Published By: Viper
Pages: 336
Released On: 11/07/2024
Everyone needs a hobby…
Things haven’t been going well for Beth. Her husband has left her for one of her friends. Her fellow school mums judge her for swearing too much and not shifting the baby weight. And now she’s stuck in A&E after her son fell off the climbing wall on the first day of school. In fact, things haven’t been going well for Beth since Charlotte died – her best friend, a favourite at the school pick-ups and the only person to ever run an interesting PTA meeting. But after being hit by a car while on an ill-timed evening jog, Charlotte is no longer there to help Beth pick up the pieces of her increasingly difficult life.
That is, until Beth discovers that Charlotte left her toddler alone in the house during that fatal run. The Charlotte she knew would never do something so irresponsible, and suddenly Beth is questioning whether Charlotte’s death was really an accident. With a newfound purpose and a glass of wine in hand, it’s time for Beth to uncover what really happened to her best friend. And what better place to start than the circle of chatty school mums, who can’t be as perfect as they pretend. But which of them is hiding something? Beth’s determined to find out. Once she’s put the kids to bed, of course…
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Viper for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I had a copy of Joanna’s previous book – You’d Look Better as A Ghost – but for reasons unknown to me, I never got round to reading it. But I wasn’t going to make that mistake twice and absolutely jumped on this book!
Joanna has such a seamless way of writing. It feels as if the very first draft would be the final draft, that she knew what she wanted when setting out and that’s what we’ve got.
It really whizzes away! I thought I’d sit and read a little bit whilst I had the chance and suddenly I was a third of the way through.
It is really fun. Yes it has the things you expect from a thriller or murder mystery: we have an unexplained death, many suspects, difficult romantic relationships, problematic friendship groups, secrets, conversations left unsaid etc. but it is also just real good fun.
The characters are wonderful. I won’t go through them all as there’s too many, but Beth is our main character. She’s not always a reliable narrator. She’s flawed, stressed, anxious, worried, tired, and determined to find out the truth about Charlotte’s death. But she’s surrounded by people who just accept it as an accident, they don’t pry, they shut down conversations, and look all the more guilty for it. Joanna has depicted the school mum clique perfectly.
There was a little bit of repetition with themes and conversations throughout which I was on the fence about. It could have been annoying but then again it really hammered it home how confused Beth was and how confusing the whole situation is. Overall I think Joanna has managed it well.
It’s mostly set in the present but every now and again there’s a flashback to around the time of Charlotte’s death. It doesn’t interfere with the smoothness of the reading of the present bits, but gives us a little bit extra to help push along the present actions.
Considering the amount of books in this genre I was, I feel I should be able to work out the endings by now. But I spent the whole thing going round and round in my head, like Beth was doing, trying to figure out how it would end but I failed miserably.
It’s 336 pages long which isn’t short but nor is it long. If I hadn’t known, and I’d read it, I would have said it was half the length, the ease in which I sped through it, and yet it doesn’t feel short-changed or if you’re missing something.
The ending…hmm the ending? I liked it and I didn’t like it. How do I put this without out-and-out spoilers? It’s not quite ambiguous leave it up to the reader type of ending, but nor is it 100% wrapped up neatly with a bow. It allows the reader to come to their own conclusion but using what Beth has found out.
I am a little sad now I’ve finished it. And having finished it, I’m going to find that copy of You’d Look Better as a Ghost and read it!
Books By Your Bedside 