THAT NIGHT
GILLIAN MCALLISTER
*****
What would you do to protect your family?
ANYTHING.
That night everything changed.
The night Frannie commited a murder, but she didn’t mean to…
That night we helped her bury the body, what else could we do?
One hot summers night in Italy, Joe and Cathy Plant receive a phone call that will change their lives forever.
Their sister Frannie has killed a man, and she needs their help.
They were always close, some might say too close, siblings who worked together, lived next door to each other
And now they’ve buried a body together…
But when they return to England, Frannie, Joe and Cathy become tangled in lies in they’ve been telling,
to the police, to their friends, to each other…
But if you can’t trust your family, who can you trust?
MY REVIEW
*****
Gillian McAllister is an author I was introduced to early in my NetGalley adventures and has fast become a staple along with authors such as Helen Fields and CL Taylor. As soon as I see a new book has been released by her I request it, knowing that it will be an assured, twisty and confident read written by very capable hands!
One of the things I enjoy about McAllister’s writing is that she has first-hand experience of being a lawyer and it really shows through in her writing. Her courtroom scenes always feel very realistic and That Night is no exception. The narrative alternates between flashbacks to the night in question, further forward to the aftermath and then to a lawyer preparing their client for court. This doesn’t become confusing though, although it allows for some good foreshadowing and misdirection as well.
Another thing I enjoy about McAllister’s books is the way that she really makes you think about how you’d respond in certain situations. The situations themselves are usually realistic, yet improbable and after reading That Night, I had a chat to my partner about whether he would bury a body for me (and how we’d get away with it)! I imagine after seeing the amount of crime fiction I read and murder podcasts I listen to he’s probably a little worried now!
Being an only child, I found it a little difficult to relate to the siblings as they are so close. I can’t imagine having grown up with your brother and sister and then also live next door to them and go to work with each other every day too. I enjoyed the character of Cathy but found Frannie intensely annoying. I knew that something bigger was going on in the plot but you have to wait until right near the end to find out and I hadn’t really guessed much as we went into the climax. I love the tension that built as you waited to see whether they’d get away with it but I do think they made some very silly decisions as the plot went on.
Overall That Night is a twisty read that really makes you think what choices you would make in a similar situation. Thank you to Penguin Book UK – Michael Joseph for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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