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ThatGirlWhoReads

Eye-opening, real, thought-provoking.

Recensito nel Regno Unito 🇬🇧 il 24 maggio 2018

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“Stay or go. Fight all flight. Truth or Dare. Which is it to be?”

Joanna is a normal young woman. She’s married to the man she loves and is starting to think about having children. But one night Joanna goes out with a friend at a bar and everything changes. At the end of the night she’s heading home alone and hears footsteps following behind her. She recognises his shoes as the same as that guy who sexually harassed her in the bar earlier and she panics. She pushes him, hard, down a flight of steps and now he’s not moving. Joanna must then decide whether to phone an ambulance, own up to her mistake and go through the legal system or run away and deny everything.

The premise of this novel was instantly sold to me when I read Claire Douglas’ description of it as “A Sliding Doors thriller with a moral dilemma at its heart.” This sounded exactly like the kind of the book I would love and I did really adore its premise. The novel switches between two possible outcomes of Joanna’s decision to either ‘reveal’ or ‘conceal’. I was initially very intrigued to find out the result of each possibility and as expected, both scenarios carried their own misfortunes and resulted in big changes is Joanna’s life. This novel really scared me because of how very real this moral dilemma felt. Like most other young women, I could imagine myself innocently caught in this scenario and I felt I could relate to Joanna’s feelings throughout various consequences of her actions. I think we would all like to think we’d take the moral high ground and own up to our mistakes despite where the justice system may lead us. However, I think we would all wonder what would have happened if we tried to cover it up instead and this book satisfied this curiosity wonderfully.

What I really loved about this book was that it really opened my eyes to the mechanics of the legal system. I have certainly watched a few too many crime thrillers on the telly throughout my life time but it was really refreshing to read about a realistic portrayal of the legal system. The writer, Gillian McAllister, is a lawyer and so I believe the representation of the system is mostly accurate unlike my favourite crime shows. I was initially worried the writer’s background may cause bias in terms of representation of the law, however, I am happy to say that this wasn’t the case at all. McAllister offers two very realistic scenarios of running from the law and working alongside it. As the story shows, both alternatives have negative impacts and it’s hard to judge which choice was the ‘right’ one for Joanna even by the end of the novel. It definitely makes the reader question what is right or wrong and why and I think this is a really interesting book for everyone to read.

Politically and sociological speaking, I found it really fascinating watching the two alternate realities unfold. I liked how in the reality where Joanna reveals her mistake the media very much takes on a feminist stance, arguing how Joanna acted the same way any young woman would if she felt she were being followed by a man late at night. On the flip side, when Joanna conceals her mistake and the police are investigating, the media present the case as a race crime. I found these details particularly interesting and clever as I imagine this is very much how the media would respond to story such as Joanna’s. Additionally, I thought the concept of ‘justice’ was explored particularly well. In some ways, the justice system was represented as being unfair to individuals such as Joanna. It, again, forces us to question, is it right to punish people for making mistakes that they regret?

This portrayal of justice is particularly effective when combined with how Joanna’s justice (or lack of) effects not only her own life, but also the lives of all those around her. The book is largely focused on how Joanna’s crime impacts the dynamic of her relationship with her husband Reuben. We see how both her confession and her secret nearly destroys her marriage in a number of ways but we also see how justice changes how people see their lives. For example, how Joanna’s friend Laura completely changes her life around because of the realisation of what Joanna is going through. The last section of the book focuses in particular on the consequences of justice. It was interesting to see how Joanna’s experiences after the court room affected her life but also how her secret lead to paranoia and guilt. I think this is something we don’t often think about, especially in a lot of crime books, movies and TV shows which usually finish before we see the end result.

Although I absolutely loved the concept and premise of the novel, I wasn’t as amazed by the writing itself. For me, the concept and the plotline of the novel fully deserved five stars, however, the writing itself deserved perhaps only three stars. I just felt as though the writing itself didn’t give the concept justice. It wasn’t awfully written, I just personally didn’t connect to the writing. It didn’t flow that well, in some places it felt really slow and dragged on a bit. I thought the ending was a bit too long and definitely could have been cut down a bit. Maybe this novel would have worked better as a novella, that way I think you’d lose the slow parts and it would feel a lot more fast paced. Having said this, I also appreciate that I haven’t read many crime thrillers and maybe this is just the nature of the genre. I just wish there had been a bit more action and drama. Even the characters felt a bit two-dimensional. I thought the writing just didn’t quite portray Joanna’s thoughts and emotions in the way I imagined she would be feeling. Even the minor characters didn’t seem to have a great deal of substance or individuality. In my opinion, I think the concept was fantastic, I just wish maybe it had been written by another writer.

Overall, I did really enjoy reading this one. I highly recommend if you have an interest in crime or morality as it brings up a lot of interesting themes. I think this book would also be really great if you’re looking for a slightly slower paced thriller that isn’t so intense on the action-side of things. It’s also such a great read just to find out more about the police, the law and court as I certainly learnt a lot from reading this! It’s just a really nice change of structure if your looking to read something a bit different with a more unique premise, it was really different from anything else I’ve read. It certainly left me thinking and contemplating and I won’t be forgetting this book anytime soon!

3 persone l'hanno trovato utile

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Read and Reviewed

A phenomenal novel which is both intelligent, articulate & well-researched and analyses the consequences of a snap decision.

Recensito nel Regno Unito 🇬🇧 il 11 febbraio 2018

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In her second sensational novel, Anything You Do Say, Gillian McAllister has cemented his status amongst the top tier of bestselling authors with her intelligent and thought-provoking brand of crime fiction which is both articulate and well-researched. Launching into a moral quagmire of potentially seismic consequences from the off, McAllister wastes no time in presenting a dilemma fraught with implications and caveats.

What begins with a Friday night out with best-friend Laura and an innocuous selfie taken by a male admirer ends for Joanna Olivia when his unwanted advances take on a more physical form and border on harassment. Calling time on their evening out and going their separate ways, when Jo hears the rapidly gaining footsteps behind her the very natural response is to think that her pursuer is the overbearing man from the bar and with no mobile signal and a dearth of passers-by she takes the split second decision to get her defence in first. As her pursuer falls head first down a set of concrete steps the impact leaves him lying face down and motionless. As Joanna’s world realigns she is forced to make a snap decision and what she decides to do has the power to decide her future. In one scenario, the chapters entitled ‘Reveal’, Joanna makes the decision to be honest, call 999 and follow the correct path.. in a second, entitled ‘Conceal’ she chooses to turn her back, stay silent and continue with her life. In a monumental achievement, McAllister follows both of these paths through to their conclusions and delivers a well-rounded analysis of Joanna’s possible futures. Without wishing to detract from the shocks in store as a profusion of unintended consequences arise, readers can rely on the author for hard-hitting honesty in both accounts. More impressive it that in each scenario she takes time to consider the possible validation of self-defence, the intent of Joanna and the likely medical and legal factors through to the judgmental attitudes of society.

Lead protagonist Jo, and her husband of seven-years are both well-fleshed out, making their responses and decisions feel authentic and McAllister takes time to show how Joanna’s formative years have in turn shaped her subsequent actions. Both narratives are all the more convincing given the author uses this profile of Joanna to extrapolate her likely responses, making them feel understandable and natural. With an avoidant personality and reliant on others for validating her self-worth, Joanna naturally lacks confidence and has a highly over-active imagination. Married to liberal thirty-two-year-old and refugee charity working spouse, Reuben, with his sanctimonious righteousness often bordering on anal, Joanna is despatched in a world fraught with the implications and possible hidden meanings behind his body language and unspoken words. When these aspects are factored into all of Jo’s other relationships with her family, working colleagues and even customers, her mind goes into overdrive as she infers and presumes their likely reactions to her decisions. A snapshot into Joanna’s world, even as a reader, is exhausting and in both scenarios it is no wonder that she finds herself in a constant state of angst.

Gripping and compulsively readable, as the alternative stories take shape with far-reaching effects and shattering repercussions for Joanna’s life the definitive line separating right from wrong becomes less distinct as the pages fly past. Manna from heaven for book club discussions, this plausible and sympathetic account of the fork in the road turning point and the subsequent unwieldy what and if paths they might take proves both emotive and contentious. In both the ‘Reveal’ and ‘Conceal’ unfolding narratives there are shocks aplenty with a dispassionately honest assessment of issues such a racism and a woman’s right to walk the streets without feeling intimidated or ‘fair game’ for the lascivious attention of passing men. As the media and Internet mouthpieces hijack the incident to validate their own arguments, Jo’s split second decision starts to become inescapable. Compelling throughout, both narratives bristle with palpable tension, with the ‘Conceal’ timeline making evident Joanna’s guilt, self-flagellation, procrastination and ensuing paranoia which comes to characterise her life. As mitigating factors and issues such as previous good character and what constitutes reasonable force come to take on greater significance in Joanna’s world she is thoroughly unprepared for what transpires.

McAllister takes her complex and realistic flawed characters through every gut-wrenching moment of each scenario with fastidious attention to detail, imbuing both the ‘Conceal’ and ‘Reveal’ storylines with readily conceivable consequences. To follow both stories through to possible conclusion and remain on-point throughout is impressive and with the medical, legal, moral and emotional aspects of each observed with exactitude and veracity, McAllister has written a cracking novel. Not only does the author analyse the implications for Joanna and her relationship with highly-principled husband, Reuben, but the changes that emanate from Joanna’s predicament in hippy best-friend, Laura, and her successful and remote brother, Wilf. Gillian McAllister is an author who inspires confidence and her uncanny knack for getting to grips with her characters throws up the prospect of a very difficult set of characters and an entirely different set of possible dilemmas. Interesting, Anything You Do Say makes apparent that even amongst those we are closest to and choose to place our trust in, the implications of a snap decision have the power to change everything. A fascinating and well-rounded examination of making a life-changing instantaneous decision and living with the aftermath.

Prior to reading Anything You Do Say I had thought I was pretty informed about the intricacies of the Criminal Justice System, yet in the course of this astounding four-hundred page novel I found reason to question and analyse everything I have previously taken for granted. The result is a well-informed novel with practicable life-lessons that are readily applicable and relevant to all our daily lives. It is unlikely that a brief review will do justice to such a standout novel and kudos to Gillian McAllister for eschewing the current trend in popular fiction for air-headed females making a host of nonsensical decisions.

Review written by Rachel Hall (@hallrachel)

Una persona l'ha trovato utile

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Kitty

Reveal or Conceal - which path would you take?

Recensito nel Regno Unito 🇬🇧 il 6 aprile 2018

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Joanna has spent most of her life avoiding things she doesn't want to deal with. Bank statements pile up, calls go unanswered, and even her career choice - or lack of it - goes unchallenged. Essentially, she's a settler, and never questions anything that she can leave well alone.

The story starts when Joanna and her friend Laura are on a very rare night out, and a pushy bloke is all over them, insisting on posing with them for selfies, and then getting nasty when they insist that they don't want him around. A bit spooked, the girls decide to call it a night and leave the bar, walking together a while then separating to continue on to their respective homes. A few minutes into her solitary walk, Joanna hears footsteps behind her and as he gets closer and closer to her, she panics. As she reaches the top of a set of steps, she pushes her pursuer and he falls down to the bottom where he lies unresponsive. It's the choice that she makes at this moment of truth that defines the path that Joanna's life will take - does she call an ambulance, or walk away and leave him there?

From this point on, there are two alternating chapter threads - Reveal and Conceal. Each refers to a choice that Joanna could have made at the bottom of the steps - and takes us further along that particular path, showing the consequences of each.

I found Joanna quite a difficult character to connect to - as mentioned early on, she is an avoider and lets events carry her along rather than be proactive about anything. I also felt that there were situations within each of the narratives where the characters behaved differently so as to help that particular angle along.

Even so, this is a very interesting and original book - you'll see a lot of reference to the movie 'Sliding Doors' in various reviews, but the only similarity to that is the parallel timeframes - used to great advantage in this novel. I wasn't too taken with the ending - felt a little 'convenient' and romanticised for me in comparison to the rest of the book and the subject matter, but to be fair, it is clever.

Una persona l'ha trovato utile

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Sharon

What would you do?

Recensito nel Regno Unito 🇬🇧 il 29 ottobre 2017

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I'm sure we would all like to think that we would do the right thing when something happens but would we? This is the exact scenario that our main character Joanna finds herself in when an impulse reaction causes her to strike out resulting in her pushing her 'assailant' down some stairs. Should she stay and call for help or distance herself from the scene? This is the sliding doors concept that Gillian McAllister has written in her second book where in alternate chapters, reveal and conceal, we follow Joanna in the days, months and years after as she lives with the consequences of her actions and decision on that fateful night.

Joanna as a character was someone I really struggled to relate to, or warm to, so I have to confess I had little sympathy for her as to how things seemed to be panning out for her whilst reading. But at the same time I could also understand why she was the way she was as other than her husband Reuben, who I also had moments of doubt about, she didn't really have anyone there by her side... sure she had family and friends but they all seemed a bit superficial.

The pacing and structure of this book with the conceal/reveal chapters worked really well, and I will admit to making my own moral judgements as I was reading about the decisions she was making and the way she was treating those close to her especially her husband. But as a reader it is so easy to be judgemental but really we don't know how we would cope if anything like this ever happened to us. And that's what I loved so much about this book, we got to see how things developed and unravelled in both scenarios as it felt so realistic. Overall I found this a very intense, thought provoking read that definitely makes you think and extremely grateful that it's not you having to make the decisions!

5 persone l'hanno trovato utile

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NickiMags

Intense Sliding Doors Thriller!

Recensito nel Regno Unito 🇬🇧 il 23 luglio 2019

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This was such an intense read and yet another book I’ve had languishing on my kindle app. Gillian McAllister is another author that I pre-order whenever I know she’s got a new book out. I loved her debut Everything But The Truth and know I’ll enjoy her next books even if I don’t get to them straight away.
This book is a ‘sliding doors’ psychological thriller, with Joanna the main character either staying or fleeing from the her pursuer who lays motionless on the floor. The story is told in alternate chapters called ‘Reveal’ for the Joanna who stays with her pursuer and ‘Conceal’ for the Joanna who flees the scene.
I wasn’t too sure how this was going to work, but it hooked me and I couldn’t stop reading about what was going to happen to the two Joannas. Gillian McAllister certainly knows how to get inside the head of her characters and her readers, as I was constantly thinking how I’d react if I was in this situation, would I stay or would I go?
I was so shocked by the consequences Joanna Reveal faced for staying with her peruser! I was bewildered by Joanna Conceal’s actions, especially to do with her coat and shoes! If you’ve read this book you’ll know what I mean. At times I was tutting and shaking me head at the way she was behaving and felt very sorry for her husband Reuben.
I’m so glad I finally got around to reading this book, and will make sure I read the author’s other books, No Further Questions and The Evidence Against You, sooner rather than later.
I definitely recommend this if you enjoy psychological thrillers that’ll really make you think how you’d behave in the same situation.

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Gaby

AMAZING READ!

Recensito nel Regno Unito 🇬🇧 il 13 febbraio 2019

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"Such a gripping read! It was so interesting to see how the future of one woman can be turned upside down in two different ways. It made me question what I would do in Jo’s shoes, and how the law can work to both an individuals advantage and disadvantage!"

The book follows Jo simultaneously through two possible futures after pushing a man whom she mistook as a threat to her when walking home one night. The question throughout the whole book is whether she does the right thing, and comes clean, or lives with the guilt and gets away with it.

Initially I felt this was going to be like every other 'woman caught up in a murder' story I've read, but the contrast between the Conceal and Reveal chapters really intrigued me. It gave me the opportunity to consider how events could play out so differently.

I began to like Jo as a character, and thinking about what I would have done if I was also in her same position. She strikes me as being someone very normal, but just simply does the wrong thing at the wrong time when she is caught off-guard.

Throughout the book, you could feel the contrasting chapters getting further apart from each other and almost becoming two separate stories, but then narrowing together again as if you were back at the start of the book and you were in Jo's shoes, needing to make a decision.

There weren't many surprises, or revelations, simply that you were living the story with Jo as she experienced it - which made it feel all the more real! However I did find myself questioning my own morals throughout this book and wondering what really would be the right thing to do.

The plot wasn't complicated by too many characters and I was so pleased there wasn't a whiney journalist added in either (this is so typical for these types of books). I really really enjoyed reading it, felt it was accessible yet also had some depth to it. What I felt really resonated with me, was how her relationships with others was impacted by the events (I wish I could discuss this more, but it would only spoil it for you!)

Initially I thought about giving this book a four star review, but I really think I'd be getting too picky about it. Who am I kidding, this book is definitely worth five stars and I've already purchased Gillian McAllister's No Further Questions, which is also only 99p on Kindle right now (Go GO GO!). I will not be holding back from reading some more of her titles!

Una persona l'ha trovato utile

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Started well but became tedious.

Recensito nel Regno Unito 🇬🇧 il 26 giugno 2022

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The beginning was a real hook in, I was fascinated.
As time went on it got repetitive and tedious.
I got to the point where I didn’t care what happened, never a good thing.

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appletree

Confusing

Recensito nel Regno Unito 🇬🇧 il 18 ottobre 2022

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I must admit that at the beginning I found this story rather confusing until I realised that it was a "Sliding doors " situation. I didn't find it very thrilling or captivating as a story and struggled to continue reading it. I persevered but found the events dragged out with a lot of padding and unnecessary information. Nearing the end I just couldn't find any enthusiasm to learn the outcome and was relieved when the story came to an end.

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B.R. Maycock

I will never be able to recommend this enough!!!

Recensito nel Regno Unito 🇬🇧 il 27 ottobre 2018

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Some time ago a thought entered my head that I needed to stop reading purely from titles I received from Netgalley and review requests, and to get to the books on my Kindle, bought simply because I saw them either on a blog or Twitter. And so I came to this, a book I’d read more gushes about than nearly any other. Rubbing my hands briskly together (it was cold;)), I began to read.

Anything You Do Say is the story of Joanna and her husband Reuben. They live a very modern, ordered yet chaotic life. They have a list of films they work from to watch tv and number their declarations of love for each other. Both are likeable, both appear content, Reuben more so than Joanna who is looking for something, she doesn’t quite know what.

One night Joanna is followed by someone who bothering her earlier that night. This scene is set the way the actual breakdown from ‘The Breakdown’ by B A Paris, is, you are there and terrified for her in a dark area at night with low phone signal and running footsteps behind her, taking every turn she does. As he reaches her she pushes him. He falls. The resulting story tells of two different possibilities-either she gets help for him or she doesn’t-she tells what happened or she doesn’t.

There are some books that absolutely blow your mind and you are constantly going ‘what the eff?!?!’ This is one such book. I will never be able to gush about it enough. I had shivers starting from my toes and moving up that rarely left me in a book where I just kept praying things were going to go okay for Joanna. There were twists I could never have seen coming, disappointments and shocks that held me in a vice grip and would not let go. I formulated opinions and was shocked that others went against them. Above all I wanted to know where the ending was going and then when it came I was gutted the ride was over. I recommend books to people based on what I think they might generally read but this is one I will most likely be recommending to everyone I can. Superb!

Rating: 5/5

Una persona l'ha trovato utile

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Review 85

Interesting, original, but the ending disappointed

Recensito nel Regno Unito 🇬🇧 il 25 novembre 2017

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Overall an engaging read, and as I'm not familiar with sliding doors, what felt to me an original idea.
The risk of repetition from relating the same story in different ways is avoided. Joanna experiences very different situations in each scenario, so it always felt I was reading something fresh. Supporting characters respond very differently too, dependent on Joanna's choice, so much so, that at times I felt this was a weakness in the book.
The change in Wilf's approach to Joanna that occurs in 'reveal' for example, is never really explained, and does not seem linked to her decision. I struggled to see why Joanna finding herself in the 'reveal' situation would change Wilf's approach to her, while her circumstances in 'conceal' did not.
It was the different portrayals of Reuben however with which I really struggled. The endless tolerance of Joanna's behaviour in the 'conceal' version is very at odds with the his character in 'reveal'.
While I sympathized with both Joanna's, and naturally, particularly the 'reveal' version, I found the other characters very hard to like.
The author states through Joanna, that people are a combination of good and bad, (presumably in case we missed that this was a theme) but I think the bad in Reuben, Laura and 'conceal' Joanna too heavily outweighed the good, and left me a little depressed.
My real issue with the book, and the reason for my so-so rating, is the ending. Without spoilers, it's hard to comment fully, but, suffice to say, what a wasted opportunity!
I'd hoped for something that cleverly tied the two possibilities together, as positive reviews had suggested was the case, and was excited to see how this was accomplished.
Instead, what we got was a Mills and Boon style focus on what, in the context of the life and death nature of the story, felt a comparatively trivial aspect.
Negatives notwithstanding, this book is certainly worth a read. The writing style is reasonably intelligent, and the concept sufficiently interesting that I've discussed it with friends.
I often find books in this genre can be unoriginal and forgettable, and this certainly isn't that. I shall read the authors other work based on my experience with this book.

12 persone l'hanno trovato utile

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Anything You Do Say: THE ADDICTIVE psychological thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author (English Edition)

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