Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of Bad Blood.
I was very interested to see where the plot would go with this title, it is an extremely descriptive book. I enjoyed it all the way through and the twist at the end surprised me!

Bad Blood is my first book by Sarah Hornsley. I really enjoyed it a lot. It held my interest and I didn’t want to put it down. I will definitely recommend this book to others.
Thank you NetGalley and Zando Publishing for this eARC.

Justine, a criminal barrister, heads back to her hometown after she finds out that her teenage boyfriend is on trial for murder. The book has a unique writing style where it is told in a dual timeframe, one in the present and one 18 years in the past.

Sarah Hornsley does an wonderful job of keeping the reader guessing throughout this thriller. There are twists that I never saw coming. The dual timeframe was done wonderfully and let the reader get just a taste of what happened in the past and leave us wanting more. I really liked seeing everything from all the different characters perspective.

There were some twists that I thought were going to go places, but ended as soon as they began, which was a little disappointing.
But this was a small criticism compared to how much I liked the book. Overall a great read that I could not put down.

Justine's world implodes when she realizes that the defendant in her big criminal trial is Jake, her one time love. This moves back and forth over 18 years to tell a twisty story of a dysfunctional family, secrets, lies, and murder. Justine is a good character who is looking for a truth she really doesn't want but must have. It's nicely paced and kept me guessing. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read for thriller fans.

I’ve been trying to read this book for TWO. WHOLE. MONTHS.

That’s right. A book that should’ve taken me a weekend max became my literary hostage situation.

Opening you get to know Justine who is a criminal barrister and I was like, “Ooh law thriller! I was just watching suits this is up my alley”. But it wasn’t.

The thing is nothing happens up until 58% (which is when I decided to DNF). “My dad did something bad years ago and so I’m going to push away my husband because he can’t know about it and I’ll have an affair with my murdered brother’s best friend instead of getting comfort from my husband” is this books motto.

It’s not giving me anything to want to read on. Seriously nothing is interesting and I couldn’t care less what happens.

The worst part? It shoved me into a reading slump for two months. TWO.

So yeah. It’s a DNF from me. 1 star.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc of this book.

Read in 2 hours and 37 minutes.

After reading this book, I’m starting a theory that this masterpiece in human suffering *cannot* be the author’s debut book.

It’s simply too heavy with grief and suspicion, perfectly summarising the secrets that are resurrected when you’re forced to confront your demons, for a first time writer.

The fraught tightrope that a family has to navigate around their abuser; not only tiptoeing on eggshells, but frantically piecing them back together when they inevitably crack.

Justine- named after the justice system that she now works in- is a thriving lawyer with a doting husband and has kept her past firmly contained in her old village; even her husband doesn’t know the truth.

When she’s appointed as the lead on a major case, she’s elated…until her ex is revealed as the killer in a double homicide.
Jake was everything to her, even after he vanished following that fateful night- he’s not a murderer, she knows that.
So why has he changed his name and why does the evidence match?

Fearing that her grip on her carefully constructed present is unravelling, she heads back to her old home to uncover the truth.

Once she opens that can of worms, the guts keep spilling out, and Justine can’t hide anymore.

Is this worth losing everything she’s worked for?

Justine’s long deceased but abusive father still looms large in her life, not just as the town’s celebrated hero or shady businessman, but in the cruel whisper in her head, in the nightmares that she hurtles out of, and the rotting secrets that she clings to.
The generational trauma is described well, emphasising on how the aftershocks are still tremors years later, and how draining the fight to escape your past is.
I found the Stone family to be wounded animals, tensely circling the elephant in the room, whilst desperately trying to shield each other from the sight.
Beware that it contains domestic violence and these scenes are realistic but there are hopeful moments too.
Justine has a lot of troubling decisions to make but she’s learning from her estranged friends and family that love doesn’t need to be seen to exist, which is the backbone of this plot.

The story is a mix of a courtroom mystery with a bigger portion of healing and mental health swirled in; the two are dependent on each other and it’s a heady mix.

My Rating 4.25
This book was so full of twists and uncertainty that I never knew what to believe. This kept me guessing until the end. I read this in one sitting, because I needed to know the truth! Very good writing, great story, complex characters... What more could I need?
Thank you to Sarah Hornsley and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This was pretty good kept my interest I will recommend this read since it was a page turner I’m sure people will love this book

Bad Blood is a gripping crime thriller packed with dark family secrets, twists and a constant sense of uncertainty. Just when you think you can believe one character, you find yourself doubting and wondering what is the truth.

At the heart of the novel is Justine, a successful barrister whose world is thrown into turmoil when her ex-boyfriend is accused of a double murder. Returning to her childhood home to try and uncover the truth, Justine is forced to confront uncomfortable memories from her past.

As old wounds resurface and buried truths begin to emerge, Bad Blood keeps you questioning everyone's motives - including Justine's. A layered thriller that explores how the past can shape, haunt and ultimately define the future.

5 ⭐️

Bad Blood is an exciting and suspenseful story that grabbed my attention right away! The plot was easy to follow and the characters feel so real.
The writing is clear and engaging, and I couldn’t stop turning the page. I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good mystery or thriller!
I was genuinely impressed with this novel and will definitely read more by Sarah Hornsley.

BAD BLOOD is very suspenseful. I didn't know who or what to believe. Filled with plenty of twists I found it hard to put down. Highly recommend.

Many thanks for my #gifted copy.

Justine’s career as a criminal barrister is on the up when a case comes through that links to her past. Returning to her hometown she tries to make sense of a double murder and her brother’s disappearance. Interspersed is snippets of a party 18years ago, and also the lead up to the murders.

Until the end I thought some twists were a little bit predictable. I wasn’t sure what I thought of the book to be honest. My feelings for the main characters didn’t seem right. I couldn’t get a feel for Justine or her decisions but by the end this all made complete sense.

This is a very clever book ( and title)!

What a twisty, thrilling, fast-paced read! This one had me on the edge of my seat and could not put this one down. Just when you think you have it figured out, there is another twist. So good! I can't wait to read more from this author!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for the ARC!

Talk about a debut book that I could not put down! The past can sure come back to haunt! Not action packed, but the twists and turns sure took me for a ride. The ending for me was unpredictable, and tied up nicely. I mean, what more could you ask for in a psychological thriller than drama, dark secrets, manipulation, and suspense? This book has all of those traits! I highly recommend this read to add to any collection.

Trigger Warning: Abuse

Thank you to NetGalley and Sarah Hornsley for the eARC

How many lies are you capable of telling in order to save your loved ones?

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

This book kept me on my toes. I was tying the dots and untying them constantly. Although some of The twists were expected, some left me stunned

This was an enjoyable read - fast moving, unexpected and gripping. The family interactions are suspenseful and interesting. I liked the portrayal of Justine, though I felt the parts about her romance with Jake should have been expanded more. The twists and turns, and the 'did he do it or not' ensured I was hooked till the end.

Criminal lawyer Justine Stone is handed the lead on a double murder case, only to find out that the accused is her first love, who disappeared from her life 18 years prior. She is determined to find out what happened and begins her own investigation.
This book is very twisty. I was hooked from the start. The story is told in multiple points of view over 18 years, slowly revealing Justine’s disfunctional family and the secrets they have kept, and are maybe still keeping. A lot is revealed at the end that made me question my allegiance to one character in particular. I am still unpacking it all. Great book!
Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Really enjoyed this one! A really solid thriller with twist after twist that keep you guessing. Loved the writing style and the different points of view shown throughout to show different sides to the story. A really solid debut novel, can't wait to read more from this author!

we watching a wave of complex characters here and i loved to see it. you get attached to knowing what happens or what happened to them all. for this to be a debut novel is just brilliant for the author and they sure do have a talent in this. im excited to where her books will go to next and i cant wait to get my hands on the next.
we get to learn about our characters not only in the story of their nows, the also as so often is the way of how their past links so many more things.
Justine is living her dream. shes got a successful career and home life. and this is very good news as she definitely has a past she needs to leave behind. but sometimes this isn't an option as the next case she gets is to be in court with her ex boyfriend Jake who has been accused of murder. oh and not just murder but a double murder.
but for her to go into that court room Justine knows she needs to go into his past. she needs to go into their past.
and lets just say there is a lot to discover and unpack for both herself and us readers. and i loved doing so as it was both smart and clever in how everything was relevant. and we got to know both past and present in equal intriguing measure.
the characters not being likeable to me made it all the more fun to read. because you are just witness to the chaos and mess of these people who are just giving us more and more deceit lies to witness and unpack,

I absolutely loved Bad Blood - it was such an interesting premise. I've often wondered about people working in the legal system and whether their personal opinions ever interfere with the way they work a case. In this story, that issue is explored even further as we follow criminal lawyer Justine Stone. She has been offered a career defining murder case, but Jake Reynolds who has been accused of murder also happens to be her ex-boyfriend, her childhood sweetheart and first love. Their break-up was sudden and unexpected when he completely ghosted her - something she has never really recovered from. Instead of declaring that she knows Jake and taking herself off the case, Justine decides to start investigating. Two decades after leaving her hometown, she is forced to face all of the issues she ran away from while she looks into the case, and then to complicate matters further, her brother goes missing.

The twists and pace of this novel were incredible, it had me totally hooked and it was such an entertaining story. From reading the synopsis, I was expecting more of the book to take place in the courtroom but the way it developed was a surprise and I really enjoyed the way the characters explored past trauma and the idea that you never really know people.