Who can you really trust? The woman you just met at a birthing class? Your husband? How about your best friends? Your siblings? Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner latches onto this age old question and refuses to let go. I absolutely LOVE domestic thrillers. There’s just something about the anxiety of the things we become too complacent with. Everyday comforts like home and marriage turning out to be things to fear. So naturally, I was thrilled to receive an ARC of this new domestic thriller that’s coming out next month. And today, I’ll be sharing a little book review to tell you all about Greenwich Park.

Many thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Greenwich Park
by Katherine Faulkner

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Date of Publication: 15th April 2021
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Format: eBook (427 pages)
Rating: ★★★★

Buy Greenwich Park on Bookshop.org*

Content Warnings:

Sexual assault, references to miscarriage, murder/attempted murder

Synopsis

When you have it all… you have so much more to lose
Helen has it all…
Daniel is the perfect husband.
Rory is the perfect brother.
Serena is the perfect sister-in-law.
And Rachel? Rachel is the perfect nightmare.

When Helen, finally pregnant after years of tragedy, attends her first antenatal class, she is expecting her loving architect husband to arrive soon after, along with her confident, charming brother Rory and his pregnant wife, the effortlessly beautiful Serena. What she is not expecting is Rachel.

Extroverted, brash, unsettling single mother-to-be Rachel, who just wants to be Helen’s friend. Who just wants to get know Helen and her friends and her family. Who just wants to know everything about them. Every little secret…

Book Review

It’s been a while since I last read a book in one day. Based on that alone, Greenwich Park is compelling and builds both curiosity and tension early on. I had literally no idea what was happening. And when I’m confused, I read more in a desperate attempt to understand. I needed answers and fortunately, Greenwich Park is the kind of book that actually provides them. (No ambiguous endings here!)

While I thoroughly enjoyed this book, there were still a few elements that I wasn’t sold on.

• The narrative style: It isn’t the easiest structure to follow. You’ve got narratives from Helen, her best friend, Katie, and her sister-in-law, Serena. There’s also an unsettling narrative about a secret sexual relationship. It jumps from the present into the past and future. I think that I would have preferred a simpler structure with maybe three narratives, max.
  
  
• Unlikeable characters: This story centres one family and their spouses and honestly, they’re all awful. Then you also have Rachel – the expectant mother that Helen meets at a class. Her presence made me feel extremely uncomfortable throughout. She oozes creepiness. The only character I actually warmed to was Katie who is Helen’s best friend.

With that in mind, I really enjoyed Katie’s sub-plot and the way that the rape court case ties into the story. In that respect, it felt very similar to The Night Swim by Megan Goldin which I really enjoyed.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. If you’re not keen on multiple POVs then this book might not be for you. But if that’s a technique that you enjoy, you’re in for a real treat with this one. One other thing that I want to quickly mention is that the first half is more character driven with like a creeping suspense. The second half really amps things up. It’s fast paced, full of tension and a lot happens. As such, it’s one of those books where you have to keep reading to get into the more thriller-y elements. But it is worth it, in my opinion!

Read This If You…

• Like domestic thrillers
• Enjoy books where someone who isn’t in law enforcement investigates a crime
• Like books with multiple POVs

So… what do you think? Will you be picking up a copy of Greenwich Park? Let me know in the comments below!