I had such a great time reading this book! It pulled me in right from the start and kept me turning the pages. The writing flowed so well, and I found myself completely invested in the story and characters. It’s one of those reads you just don’t want to put down.
huge thanks to the publisher for sending me an early copy!! I’m so glad I got to read it ahead of the release day and can't wait for the world to get to enjoy it too!!

It had a strong beginning that really pulled me end, but the ending was very anticlimactic... It was too predictable with most parts, and then very confusing / unneeded with a couple. Was a great listen, though. The voice narrator did a great job at making sure each character had their own voice.

Thank you Netgalley, Dreamscape Select | Zando and Sarah Hornsley for the audio arc of Bad Blood.
Narrated by Gemma Whelan

Bad Blood is a slow burn mystery thriller which is more than courtroom drama. Unfortunately, it feel a little flat for me somewhere in the middle of the book as it seemed to stall in the writers pacing. Even though I didn't really connect with any of the characters on an emotional level. I did find the family dynamics of the main characters interesting enough not to DNF. I love the prospect of morally grey characters and felt that these were crafted well.

Narrated by Gemma Whelan, who did a fabulous job in keeping with the tone of the book and her voice is such a pleasure to listen to.

3.25 stars for story graph, 3 for other review sites.

Justine Stone is a gifted prosecutor. She has been putting in the hours, helping on case after case, and her boss finally feels like it’s time for her to have a shot at her own case. It’s a double homicide, Mark and Beverly Rushnell were found dead in their home, both shot in the head. The suspect is Brad Finchley, who has no prior arrests. Justine looks at his photo and knows immediately who that is. She didn’t know he’d changed his name. All she knew is that when she looked him up online, she never found anything. No profile on LinkedIn, no social media. Now she knows why. He had changed his name. But he looks the same.

Brad FInchley is Jake Reynolds. Jake was the love of her life. She hadn’t seen him in almost 20 years. And he’d been living in Maldon, Essex, where they had grown up. Justine didn’t think he’d had it in him to kill two people, so she couldn’t believe he was guilty. She recuses herself from the case because of her prior relationship with Jake. But she feels pulled back home to try to figure out what happened.

Justine decides to stay at her mom’s for a few days and tries to get ahold of her brother Max. She doesn’t have a great relationship with her mother, because of the things that happened when she was young. The toxicity of the home is what made Justine decide to leave in the first place. After she graduated and Jake disappeared on her, she left for London to create a new life for herself. And she did. She became a lawyer, a prosecutor, and got married to Noah. But being back in Maldon brings up a lot of memories. And when her repeated calls to her brother go unanswered, Justine’s worries about him grow.

As she tries to find her brother and searches her memory for why Mark and Beverly Rushnell sound familiar to her, Justine dive deeply into her family’s past, where she finds some truly dangerous things. Will she be able to figure out what happened to the Rushnells, to free Jake from his potential conviction? Or will she have to stand by as the love of her life is put in prison for life?

Bad Blood is a twisty thriller about the past and how it can haunt you from afar. This is a debut novel from Sarah Hornsley, and it’s already been sold to television. This has layers of secrets and reveals, with surprises and suspense coming in hot. I listened to the audio, narrated by Gemma Whelan, who did a phenomenal job with this story. I had a great time with Bad Blood. I saw some of the twists coming ahead of time, but I was still so happy to have bought a ticket for this ride.

Egalleys for Bad Blood were provided by Zando, and a copy of the audio book was provided by Dreamscape Select, both through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.

3 stars ⭐️ I unfortunately did not connect with the characters and often found the pacing to be too slow for an audiobook.

I did appreciate the British accent narration by Gemma Whelan!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Select for the ALC. All opinions are my own 🫶🏼

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was ok. The premise looked amazing but the book fell flat for me. I thought it dragged and I couldn’t stay focused on it. I DNF at 30%. I’m sure this will be a favorite for some but it just wasn’t the book for me.

Stupid title. The guys who are in charge of titles need some intelligence and originality injected into them.

Slow burn, character-driven, family drama, where you won't like anyone, and you have to push through it. Justine has an ironic name since she's morally grey at best. This book won't give you a single warm fuzzy, and even the solution is disturbing enough that you feel dirty afterward. There were many twists, many revelations about characters that were shocking, and everyone was icky.

However, it was compelling. Some of it is not believable, but it's part of the experience that is this trainwreck of a cast. This was a book I read into the wee hours and sat in my driveway listening to, unable to move. I was hooked.

I honestly don’t know what to say about this one—it just didn’t hit for me. While the plot was solid and the characters were developed well enough, the story overall felt a bit flat. I was expecting a gripping thriller, but it leaned much more into a slow-burn murder mystery… and not in a way that held my attention. There wasn’t much thrill or suspense, and I just found it hard to connect with the story. It’s not a bad book, but it definitely wasn’t for me. I think readers who prefer a more subdued, classic mystery vibe may enjoy this one—but if you’re looking for heart-pounding twists, this might not be it.

This was really good! The family dynamics were super interesting and the murder mystery was very well done. This definitely had some crazy twists and turns! The only character I didn't think had much of an impact was Justine's husband.

Thank you very much to NetGalley, Dreamscape Select, and Sarah Hornsley for providing the arc audiobook!

I wish this would have resonated with me a bit more. I struggled to stay engaged and found myself replaying the early chapters multiple times, specifically the first six. The pacing felt slow, and the plot didn’t hold my attention until the final quarter, which was definitely the strongest part.

The narration was really good though but not super dynamic. Overall, I’m giving the story 2.5 stars and the narration 3.5.

Hopefully other readers enjoy it a bit more.

This was okay. I liked parts of the story but some of it seemed a bit out of place or just didn't really seem to matter much. There were plot points that fizzled for me. A specific group was involved with the story but didn't really seem to be as important to the story as perhaps they were meant to be is really at all. Maybe it was just something that didn't click with me as the reader.
That said, lets get to the good stuff! The story was interesting. There is a murder that brings a woman back to her hometown and to her childhood home. Places she avoided her adult life. This brings back memories of the past that were less than spectacular. Things she has tried to forget. There is a tragedy, a murder or two, and a big family secret.
The story plays out well enough other than that which I mentioned above. Would I recommend this? I absolutely would. I think that it's a good story and worth the time to read it.

I did get the chance to listen to the audio of this book as well. The narrator is fantastic and I definitely recommend this if you are an audio person.

This just is not for me but that doesn't mean other people will not love it. I just finished an amazing life changing book so maybe this is about the timing.
Thank you for the ARC. The narration was good.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Select, and Sarah Hornsley for the gifted copy of the audiobook.

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me. I found myself losing interest frequently and had to restart several chapters. I think I listened to the first six chapters at least four times. The story didn’t particularly engage me, although the last 25% was the most compelling part. I’m rating the book 2.5 out of 5.

I had expected the plot to focus more on the ex-boyfriend and the crime he committed, but that turned out to be a very minor element of the story.

As for the narration, it was neither particularly good nor bad. I just wish there had been more vocal distinction between some of the characters. I’d rate the narration 3 out of 5.

I wish Sarah Hornsley all the best with her book and future projects.

Trigger Warning - This book has some tough themes, so be sure to prepare yourself. Physical and emotional abuse were in the plot.
2.5 stars, but rounded to 3.
Now to the important topic at hand.
This was a thriller and had a few twists and turns.
Justine was difficult to like. She was well-written and developed, but I found her obnoxious! She jets out on her husband to go home, has an affair, treated everyone around her so poorly, and to top it off, she sang her praises louder than I wanted to hear! For me, if you wanted me to love to hate a character, excellent job of writing her story. Lol!
The last third of the book is the best part. I almost DNF'd because the first part of the book (probably the first 40-50%) was really hard to get into.
The ending was a bit predictable.
If you don't mind the unlikeable MC, it is worth a read. Just know the first half will frustrate you.
The structure of the plot is done well, and the pace is quick, so it will not take you long to read this one!
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book!
Happy Reading!

I really wanted to like this audiobook. I found myself getting lost in the storyline though. I had to re start chapters several times. It was hard sometimes to keep track of who was who in the book, especially when the multiple names. Not a fan.
Decent narration.

“Bad Blood” by Sarah Hornsley had a strong premise and some gripping moments, but overall, it fell a bit flat for me. I was intrigued by the setup and really wanted to connect with the characters, but I found it difficult to stay fully engaged.

The pacing was uneven, moments of tension were there, but they didn’t always build in a way that felt satisfying. I kept waiting for that “can’t put it down” moment, but it never quite arrived. That said, the writing itself was solid, and I do think many readers who enjoy slower-burn suspense might appreciate it more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. While this one didn’t completely work for me, I’m still open to reading more from this author in the future.

2.5/5 The way I forgot to update my reading on this for days...oops...

I was quite disappointed with this book. It started out with so much potential, I loved how it started in the middle of cross-examination in a criminal trial. Starting the book like that really engaged me as a reader, giving me something exciting to may attention to right off the jump. But then it all went downhill.

Our main character's motivations really don't make sense. She gets upset over something we never learn about until the end (and even then, it's vague) and she runs away to her hometown, leaving her nice and normal husband behind with no explanation. She does some unsavory things (cheats on her husband), thinks she is the smartest person in the world (she is not), does some other criminal things that make no sense, somehow she knows things that she has no reason to know (very annoying and feels like sloppy planning and writing), and then the ending felt weird and uncomfortable and didn't really make sense (but it is written as if it is supposed to make sense to everybody).

I think this needed more rounds of edits just to get the actual mystery/crime element properly sorted out and planned. I think everything else would have been excusable if the crime part had more effort to it. There were too many plot holes that the author tried to cover up. And it did not work. It felt sloppy to me.

I do like the cover though, it looks like one of those paintings that is flat but also looks three-dimensional. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I am sure that description sounded very dumb. Oops.

I get the feeling that plenty of people will like this book, everybody has different opinions and tastes. And some people really do not care about or notice plot holes if they are entertained. Valid, sometimes I can be like that. But sometimes not.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

Bad Blood is a gripping debut thriller that hooked me from the start. Sarah Hornsley crafts a tense narrative centered on Justine Stone, a barrister whose past resurfaces when she’s assigned to a double murder case involving her ex-boyfriend. The story weaves family secrets, courtroom drama, and a toxic hometown atmosphere with skill, keeping the suspense tight. Gemma Whelan’s narration in the audiobook version adds depth, pulling you into the emotional stakes. The plot’s twists are satisfying, though the pacing occasionally slows. Overall, it’s a solid mystery with a dark, atmospheric vibe—perfect for fans of crime thrillers. I’d recommend it for your shelf! 4/5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton, and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Criminal prosecutor Justine Stone has just landed the biggest case of her career, but of course, she can’t take it. The accused happens to be her ex-boyfriend Jake, whom she hasn’t seen in 18 years. Because, you know, life loves a good plot twist.

The premise hooked me, and I did enjoy this book. It’s a family drama packed with secrets, told through multiple POVs and dual timelines. The way the past clashes with the present leads to some seriously heartbreaking revelations.

Let’s talk about Justine for a second. She wasn’t exactly my favorite. She made some questionable choices and wasn’t the easiest character to like.

I was into the story, but the ending didn’t quite hit the mark for me. On the plus side, the narrator crushed it and made sticking with the story worth it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Select | Zando for the free audio copy.

I received this on audio and while I couldn't wait to check this out, I could NOT get into the narration. I will have to check out the ebook instead. I appreciate the opportunity to listen though!