Published By: Renegade
Pages: 384
Released On: 18/06/2026
The perfect couple. Beautiful young bride Clara Carmichael and her wealthy new husband Spencer arrive on the Amalfi Coast. A glorious month of dazzling blue seas, lemon trees heavy with fruit, and their sparkling, marble-clad honeymoon suite stretches ahead of them.
The perfect honeymoon. For the newlyweds, the days slip by in a haze of boat rides, sun-bathing on the private beach, and cocktails beneath a star-studded sky. It’s paradise – until a note is slipped under their door, and everything unravels.
The perfect lie? In black ink, the message is unmistakable: He’s lying to you. Suddenly, Clara questions everything. Why does Spencer seem so familiar with their hotel? Why does she have the feeling she’s being watched?
As she winds through the twists and turns of Amalfi Coast’s sun-bleached alleyways and jagged cliffs, Clara is forced to confront the truth: the man she married may not be who he says he is. And the closer she gets to the answers, the more danger she’s in.
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Renegade for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I thought this was a modern book but it’s actually set in the 60s which instantly gave it a different feel. It’s weird, I’ve never given it much thought before, but I now think that whodunnits should be set in historical settings (although to call the 1960s historical sounds weird), and thrillers should be in modern times. I don’t know why but that’s how I feel with this book. It had this modern tone but then you’re reminded it’s set in the 60s and it feels at odds.
It’s set in Positano which was lovely; I adore Positano and desperately want to go back, so this was a nice little reminder.
Spencer is a right piece of work and I disliked him from the first page. Whereas Clara, whilst hiding something, I found to be quite delightful at times. She’s a bit naïve perhaps, frightened, but I liked her more than Spencer. She did get a little annoying but I think that was part of her character, but I would have liked her to stand up for herself a bit. She is a bit of a wet weekend at times, but that is explained a bit by her backstory. Although I liked her the most, I can’t say I liked any of them really or felt engaged with them enough to really care what happened to them.
It’s very ambiguous, a lot of cliff-hangers and mysterious, half-finished sentences. Which I expect in a thriller sure, but I’d rather not have them every other sentence. I would like some facts, some actual storyline ,rather than it constantly being like, “He can’t find out what I did”, or “it isn’t like before”, for instance. It’s fine to have them, but not at expense of actual storyline because at times I had no idea what they were talking about.
I did enjoy the juxtaposition of this glamorous life they lead, the opulent hotel, flashy car, expensive wines etc. and the creeping danger that underpins the story. I also liked the look at power and control, particularly of a husband over his wife.
It is a bit slow for a thriller. It’s a quiet thriller, which I generally like, one that creeps about and drip feeds you clues, and then gives you the big payoff at the end. And this did do that, but at times it just felt slow rather than deliberately paced and I did glaze over at times.
It’s not the most thrilling of thrillers. I wasn’t as hooked as I expected to be. But it’s a promising debut, if things were just ironed out a bit more. It’s say it’s the ideal real if you’re lying by the pool on holiday – bonus points if you’re in Positano – where you don’t want something too heavy or taxing.
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