A tense and gripping story from the start with a truly evil main character. Make sure you have plenty time to read as once you start this book you wont want to put it down until you have finished.
Many thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review. Five stars from me !!

The Boyfriend by John Nicholl is a dark and gripping psychological thriller that explores the terrifying side of love and obsession. The story follows Anna, who initially believes she has found the perfect partner in Mark—wealthy, charming, and seemingly everything she’s ever wanted. But as their relationship deepens, it becomes clear that Mark is hiding something much more sinister.

Nicholl's writing is taut and suspenseful, drawing readers into a web of manipulation and fear. As Anna discovers the true depths of Mark’s dangerous obsession, her attempts to escape lead to chilling consequences. The novel explores themes of control, manipulation, and the deadly consequences of love gone wrong, with a protagonist who is trapped in a nightmarish cycle of fear.

The psychological tension is palpable throughout, and the atmosphere is relentlessly tense as Anna races to protect herself from a man who is willing to do anything—no matter how extreme—to keep her under his thumb. The menacing nature of Mark’s obsession will leave readers on edge, and the twists and turns in the plot will keep them guessing until the very end.

In conclusion, The Boyfriend is a must-read for fans of dark, twist-filled thrillers. John Nicholl excels at creating complex, chilling characters, and his portrayal of Mark’s descent into obsession is haunting. This novel is perfect for those who enjoy psychological thrillers with an unpredictable, heart-pounding narrative. Fans of Freida McFadden and similar authors will find The Boyfriend a thrilling, unsettling read.

WoW! and Breathe!!!!! The Boyfriend by John Nicholl was a jaw dropping psychological thriller from start to finish and what an excellent book. But, not for the faint hearted! John is an author that will get under your skin and I can not get enough of! all his books have been a 5 star read and this one was No different! Superb read. Especially as I ended up reading The Boyfriend all day until it had finished it. . . .I ended just sitting there with a cup of cold coffee - it was hot when I made it! and thinking. . . . WoW that was good!

Now, I am looking forward to his next book. . . . . There is not another author out there that will have you thinking about what you have just read! This makes him one of the best authors out there. All his books will not disappoint they will have you sitting in the edge of your seat and you will be reading his books to the early hours of the morning! So don't start to read them just before you go to bed!!! lol

Big Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for my ARC.

Twenty-year-old Anna Edwards is the latest victim of serial r@pist Mark Shady. Detective Sergeant Raymond Lewis tried to get Shady behind bars, but the system once again failed the victim and Shady walks free. This is the third time that Shady has gotten away, but Sergeant Lewis believes there are more and will be  more victims in the future. Shady's restaurant get torched and Lewis is assigned to his case and must being seek justice for Shady. While Lewis is distracted, Shady finds a new victim, Carly. She is Lewis' friend's daughter and her dad is also a cop. Lewis begins the cat and mouse game in order to find Carly. Shady is also coming after Bronwen Lewis, Lewis' own daughter.

TW ⚠️sexual abuse, necrophilia, physical abuse, domestic violence, manipulation

Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this psychological thriller!

When Anna first meets Mark, she thought he was the perfect boyfriend. Wealthy and charming, he showers her with gifts, compliments and everything she has never desired. But Mark is less a prince than a man with a dangerous secret, and as their love life becomes even darker, Anna flees him. There is nowhere safe from him, though. Not for Anna. Nor for the girlfriends who will who will follow her. Because this is a boyfriend who kills to make sure he can continue to kiss a sleeping princess.

When Mark Shady does a despicable thing to his latest girlfriend, she takes him to court, but he walks free. DS Ray Lewis was hoping Shady would be sent to prison, he's a dangerous man. Would Shady's victims ever get justice?

I liked DS Ray Lewis, he was a proper old school type of policeman, but he's nearing retirement. This is quite a dark and disturbing read about grooming and revenge. I was quickly pulled into this story, it's a chilling psychological thriller, and I could not put it down. All of the characters were likeable except for Shady who you'll love to hate.

Published 4th April 2025

I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #JohnNicholl for my ARC of #TheBoyfriend in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and read it very fast due to the nature of the books pacing and the twists, turns and dramatic irony featured. While the gruesome and gritty elements of Shady's point of view made the book difficult to read at times due to the uncomfortable feelings provoked I enjoyed the book nonetheless and felt heavily involved in the characters seeking justice for his abominable crimes and his inhumane treatment he bestowed upon his victims. As previously mentioned I found the characters realistic and enjoyed the, albeit surface level, endeavors into the problems surrounding the characters working within the police force and the incongruity between personal justice and the justice system. Although the ending was controversial it was easy to accept Shady's resolution due to the severity of his crimes drawing out the true question of what justice truly means for each individual reader in response to his fate.

An excellent read from John Nichohl all about a dodgy character named Shady & how he likes to rape women before moving onto worse. Can DS. Lewis rid the streets of this awful character? This is an enjoyable read, more of a police procedural than a mystery. Its still a very enjoyable book with relatable characters.

The boyfriend, who is the aptly named Shady, appears to be Mr Nice Guy but he is constantly getting away with accusations of rape and then moves onto his next victim.The story does not always make for easy reading however it is gripping and whilst making you think about the grooming and the rapes, by the end you have to question how justice is meted out and why we do need a robust legal system in place. The ending comes out of the blue as well. Very thought provoking.

Thanks to Netgalley/Boldwood books for the ARC to review

Anna thinks she has found the perfect boyfriend in Mark but how wrong she can be? Things turn sour and she presses charge against him for a crime, but he gets off in Court. He then thunks he is invincible and his behaviour gets darker and darker and his next girlfriend may not be as lucky as Anna and get away from him. We follow the detectives dealing with the case and trying to get him convicted of a crime and off the streets before his crimes turn deadly. Is everyone in danger or is he targeting relatives of police officers chasing him?

Quite dark in places but keeps you guessing until the end.

The subject matter/storyline may be triggering for some. It’s well written but the story is very dark -the descriptive writing paints very clear pictures of the horrific situations that transpire. It’s not a book that I would say I enjoyed reading but I was unable to put it down until I knew how things panned out. All too often, in real life, the victims are further victimized and the predator gets off. Shady wasn’t so lucky. Karma’s a #,*#!!
Thank You to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the invitation to read a pre-approved copy of The Boyfriend.

Gripping, chilling and very, very satisfying
Superb writing from this author, a very eye catching cover, this book will go far, 5 stars. Blindingly excellent ... This book should come with a disclaimer as once you start reading you aren’t going to want to walk away.

Anna Edwards boyfriend does to her what no woman should go through, Mark Shady thinks he can get away with it, detective Sergeant Raymond Lewis helps Anna to get justice but Sadley not. but Raymond will not stop until he gets Mark behind bars. a very addictive read

Very dark thriller for sure! You can't put it down once you start! Very fast paced enjoyable thriller!

Decent enough psychological thriller that I found to be a particularly easy read and absolutely flew through this book, the first one I've read by this author. Very much liked the ending and would probably read further publications by this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an unbiased review

Just finished reading this book and it's so dark! It is incredibly gripping, luring us into the darkness with its compelling storytelling. Nicholl crafts a tale that’s as addictive as it is unsettling, sending shivers down my spine and raising the hairs on the back of my neck. The characters are disturbingly real, making it completely unputdownable. If you’re in the mood for something dark and disturbing that will keep you up at night, I can’t recommend this enough!

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

A brilliant thriller with a monster of a man in Mark Shady - i loathed him - which is exactly what the author wanted me to do.

On the other hand I adored DS Ray Lewis who was full of flaws and totally relatable.

Excellent plot, fabulous fully fledged characters and a satisfying finale - whats not to love?

An easy 5 stars from me.

A quick, easy and dark read that I finished in one sitting. It was well paced with an intriguing story line and well developed characters. I was kept guessing all the way through

Title: The Boyfriend
Author: John Nicholl
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Pub Date: April 4, 2025
My Rating: 2.3 Stars
Pages 264

Anna Edwards is an attractive student and believes Mark is the perfect boyfriend - wealthy and charming, and he showers her with gifts, compliments, everything that makes her feel special.

As we know, Mark Shady (what a perfect name for this awful man!) has not been found guilty of the countless rapes in the past. So will he once again get away with hurting Anna as he has with all his other girlfriends?

Yikes! I struggled with this dark story – After I was well into it and it was NOT meeting my expectation I checked for trigger warning that are typically at the beginning – none were listed.

About the Author [author: John Nicholl|13795294]
While fictional, story was inspired by true events. John Nicholl was a police officer and social worker, he was faced with cases that left him incredulous as to the harm sexual predators inflict on their victims.
This story reflects that reality.
So sad I have no doubt that it true but not an enjoyable read😥

Thank you to NetGalley and to Boldwood Books for granted me this eGalley.
Publishing Date scheduled for Thursday April 4, 2025.

The Boyfriend by John Nicholl

TW scenes depicting SA, mentions of SA

Thank you to Boldwood Books for approving my request for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows the aftermath of a court verdict of Mark Shady winning against his victim of SA, Anna. Anna, distraught by the outcome and feeling like she trusted the authority for nothing starts to blame the system for enabling criminals like Shady. The cop, Ray Lewis, tries to reason with her to not lose hope but Anna is done. Now, Shady has moved onto his next victim, a daughter of one of the police force and Lewis’ close friend. Lewis would do anything to put Shady finally behind bars and be prosecuted for his crimes but would the system ever side with the victims?

Okay, I tried very hard to write the synopsis as how I felt reading it. This book is more like a true crime rather than a psychological thriller (in my opinion). I wished I knew this before going in so I know what to expect. First, it opens with an SA scene right away –which totally caught me off guard so I think TW would be necessary. About 50% of the book is filled with only dialogues basically about Anna, Mark Shady and his MOs and the police officers, mainly Ray Lewis. To be honest, it was hard to push through the 50% of the book because of so much ‘telling’ and no ‘showing’. Information are being fed to you about Shady, how he lures his victims and what he does to them. Then, about his background and some little interviews with Anna, and Lewis’ discussion about the case with Kesey (his superior). It’s not much, but it drags on and on and on. I also have some comments about the writing –which is great but too much descriptions of insignificant details. The story starts to pick up once it hit the 65% mark (which is way past half of the book & could put off some readers).

[minor spoilers ahead]

When the plot finallllly starts having a mystery, it piqued my interest, --it starts the moment Shady’s restaurant burned down. So you are left wondering who did it? I will say, idk how I didn’t think of the identity of the culprit whilst listing down the perp in my head lmao. Then, the kidnapping and the incidents that occur after that was genuinely scary and to think that these horrors could’ve been prevented if the system had protected the victims more instead of the criminals! It was jarring and eye-opening.

The ending is satisfying to me. I think everyone got what they deserve though I wish we could know more (in the last chapter) about some other characters like Lewis’ friend, Daisy and public’s reaction with the reveal, and also Kesey’s live reaction because she doubted Lewis the most!!!!

Examples of the sentences: ‘..he said to himself as he parked, switched off the engine, and pulled up the handbrake’ , ‘he perched the spectacles at the halfway point of his nose before picking up the computer’ , ‘…led Lewis into a comfortable, well-furnished, pale-yellow painted lounge to the left of the hall. There, he was invited to sit on one of the two tan leather armchairs located to either side of a three-seater sofa festooned with variously coloured cushions. There was a roaring matt-black wood burner in the ancient hearth, blue-yellow flames dancing behind the glass.’

That was a mouthful and exhausting to read the first time and reread the second time…. It was a good read but the experience could be better if the author didn’t write paragraphs of paragraphs of insignificant descriptions. That’s all.