Suspects: The emotionally gripping Sunday Times bestseller from Britain’s favourite storyteller

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I have read some of Lesley Pearse's books before and really enjoyed them, so was looking forward to this. Maybe die-hard fans of the author will lap this up but I genuinely cannot understand how this novel even reached publication stage. Suspects felt very much like a stage play with each character’s appearance resembling an actor arriving from behind the curtain. With clear descriptions it was easy to work out the personality of each individual. Quite a mixed cast, I have to admit, if I was Nina or Conrad I’d have had a ‘For Sale’ up as soon as possible! Although there were no major surprises in the plot, I did enjoy getting to know the neighbours with all their quirks and foibles. Nina and Conrad had thought they’d found their dream neighbourhood. But have they moved into a nightmare?

As the image of a ‘perfect place to raise a family’ starts to tarnish, Nina and Conrad’s life plans start to unravel. As for the plot, it had a great premise but the characters were some of the most stereotypical I've ever read, and the police investigation was so unrealistic, it truly amazed me. Over the pas few years I have been grateful to have been offered the opportunity to read Lesley Pearse’s thrillers, and I have enjoyed every one of them. Her new offering is Suspects, set in a a leafy susburb of Cheltenham, Willow Close. Nina and Conrad have been looking for their perfect new home for a while, and find it in Willow Close with its perfect front gardens, tranquil setting and perfect houses with gleaming windows. But on the day they move in the body of a young girl from Willow Close is found murdered in the woods. As the police investigation starts, and residents questioned, Nina and George begin to wonder if Willow Close is less Stepford Wives and more Nightmare on Elm Street. On the day Nina and Conrad Best move into their new home in picture-perfect Willow Close, a body is discovered. Her life is as interesting as the fiction that she writes, and perhaps even stranger. Lesley Pearse has had a very dramatic and eventful life. Her mother died when she was just three years old under circumstances that were tragic. Their father had been at work at sea and a neighbor spied Lesley and her brother outside without coats and that led to finding out that their mother had died.The Police come across as farcical and inept. The characters are two dimensional. There is a preoccupation with writing about everyone's weight and appearance and there are bizarre leaps in thought processes which leave the reader incredulous. The dialogue is stilted and there is way too much explanation rather than hints and establishing connections through what is not written. In fact it is more like a manual or set of instructions and I NEVER read those. Then her husband enlists in the Army and is sent to the battlefields. Belle starts to realize slowly that her entire life is on the verge of falling apart. But she is resilient and will not stand by and watch it happen. Belle volunteers to help treat the wounded and ends up working abroad as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross In France.

When police start to interview the residents of the Close, they soon discover each neighbour harbours their own secrets. Because everyone on the Close is far from what they seem. In this exciting and historical city, Belle gradually begins to come into her own. Now of age, she gradually learns how to operate skill fully within her life as a courtesan and even adapts to enjoy it. However, she is always thinking of the home she left behind. Even though she is the golden girl for right now of the prostitution world in this bustling southern city, she knows that she only has so long to dominate this cage before it turns into a prison once more that holds her forever. General thoughts – I have it on good authority (my mum) that the author wrote many wonderful sagas. I know authors occasionally switch genre but a crime fiction writer she is not. I found way too much implausible and little things that I would normally let go annoyed the hell out of me. Prime example if you are going to mention a song at a funeral (quite important scene) get the song title right. In the age of Google it takes about five seconds. The Promise is set in 1914 in London and reunites the reader with Belle Reilly in this sequel to Belle. Belle has finally found happiness and a life she has always wanted thanks to her husband Jimmy. Now she has achieved another dream that she has always wanted to follow; owning and running a hat shop. But when the first world war starts to slowly arrive like a ship on the horizon, Belle’s crazy life is about to change in ways that she never even saw coming.

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Many thanks to Midas PR who invited me on the blogtour, and publishers Michael Joseph books for the gifted review copy of ‘Suspects’, the latest novel from Lesley Pearse which is published on 24th June.

Believing someone must have seen the murderer, the police interview all the residents of the Close. They soon find out that each neighbour harbours their own secrets. Does Belle have the courage within herself to try and escape? Will she have any allies out there in her quest for freedom? Read this exciting book from wonderful author Lesley Pearse to find out! Pearse’s Belle Series debuted in 2011 with the publication of Belle. It was followed by The Promise, where main character Belle is desperate to do anything to make her life better. The third book in the series came out in 2014 and is titled Survivor.

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But she finds out about that and death too when one of the girls is murdered and she is witness to it. Belle is taken from her home and sold into prostitution in Paris by the killer. Now her entire world is not her own and when she is to go to New Orleans halfway across the planet, she is going to blossom from a young girl into a young woman that is more in control of her fate than ever. I honestly don't know how this book happened. It feels like the author needed to present something to her publisher during this dystopian nightmare we're living in, and she rummaged around and pulled out something she wrote 30 years ago that's been sat in a drawer. The publisher then accepted it without even proofreading as she's been reliable for so long.

The girl murdered is Chloe Church, the much loved only daughter of Mike and Ruth Church. They had dreams and ambitions for their young and talented daughter but now it is a nightmare as the police attempt to unravel the mystery of Chloe’s death. With no apparent enemies, Detective Inspector Jim Marshall, who is in charge of the investigation, and his team prepare to leave no stone uncovered in their search for the truth. I read this through my online book club and looked forward to it based on the blurb. Sadly, the hype failed to translate on any level. The writing was poor and the storytelling weak, but perhaps the worst thing about this book was the appalling characterization. The non-stop aspersions cast on people's looks with a heavy bias against anyone overweight was frankly more than off-putting. Add to this dialogues that are beyond ridiculous and you have the recipe for a dismal read. Thank you to the author, publishers Michael Joseph and online book club Pigeonhole for access to read this book for free. This is an honest and voluntary review. The residents of Willow Close are far from what they initially seem and strange, even dark, things happen behind their closed doors. Before the first neighbour can pop around with a welcome gift, before they invited to the neighbourhood watch group, they hit the ground running trying to work out who lives where and who does what.Lesley Pearse is one of the UK’s best-loved novelists with fans across the globe and sales of over 2 million copies of her books to date. A true storyteller and a master of gripping storylines that keep the reader hooked from beginning to end, Pearse introduces you to characters that it is impossible not to care about or forget. However the very worst part is the finale. Set in a place where I used to work, it was so implausible I screamed at the screen. Kept me reading late in to the night . . . a great story with twists and turns' 5***** Reader Review