Published By: Zaffre
Pages: 400
Released On: 23/07/2026
Bestselling crime author Marian Lane is surrounded by adoring readers when she learns that her husband Dane is dead.
Marian returns home in shock to discover a stranger on her doorstep. A woman who not only claims she’s Marian’s biggest fan but says that she comforted Dane in his final moments.
At first, this woman, Mary, is a source of comfort. Until she admits Dane confessed a secret. One she can’t quite remember; one Marian is desperate to learn.
But Mary is a storyteller too. And though Marian knows every twist in the genre, she won’t see this one coming . . .
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Zaffre for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I love William’s books – I’ve read four, this makes five, and I own two others – and I was intrigued by this one as it felt like a real departure from his Jericho crime series.
I loved the nods to the Harrogate Crime Festival and the mentions of some of my favourite authors. It instantly catapulted me into this recognisable scene.
I love books about authors. I know it’s fiction, but it almost feels like we’re getting a sneak peak into an author’s writing habits and thought processes.
It’s mostly set in the present time, but we do get flashbacks of Marian’s childhood, teenage years, and early adulthood. And we also get a mysterious second narrator and she adds the mystery element. This could have been confusing, but it works really well. It’s enough for you to get excited about the story without it being overwhelming.
I was expecting something more full-on, more obviously thriller-y but this isn’t that. That is not a negative by the way. It’s different, it’s quieter, more calculated, you’re not sure who to trust, looking over your shoulder, holding your breath kind of thriller, rather than in-your-face scares and violence you might think of when you imagine a thriller.
There are a number of subplots going on and whilst there may be readers who struggle, I personally didn’t think there were too many. They all had decent page time, you could see how they all linked, and they all helped ramp up the tension.
I can’t say I found any of the characters likeable, but I don’t think that really matters in terms of my overall enjoyment. If anything, they helped add a layer of suspicion over them all.
Someone asked me if it was as good as his Jericho books and I can’t answer that. They might both be crime/thrillers at their heart, but they are so different that to compare them would do them both a disservice. They’re both as enjoyable as each other.
I’m generally terrible at working out thrillers and whodunnits so I don’t even try anymore. But I was determined to get this one so I spent the whole time with these clues in my head and I was so happy when I got it. Except…I’d managed to give myself a major plot hole and so had to accept that I wouldn’t get it.
I read a review that said the reveal comes out of nowhere and it didn’t feel like it worked with the whole story. I couldn’t disagree more. Well no, that’s not true. I agree that it does come out of nowhere and it does really surprise you, but I believe it was an epic twist that 100% worked and I could never have seen it coming.
It’s very different to what I’m used to with his Jericho series but I think it’s good for him to branch out (as fantastic as that series was and I’m still holding out hope for more). It shows his deft touch at writing interesting and thoughtful thrillers and ability to hold a reader’s attention. He was already a standout author in my eyes and this has just cemented that and I look forward to the next one (and maybe another Jericho…?)
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