I am sorry but I gave this book up at 45% as it didn’t seem to be going anywhere and I really didn’t like the characters or the over descriptions. As a reader the author has to bear in mind that we need to like at least one of the characters to be invested in the story and committed to continuing until the end. These two prerequisites weren’t achieved.

Is 14 year old Jenny a victim or has she committed a crime ? She was found covered in blood and her step-father is missing. Unfortunately for the police, she isn’t very communicative and they are left trying to fathom out what has happened.
The book was a bit slow in places but I’m glad I stuck with it.

This is a gritty thriller, quite disturbing in parts, set in Ireland, containing themes of sexual assault, Detective Laura Shaw has to crack the case of whether 14 year-old is a victim, suspect or both in a missing person case. This could be the start of a series for Detective Shaw. Personally I prefer to read about lighter themes but if you like your thrillers to be dark then you'll love this debut.

I read this book quite some time ago now but I’ve only just got around to uploading my review.

Police detective books are some of my favourite thrillers to read. I found this book very different to anything I’ve read before. It’s a very interesting concept of going between the reality and a fantasy and you as the read trying to work out the narrative.

The book is mainly by interview and told my the view point of two police officers and Niamh who may be the victim or suspect.

The detective Laura also has her own issues and background which influence her work. I found both story lines interesting. A lot of the book is the police trying to get Niamh to talk so it does drag on slightly.

Some of the events are quite distressing but are dealt with well. Make sure to check the trigger warnings. The style of writing was impressive for a debut.

I would rate this a solid 3.5 ⭐️

This book deals with dark subjects like domestic violence, child sexual abuse, and rape. It is set in Dublin and primarily tells the story of a teenager called Jenny who has been found covered in blood and is so traumatised that she won't speak about what has happened to her. She is sent to a psychiatric ward and two female detectives are assigned to help unravel what has happened . Both detectives, Laura and Niamh, are experts in their field and highly skilled in dealing with victims of crime. Laura has just returned from maternity leave and is finding things difficult, and this case seems to send her on a downward spiral as it reminds her of an incident that happened years previously where she was assaulted. She never spoke of what happened to anyone, and now she is reliving her own trauma as Jenny's story begins to unfold. She takes chances she shouldn't and does not stick to the guidelines in place for dealing with the crime, thereby jeopardising her career and her friendship with Niamh.
I thought this was a terrific read, the tension was building from the start. I did not want to leave it down. A marvellous debut thriller from this author, I can't wait for her next one.

This book presents problems to the reviewer: in the first instance, it deals with challenging themes of violence against women, domestic abuse and rape, whilst offering an unusual route for the reader to explore a sometimes tangled plot from the perspectives of the three key characters in the eponymous interview. This plot device is generally effective, although the author’s attempts to speak with the voice of the troubled young girl who has witnessed abuse and may be a key witness or agent in a series of potentially violent events, has not wholly convinced this reviewer. Conveying the jagged and shifting thoughts and language, together with the swinging moods of a young person in such a situation is always going to present a serious challenge to any author.
However, this was not a book that was easy to discard; there is something compelling about the narrative, and the tension builds effectively towards the denouement. One final thought: it may be that some of the slightly less convincing aspects of the book could have been mitigated by some more ruthless editing.

This is a disturbing book with a disturbing theme of child abuse.

The Interview in the title if The Interview of teenager Jenny who is found in a cathartic state at the side of the road. Jenny’s mother and brother have been seriously injured in a car accident and her stepfather is missing.

What emerges is a slow tale of trying to unravel truth from fantasy, and get to the truth, and the missing stepfather. I found the pace to slow for me, and the characters unengaging.

Thank you to the Netgalley and the publisher for an advance ARC in return for an honest review. I am just sorry that its only a two star one.

I had been excited to read this book but found the pace rather slow and the constant inner dialogue of the characters difficult to keep track of.

A darkly compelling mystery, we’ll written but a bit slow at times
Is Jennifer a victim or a perpetrator of violence? She is 14 years old and has been discovered covered in blood which is not her own plus her step father is missing.
She refuses to speak to the investigating officers, Laura and Niavh in anything but a fairytale which they must unravel.

Urgh this book was not as advertised whatsoever. It was really dull and boring with nothing interesting or engaging happening whatsoever.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin General UK - Fig Tree and Gill Perdue for the copy of this book. All views are my own.*

A bit slow to get going with this book but the storyline was good and once I got into it I thoroughly enjoyed it. Would try other titles from this author again!

An interesting and complex story. I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy the concept of a series of interviews over a couple of days but the back story was brought in really well and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was really well written and cleverly brought to a conclusion. Recommended.

Disturbingly dark and challenging to read in parts because of the events portrayed, this is also a clever, compelling psychological thriller. The use of dark fairytales and folklore give a menacing quality to the story, but the reality is even more harrowing.

Multilayered characters and a cleverly crafted dynamic between interviewee and interviewer make this a psychological suspense that resonates.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

An interesting storyline

Jenny, a fourteen-year-old teenager, had been found on a road by a passer-by in a catatonic state. The clinicians call in the garda after they discover that she has been raped, is covered in bruises, some fresh and many healing and she’s also suffered from several broken bones. Laura and Niamh are trained SVI officers.

Laura’s mother and brother had been discovered some distance from where Jenny was found. Her stepfather is missing, and Laura and Niamh are tasked with finding out if Jenny knows where he is.

This is a relentless book. There is no break from the stress – whether it’s related to Jenny or Laura. I found the subject deeply distressing. I also felt that although I desperately wanted Jenny to get all the support and love that she could, it wasn’t Laura who should be interviewing her. She is plagued by so many of her problems and far too arrogant to admit it or ask for help. Yes, of course, this heightens the atmosphere of the storyline, but I wonder how realistic it is that someone in that position is allowed to work with people when they’re showing their vulnerabilities? If this is based on fact. My other concern is how can a childlike Jenny slip through the cracks and never be identified by teachers or friends? This book has given me nightmares trying to piece together whether this is happening in real life and whether society is to blame for not noticing these very vulnerable individuals.

My reason for deducting two stars is that I couldn’t agree with the reality of the novel.

Rony

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

A 14 year old girl, Jenny, found covered in blood leads to her being hospitalised but also kept secure while police try to uncover what happened to her family and why her stepfather missing. One of the officers, Laura, knows what Jenny is going through as her own experience of abuse is shared with us and slowly through the rambling thoughts of Jenny we begin to uncover the horrors of her family life with her stepfather.
This novel is a stunningly good synopsis but it maybe some of the story could have been at a faster pace as it seemed to tread water at times with very little new information coming forward.
Stick with it though as it reaches a faster pace through the last chapters when the full truth of events in both Jenny's and Laura's lives are exposed. I look forward to this author's next book.

This book was great, it was very disturbing at times. and also very sad but has amazing detail in it

Omg wow this book is amazing it's full of twists and turns it will keep you up all night I really enjoyed this book

Gill Perdue, The Interview

Gill Perdue’s The Interview immerses readers in the tense, nightmarish collision of two traumas. Fourteen-year old Jenny is found wandering, injured, bloody and refusing to communicate; Laura, a Specialist Victim Interviewer, is desperately trying to unlock her memories of what has happened.

It becomes apparent, however, that Laura’s own high level of competence is being undermined by the fact that she herself is suffering from the re-emergence of past trauma. As the process of interviewing goes on, memories of an act of violence in her own past become increasingly intrusive: “It’s as if something’s been asleep inside her for a very long time – something that was always there. And now it’s woken up.”

Jenny has blood on her clothing that isn’t her own, so there is urgent pressure to find answers, but the truth is elusive. When she occasionally breaks her silence, she communicates through fragments of memory, often interlaced with elements of myth and folktale. Unable to look directly at the traumas she has endured, she summons Irish tales, Greek legends and Bible stories that are darkly entwined with her efforts to remember what has taken place.

As Laura ultimately pursues the truth of what happened beyond the confines of the interview room, she stumbles on through wet branches and entangling roots, feeling that it is as though she herself is under attack: “It’s like being in a Brothers Grimm forest – the type that grew for a hundred years while the whole palace slumbered. And I don’t know why this is, but I feel Jenny’s presence. I feel that she’s here – close by. I feel like, finally, I’m inside her story.”

The Interview is a taut, deeply unsettling narrative, the tension heightened by Laura’s sense that she’s confronting not only the anguish of a damaged, vulnerable young girl but memories of her own disintegration. We’re held in suspense throughout by the question of whether she will be able to understand what has happened before she herself unravels completely.

This book was recommended to me by a good friend of mine as they knew I was a big big fan of Irish crime fiction
They were not wrong
I have seen some mixed book reviews about this one, but I really enjoyed this one.
The book was a slow burner at first, with the author setting the scene for the reader to piece together what has happened. The author introduces us to the three main characters, Jenny, Laura and Niamh, each with their own story.
We firstly meet Jenny, a 14 year old being held in a psychiatric unit. Laura and Niamh are the Garda responsible for interviewing her. The interview takes place over a few days. At first the only thing that Jenny is willing to disclose is the fact that her stepfather has physically and sexually abused her. Her mother and brother are in the hospital, seriously injured. The stepfather is missing. Has Jenny killed him?
The clock is ticking for the Garda to find our where he is and who is the Victim??!

This book is highly recommended. It is a huge change from my usual crime books. The book is tense and you can feel the urgency to find the victim

The book has been criticised for not having a flow to it. But anyone who has ever suffered with mental health will know that things are disjointed when you are anxious and worried and stressed and things don’t flow. So I think the author has nailed the mental health aspect

Highly recommend

This book was recommended to me by a good friend of mine as they knew I was a big big fan of Irish crime fiction
They were not wrong
I have seen some mixed book reviews about this one, but I really enjoyed this one.
The book was a slow burner at first, with the author setting the scene for the reader to piece together what has happened. The author introduces us to the three main characters, Jenny, Laura and Niamh, each with their own story.
We firstly meet Jenny, a 14 year old being held in a psychiatric unit. Laura and Niamh are the Garda responsible for interviewing her. The interview takes place over a few days. At first the only thing that Jenny is willing to disclose is the fact that her stepfather has physically and sexually abused her. Her mother and brother are in the hospital, seriously injured. The stepfather is missing. Has Jenny killed him?
The clock is ticking for the Garda to find our where he is and who is the Victim??!

This book is highly recommended. It is a huge change from my usual crime books. The book is tense and you can feel the urgency to find the victim

The book has been criticised for not having a flow to it. But anyone who has ever suffered with mental health will know that things are disjointed when you are anxious and worried and stressed and things don’t flow. So I think the author has nailed the mental health aspect

Highly recommend