And So It Begins by Rachel Abbott | @RachelAbbott @Wildfirebks| #blogtour #bookreview #AndSoItBegins

I am absolutely delighted to close down the blog tour for And So It Begins by Rachel Abbott today! My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the invitation to join and to the publisher for my fabulous review copy!

So this is how it ends. It is clear to me now: one of us has to die.

Mark and Evie had a whirlwind romance. Evie brought Mark back to life after the sudden death of his first wife. Cleo, Mark’s sister, knows she should be happy for him. But Cleo doesn’t trust Evie…

When Evie starts having accidents at home, her friends grow concerned. Could Mark be causing her injuries? Called out to their cliff-top house one night, Sergeant Stephanie King finds two bodies entangled on blood-drenched sheets.

Where does murder begin? When the knife is raised to strike, or before, at the first thought of violence? As Evie stands trial, the jury is forced to consider – is there ever a proper defence for murder?

I am a huge fan of Rachel Abbott’s brilliant DI Tom Douglas series and always impatiently await a new book by her. And So It Begins marks a departure though. Not only is it a psychological thriller, it is also Rachel Abbott’s first traditionally published novel and I was so excited to read it that I didn’t even bother checking out the description. I went in completely blind with no clue whatsoever as to what the story was actually about. 

Let me tell you right now, this book has more twists than a bowl of pasta! With such a devious plot, it’s no wonder I was glued to the pages, desperately trying to figure out what the outcome would be. Once again, it also becomes increasingly apparent to me that characters don’t necessarily have to be likeable for a storyline to completely hold me in its clutches. 

Full of lies, deceit and secrets, And So It Begins had my head spinning from start to finish. Who is a reliable narrator? Who can be trusted? What really happened and why? So many questions in need of an answer and while I had a tiny inkling about some of it, I couldn’t see the full picture at all. Add some delicious courtroom action and loyalties shifting all over the place and you have one humdinger of a psychological thriller. And that’s all I’m saying as I’m too worried I’ll give something away.

Psychological thrillers are often hit and miss for me but once in a while, I stumble upon a gem that restores my faith in the genre and to me, And So It Begins is definitely that. It’s infinitely clever, brilliantly written and without a doubt one of my top books of the year. If I wasn’t a fan of Rachel Abbott’s writing already, I definitely would be now and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next. 

And So It Begins is available to buy!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Bookdepository | Kobo | Wordery | Goodreads

Rachel Abbott began her career as an independent author in 2011, with Only the Innocent, which became a No.1 bestseller on Kindle, topping the chart for four weeks. Since then, she has published five further psychological thrillers, plus a novella, and sold over 2.75 million copies.

She is one of the top-selling authors of all time in the UK Kindle store (published and self-published), and her novels have been translated into 21 languages.

This is her first traditional publishing deal, though she’s been approached many times.

Author links : Facebook | Twitter