I am always on the lookout for a good mystery, so when The Suspect came up for review I could not resist. The Suspect checked all my boxes by delivering an intense and thrilling mystery.
My family said he killed my mother. They lied… I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.
Title: The Suspect
Author(s): Kathryn Croft
Published by Bookouture on February 8, 2023
Pages: 359
Genre(s): Mystery, Thriller
Source: Netgalley, Publisher
Format: eBook 
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: 
I was just a little girl, fast asleep in my stroller, the day my mother was killed. I don’t remember anything about the sunny day that turned so dark.
But now, twenty years later, when the man walks towards me in the shadows of an empty street, his eyes on me for just a fraction too long, a shiver goes down my spine. I recognise his face from the picture in the papers. He killed my mother.
I try to run but he wants me to listen. He says that he is innocent, that the police got it wrong, and that my family have been lying to me for years.
My father and sister tell me to stay away from him. They remind me that because of him my mother never got to tuck me in at night or ease me through my first heartbreak. My boyfriend begs me to ignore him and says he could be dangerous. But when he is found dead, I am shaken to my core. Who needed to keep him quiet?
I won’t feel safe until I find out what he wanted to tell me. And when I go to his flat and find a photo that proves he was telling the truth, I suspect that the person who killed my mother is far closer to home than I could have imagined. What dark secrets are the people I love hiding? And if I search for the truth, am I placing my own life in danger?
Twenty years ago Jessica lost her mom at the hands of a murderer. At the time of the murder, Jess was two years old and therefore has no memory of the tragic event. Throughout the years, she remained eager to learn the details of the murder. Her eagerness morphed into an obsession with learning what happened that fateful day twenty years ago.
One Friday afternoon while walking in Camden, a stranger approaches Jess. As the stranger came closer, she recognised him as the man who everyone blamed for her mother’s murder, but with the lack of evidence an arrest was not made. He insists on speaking with her as he needs her to know he did not murder her mother. The information he imparts leaves Jess more confused than ever. If what the stranger said was true, then it would mean her family lied to her and she would need to find the truth for herself.
In her desire to learn the truth, she went to the persons who would have the answers. However, they all tell her to leave the past where it belongs. This made her more obsessed with uncovering the truth. The more she digs, the more secrets come to light. Soon she’s entangled in a web of deceit, lies and secrets. A web, which if untangled, will unravel her entire world.
The story hidden between the pages of The Suspect was gripping and kept me glued to the pages. It moved between the past and the present. The dual timelines gave readers insight in to what happened in the past leading up to the murder and what is currently happening with Jess as she attempts to unravel the secrets. Usually with dual timeline stories, I find that I enjoy one timeline more than the other. However, this was not the case with The Suspect. Both timelines pulled me in, and I couldn’t wait to see how they would unfold. True to its name, The Suspect featured several suspects, and the many twists made identifying the killer a challenge.
A captivating read, The Suspect will keep readers entertained from start to finish. Readers who enjoy a well-written mystery will love Kroft’s latest offering.
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About Kathryn Croft
Kathryn is the bestselling author of ten psychological thrillers and to date she has sold over one million copies of her books. Her third book, The Girl With No Past spent over four weeks at number one in the Amazon UK chart, and she has also appeared on the Wall Street Journal’s bestsellers list. Kathryn writes full time and is now hard at work on her next book. After twelve years living in London, she now lives in Guildford, Surrey, the place she grew up, with her husband, two children and two crazy cats.
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