This was interesting. I enjoyed the writing and the premise of The Only Suspect by Louise Candish, but it dragged so much through the middle. that I almost DNF. The few twists were very predictable.

Alex lives with his wife Beth in a suburb called Silver Vale where they lead a comfortable and quiet life. Beth announces one day that a nature trail is being created in an unused area behind their home. This announcement has Alex on edge. He’s suddenly paranoid and always looking over his shoulder as thoughts and fears from two decades ago creep into his present.

This is the second novel that I’ve read by Louise Candlish and it did not disappoint. It will have you guessing until the end and when you think you have it figured out it, it will take another turn. It kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat until the very end. I will recommend it to others without hesitation.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel. #NetGalley #TheOnlySuspect

Although it took me a bit to get through this book, I did enjoy it overall. I look forward to the next book from Louise Candlish!
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an ARC of this novel!
3/5

Julie here...thank you thank you thank you Louise Candlish for writing The Only Suspect.
I finished this during a spouse snoring session at 4 a.m. and I almost jumped out of bed and shouted for joy. This is what a great thriller is all about.
This has:
A man with a secret.
A murder.
His mysterious worry about a particular piece of dirt along a newly renovated neighbourhood trail.
A back-story of hedonistic love, spousal abuse, carefree sex, walks in the park.
A safe-house.
A zippo lighter.
A twist you will not see coming and I usually don't reveal when there's a twist but this one is DELICIOUS.
This is newly out today, we have lots of copies and it's my new favourite!

This one didn’t do it for me. After enjoying Candlish’s last two books well enough I was looking forward to another. From the start of this one I failed to connect to the characters or the story line. It was almost a job to continue reading instead of enjoying reading. Even the ending where everything comes together wasn’t enough to save it for me.

Another winner by Louise Candlish! I consider myself an intelligent person and can often figure out the endings of books, but this author always gets me with her twists! In addition, however, I love the fact that her characters and their lives are really well-developed, which is not the case with many psychological thrillers, This book has a rather unique storyline, and includes a dual timeline, both of which I found equally interesting - another rarity.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Simon & Schuster CA for the ARC. My second Louise Candlish book ! I liked it much better than the first.

Louise Candlish has done it again - another well-written, twisty, psychological thriller. Unpredictable, unsettling, and unequivocally fantastic. For those readers wanting a surprise ending, careful what you wish for!

I was so excited about the opportunity to read this book! Candlish is an auto-read author for me.

I was prepared for a twisty story, but Candlish outdid herself on this one! I'm still in awe of how she can sneak up on me and pull the carpet out from underneath me. Be prepared for a quick-paced, dual timeline with equally compelling and equally twisty plots. Candlish explores how well we really know those we love and what lengths we'll go to get what we want.

Without giving too much away, just know that all is not as it seems. In classic Candlish style, she pulls readers into the backstory and reveals just what we need to believe the story in THAT moment, then she plants a seed of doubt, a single word or phrasing, that has readers questioning everything they've read up to that point.

I couldn't put this book down! It was so believable.

There'll be no DNA kits bought in this house in the foreseeable future!

I was gifted this copy by Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

I think this is one of my fav books by Louise Candish, it took a few pages to get all characters lined up and get to the flow of the story. Once things moved along I was reading non stop and was totally shocked at the twist. Well done…..I love the twisted mind set to all her books. I enjoyed the dual timeline and my attempts to figure out what was happening .

I voluntarily received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and all opinions are my own

I would recommend this book to family , friends and my book clubs

First l would like to thank NetGalley as well as the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. Maybe this should have been titled Gullible? Just how often can someone take what is going on at face value? The first half was painfully slow, the second half had a few good twists but it did not raise my opinion

Another fabulous book by Louise Candlish! I've come to expect dark and twisty stories from this author, and this book did not disappoint. I loved all the twists and turns. This kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. Very satisfying read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Only Suspect in exchange for my honest review. This book was not at all what I expected. There was a pretty major twist at the end that I didn't see coming. Not at all. I love a book that is going along nicely, and you think you know what's going on and what might happen next....and then the author hits you with a curve ball. Let's just say that some of the characters are not who they appear to be. The book goes back and forth with a dual timeline between past events and present events. The present events are told from the perspective of Alex, who lives with his wife Beth in a house near an old train track that is now being turned into a nature trail...but is also the area where a body was found several years earlier. Past events are told from the perspective of Rick, who is a man living and working in the city of London. We learn about his life with a roommate named Rollo and a relationship he starts with a woman he meets at work named Marina. There are a few nice twists earlier in the story, but the big twists at the end make the book's ending even more satisfying. Some parts of the story when told by Rick, were at times a bit slower, but we needed the detail given, to lend to the twist at the end I think. The parts that were told by Alex seemed at times to make you question his motivations, but it all makes sense in the end. I found the character of his wife Beth to be fairly one dimensional, but she wasn't really a key player in the book, so I can see why the author didn't develop her beyond what was necessary. There is another secondary character in the Alex/Beth timeline, named Zara that really got under my skin. In the end, I guess there was a reason for her to be in the story, but I honestly think she could have been left out. I don't know what her character added to the story, other than a couple of instances where her interference could be considered a catalyst of sorts for some things to come to light. But otherwise, she just kind of annoyed me with her interloping. Great book though. It held my interest throughout. And again, I didn't see the big twist at the end coming until it was too late!

This is my first book by Louise Candlish, and The Only Suspect is a great introduction to her work, as I am now interested in reading her other books. She is beloved by readers for clever, surprising twists. The Only Suspect is a complex, well-structured, intriguing psychological thriller and domestic drama.
The story is told in two timelines, 1995 and the present. In both timelines, there is tension and an aura of impending danger and doom. A complicated plot involves blind obsession, manipulation, deceit, and hidden identities and motives. The major twist that shocked many readers fell flat to me. There was much misdirection leading to the secret identity of a predominant character. I thought this was too obvious and would result in a mind-boggling twist and reveal, followed by the motivation and events leading up to the surprising development.

In the present, Alex and Beth live in a place where there is an overgrown, muddy lane behind their home. This is frequently a hangout for drug addicts. They appear to have a good marriage despite being unable to have children. Alex is regarded as a loner at neighbourly events, while Beth is socially active and outgoing. Beth is involved and excited when the council agrees to build a nature trail in the neglected area. She has brought a homeless pregnant woman into their house who deliberately makes cutting remarks about Alex, turning Beth against him. Alex becomes filled with anxiety and dread that something or someone he buried will be unearthed while developers build the trail. his fear is palpable.

Back in 995, we meet some young people in their 20s in London. Rick is a gullible young man who rooms with Rollo. Rollo is frequently broke but enjoys a party. Rick has met a beautiful woman, Marina, who works in the same building and is often described as lovely and ethereal. Rick falls madly in love with her and seems bewitched and obsessed. She reveals that she is married and that her husband is a controlling monster. This confession only makes Rick compelled to protect her, and he stalks her, making many stupid and perilous mistakes. His behaviour made me want to kick him.

A murder occurs, and when the dead woman's identity is revealed, we learn that Rick has been deeply deceived. Who is guilty of the murder and why? Is the true killer the man found guilty and imprisoned for the crime?
How do these events in 1995 lead up to the present time? We learn about another vicious killing in earlier years. What is causing Alex's overwhelming anxiety?
Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this well-written mystery with intriguing characters.

It took me a while to get into this one. The pace picked up after a few chapters and the action much more intense. The twist was very unexpected and dare I say gasp worthy.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

Delighted to include this title in the April edition of Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction, for the Books section of Zoomer magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

This was my first Candlish, and certainly won't be my last.

As landscapers prepare to break ground on a revamp of an old local trail, it becomes clear that Alex, a once reserved auditor and husband, has secrets to hide. Suddenly paranoid, and quick to anger, this local community trail project threatens to unearth buried truths. Truths related to Alex's youth and the tangled web he found himself caught up with a woman named Marina.

With highly unlikeable and untrustworthy characters, this twisted tale had me unsure of what I knew or thought to be true. A natural skeptic, I doubted the veracity of some characters and their version of events, but still did not manage to figure it all out.

The only kind of a surprise I enjoy, Ms. Candlish had me happily shaking my head to have been taken for a ride.

SLOW BURN 🔥 MINI REVIEW on “The Only Suspect” by Louise Candlish

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

Alex and Beth live in Silver Vale, which is a quiet, but affluent suburban area. Alex is a very private man and likes to keep personal matters to himself. When the news of a nature trail getting developed behind their home gets announced, Alex gets very NERVOUS. He has a DARK secret that is now being threatened to be revealed … and this sends him into a complete panic SPIRAL🌪️

Back in his 20s something happened … and this book switches back and forth from 1995 to present. WHAT exactly will the city landscaper’s dig up??

Thank you kindly to @simonschusterca @netgalley @louisecandlish for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This twisty psychological thriller releases on April 18, 2023!

I didn’t find myself enraptured in the story initially, but about half through the intrigue picked up. The story flips back and forth between present day and 1995 weaving a tale of betrayal on several levels.
Thank You to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada, and Louise Candlish for the opportunity to read this ARC.

First of all I’d like to thank the publishers for letting me read this before publication here in Canada. I gave this a 5 star rating because I really enjoyed it. It always impresses me when I get near the end of a book and realize that I hadn’t figured it out after all. The twists definitely surprised me and I love that in a book. This book had a lot of unlikeable characters with questionable judgement but the story was intriguing so I overlooked the fact that I don’t think I liked any of the characters except Rick’s mother who seemed very shrewd.