DNF - this is actually very poorly written. It's weirdly verbose and completely uncompelling. Not for me.

This book had me hooked from the moment I read the blurb and knew I couldn't wait to read it. I love a good psychological thriller, especially when it also has unreliable characters and all the twists and turns I'm not anticipating. This is a fast-paced novel that keeps you turning the pages to see what happens next!

Helen H. Durrant delivers another gripping crime thriller with The Funeral, a tense and atmospheric addition to her body of work. The novel begins with the chilling discovery of a body at a family funeral, launching Detective Rachel King into a tangled web of secrets, grudges, and long-buried truths.

Durrant expertly blends police procedural elements with personal drama, creating a narrative that is both emotionally engaging and satisfyingly twisty. The pacing is tight, the clues are cleverly laid, and the characters are complex and authentically flawed. As Rachel digs deeper, every chapter raises the stakes—keeping readers on their toes until the final reveal.

With sharp dialogue, vivid settings, and a plot that refuses to let go, The Funeral is a compelling and well-crafted mystery perfect for fans of Angela Marsons and Rachel Abbott. Durrant once again proves she is a master of the genre.

I struggled with this one as I failed to connect to the characters , the plot was unrealistic, and the ending was rushed. I liked it but I couldn't say I loved it.

It was a bit slow at times with some inconsistencies throughout, but overall, it was a decent read! I did find it hard to read at time with the style it was written but I definitely see potential with this write and would be willing to read more by her!

A brilliantly executed thriller that combines clever plotting with nonstop suspense. Each chapter deepens the mystery, unraveling secrets that keep you glued to the page. The characters are vivid and layered, drawing you into their world with ease. It’s a smart, heart-pounding read that delivers from start to finish.

This thriller was interesting, but I struggled with the plot being so far-fetched from reality. Our main character, Donna, has been in hiding for 3 years due to owing money to s loan shark. Donna has been using an alias and flying under the radar. One day, Donna receives an anonymous email with an invite to a funeral for someone with her same name she's been hiding from. Donna finds out that the funeral is for Nancy, who has been working for a wealthy family in their home, which also happens to be where Namcy dies from a tragic 'accident'. The family invites Donna to come live with them and take over Nancy's job. All I kept thinking was- no one in their right mind would do this. The writing was a bit jumbled, but I was able to finish the story. Overall, this one was just ok.

An invitation to die for...

The invitation was anonymous. But when Donna receives it in her email, she knows at once she needs to be there. If not to allay her fears that the past is well and truly buried...or to keep her secret safe...

As she stands by the graveside she hears whispers about who she is and who the dead woman is. OK, so it's a woman whose funeral she's attending - that's good to know. But who was this woman and who invited her to this funeral? And why? Whatever the reason, this is too close for comfort and she tries to blend in with the mourners, hide behind her facade. Find out who she is, what she is doing here and then get out before someone recognises her.

She steps up to the graveside. At least she can see the name of who she's supposed to be mourning. She stops...she stares...she recognises the name. It's her name - Alice Anderson. At least, it's who she was before she reinvented herself as Donna. So who was this woman who stole her name? And why? What did she want with her identity?

If Donna wants to find out, she needs to stick around. So when she is offered the job held by the previous Alice, she accepts without a second thought. She needs to find out just who this woman was and why she stole her name. And more to the point...who knows who she is now and sent her that invitation?

A steadily paced read that struggled to hold my interest though I was intrigued with the scenario and was eager to find out where it all lead. It's hard to know who to trust in this one, if anyone at all.

This is my first book by this author and wasn't a bad read. Quick and entertaining that does keep you guessing.

I would like to thank #HelenHDurrant, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheFuneral in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

The Funeral has an irresistibly twisty premise that immediately grabbed my attention, though the execution felt more average than explosive. While the plot had its moments of suspense, some of the twists were predictable and the pacing lagged in spots. However, what truly elevated the experience for me was the audiobook, the narrator brought a chilling intensity and nuance to the story that made it far more engaging. I also loved having the option to read and listen at the same time, which kept me invested even when the story slowed down. A solid psychological thriller with a great audio performance for fans of dual-format reading.

Big thanks to Bookouture for a copy on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Funeral is an average, very quick and sluggish tale.
No real surprises here and a lack lustre ending makes for a disappointing read.
Donna Slade receives an anonymous email to attend a funeral.
She has no idea who is dead.
Arriving she is baffled at why she has been invited.
Rich people in designer clothes and the smell of money everywhere.
She doesn’t recognise anyone.
And then as she steps forward to read the name on the coffin, Donna is frozen with fear.
It reads…. Alice Anderson, her real name.
Donna Slade is an alias and she has many secrets……
Now she must uncover the truth without being seen.
It’s starts off strong and makes the reader excited of the possibility of things to come.
There’s quite a few accusations thrown around but nothing much happens at all.
The lack of suspense and intrigue that’s usually associated with a thriller is not there.
Sadly I was not wowed at all.

This was an impulse request from NetGalley, and honestly I knew within a few pages that it wasn't for me. But I hate dropping books, so I ended up skimming it.

Alice is down and out, barely scraping by with a part time job and living with a friend after getting kicked out of her previous apartment, when she receives a mysterious invitation to a funeral. The anonymous inviter implies that the (unnamed) deceased may have left Alice something in her will. So she hies off to attend in hopes of a windfall, and finds that the deceased is a woman going by Alice's name (Alice herself is using an assumed name, Donna, after having run afoul of a loan shark).

At the funeral, Alice meets Alice #2's employer Max and his wife Tara. Alice gets invited to their house after, where she meets their daughter Hannah. Before you know it, Tara has offered Alice Alice #2's job, which was the first big thing that made no sense. Max is supposed to be a very rich and successful businessman, and it seems unlikely that he got that way by inviting strangers off the street to be his right hand (he has no other employees mentioned in the book). Alice accepts, of course, because she's destitute and desperate. There is no training or vetting of her qualifications at any point.

The position comes with room and board, and Alice's decision to stay with the family makes less sense once Max, Tara and Hannah start to ramp up the crazy. And ramp up they do - each of them is erratic in the extreme, verbally abusing Alice one minute and making nice the next. The strange behavior of the family was, I guess, intended to keep the reader guessing as to who, if anyone, was the villain (it doesn't take long to start to wonder if Alice #2's death was entirely natural). But Max and Tara particularly act insane, cycling through various personalities in the short length of a scene with Alice. Her decision to stay becomes less about having a roof over her head and a salary, and more about figuring out the identity of Alice #2 (kind of obvious from early on, honestly) and determining if someone harmed her. But Alice shows very little if any sense of self-preservation and it made no sense to me.

I sometimes come across books like this - where I feel like for whatever reason, the characters and their actions just aren't meant to be realistic. I have no other way to explain it. I've also observed that this lack of realism and relatability really doesn't bother some readers, but it absolutely bothers me. So I'm giving this a DNF, which seems only fair considering how much skimming I did.

Helen H. Durrant's The Funeral plunges readers into a gripping psychological thriller where a past identity becomes a present danger. The protagonist receives an anonymous funeral invitation, with no name, only a chilling directive: "I can't afford to miss it." Despite her initial disbelief, she arrives to find her fears confirmed: the gravestone bears the name Alice Anderson—her own former identity.

Trapped in a crowd of curious onlookers, she desperately wants to flee but knows she must maintain her composure. Someone at this funeral knows the secret she'd "kill to keep," and they've orchestrated this confrontation. However, her unknown tormentor gravely underestimates her. She's not a victim; she's been preparing for this moment. As the narrative unfolds, it becomes clear she has a plan, and she knows "exactly what's going to happen next." The Funeral is a tense, electrifying read about a woman cornered by her past, forced to fight for her future against an unseen enemy determined to make her pay.

I loved the premise but was not able to get into this book. I am not sure if it is the pacing or the characters, but I had a hard time getting into his book and ended up DNF. i may try again in a few weeks but we will see.

In this first novel I’ve read by the very talented Helen H. Durrant, I stayed mesmerized in the story! I felt with Donna/ Alice that she was lost in a sort of ‘House of Horrors’ with no one surrounding her that seemed trustworthy. This is a completely addictive page-turner from beginning to end!

I normally just can get straight into books by this author and totally escape into the story. At the beginning I struggled a little engaging with the story and had to stop and start a little About half way through I was in and then fully engaged with the story and had to keep listening.

The Funeral has quite an intriguing premise.
Picture this: You get an invitation to a funeral and it turns out, it’s your funeral. That’s exactly what happens to Donna, who’s been hiding out for years under a new identity. She’s broke, desperate, and has no idea who the funeral is for, but the thought of a possible inheritance convinces her to show up. And when she sees the name on the coffin: Alice Anderson, her real name, things go from strange to completely chilling.

The first few chapters had me instantly intrigued. Helen Durrant does a great job building suspense early on, and I was pulled right into Donna’s paranoia and need to find answers. There’s this undercurrent of tension threaded throughout, especially when Donna starts digging into the wealthy family her former self once worked for. The whole “who can you trust?” vibe was giving it all it was supposed to give, especially since we know as little about Alice as Donna does. That’s exactly the kind of mystery I love, the one where you’re figuring it out alongside the main character.

Having said that, I have to say that while the story kicks off with a strong and gripping start, the pacing does stumble in places with a bit of repetitive monologues and dialogues. But then, when the big twists came, they were totally satisfying, so that evened out things a bit.

Overall 2.75 ⭐️

I found this book really difficult to get through. The writing style, dialogue, and pacing kept taking me out of the story. Which was really disappointing because I had been so excited to start this book. It had a really good premise, but poor execution. I think if it had better pacing I probably could’ve handled the writing style. However, combined with the characters dialogue and writing style it just made for a not great reading experience. It might be for you, but overall it wasn’t my cup of tea.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for my review.

Alice, living under a new name, is invited to a funeral by an anonymous email. When she arrives, she's shocked to find the name of the deceased is her old name. She is determined to find out who this woman was and why she had her name. But to do that, she has to take on the other Alice's job, putting her in danger.

I don't really know what to say about this one. Like the characters in the book, it was very 'bipolar'. One minute the book is great, the story is gripping and I'm intrigued. The next minute the story has gotten a little too crazy and I'm losing interest. Pretty much all the characters were unlikeable, all hiding secrets, and all acted very bizarre. For me, it just all got a little too farfetched. There was so much buildup, only for the ending to feel completely rushed, the big reveal was anticlimactic and I was definitely left feeling underwhelmed.

Oh this was a dark one! Loved it. So many twists! Thrilling, unbelievably tense, Absolutely unputdownable! An addictive read.

I’ve read other book by this author and enjoyed them but I don’t know what happened with this one but I thought it was dreadful.
The whole premise was so unbelievable. If you had been in hiding for years you wouldn’t go to a funeral from an anonymous invitation. You wouldn’t take a job & live in with such weird people.
There are lots of better books out there so don’t waste your time on this one. Sorry to be so harsh.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.