BLOG TOUR: Don't Believe A Word (Cristy Ward thriller) - Susan Lewis

They raised me. Nurtured me. And lied about everything.

Sadie’s childhood has always been shrouded in mystery.

But there are three things she knows.

She was raised by two aunts.

She never knew her parents.

She is convinced she was stolen.

Cristy Ward, podcast host, is gripped by Sadie’s story. It’s perfect for her next true-crime investigation. Yet Sadie's aunt claims it’s all a fantasy.

As the evidence begins to stack up, and the lies fall apart, they all could be in a lot more danger than they thought…

 

What did I think?

Don't Believe A Word is the second Cristy Ward thriller but it's the first one I have read.  I do feel that I was bombarded with a lot of characters at the start so I think it would have been beneficial to have read Nothing to See Here first.  The plot itself is completely standalone though and I loved the podcast format.

When one of Sadie's aunts passes away, Sadie discovers that that she may not be related to her aunts after all.  Aunt Lottie has left some intriguing papers that suggest Sadie was found abandoned on a beach but Lottie was an author so there's a big question mark as to whether the papers are fact or fiction.  Cristy Ward picks up Sadie's story for her true-crime podcast and the investigation begins into who Sadie actually is.

Once I got my head around all of the characters at the start, I really started to enjoy the podcast investigation and I loved reading the podcast transcripts.  There is quite a bit going on in the book with Cristy's entertaining personal life running alongside the intriguing podcast so Susan Lewis really keeps her readers on their toes.  

Shocking, surprising and incredibly intriguing, Don't Believe A Word is very well named as there are so many secrets and lies within the pages.  It's well worth a read and I am planning to read the first book in the near future while the characters are all still fresh in my head.

I received a gifted hardback to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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The Survivors - Caroline Mitchell

A fatal car crash with only one witness—but is she telling the truth?

On a winding cliff edge on the wild Irish coast, two cars collide. In one is Maura Claffey’s niece, Finn, and her baby daughter. In the other, Kathryn with her own newborn—and her own secrets. Both women survive, but one of the girls does not.

In the aftermath, bruised and heavily medicated, both women struggle to come to terms with what happened that day. Recovering at Maura’s home, Finn’s confused thoughts continually return to her recently deceased mother, who left Ireland under mysterious circumstances, but Maura won’t be drawn into revealing anything. Meanwhile Kathryn, certain that she’s being lied to about the crash, goes in dogged pursuit of the truth.

Only Maura has the answer. Only she was watching that day. But she won’t let anyone get in the way of what she wants…

 

What did I think?

Wow Caroline Mitchell has written another absolute corker of a book!  This gripping and twisty book shocked and surprised me from start to finish and just when I thought I knew what was going on, Caroline Mitchell pulled the rug right from underneath me.

The story is told from three different point of views: Maura, Finn and Kathryn.  Finn is on the way to visit her Aunt Maura when she is involved in a road traffic accident with Kathryn.  Both Finn and Kathryn are driving with their baby daughters in the car and there is one devastating fatality.  Finn's Aunt Maura was first on the scene but she is a very unreliable witness as she is completely unhinged...and dangerous.

OMG!  I was on tenterhooks throughout the whole of this book during Finn's recovery and Kathryn's turmoil.  Honestly, Maura Claffey makes Annie Wilkes from Misery look like a sweet and caring aunty.  I just didn't know how many versions of Maura there were or which one was going to make an appearance today.  I did feel sorry for her though as growing up in the shadow of her twin left deep scars that will never heal.

It's the sign of a good psychological thriller when you feel like you have been blindfolded and spun around so you can't tell which way is up never mind what is going to happen next.  I loved that I was completely blindsided by every twist in this gripping tale and I was thrilled by every single reveal.  

Fast-paced, gripping and twisty, The Survivors is unpredictable and unputdownable.  A very highly recommended read and an easy five stars.

I received a gifted copy for the Tandem Collective readalong and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon