The Only Suspect is full of unexpected twists and turns, making for a very exciting read. It was certainly hard to put down – and it is cleverly written to keep the reader guessing almost till the end! It is written in two different time periods – 1995 and the present, and told in the names of different characters, which gives different sides of the story, at the same time not telling the whole story immediately, which builds the suspense and adds to the surprise of the final chapters, which are far from straightforward. I would recommend this book to the reader who enjoys a clever plot, with twists and turns galore, and also the added bonus of a love story! (What would you do for love?) Marilyn, NSW, 5 Stars Once again, Candlish gives the reader a tightly-plotted tale with plenty of red herrings and distractions that keep the reader guessing right up to the final, fantastic twist and reveal. Her setting and era are perfectly rendered, and her characters recall people we all meet in everyday life, even if many of them are not at all what they first seem to be. This is excellent slow-burn British crime fiction.

The Only Suspect by Louise Candlish - Bookliterati Book Reviews The Only Suspect by Louise Candlish - Bookliterati Book Reviews

Adding to his disquiet, Beth has taken pity on an acquaintance, recently dumped by the man who got her pregnant, driven out of her job, and homeless, and invited her to stay. Alex is not at all convinced that Zara Lloyd’s predicament is genuine, and wonders what her true agenda might be. Or is that just his paranoia talking? The Only Suspect is the sixteenth novel by British author, Louise Candlish. When his wife’s activist group succeeds in their campaign to get a local walking trail reopened, Alex Parker gets nervous. Even though he and Beth have only lived in Silver Vale for ten years, he knows a lot more than he’s letting on about the murder that happened twenty-five years earlier, and he’s worried what might be unearthed if someone starts digging. Avoiding having his photo appear in the media is also a priority. Since she asked, he had assumed it was a one-night thing, but, well, she’d insisted on pursuing him and eventually he’d thought, Let her have me if it means that much to her. (He didn’t say that in his wedding speech, of course, which had been barely a speech, in keeping with the discreet mood of the occasion; he’d kept the whole photos thing to a minimum, too.)I loved The Only Suspect: a heady dose of mid-’90s nostalgia, with trademark whiplash twists and satire. Louise Candlish has surpassed her own, always-high standards. Quite possibly her best yet.” Things are not always what they seem. This book will keep you guessing till the very end. Liz, VIC, 5 Stars The Only Suspect is a satisfying thriller that moves at such a pace to keep the reader engaged the whole way through. There are just enough hints throughout that you can’t trust any of the characters, which adds to the sense of dread and the need to know what’s really going on. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and devoured it in a couple of days. Vanessa, QLD, 5 Stars blogtour Adventure Ancient Egypt Art History Australia Book Blogger Bookliterati Book Recommendation Book review Christmas Contemporary Fiction Crime Del Rey Doubleday Emmeline Kirby and Gregory Longdon Mystery Fantasy Festive Reads Florence Folklore Harper Collins Historical Fiction History Independently Published Italy Karen Swan Literary Fiction Magic Mantle Books Melville House Murder Mystery Myth Orenda Books Pan Macmillan Penguin Random House Psychological thriller Romance Secrets Simon and Schuster Supernatural Suspense thriller Venice Women's Fiction Zaffre Books Book title Search for: Search Search Recent Comments

The Only Suspect by Louise Candlish | Waterstones

The second they stumbled inside, he excused himself and went straight to her bathroom, where he vomited into the toilet bowl and sluiced his mouth with the Listerine he found in the cabinet. Amazing he’d got away with it, when you thought about it, for he must have been obviously agitated when he rejoined her, but she was giggly, boozed up, all over him. Alex lives a comfortable life with his wife Beth in the leafy suburb of Silver Vale. Fine, so he’s not the most sociable guy on the street, he prefers to keep himself to himself, but he’s a good husband and an easy-going neighbour. These were comments she’d made a hundred times before and that he’d routinely nodded along with. He’d stopped short of participating in the campaign, however, intent on keeping his local profile limbo-dancer low. The last thing he wanted was for Silver Vale to come under the spotlight a second time; it would only resurrect interest in the first.Wow! The last 1/3 of this book was amazing and I couldn’t put it down. A great slow-burn thriller. This book had so many twists and turns. It was well written and I needed to keep reading to find out the truth. I did find the first 1/3 of the book dragged on a bit too long. Tara, WA, 4 Stars But, God, it was far too late for that, wasn’t it? She’d only want to know why he hadn’t said anything before. And who sparked a police hunt for a murder suspect that was never quite what it seemed. It still isn’t. Then why let a journalist stir it all up again now if there’s a risk of it affecting house prices?’ The trail. Right.’ This was as much as he could muster before his body went into a kind of arrest, a frankly terrifying sensation, as if he might look down and see his limbs crumble to dust in front of him.