This was very convaluted and all over the place with the plot. It was a mash up for issues that were discussed. I almost did not finish it.

"In some ways, London was more suited to me-nobody had much time for or interest in others... I might have got used to the comfortable way of life that Pete's money had brought me, but that didn't mean I could easily converse with those who had known nothing other than extreme wealth for their entire lives." "I couldn't help but dislike the Franklins living across the street at 54 Oak Tree Close, Kent.

Imagine Stephanie's disorientation and confusion when she awoke in the hospital. "I can remember snatches of what happened...vague memories start to take shape...Clarity begins to emerge." There had been an explosion...emergency announcements...stay indoors. Stephanie started to recall her calculated visit to the Franklins' house under the guise of "not wanting to be alone". The house held secrets, feeding into her son's strange behavior. The Franklins knew things.

A band practice, seven months prior, set this psychological thriller in motion. Janet Franklin, a pompous, control freak treated her new neighbor Stephanie with condescension. However, Richard, a overly critical college lecturer encouraged the friendship of his 15 year old son, Jonathan and Stephanie's son, Danny. The boys were now bandmates as well...but... life changed on a dime. The boys appeared different after a rehearsal. There was an "awkward tension" between them. "... this odd night...everything went spinning off in another direction."

It was a trip to the cinema, father and son. Pete hoped that Danny would confide in him, an attempt to address Danny's unsettling behavior of the past few months. A tragic car crash ensued leaving grief stricken Stephanie without her husband and son. Pete had been "her rock". Sitting on Danny's bed, Stephanie thought about Danny's quietude, behavioral changes and the secrets he would not share. On the day of the explosion, Stephanie was determined to find out what Jonathan knew. "I knew the answers to my questions lay within that house and the family who lived there."

"The Locked Attic" by B.P. Walter is a taut psychological thriller. The multi-layered story is both suspenseful and eerie. Danny's occasional voice provided the coming-of-age aspect, an exploration of the different forms of love. A question remains. What was housed in the locked attic, a room only Richard would access? The secret is mind-blowing! Highly recommended.

Thank you HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this book, when I say it's full of twists.... It really is! So many of them, so many strange, bizarre twists! In a good way.

Stephanie wakes up in hospital and at first she has no idea what has happened to her but slowly her memory starts to return.
A psychological thriller about family life and secrets that have life changing consequences for all evolved.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins, One More Chapter for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not sure the title and the blurb do this book justice tbh, I almost ‘went past it’ when saw both and presumed it was about ‘someone locked in an attic’….without giving anything away its very much not that but what it is a hard hitting, no punches pulled excellently crafted story which features themes of discovered sexuality, grief, blackmail and big secrets,and best of all it is all written around a street environment and the residents who live there, for me there’s nothing better than these 2 things in a book
Characters ranging from slimy to emotive and featuring just the best snob ever who had me brilliantly horrified yet slightly in awe at her antics
Again this author has the magic of being able to bring alive situations that could be mundane but he has the ability to make a settee sound exciting, it’s hard to explain but it’s powerful, enticing and makes for a fine reading experience that manages to keep every page alive and the only disappointment being when it ends
Superb 🤗

The main character Stephanie wakes up in the hospital and is suffering from amnesia. The story then jumps around to different points in her past. Stephanie lived in a house with her husband Josh and son Danny, who have died in a car accident. They lived across the street from a horrible couple, Richard and Janet, and their son Jonathan who became friends with Danny. However, before he died Danny became distant and withdrawn and was behaving differently. Stephanie struggles to understand what was going on and whether the neighbors had something to do with it. I enjoyed the novel but the timeline jumping around was a little confusing, and titular attic was barely a part of the book!

I found this book too confusing. I just didn't connect with it. I am really disappointed because I expected to enjoy it, but I just didn't. Sorry and hope other readers enjoy it more than I did.

This was really different to what I was expecting but in a good way I was thinking it was going to be maybe a bit predictable and oh boy it was anything but that! It’s my first read by this author and after what I just read I’m going to read all his other books I’m so impressed.
So a difficult book to describe its starts with the main narrator Stephanie waking in hospital unsure of just what has happened to her but little by little she starts to remember, an explosion , her neighbours house and so many secrets all these memories start to fill her head.
The book is one that I just could put down and so much of it I just didn’t see coming it was a completely dark and compulsive story and as it’s told in different timelines and points of view the pages turned at a rate of knots as I desperately wanted to know how it would end!
A really brilliantly written book it was very different and one that I would highly recommend, many thanks to BP Walter for a damn good read.
My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Stephanie wakes up in hospital. She’s not sure how she got there but she does know that her son and husband died in a car crash a few months before. Something was wrong with Danny before he died and her neighbours son must know what it was. On the day of the disaster Stephanie visits her neighbours and discovers something in the attack. Will she get the answers she needs or is she going to be left in the dark always wondering. This book is told mostly from Stephanie’s perspective and sometimes Danny’s.
I liked this book but found it hard going at times as it drew out certain scenes. I would recommend it though. The ending wasn’t what I was expecting.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest views.

This is a hard one to review

I feel like there are so many good ideas in this one but all together they just didn't work so well. It was mostly a coming of age story but then also a lesson in how childish the adults can act too, and how insane it can get.

Told in 3 different timelines, the chapters are short with a punch at the end, making it a very fast and gripping read. But i gelt like there were a few unnecessary characters in the story and i ended up skipping those parts.

All that and at the last page i was wondering if that was that?! Like, the ending felt a bit too unrealistic and convenient to me. But maybe that's all just me because I read thrillers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and I guess I have read too many! :))

Thanks so much Netgalley, author, and publishers for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 4.2/5

If you are unfamiliar with the work of B.P. Walter I feel it is only fair to warn you that neither the title of the book nor the accompanying synopsis will ever prepare you adequately for the content. I do not mean that in a negative way at all, though some readers may find it more than a little disconcerting. Personally, I have loved everything I have read by this writer and he is rapidly becoming one of my "must read" authors.

B.P. Walter consistently blindsides his audience - and that is an important part of the experience when you are reading one of his books. For that reason I will deliberately avoid going into any detail about the storyline of "The Locked Attic". As with the other novels from this author, the themes are a little dark and potentially disturbing for some people. The characterisation is top notch and entirely credible. In true noir fashion, each of the protagonists is flawed to some degree - though this doesn't mean that you feel unable to empathise with them. The time frame in "The Locked Attic" does move around quite a bit, which I am aware is not to everyone's taste, but it is always clearly signposted and - as with all of this writer's books - it is meticulously planned and plotted to ensure that it all ties together. The result is a compelling, suspenseful and, at times, moving read that held my attention throughout and is easy to recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

An intriguing thriller by B P Walter.

I was so pleased to have the opportunity to read this as I had enjoyed The Dinner Guest.
This is another super story with twists and turns. It follows Stephanie as she wakes up in hospital, and each chapter reveals more and more of what has led her to this moment.
Without giving too much of the story away, there are some suspicious neighbours and an underlying sadness.

Oh if you love a good thriller then simply do not miss this one. It is completely gripping, completely full of lots of twists and turns and utterly addictive. Amazing work.

Like the authors previous books, don’t even try to guess where they are going to go. You'll never do it!

You’ll never guess where this book is going, and you’ll never guess what’s in the attic.

This is a book where you'll be desperate to keep turning the pages until the very end. Just when you think something will be resolved or a new piece of information is uncovered, all is does in invite more questions and pull you further and further in.

Okay. Whoah, what did I just read! I devoured this book in 2 days. It had an odd claustrophobic, nightmarish quality to it that I felt really made the sense of tension palpable. The twists made me feel confused, outraged, endeared and repulsed all at varying moments - very a la Verity. I felt left with 100 questions and wanted it to just keep going. I felt there was more pieces to the puzzle we hadn’t yet solved.

I liked the authors writing style, although the flip-flopping timeline sometimes made it hard to follow.

In all honestly, I'm uncertain how to rate this one, but I know if you’re looking for a compulsively quick read where you don’t see the sharp twists ahead, pick this one up.

The description of this book pulled me in, it sounded eerie and I do love a thriller.

I liked how the story went from past, present and different characters perspectives. I always find this type of style really clever and keeps the story interesting and sets a nice pace.

I found it took it a little slow at first and wasn’t fully sure what was going on but when it got into it, I couldn’t put it down. I needed to find out what had happened and what secret was being kept.

There are twists and turns throughout and the ending was one I didn’t see coming so that’s always a plus.

Overall a good read.

Oo y’all… this one definitely threw me for a loop! I was impressed with how well it was written and how much suspense was in there! The ending was so surprising! Must read!

As usual, with all books by B P Walter, I really enjoyed this book. I felt that it touched upon an area for kids that are ‘coming of age’ that should be discussed more often as it’s a scary world out there!

The only thing that I found disappointing is how it just suddenly ends. No major twist or real lead up to the end made me scroll back and forth a couple of times to make sure I hadn’t missed something.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc

'The Locked Attic' is a compelling read that does require your focus and attention but is absolutely worth your time. There are multiple timelines, told form the viewpoint of several characters, Our protagonist is Stephanie who wakes up at a hospital after a terrible incident in her hometown. As Stephanie is suffering from amnesia, she faces a battle to recall the events leading to her arrival in hospital and with flashbacks to the death of her son and recent explosions in her community. Slowly Stephanie recalls moving to the neighborhood and how uncomfortable she felt in the presence of certain new neighbours.
As the tension grows, the layers of complexity are building up and it becomes difficult for the reader to know just who to trust. The ending is certainly unexpected and a little disturbing but I did enjoy the twist.

Another brilliant read from this author, he just gets better. Loved the concept and immediately wanted to read it - and think I’d have felt the same way had I not heard of the author. Unsettling and disturbing (as all his work is, for me) it is flawlessly characterised and keeps you gripped and unable to put it down until you reach the conclusion.