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The Heights: From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Our House comes a nail-biting story about a mother's obsession with revenge

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The Only Suspect is a slow burn - a very slow burn, well, more of a simmer, really - that doesn't really get interesting until over half way through. By that time I was well and truly into 'yeah, nah' mode and wondering if I was reading the same book as everyone else. Tense, provocative and devastatingly powerful. I loved Our House but I think The Heights might be even better' -- TM Logan

The Heights is a tall apartment building in London- and from the terrace of this building, Ellen sees a man she knows for a fact is supposed to be dead. How can that be? Once it is determined that she wasn’t just imagining things- Ellen descends into a frenzy of obsession- determined to rid the world of a man she can’t allow to continue living on the same planet as herself…

There’s nothing quite so chilling as the roar of mother tiger love. Louise Candlish had my heart in my throat. Dizzily dark. Dangerous. Deadly'JANE CORRY Impossible to resist, impossible to predict, impossible to put down... this is an author at the top of her game' Ellen's fixation on Kieran becomes increasingly pronounced as Lucas grows distant and defiant. Both Vic and Justin love Ellen in their own ways and have, over the years, developed mechanisms to copy with Ellen's anxieties and neuroses. They have found that confronting her with facts and logic is counterproductive so, rather, they appear to be supportive of her machinations. In Vic's sardonic first-person narrative, he details the ways in which he manages Ellen, noting that he probably should have drafted a "how to" guide for Justin. Although they are also concerned about Lucas, neither of them are as alarmed by his friendship with Kieran as Ellen is, which she finds utterly exasperating. Justin chastises her for characterizing Kieran as "evil," put off by what he deems to be histrionic behavior on Ellen's part. He believes that Kieran makes Lucas and his friends laugh and poses no real danger to any of them. "What is it going to take for you to start believing me? When something really bad happens, will you believe me then?" Ellen demands. Surprising, intoxicating, elliptical and vexing, The Only Suspect is a five star read from Louise Candlish. She couldn't talk her son out of spending time with Kieran. All the insisting didn't get the point across and ended up with Lucas being in a car accident with Kieran.

In the vein of William Landay's Defending Jacob, this title is a good choice for readers who enjoy twisting narratives." - Library Journal (starred review) A woman glimpses a man on a roof terrace. Strange thing is, she knows he's dead. And she knows because she killed him... From the award-winning author of Our House' * The I * Ellen also suffers from a condition known as High Place phenomenon, which is an urge to jump from a high place. Her fear and obsessive thoughts add to the tension as a counterpoint to her obsession with Kieran. I was kept on my toes and although I got a few things right, there were still surprises in store. This could be considered a slow burn but I enjoy strong character-driven novels so I loved this aspect of the story.

Advance Praise

As foretold tragedy happens, when the car Kiernan is driving plunges into the water and Ellen is seething and as Kiernan is tried and sentenced to two years in jail, she demands more. She sets up on online group that demands longer sentences for crimes such as these, and of course attracts all the hate filled followers she can.(sounds like our social media platforms these days) In the meantime, her relationship with Vic has fallen apart, and she has met, marriied, and has a daughter with her new husband (aptly named Saint btw) Hate, it consumes one, makes you irrational, unable to use common sense, morals, and humanity while it drives deeper into your heart, mind, and soul. A beautifully written tale of destructive obsession and revenge, with Louise's trademark killer twist' Mark Edwards Juliet loves her boyfriend, but when Luke is killed her entire world turns upside down in a matter of moments. She is totally overcome with grief and wants more than anything to be able to rely on her sister to get her through this tough time. And Hannah does help her, in a way. She tells Juliet that she knows that she doesn’t have that same trust in life, but they are still going to have to do their best to live it and go on. Ellen’s newest brief brings her to Shad Thames, an historic parcel of riverside London just to the south east of Tower Bridge. It is while she is chatting to Selena, who is ‘something in finance’, that Ellen spots a young man out on the terrace of the penthouse flat in the adjacent high rise building, The Heights.

I thought the end, like literally the last 10-15%, brought something interesting that I wasn't expecting, but other than that I found this to be fairly boring and at times annoying. Indeed, Lucas falls under Kieran's influence, despite his parents' attempts to prevent it. Kieran has no interest in college or the future at all, for that matter. He is interested only in taking drugs and partying, and Ellen experiences a mother's worst nightmare. She loses all power of persuasion over Lucas who begins using drugs, lets his grades slip, and jeopardizes his admission to college. As you can imagine, this turn of events flips Ellen's world upside down. She becomes obsessed with Kieran all over again. It takes over her every waking thought.Ellen was inconsolable when Lucas died and she blamed his friend Kieran Watts for not saving him when the car they were in plunged into a lake. But Kieran is now supposed to be dead. So how is it that Ellen sees him on the rooftop of the apartment building called The Heights two and a half years later. It was pure chance that she caught that glimpse and it ripped her life apart all over again. When thinking of the character, Ellen Saint, I picture a ball of fire, consuming her every minute of every day. True Ellen and her ex-mate, Vic have a valid reason for hating Kiernan, a new friend of their son, Lucas, and believe Kiernan to have been the devil who led their son done a path to drugs, partying. After all, Lucas had been an angel of a son before Kiernan entered the picture. However, there was much more to the story of Kiernan, who seemed to immediately feel that Ellen would be his nemesis forever.

I’m a huge fan of this thriller writer’s clever, serpentine stories. When the waste ground behind his house is approved for development, it spells trouble for Alex, who is hiding a big secret – but what? Just when I thought I’d figured it out, along came another twist! -- Good Housekeeping Ellen Saint is so full of hate that it overshadows everything in her life. She has one mission and that is to kill a man she thought was already dead. Ellen is blind to anything other than killing Kieran Watts. The story is told from several points of view. There is a journalist who is sitting in on writing class that Ellen attends, observing Ellen and the things she writes and comparing them to events in Ellen's life. There is Ellen's side of things, what she has written as her story, but I've already mentioned that Ellen is blinded by her rage and fury. Then there is the point of view of Ellen's ex husband, Vic. As the story is revealed to us, we will find that things look very different when seen through the eyes of each person.

The Heights

You’ll have a delightful sense of disorientation on the long road to discovering how the two storylines are connected, before arriving at the immensely satisfying conclusion -- Daily Express/Daily Mirror Alex leidt een fijn leven met zijn vrouw Beth in een mooie Londense buitenwijk. Hij is wat op zichzelf, maar wel vriendelijk; een goede echtgenoot en buurman. I debated how much of the plot to disclose in my review, but I think I’ll keep that part short and sweet.

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