True Crime was a decent thriller that I enjoyed.
Katy is a promising young journalist but has been missing ten years now. She was last seen at her desk and no one knows where she is. The investigation at the time couldn’t nail anyone to the disappearance but her mum has never got over this event and still tries to find out what happened. For the ten year anniversary Katy’s mum is approached by a company wanting to do a documentary series about Katy but it turns out to be nothing like what she agreed to take part in.
This was a slow start of a book for me but it picked up after about the first third. There were lots of little trails to lead you up the garden path. The story was well put together and I found it enjoyable, even more so as I didn’t guess the culprit or what could actually have happened to Katy.
I would like to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book, but I really enjoyed the writing style. Grace’s daughter, Katy, disappeared 10 years ago. Grace has done her best to move on with her life, but it’s a daily struggle. A true crime show reaches out to Grace for an interview for a series on Katy’s disappearance. Hopeful that it will bring out new information, Grace agrees. Once the episodes begin airing Grace learns things about Katy that she never would have imagined. And before long, she realizes that something very bad happened the night Katy went missing. As things unfold and truths come to light Grace doesn’t know who she can trust. What she does know is that she must find out what happened to Katy, no matter what.

The different POV’s in this book were unique and interesting. Seeing things from Grace’s perspective and learning new information as she did made it feel like you were living it right along with her. The throwbacks to the time Katy went missing added another layer of mystery. I have to say I wasn’t totally surprised by the ending, but i was interested in seeing how it would all play out, for sure.

Thank you Netgalley and Publishers for the ecopy of True Crime

I love Georgina Lees' novels, she's very talented at reeling the reader in and keeping them gripped until the last page.
I loved the direction this one went and I loved the twists and turns.
The writing was engaging and I was turning the pages in anticipation.
Another fabulous read!

I’m not sure how to review this book. It’s not my usual genre. It’s quite sad in places. Odd ending. Well written. A quick read.

This book!!!!

You will not expect what is going to happen. While I did feel the ending was a bit difficult to believe, it was overall well written and enjoyable

Thank you to Natgalley for the ARC.

I will not provide any spoilers, but I would suggest giving this a read.

I chose to read a free eARC of True Crime but that has in no way influenced my review.

Grace Harper’s twenty-year-old daughter, Katy, left work ten years ago and was never seen again. Understandably Grace has spent the last ten years of her life fixated on her daughters’ whereabouts. And she’s not the only one. Grace finds comfort in talking to a small group of strangers on a message board who are also interested in what happened to Katy. Using the cloak of internet anonymity Grace listens to their theories whilst adding her own, keen to keep Katy’s name fresh in people’s minds. So when a television production company approaches Grace asking to dig deeper into Katy’s disappearance she agrees, desperate to find out what happened and hoping it will bring new evidence to light. But the documentary is nothing like Grace expected. The emphasis is all wrong. And no matter how prepared she felt she was, it inevitably opens painful old wounds. Inching ever closer to the truth, Grace takes matters into her own hands. Someone somewhere knows what happened to Katy Harper and they’ll go to extreme measures to keep the secret buried forever…

True Crime is an intense, emotional and gripping psychological thriller which had me turning the pages at a rate of knots. Grace is angry, and rightly so. Her daughter vanished without a trace ten years ago and despite a fairly thorough investigation by the police, no trace of Katy was ever found. At the time of her disappearance, there were three main suspects; her older boyfriend who seemed much more into their relationship than Katy ever was. Her English professor who was rumoured to have had affairs with other students on Katy’s course, Katy being his latest conquest, and an intense colleague at work who seemed to know Katy’s every move. Rather than shining a spotlight on those Grace feels responsible for Katy’s disappearance, the documentary gives them a voice and Grace doesn’t like what she hears. The author has excelled at showing how true crime documentaries can tilt the emphasis of an investigation, giving those initial suspects who felt strongly aggrieved by being accused, the opportunity to have a voice and how, edited just the right way, that voice can sound authoritative, conclusive and be taken as truth.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. True Crime is a superbly written, highly emotional tale of a desperate, heartbroken mother’s search for the truth. With each new episode of the documentary, Grace realises that perhaps she didn’t know Katy anywhere near as well as she thought. Could one of the three original suspects be responsible for her disappearance? Or did something else happen to Katy that night? The majority of the story is told from Grace’s point of view. The reader gets to see her heartfelt reaction to the documentary episodes, her relationship with Detective Harrison Lane – the lead investigator when Katy first went missing – (who I loved!) and how Grace slowly starts to make progress in her own investigation off of the back of the series. We also see first-hand how each episode plays out, the startling revelations, the sudden reappearance of Katy’s ‘dad’ and how the suspects easily turn things around, making Katy’s own actions look highly suspicious. And finally, we hear from Katy in the lead-up to her disappearance. Step by step the reader watches as that fateful night unfolds and the truth finally comes to light. And it’s a shocker! I certainly didn’t expect the author to take the story in the direction they did. Wonderfully unexpected, perhaps a smidge hard to believe but I didn’t really care. The ending was explosive and I loved it. All in all, a hugely addictive novel, utterly compelling and nigh on impossible to put down. This is the first book I’ve read by this author but I can guarantee I will be reading more. How can I not after being swept up in this cracking story? Tense, involving and very intriguing. Highly recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of True Crime. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

When grace's daughter Katie went missing her whole world stopped. Now ten years later Katie has not shown up but the rest of the world has moved on with their lives, well everyone but Grace. Grace is then surprised when she recieves a phone call from someone saying that they would like to discuss her case on their true crime podcast. At first she is a little unsure about this idea but in the end decides that shining a light might just be the thing she needs to get real answers on what really happened to Katie. As the podcast takes off shendives back into the search and is surprised to learn information that she never knew the first time around. Maybe this is the exact piece that will finally bring her baby home. I really enjoy this book because it perfectly depicted the desperation that this mother was going through at the unknown whereabouts of her daughter. I can't even imagine having to go through something like this but the author played it perfectly between longing and the continuous search. I loved how the author took a very serious subject but didn't make it to dark and depressing it was more filled with the mothers desperation and as reader you found yourself praying for a positive outcome. If you are a true crime junkie like me this is one book that will really grab your interest. I'm so glad that I was given the opportunity to check this out This is unlike anything I've ever read before and ever will read again. While I found the first half of this book a little slow the second half was great and I couldn't put it down. I couldn't wait to get to the bottom of what was actually happening, and if all books by this author are similar then I know that this is one I will be searching for in the future. I'm very glad I was given the chance to check this one out.

Grace, a grieving mother who had a daughter, Katy, who went missing ten years ago. Grace has given up looking for her daughter when she receives a call from a company wanting to make a documentary about Katy. Grace agrees.

As someone who is interested in true crime I enjoyed the novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK and Georgina Lees for my ARC of ‘True Crime’.

.Mystery and intrigue, damning family secrets and friends. This was a realistic bit of fiction about a mom's quest to find her daughter even years later. For fans of true crime podcasts and the people embroiled in them.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc

True crime is a mother’s insight on missing daughter 10 years earlier. Very slow, repetitive and not very interesting in my opinion.

✨My Thoughts✨
Ten years later Grace is the mother left behind, she tries to fill her days fixing things and doing tasks from her list that she writes everyday, she feels useful crossing things off her list.

Out of of the blue she gets a call from a production company wanting her input about a new documentary about Katy’s disappearance and they’ll be reinvestigating the case etc, will this finally make the truth come out ?.

I almost have no words to describe how good this book, it took me on such a wild ride that I didn’t come up for air until I’d read the very last page.

It had so many twists and turns that i really didn’t expect and a HUGE twist near the end that absolutely floored me.

I highly recommend this book to all my bookworm friends, it will be in my top 3 books of the year that’s for sure.

Really enjoyed this book.. new author to me and I will keep reading her books. It's a nice spin on true crime books.

This was a ride of a book. A missing persons case 10 years old gets revived by a documentary film maker group. For a mother whose daughter was there one day and gone the next who is hoping the attention will bring her some closure. Told not only from varying viewpoints, the author also utilizes different methods for conveying information to the reader - from e-mails to chat forums to message boards - Does the new documentary bring home her daughter or does it just create more questions? Read it and find out. 4.5 rounded to 5

A clever bit of storytelling that is very much about todays’s obsession with true crime and social media culture. It tells the story of an unresolved disappearance through the lens of a true crime documentary in a way that is both compelling and chilling.

With thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

True crime was the first book I’ve read by Georgina Lees. Sucked me in from the very first page. In the age of podcasts and true crime documentaries this book was so good. Way better than watching Netflix! This read like a real life story. A mother’s grief of her daughter being missing for 10 years and how a documentary played out.

As someone who enjoys watching true crime documentaries, I found this book very enjoyable.

The story is told in the perspective of Grace, a grieving mother whose daughter went missing 10 years ago and is approached by a documentary team who want to focus on her daughter's missing persons case. As a result some of the chapters are written in the style of documentary episodes.

There was a fairly slow build up to begin with while we were being introduced to all the characters, however after the 50% mark it really accelerates and I couldn't put it down for that last stretch!

This was my first Georgina Lees book and I look forward to reading more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was the first true crime book ive ever read and im not really sure what i made of it if im honest. It wasn’t really what i expected it to be, but I did enjoy it.

10 years ago Katy went missing but her mother Grace has never given up hope in finding her daughter. When Grace is approached and asked to participate in a true crime documentary looking into her daughters disappearance Grace is reluctant by eventually she agrees hoping that this may uncover some new evidence, bring Katy back into the news and potentially providing the police with new evidence or leads.

As the book goes on secrets are revealed and Grace learns things about her daughter she never once thought could be true.

I enjoyed the most parts of this true crime. There were lots of twists and I absolutely loved Grace she is one determined mum and the rollercoaster of emotions she’s been on throughout her daughter’s disappearance are portrayed very well.

I did find it quite slow getting into this book but after the first 25% it seemed to just take off and I read it very quickly.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an advance copy of this book in exchange for this review.

Wow this was a fast-paced thriller right from the start. Women whose daughter goes missing and has been missing for ten years. The story as told by the women/Mother interjected with conversations from the daughter. The Mothers quest to find out what happened to her daughter and if she is actually missing or dead. The power of social and media as well comes into play in this page turner.
Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, and the Author Georgina Lees for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

EXCERPT: I stand there for what feels like a lifetime trying to process what he said to me, until I turn slowly and walk home.
It wasn't painful; it was the truth, and no one has ever told me the truth before. They told me I was a good mum, that Katy loved me, that we had a special bond.
But this is the truth: I couldn't look after her, I couldn't keep her safe.

ABOUT 'TRUE CRIME': A missing girl. An angry mother. A true crime documentary. Ten years ago, Katy, a promising young journalist, left her desk and was never seen again. Someone knows what happened to her… The controlling boyfriend? The inappropriate professor? The clingy colleague? When Katy went missing, it wasn’t just her devastated mother, Grace, whose life was ruined. Now, a new documentary delving into the missing person case threatens to open old wounds. As Grace gets closer to the truth, she discovers just how far people are willing to go to keep the past hidden.

MY THOUGHTS: True Crime is not your typical missing girl story. The ending took me by surprise, and I loved it, though I felt the epilogue to be a bit redundant.

Personally, I can't think of anything worse than having a child going missing, even if said child is an adult. Georgina Lees has done an awesome job of depicting the mother's emotions; a sickening mix of anger, fear, sadness, despair and determination. It may have been ten years, but Grace has never given up hope.

We don't ever get a clear picture of the relationship between mother and daughter. According to Grace they were very close, friends as well as mother and daughter, but other people paint a different picture. I found it hard to get a read on Katy's friend Jo and I wasn't entirely comfortable with her 'thoughts' on Katy's disappearance. Two of the three suspects seemed a little 'off' to me, and I didn't trust them either.

I like a good mystery where I am on the back foot.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.2

#TrueCrimeNovel #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: Georgina studied creative writing and film at university and has since pursued a career in video-games journalism, covering some of the most popular games in the world. Her psychological thrillers are inspired by her surroundings, from the congested London streets to the raw English countryside. She can be found playing games, writing stories, and reading anything from fantasy to crime fiction.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for providing a digital ARC of True Crime by Georgina Lees for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.