She was relieved and hurt at the same time. But this time the hurt was more. And she was done. Done with him.

Brilliant!” “A beautifully crafted, evocative psychological thriller.” “Dark and gripping.” Just some of the words used to describe this novel. After reading the book, I totally disagree. Long-winded and mundane is how I describe it. I don't get these kids from schools. How can you get the satisfaction from bullying a kid for witnessing his father's death? For being without his father? Are you even human? (>.<) Karen was a bit of a square at University specialising in languages for which she has a special gift. Her life was dull and safe until she met Biba a bohemian drama student whom she adored and whose lifestyle she coveted and adopted for one special summer. Throughout the novel, I had to keep reminding myself that the past story actually took place in 1997. It is because of the author’s detailed descriptions of Biba and Rex, how they lived, behaved and socialized that made me think the story took place in the mid-1960s – the hippie era. What about Daniel's trial? What about Paul's poor mother? She's already expecting, how did she feel she's about give birth to a new life knowing her first born is no more?Is any part of this novel autobiographical, or is it wholly imagined? Would you say that you were—or are—more like Karen or Biba? Yes, coming to the murder for which Paul is a witness for the trial now. What happens? Even this wasn't a surprise. Daniel and Paul were committing another burglary, but this time they get caught by a caretaker of the area, an old man names Ken Hillyard. He has already called the cops, and tells Daniel that there are secret cameras around recording his every move, couldn't he read? Yep, that was the question. Paul is in trouble with the police and he is going down for it, unless he reveals what happened and gives up his accomplice. After becoming the one thing you never do in a rough estate Paul is under protection and relocated where he meets Louisa. Louisa has a big secret in her past and keeps herself reserved, low key and interaction minimal, until Paul arrives. Paul reminds her of a past she would rather forget, they both have big secrets to hide however it could be the one thing that brings them together or puts them both at risk. On the other hand, as soon as Louisa sees Paul returning she panics, as there are Adam's stuff lying around and she doesn't want Paul to see them and realize that Louisa loved him due to his resemblance with Adam. What does Louisa do, collect them at one place and burn that down.

it gets points for having the central character named karen. and having her be a genius of languages. but a lot of it is just a secret history tongue and groove DIY project. brilliant underachievers? crumbling mansion? wealthy layabouts sponsoring a poor friend?? mysterious happenings? moral blurriness? alcohol and drug anesthesia? Did he scream in anguish, knowing after recollecting who Louisa is, she isn't alive anymore? Or knowing she isn't alive for him to kill her again with his own hands? As, you know, she WAS the reason he lost all his memories and has had this terrible headache all these years.

Publication Order of Broadchurch Books

The Poison Tree is one of the best psychological thrillers that I've read recently. The characters and the ending continued to haunt me long after I had finished reading the book. The morbid atmosphere of paranoia and fear that the author has created is definitely praiseworthy. I loved the beautifully descriptive and poetic style of the narrative and the way it begins in the present and slowly reveals everything that has led up to this moment culminating with its twist at the end (although I must admit, I did see this coming a couple of chapters or so beforehand). This book had SUCH potential, and I found myself really getting into it, but unfortunately it just ended with me scratching my head and saying, "...Really?" I can't tell whether Erin Kelly just didn't know what she really had here or if she thought she could throw in one huge twist and that not following through with what should have been the rational choices was what...another twist? No, I don't buy it. Crucially, I also disliked the ending. Where I had related to the younger Karen so much, I found the older version's final actions impossible to sympathise with. Where was he all these years? Started a family, has two kids too and his mother there is waiting for him to return?

Why is she hiding? Or more like WHAT is she hiding? We don't know. She has this weird ritual now and then, where she gets herself drunk and watches Adam's videos and listens to his songs and cries. Clearly he's dead, but why is she doing all of this? We don't know. Also, I didn't feel that the was a "psychological" build up for the "genre" that this book was placed in was as strong as either her last book or what I would expect from the genre. Also, her timing fell flat to me. It just really seemed to "stumble" around. Not only did characters jump around, but the timeline did as well. This can work, and I have read numerous books where the author has done this type of format masterfully, but this one did not work.And all this time Paul was simply gaping at him, didn't try stopping him fearing he'd get caught in the camera. I usually find my research enraging rather than upsetting, and I let that power me through the writing. Once the research is done, though, I don’t let the subject matter get to me otherwise I’d end up writing a polemic, not a thriller. The threat to my own wellbeing is far more likely to come from my own plot holes than anything else. I’m a master at painting myself into corners. Louisa became this possessive girlfriend, where the idea of Adam cheating on her haunted her dreams. And that's fair, but she should have known what kinda guy Adam was before getting into all of this. I mean, he WAS seeing a girl when she met him, remember? He dumped that girl for Louisa, who's to say he won't dump her for someone else? Till that point it was pretty much clear she might have been Adam's murderer. But the why and how were the mystery which gets solved. in the spectrum of "books that claim to be just like secret history" this one takes home high marks.