Delighted to join the blog tour for The Evidence Against You by Gillian McAllister today! My thanks to Olivia at Michael Joseph for the opportunity to join and for the fabulous review copy!

| ABOUT THE BOOK |

It’s the day her father will be released from jail. Izzy English has every reason to feel conflicted – he’s the man who gave her a childhood filled with happy memories. But he has also just served seventeen years for the murder of her mother.

Now, Izzy’s father sends her a letter. He wants to talk, to defend himself against each piece of evidence from his trial. But should she give him the benefit of the doubt? Or is her father guilty as charged, and luring her into a trap?

| MY THOUGHTS |

After having read and enjoyed Gillian McAllister’s previous books, I was incredibly excited to hold her latest book in my hands. Even though I admit, I initially had a wee struggle with the earlier chapters, I soon found myself completely immersed in the intrigue and suspense.

Almost two decades ago, Izzy’s father was convicted of the murder of his wife and sent to prison. Izzy has had no contact with him since. But now, Gabriel is released and he wants to talk to Izzy, give her his side of the story, defend himself, maybe even convince her he is innocent. But should Izzy give him the time of day?

While I found Izzy quite hard to like for some reason, I could completely understand her struggles. The way she longs for that feeling of belonging to a family, her willingness to listen to her father because at least she’d have one parent back in her life and the way she shies away from starting a family of her own because she fears there is evil inside of her. Despite my misgivings about her, I couldn’t help but root for her when she starts to dig deep into her parents’ lives.

Just like Izzy, I kept going back and forth on my opinion about Gabriel, unable to figure out whether he was truly guilty or if this whole thing had been a massive miscarriage of justice. But this story isn’t just about Gabriel’s guilt or innocence. It is also about the impact nineteen years in prison has on a person. Imagine being cut off from the world for such a long time and then be thrown back out there, expected to fend for yourself when everything has been done for you all these years. Where do you even start when the whole world has moved on without you?

As I’ve come to expect from Gillian McAllister, The Evidence Against You is a slow-burner but nevertheless immensely tense and compelling. As I mentioned, I struggled just a little bit with the slow pace in the beginning but it also has its advantages, as it gives you the time and opportunity to really get a feel for these characters. It’s almost impossible to determine who to trust or believe and that includes Izzy herself, because how reliable are her own memories after all this time? With plenty of twists and turns, unreliable characters, lies and betrayal, I was gripped until the rather devastating end. The kind of ending where you wish deep down things could have been different, yet one that is also extremely fitting and just makes sense.

The Evidence Against You is a gripping and thought-provoking story, guaranteed to have you flipping the pages faster as you go. Brilliantly and cleverly plotted, Gillian McAllister knows how to draw the reader in and keep them coming back for more. Her books are always worth the wait and I impatiently await what’s next.

The Evidence Against You is available to buy!

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Other retailers : Amazon US | Amazon UK | Kobo | Waterstones | Wordery

| ABOUT THE AUTHOR |

Gillian McAllister has been writing for as long as she can remember. She graduated with an English degree before working as a lawyer. She lives in Birmingham where she now writes full-time. 

She is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Everything but the Truth, Anything You Do Say, No Further Questions and The Evidence Against You.