What a good book!

Jenny is a 14-year-old girl being interviewed by Laura & Niamh. Both are Garda's who have been brought in to find out exactly what has happened to Jenny, her Mum, her younger brother & her stepdad Stuart! Jenny is traumatised & unwilling to tell all, but with Laura's expertise, she tries to encourage her to speak.

Laura is going through her own troubles & the whole process becomes complicated & unsettling. An engrossing book, that unravels so many events.

A dark and rather grim story dealing with mental issues and abuse as a sub plot to the crime. I felt it hard to feel a real connection with the characters particularly Laura. It felt a little repetitive and this style of narrative writing was not really for me.

Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is not your average crime story. The plot follows the interview of a traumatized girl found near the site of a horrific car crash in which her mother and younger brother have been seriously injured. As the girl's story slowly unfolds it affects the mental well-being of Laura the lead interviewer and events in her past life are slowly revealed. Issues of child abuse marital abuse, suicide, and rape are confronted in a direct manner and in a way that pulls no punches, But it is not all dark, we see the love and patience of Laura's husband and the steadfastness of her friend and colleague Niamh
It is not by any means an easy read but it is a worthwhile, sometimes uncomfortable but ultimately satisfying read and is an excellent debut novel.

I found this a dark disturbing read that I had to read to find out what had actually happened but I do have to say that I did not find it enjoyable. My biggest handicap was the way that Gill Perdue has chosen to write how the two main characters were thinking and speaking. I found this rambling and difficult to follow the trails that were so intertwined.
This was an exceptionally difficult topic to write about but I could not relate to the story, the places or the characters.

I found this book to be dark and disturbing. Other readers may enjoy it but it wasn’t for me. I also prefer a more conventional format rather than the rambling conversational prose the author uses.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

a dark and complex story about a family who are being abused by the stepdad... its a hard gritty story to read that will hit several nerves with people

its hard hitting and at times upsetting but well written

I have managed/struggled to read 53% of this book and I have had to give up. I have found the rambling narrative too much. The subject is disturbing but the way it is presented just bored me witless. Apologies to the author.

This review will be posted with Waterstones

Intriguing story of how a police psychologist called Laura conducts an interview with a girl called Jenny who has had a traumatic incident and will not talk .Laura has problems of her own to deal with while trying to help Jenny. Cleverly written about mental abuse and gripping until the end.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for a advanced copy.

📖BOOK REVIEW📖
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So this book definitely had the potential - the plot was intriguing in the beginning and tempted you to come ahead and find the truth. But unfortunately it was very repetitive and I felt I was reading the same pages over and over again.

It defo needed more action in the plot and discovery’s faster to keep up the momentum. The characters were wooden, not relatable and unlikable. I felt like it was a chore to read.

I did enjoy however the authors ability to make you feel confused using unreliable narrators just unfortunately it just didn’t work overall.

-EMILY

@the_book_gielrks_1

A girl, Jenny, who seems to be the victim of an assault, is found by the side of a Dublin road. She is refusing to speak and Detective Laura Shaw, a trained victim interviewer, is sent to interview her. On the face of it this seems like another police procedural but it is much more than that. A great deal of the narrative focuses on the inner turmoil being felt by Jenny and Laura. As their relationship develops the novel becomes more and more compelling.

There is a very clever use of fairy tales and Irish folklore throughout this book, especially through Jenny's thoughts about her family and her life. The writing is exceptionally good in this dark and intense read. The pace builds to a frenetic ending. I really recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a harrowing story covering physical and mental abuse. It's not an easy read and is slow to build to its ending. I have to admit I got a bit tired of the words dumb bitch which I found quite annoying. I didn't really engage with Laura who had her own struggles . Overall a good story and I woul recommend it .

This book was not for me,tried a few times just wasn’t for me,and didn’t keep my attention,apologies

Cleverly written thriller which is unafraid to cover sensitive areas such as domestic abuse, rape and trauma. I loved the way the detectives had their own backstories and gently helped release the truth through patience and psychology. The metaphors and fairy stories that led the deeply traumatised girl to slowly reveal some truths was exquisitely managed and presented. A fairly harrowing but compelling tale with good conquering evil just like any good fairy tale.

Sadly, I couldn't get into this book at all, and really didn't care what happened to any of the characters. At times it felt like I was reading two separate books, one about a stressed and traumatised police officer trying to come to grips with her own demons and mental health issues and a second one about a teenager who's trying to come to terms with psychological and physical trauma and may be a murderer. The main link appeared to be that the police officer was still allowed to work with troubled adolescents whilst refusing to continue her own counselling.
Thank you to netgalley and penguin books for an advance copy of this book

This is a dark book.

Jenny, 14 year old, has been found covered in blood and in shock and there is a man missing maybe badly injured. Laura and Niamh are police officers in the Guarda sent in to interview her and find out what's happened. Jenny in turn protects herself by converting her trauma into fairy tales.

It's a really slow book, not a lot happens and it's quite disturbing in parts. I didn't really take to the characters and I got a bit bored although I kept reading as I wanted to find out what happened

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for the ARC

Interesting premise and gripping in places, and the mystery is successfully kept until the end. However it felt like the book lost its way two thirds of the way through and became repetitive and monotonous. It really could have done with being shorter in order to maintain interest in my opinion. Thank you to the publisher for giving me access to this ARC in return for an honest review.

Who is going to fall apart quickest - the abused 14 year old Jenny in the interview chair or the detective with mental health issues, Laura? A harrowing debut from Gill Perdue is a race against time. Not only is there the question of who is going to crack first but the the supposed abuser, the stepfather, has gone missing from the scene of a car crash and there was a lot of blood. The Interview has all the ingredients although the subject matter may prove to be difficult reading for many but ultimately for me the characters let it down. On the face of it Laura has it all, a beautiful daughter and a doting husband but she has too few redeeming features to make me care about her. She treated her husband like a doormat and had so little time for her daughter. Her colleagues seem to despair of her even though her partner Niamh cites her as an amazing mentor. There was very little light and shade in the story aside from Niamh who provides the only levity but maybe that was the whole point. This is not a book I would have read had the abusive content been highlighted better in the synopsis but I can appreciate how well researched it was. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC.

Really enjoyed this read, it was quirky and unusual and although a little slow at the start I found I was gripped and couldn't put it down, I needed to know how it ended.
It had quite dark themes and could be triggering for some.
I loved the irishness of it and really liked Niamh and found I was rooting for Laura and Jenny.
I'd like to read more about Niamh and Laura in a future story, I would have preferred if the ending had been more final and less open to interpretation.
My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for my eARC in return for my honest review.

Although an interesting attempt to see into the mind of a damaged child via a series of clinical interviews, I'm afraid I just couldn't get into this book and, as I was not enjoying it, only managed to read around 12%. It was difficult to follow - however, given the other reviews, I suspect there might be something to be gained from persevering with it if you feel inclined.

This book is quirky and thought it was quite original too. The characters are unreliable and the plot is well paced and gripping a really good book.