When grief-stricken Amanda meets Wendy at a bereavement group she feels that finally there’s someone else who understands that even beyond the mourning there’s a hatred for the person who took her loved ones away. So when the pair agree to serve their own form of justice it begins to seem like it was meant to be. I have never watched the end of a book approaching with such anxiety before. This novel keeps delivering right up to the last page, to the extent that as the final chapters approached I began to fear that we wouldn’t see the resolution in this book. Like how could it possibly wrap up when so much was still happening. Of course Mr Cavanagh is a professional so I really knew that I was in safe hands. And once again he proved that he’s a master of pacing and the reveals landed exactly as they should to pay off this extraordinary novel. This is a standalone book. Not part of the Eddie Flynn series. Although it is a part of the same universe as a mention of Eddie’s childhood friend Jimmy ‘the hat’ Fellini proves. But apart from those couple of pages I didn’t miss Eddie at all. Sorry Eddie, I do still love you, but the characters and plotting are so strong in this novel that there’s no sense of loss of the history or framework of a series. Amanda and co. quickly became enough of a strong basis to feel fully invested in this story.

I just love books by this author- his Eddie Flynn novels are great - so I was excited and intrigued to receive this review copy of his latest which is a stand alone. This has all the elements of a brilliant thriller and it is so cleverly plotted that even I couldn’t work out how it was all going to end. It is the story of two women who decide to swap murders as in the famous film - Strangers On A Train. Amanda has lost her young daughter in a horrific abduction and murder and wants nothing more than the man responsible to pay. However the police cannot get enough evidence and his wealthy family are protecting him. When a woman at her bereavement support group agrees to murder him if Amanda will reciprocate for her, Amanda cannot believe her luck. However all is not as it seems and Amanda could never have predicted how the swap would work out and where it would lead her. I cannot say too much about the story as I do not want to spoil all the clever twists that Steve Cavanagh uses to lead the reader in so many different directions. This book is oh so clever and the ending is incredible ! I couldn’t put it down and happily skipped through it in a couple of days desperate to know how it was all going to pan out. It is definitely a highly recommended five star read and if you are the type of person who likes a twisty psychological thriller you will not be disappointed! Once you start it you will just have to keep on reading! Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

This is my first book by Steve Cavanagh but it has made me DESPERATE to go back and read his entire backlist. I was gripped from page one and it didn't let up until long after I'd closed the book and stared at a blank wall for a bit in an attempt to process the true magnificence of what I'd just read. Explaining the premise almost gives the game away a bit, as we follow the stories of a few different people whose lives come to intersect in ways that cannot be described without spoiling it. But it all begins with Amanda and Wendy, who meet at an anonymous counselling group; after the session, they have a drink and share their tragedies, as well as the fantasies they both have of murdering the men responsible. The only thing standing in their way is that the police will suspect them straight away if their enemy is killed, and they wouldn't have a solid alibi. Unless they committed each other's murders, 'Strangers on a Train'-style... My face must have been an absolute picture on the train when I was reading this because every third chapter I was shocked beyond all reason. There were so many twists and reveals but they were drip fed in a way that really gave me goosebumps when connections between different people were made; I had the feeling throughout the book that thriller lovers probably all recognise, where you almost get a head rush when parts of the puzzle start to dawn on you, and you realise that you've been played sometimes as much as the characters. This book was so painstakingly written that these plot twists appeared to come out of left field and were utterly unpredictable, yet they make perfect sense once the shock has worn off. My heart was in my throat for the entire ending, and that's a real tribute to Steve Cavanagh's extraordinary writing. My jaw was permanently on the floor from around 50 pages in, and I know for certain that this will be one of those thrillers I recommend to everybody as one of the best out there.

There is nothing more to say , just read it

A real page turner with a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming.