Loved this. fast paced with great characters that had me hooked in. Hard to put down.
Looking forward to reading more by Jane E James

I loved this from the start, I was pulled in straight away! A thriller full of secrets and lies, it really kept me guessing and it was really well written!

Thank you SO much to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I absolutely loved this!! Such great characters and a great storyline.

My full review is to follow in a few days.....

A tense and suspenseful thriller that explores the dark secrets that can hide behind closed doors, with a gripping plot and an unexpected twist.

Kept me on my toes and guessing until the very end! Secrets and lies could destroy everything. I was enthralled by the mystery which is a mind bending one to solve.

This is my first book by this author. Definately impressed and will be reading more. It has great twists and turns and will have you flipping those pages.

First time reading this author and I really enjoyed this roller coaster of a ride!!! Loves the alternating past and present & this is one of my favorite styles of writing

Not my Child is not the book for me. The book has the makings of a good story with obsession and murder but that's about the only exciting thing it has going for it. I didn't care for any of the characters and the story kept getting far fetched as it went along,

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

Overall, a good page turner with the usual array of characters with hidden secrets to keep you guessing. Plenty of twists and turns along the way and a satisfying enough ending.

Ok so this is more of a 3.5 star read for me. I think I started typing this review out and apparently didn't finish it because I thought I already did it, but I'm blabbering but this book SUCKED me in in the beginning, like to the point where I figured I'd finish it so fast but then as a mama of 2 with holidays I got carried away and unable to really read so I didn't get to finish it as fast as I'd have liked. The reason I gave it only 3.5 stars was just because <spoiler> I felt the ending to be a bit unbelievable and I liked Tara too much to understand how she wouldn't have known if that makes sense... </spoiler> but I'd recommend this one!

Not my Child by Jane E James was an excellent book, especially as this is a new author to me. This book was a great page turner from start to finish, with brilliant twists and turns that will have your head spinning! and I loved it. I also love a book that has lots of secrets but you know secrets will always find away of coming out in the end!

WoW.......Brilliant ending......and breathe!

A great holiday read and I highly recommend it.

I am looking forward reading more books from the author. I just love the way she writes and all her characters are excellent.

Big Thank you to Netgalley and Joffe Books for my Arc copy.

I enjoyed reading this I knew it was going to be good from the first couple of pages.i usually guess early on what's going to happen,but I didn't see the twist coming till it was too late.i put my hands over my eyes and said noooooo.five stars

I finished this really quickly. Finding it easy to follow and good to read.

Unfortunately the plot lacked for me. I guessed two of the major plot points rather quickly and felt the ending was too sudden and could of been expanded on easily.
Over all it was an interesting read that was Unfortunately lacking in places

This story starts out disturbing. As the story goes on it is clear there is something not right in the marriage.
The relationships in this story are all just odd and the end just irritated me.

Not the worst I’ve read but it was just ok for me.

Whilst the basis of the main story was good, the characters were just not likeable

Yes, there were lots of twists, and plenty of repetition. I suppose the story kept me interested, but it was a bit of a struggle.

Thanks to Net Galley and Joffe Books for the chance to read and review.

I didn't enjoy this book at all, the plot was incredibly unbelievable and cliche. SO many holes in the plot, it was painful. The actual writing was decent, hence the one star. I will most likely not be purchasing this book for our library.

A great book which I loved, when does keeping a secret become too much to bear and if death happens what happens to that secret?
With lots of twists and turns and the final reveal which left me on the edge of my seat.

Thanks to net galley and the publishers for this arc.
4 stars

This book was such a mess that I'm surprised I finished it at all.

To begin with, neither Tara nor Dino are likeable characters in the least. Tara went through a horrible childhood, and then something as a teenager that no woman regardless of age should have to go through, so I wanted to be able to cut her some slack. But the way she became absolutely obsessed with Brianna to the point she was lying to her husband and spending hours outside of the woman's home made it hard to sympathize with her.

Dino on the other hand keeps talking about how good looking he is, and how no woman can resist him (he used to be called the Italian Stallion don't you know). You would have thought that after his wife's death, he would have thrown more of himself into their children, but instead he seems content to pawn them off on his parents most of the time (even though his dad is suffering from Alzheimer's). Now before anyone comes for me, I lost my husband when we had two young children, and while both my parents and my father-in-law were close by and more than willing/capable of taking them, I didn't go that route. As the sole parent left after an unexpected loss, I wanted to spend time with them, so I really cannot understand Dino's motivation (not even with Tara's "lies).

Aside from a bunch of random things thrown in that still don't make sense , for example why did Mr.Grant leave his car running and in Dino's driveway, and why was Dino forced to go give a statement when he obviously wasn't home at the time? Or why was Tara so convinced that Sean was the person behind what happened to her when she repeatedly said she didn't see the person responsible? Or, and this was one of my favorites, why was it necessary to reveal that the Officer in charge of Tara's case was having an affair? It did nothing to move the plot along.

But then we get to what was supposed to be the "big reveal" and man, I had had this one figured out early on. All of the signs were there.

But what really killed this one for me was the way that it ended. I guess we're just supposed to be happy with there being no real resolution to two of the biggest plot points of the story? Alrighty then.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

I want to start off by saying that as someone who was raped as a teenager, this book was very hard for me to read as it does include rape. I would advise anyone who has gone through something similar to go in to this book cautious and prepared. I read the plot beforehand and wanted to love this book, but because of my past trauma it wasn't the right one for me and I decided about 40% of the way through to stop reading it. I hope to read more from Jane E James as the book was written very well and the storyline sounded intriguing.

TRIGGER WARNING: rape, adoption
Dino is struggling after the death of his wife Tara. But he discovers a letter from her which confesses to secrets. It makes him realise he hardly knew his wife at all...
Not My Child is a domestic drama, psychological and crime thriller set in the UK.
Dino is a heartbroken widower trying to make sense of his wife's death whilst being a loving son to his dad who had Alzheimer's and a support to his grieving children. He is in frequent contact with the police officer in charge of his wife's hit and run but fears he didn't really know or understand the real Tara.
The book is written from Tara's first person perspective as she reflects on her life and Dino's viewpoint (and Ryan's a teeny bit) in the present day. Dino feels betrayed by his wife's lies but Tara's narrative shows us her unhappy childhood and teen rape which are hugely emotive. As Tara's story moves nearer to the present, we are caught up with her obsession with the truth which ultimately led to her death.
The author's note at the start is open about the unpleasant topic of rape which is depicted in the book. She highlights the facts of poor reporting and conviction rates which underpin the plot. This book includes a rape scene but it is the emotional trauma that follows which is much more upsetting.
Dino is desperate to bring his wife's killer to justice. There is a mystery for him to unravel as he tries to find the truth behind the secrets. I was concerned by the lead police officer's familiarity bordering on friendship as I felt it was inappropriate. OK, so I guessed the big twist about a third of the way through, although I did briefly change my mind at the two thirds point before reverting to my original opinion. This didn't spoil my enjoyment at all as I couldn't wait to see how events would play out and I wasn't disappointed.
Not My Child is an emotional and engaging book with plenty of secrets and mystery as well.