Amanda Robson

The Unwelcome Guest by Amanda Robson is a scary (if you have a MIL from hell) psychological domestic thriller. While some twists aren't complete surprises this story is much more about the journey. And this is one very twisted toxic journey.

I don't think the fact it is told from multiple perspectives is what can turn some readers off, since that approach is so common now. But each writer approaches different perspectives differently and Robson immediately, at the beginning of almost each show more chapter, uses forms of address. These are largely internal commentaries from that character's view, but starting chapters with phrases like "I saw you..." can be confusing at first. With some effort the reader quickly catches on and knows the first task each chapter is making sure you notice who the 'I' is this chapter (chapter title) and who the 'you' is that is being referenced. This wasn't, for me, the smoothest multiple perspective approach I've encountered, but the story makes the small amount of extra effort worth it. So be patient and you will be rewarded.

One of the fun things with multiple viewpoints is the way you can see an event in such different ways. In addition, where you might wonder whether you should assign intentionality to a character's action, you usually know for sure in this case. These characters, whether the ones you like or dislike, are all flawed. There are varying degrees of self-awareness among them as well.

The story is solid, the writing, once you adjust to how Robson uses multiple voices here, is very good, and easily by about a quarter of the way in you've already started arguing with them all. There is a lot of detail here, to good effect I believe, but it does make it a book you should pay attention to and not just zip through. Unless you are a reader mainly interested in plot in its most basic form, in which case skim away, it is a good plot. But the details are what makes this a very good story.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. show less

My Darling is another thriller from Amanda Robson that makes me wonder if maybe I want to become a hermit far far away from other people.

Told from different perspectives, you get different views, and opinions, about the events as they unfold. Are they all delusional? Are they all crazy? I would say they are all fairly unreliable narrators, but to what extent since we are all unreliable when narrating our own lives.

Like any multi-voice narrative it takes a few chapters to get the feel for the show more different voices. Don't let this initial confusion keep you from continuing, you'll become comfortable with the flow and changes in perspective fairly quickly. The other potential turn off for some readers may be the extent to which these characters seem, depending on your opinion, evil, psychotic, naive, manipulative, and/or a victim. There are so many ways to read these people and that almost feels over the top. But the idea in a thriller is to put these unlikely and combustible personalities into contact and let the fireworks begin, so enjoy the display.

This may have a little too much in the way of unlikable characters in unusual circumstances for some readers, but if you like to imagine worst case scenarios, this will be right up your alley.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. show less

Short, punchy chapters make Guilt a rocket-fuelled read. One sister is dead and one is in jail, but which is which? I changed my mind SO many times, so I can either say I was right or wrong, but one thing I'm sure about is that I was thoroughly entertained whilst reading Guilt.

The bright cover caught my eye and, having seen lots of chat on social media, I snapped up a copy when I saw an ebook in my local library. This is the sort of book you would pick up on a weekend and never put down, show more however, I chose this as my 'day' book so I read it over the course of 3 days. It is so cleverly written that you don't know whose voice you are listening to in the present as you investigate the past.

Zara and Miranda are two sisters who were so close that they lived together. Miranda has always felt as if she had to look after Zara, for reasons that become clear when you start reading the book, but now Zara has found Seb she doesn't need Miranda so much. Seb seems to be the perfect boyfriend for Zara on the outside but inside he is dark and twisted and is determined to tear the sisters apart forever. Why would he do this? How would he even manage to come between two very close sisters? All this and more are answered in Guilt.

I absolutely loved Guilt; it is just the sort of book you need now and again to reinvigorate your reading mojo; the type of book to get your heart racing and your eyes greedily devouring every last word. I do have a copy of Amanda Robson's debut, Obsession, in my own library so I definitely plan to read that soon.

Guilt is a fast-paced, thrilling and compulsive read that had my heart pounding and my brain twisting; Amanda Robson has definitely secured a top spot in the psychological thriller genre with Guilt. show less

I love a murder mystery but this is more more murder than mystery. With more psychopaths than the combined population of Emmerdale & Midsomer this book was a real page turner that held me in it's thrall until the very end.

A unique storytelling style where the book's three main protagonists take it in turns to narrate in first person their thoughts in 160+ very short chapters. I was not sure of the style at the very beginning but soon got to love the quick changes of character and the audio show more narrators do a great job of conveying the emotion from the characters in each chapter.

With plenty of plot twists and turns and an insight into forensic investigation this is one of the better books I've read recently and is the first one by Amanda Robson that I've tried

On the downside some of the situations are a tad contrived and in places stretch the laws of coincidence but it's a novel not an autobiography

Well worth it's 5 stars as it did exactly what I would expect from a novel - it entertained and kept me listening into the small hours to it's well crafted conclusion show less