Rachel Abbott

The main question throughout the book is how far will a husband go to keep his wife? Maybe even more importantly, how far has he already gone? Olivia shouldn't have been asking WHO the man is she's married to, but WHAT he is. Is he a loving protective husband or is he a kidnapper or even a murderer and just where ARE his wife and kids? Although there were the unexpected twists and turns, I never felt that I was mired down in the story or that something was deliberately being left out. Some show more of the twists were easy to see coming, but even with the ones that weren't, you didn't feel like a red herring had been thrown into the mix at the last minute for a convenient out. I've read books by several authors that constantly do that. Thank you, Rachel Abbott, you didn't. show less

This book was gripping and compelling all the way through, despite a few instances of clunky writing and unnecessary detail. The concept of this plot is novel and though it's completely set in our world, at times it feels fantastical. Tasha is very well fleshed out, a character that’s both haunting and compelling.

The voice throughout the story was very strong. We mainly get Ted and Emma's perspectives, but also some of Tasha's and David's. Each adds a little to the story without being show more distracting, though the importance of some details isn't apparent until the end.

Abbott kept a great amount of tension throughout. Natasha is a really creepy character, and I feel like every time someone takes their eyes off her she’ll have run away. She causes a great amount of conflict in what could have been a happy family. Tasha feels like a ghost at times. The timing and manner of her appearance make her feel like a ghost, especially alongside other events. She's extremely mysterious and the way she doesn’t talk for the longest time is also haunting. When she does, she’s extremely sassy, which makes her lovable, though we can also see her hurting. Her age is perfect for the story, and the way that other characters--especially Emma--treat her feels very real. From the beginning I care about what happens to her and if she’s okay. Her motives are completely unclear.

Though there were a few minor details that were distracting such as all the nicknames making characters hard to follow, on the whole, this is an intriguing book and kept me entertained. show less

Rachel Abbott's Only the Innocent is not your average "who dunnit" murder mystery. The question that drives this thriller is not "who" did it, but "why". Abbott carefully constructed a world of mystery, depravity, sex, violence, manipulation and intrigue on so many different levels that I can honestly say you truly have to read until the last page to understand and appreciate the complexity of the story.

Philanthropist Hugo Fletcher is known world wide for his charitable works rescuing show more Eastern-European prostitutes from their dark world and giving them a second chance with a new job and foster family. However, there is a darkness to him that the flashing bulbs of the cameras hide. When he is found dead in the middle of sexual act, it is up to Detective Chief Inspector Tom Douglas to uncover the truth behind Hugo's all too perfect public persona and unmask the vileness that was known to only those closest to him. It seems everyone who comes in contact with Hugo has a secret and it's Douglas' job to weave through the tangled web of deception and perversion to find the killer.

I was most impressed with how Abbott carefully fed each morsel of evidence to her readers. We learn just enough as the story moves along but never enough to put all the pieces together. And without giving away any spoilers, I will say that even when Abbott made me believe I had all the information, she packed in one last punch at the end. She tied up loose ends that I wasn't even aware were there.

As with all murder mysteries, the story before the death is always important and many authors struggle with what we call an "info dump". No one wants to read, "Well Johnny, it went like this..." then read an entire chapter recounting every single step that led to the incident. Abbott gets around this by having Imogen, friend and sister-in-law of Laura Fletcher, read old letters that Laura wrote to Imogen about her life with Hugo, but never sent. (A sort of therapeutic practice for Laura.) At first I had to question how Laura could realistically recount precisely every word in a conversation she had with Hugo and I feared that it would indeed just be chapters of the dreaded "info dump". However, as the story progressed and Abbott started to rip away the story's complex layers, the letters became more realistic and heartbreaking in their content.

The complexity of the characters and the inner-workings of their relationships were entertaining. Almost every character had a motive for murder but it was through Laura that we learn what a real monster he was. I didn't always like Laura's character, but her weakness and drive to make her marriage to Hugo work made her story that more believable and interesting. The more I read about her life with him and what sort of man he was the more I understood why someone would kill him but even then the end-all reason knocked me back a few pegs. When everything was said and done I was left with the question that Abbott poses in her blurb, do you punish the guilty, or protect the innocent? show less

The Invitation was my first read of Rachel Abbott - but it won't be my last!
Jemma and Matt head to Lucas's sprawling mansion for the weekend to celebrate his wedding to Nina. Matt, Andrew, Nick, Isobel, Alex and Lucas have been friends since they were teens. And...."That's the thing about old friends. They never let you forget..."

There are uncomfortable undercurrents and relationships amongst the five that Jemma doesn't understand. And her husband won't discuss it. Even when one of the group show more dies. Fast forward a year and the group is back together at Lucas's estate - minus one. He's got a game for them all to play - a murder mystery in fact - re-enacting everything is as it was a year ago.....

Oh, I loved this premise! It's not a locked room mystery, but we do have a small circle of suspects. All of them have secrets and most of them are liars. The whodunit changed many times for me. It's fun trying to solve the case along with the players as they recreate that fateful night. The reader follows along mostly through Jemma's point of view. But the narrative does flip back and forth from present to past. At a certain point I did guess half of the final answer, but I was (happily) caught offside by the other half. And it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book.

I liked Jemma very much as well as Detective Inspector Stephanie King. It turns out this is second book King features in. The group of friends is very easy to dislike - and easy to suspect.

The Invitation made for great escapist reading on a dreary, rainy day. show less