A Perfectly Executed Thriller: Read Our Review of The Only Suspect by Louise Candlish

There’s the obvious story. And then there’s the truth.

Alex lives a comfortable life with his wife Beth in the leafy suburb of Silver Vale. Fine, so he’s not the most extrovert guy on the street, he prefers to keep to himself, but he’s a good husband and an easy-going neighbour.

That’s until Beth announces the creation of a nature trail on a local site that’s been disused for decades and suddenly Alex is a changed man. Now he’s always watching. Questioning. Struggling to hide his dread…

As the landscapers get to work, a secret threatens to surface from years ago, back in Alex’s twenties when he got entangled with a seductive young woman called Marina, who threw both their lives into turmoil.

And who sparked a police hunt for a murder suspect that was never quite what it seemed? It still isn’t.

Louise Candlish is the internationally bestselling author of fifteen novels, including The Other Passenger, The Heights, and Our House, which is now a four-part TV drama. I was looking forward to reading this and right from the opening page I was consumed with one constant thought.

“What is going on here?”

Candlish once told Better Reading, “How I usually construct a novel is by taking three or four themes and styles that I want to explore and find a way to entwine them, leaving just enough loose stitches for the reader to start pulling and guessing. Readers are very intelligent and thrillers should be puzzles that might actually be solved.”

It’s been a couple of years since Candlish released a book, and she’s used that time well to craft a deliciously dark puzzle with several loose stiches you’ll pull at, only to remain baffled, until the final twist at the end. Candlish has done it again, on steroids.

The story moves between present day married couple Alex and Beth, and 1995 with twenty-something Rick who falls for a woman who works in his office building. The addition of the dual timeline in this novel adds a grittier edge than is usual for a Candlish read, with Rick living in Camden. But with present day Beth and Alex, Candlish explores the familiar territory that she excels in: domestic noir and the darker side of human relationships – often in very ordinary, middle-class settings.

This time its Silver Vale, where the big news is that the local council has finally given the go-ahead for a nature trail near their home. Beth was on the committee, and has no idea that her husband is terrified by this turn of events for their neighbourhood. This adds to the tension which Candlish dials up as the story progresses.

The Only Suspect is a perfectly executed thriller, an unpredictable ride that will enthral both fans and new readers alike. I had no idea where this was headed, and loved every minute of it.

Buy a copy of The Only Suspect here.