage has warped her and, at times, makes her what may or may not be crazy. Is Kieran evil? Was he evil in the past but now should be forgiven? Who is the psychopath: myopic, enraged Ellen, Kieran the boy, Kieran the man, or some combination therein? I couldn't put the book down because I so needed to know the answer to that question!

Maggie: This actually touches on two of the triggers I found in the book. One is harm to children/young adults - if you are sensitive to that, this probably isn't the novel for you. The second is a phenomenon I call "Bitches Be Crazy" and which has been in existence in the Western world for many centuries. It's the premise that strong emotions in women are a sign of unbalance - we are hysterical, obsessed, manic, unhinged. Most women have probably been told to "calm down" at least once in their life because we aren't allowed any excess display of emotion. I thought Vic, the middle-aged guy who tries so hard to be "cool", labels Ellen this way a lot, as do her daughter and husband. What did you think of the character of Vic? And did the book have any triggers for you?

Dabney: I am a trigger-free reader although extreme violence to kids is tough for me to read. So, no to that question!

As for Vic, I thought he was portrayed as someone we are supposed to know is a loser--I still can't figure out what his wife sees in him. And, again, Ellen does need to calm the f*ck down. Her rage is ruinous and not just for her. One of the things I found especially unlikable about Ellen is how sure she is that her perceptions are THE RIGHT ones. She wouldn't listen to anyone, not even those she loved and she knew loved her.

I really enjoyed The Heights tremendously even though I found Ellen, Kieran, and Vic all hard to root for. And I think that says something about how well Candlish writes--I usually don't like books where I don't like anyone but in this case, it didn't bother me. Did you like the book?

Maggie: I enjoyed the book but with a caveat. I've heard other readers mention that they struggled to get past the beginning and I agree that this is a book you have to settle into. At the twenty percent mark the author says "keep reading - because we're almost there" and I can remember wanting to scream at my Kindle "Are we??" because I felt like it was taking  a bit too long to get where we were going. Once we were past the precipitating event, the story picked up and was very much what I expected from today's thriller market.

In terms of grading, I would give it a B+/A-. The book is fabulous once the story really gets going but it does lag a bit between the gripping beginning and the backstory that returns us to that point. What grade would you give it? 

Dabney: I too would give it at B+/A-. And, interestingly, for the exact opposite reason. I thought the weakest part of the book was the resolution and the post-resolution exposition. The first 90% of the book is a DIK read for me, but the end just wasn’t quite what I wanted.

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3.5/5

It’s been awhile since I’ve read one of the authors books, I usually find them ok for me but nothing totally memorable so I went into this one with some hesitation, yet I was hopeful still. I was also intrigued by the last few lines of the synopsis, I mean someone you killed is alive?! 🤯 Right away you can tell this will be a slow burn, there is a ton of backstory and details but the writing was strong so it did keep my interest. It’s also on the longer side at just over four hundred pages but I’m also the type of person who thinks three hundred pages is the ideal length for a thriller. But despite the slowness and the length I was still oddly captivated by this one and in the end I’m glad I stuck it out because there were several clever twists in the end that made me feel like the payoff was worth it. So this may take some patience, but if you like a super slow burn thriller that’s highly detailed this one may work for you!

An author I knew by reputation, but haven't read before. The story centers on the loss of a child and there is negligible profanity. This suspense filled drama is related first as a NY Times article, Saint or Sinner, then from Ellen Saint's perspective, and next from Vic. The timeline covers past and present over several years set in London. Having never traveled to any part of the UK, I appreciated the lovely landscape, river, bridge and residential area descriptions.
Ellen Saint is writing a novel in a class given by a well known creative writing tutor, Felix Penney. The class involves writing about the impact crime has on the attendees lives.
Ellen has a teenage son, Lucas, from a previous  relationship with Vic. She's now been married to Justin for twelve years and they have a daughter, Freya. Ellen and Vic remain friends and coparents.
Not wanting to give away any spoilers, my focus will be on generalities. The story is heart wrenching and believable. There were a few things I deduced early on. This in no way deterred me from racing to the conclusion. The story centers on how far a mother will go to avenge grievous harm to her child. The desire for revenge and justice becomes an obsession. Ellen was not the saint, her long suffering husband was. He remained supportive despite her neuroses and unrelenting desire for punishment. The grief was palpable and at times I struggled with the subject matter. I felt her pain and distress. Any mother will certainly relate to the need for answers and the desire for vengeance. The saying about punishment fitting the crime comes to mind.
The pace was good and the characters believable. The perspectives, viewpoints and perceptions from different family members, friends, the court, the community and the perpetrator are very well depicted. This is a very thought provoking crime mystery. It's one of those "what would I do?", make you think and continue to wrestle with, kind of drama. The conclusion took me completely by surprise.
This is an author I will read again and I recommend the book for the unique and twisted plot. A strong 4.5 stars!
Many thanks to NetGalley for the advance digital copy of "The Heights", to Louise Candlish and to Atria Books. These are my personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for the copy of The Heights. Ellen was so relentlessly single-minded it was hard to connect with or like her character. Much of the book was her first person POV and it was exhausting and repetitive. That, along with the slow story, made the first three parts really hard to stay with. I wish the fourth part was longer and the first three shorter. The fourth part went on a breakneck speed and so much was happening the book finally got exciting. By that time, the buildup was so slow I forgot a lot about the other characters and all I wanted to do to see if my ‘theory’ was correct. People who enjoy a slow buildup and don’t need to like the characters would enjoy this, because the story did have promise to me. Just too slow to finally get there for my tastes.

4.5 stars rounded to 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

This is my first ever book by Louise Candlish and I can't believe what I've been missing out on! This book gripped me from the start and is both masterfully written and plotted with intricate details and twists that kept me captivated throughout.

Tragedy, revenge, secrets. What more could you ask for in a thriller? I've seen many reviews that call is a slow burn, but I flew through this one, so to each his own!

-I enjoyed the dual timelines - then and now, I usually prefer one over the other but enjoyed both in this case!
-There are 4 "parts" to the book, and with each my anxiety increased as I got closer to the end.
-My perceptions of the characters were changing throughout

For me, I'd sum this one up as a character-driven thriller with pieces of character analysis (if you love psychology and sociology this ones for you!)

The Heights is a disturbing twisty thriller that examines the psychological effects resulting from the tragic loss of a child.

He thinks he’s safe up there. But he’ll never be safe from you.

The Heights is a tall, slender apartment building among the warehouses of Tower Bridge, its roof terrace so discreet you wouldn’t know it existed if you weren’t standing at the window of the flat directly opposite. But you are. And that’s when you see a man up there – a man you’d recognize anywhere. He’s older now and his appearance has subtly changed, but it’s definitely him.

Which makes no sense at all since you know he has been dead for over two years. You know this for a fact.

Because you’re the one who killed him. It’s time to confess what we did up there.

Ellen Saint is wife, mother and a lighting consultant with a very real fear of "heights." Married to Justin, Ellen has a teenage son named Lucas who lives with them even though her ex-Vic( father of Lucas) is still very involved in his life. Justin and Ellen also have a twelve year old daughter Freya together.

As the story begins we learn that Lucas is an academic scholar at the Foxwell Academy in Beckenham (UK). He has been assigned as a buddy to a new student named Kieran Watts. Kieran lives with his foster mother Prisca in South Norwood. From Ellen's first interaction with Kieran, she senses a concern that he is not the type of friend she wants for her son. Her instincts are right as since Kieran and Lucas have been hanging out Lucas has seemed to have changed - his grades are sliding, his is partying and and there is proof of drug use as well. When a tragic incident occurs and Lucas ends up dead, Ellen is sure that Kieran is to blame and she is determined he will pay for the death of her son.

The Heights was an addictive read that drew me in early on. Ellen was a well-written character who is bent on revenge. The loss of her son brings out the worst in Ellen and, her life is consumed with thoughts of revenge for a young man she believes does not deserve to live. The story is written in the form of a memoir called "Saint or Sinner" and, it is told in four parts from the POV of both Ellen and Vic (father of Lucas.) This style worked well and gave a unique perspective of allowing readers to form the own opinions based on differing views of what has transpired. The writing was edgy and provided for some unexpected twists as well. I really enjoyed this one but I did feel that at 400pp it was a tad too long. If you enjoy good psychological thrillers - be sure to try this one.

Thanks go to Atria Books for sending a review copy my way. This book releases in the US on March 1, 2022.

Rating - 4/5 stars

I really enjoyed the last book I read by Louise Candish, so was happy to receive an e-ARC of The Heights through Netgalley. Thanks to the publisher for providing this e-ARC for review!

The Heights is a high-end building in London. It is there, in the penthouse suite, that a killer resurfaces. This novel is the compelling clash between a mother on a vengeance mission and one of her son's former friends. As the novel progressed, I questioned the reliability of each narrator, wondering what was as it seemed and what was hidden. It all led me to wonder just how far would a mother go?

I'd recommend this book to any thriller lovers. It was a quick and enjoyable read.