This crime novel is slightly different to the other books I have read before because the murder investigation concerned is an old one. Time has been served for the murder of Izzy’s mother. The person who served the sentence was her father and he has just been released from prison, determined to have contact with Izzy.

Izzy has moved on with her life despite missing having any loving family connection. Somehow the connection with her husband’s ‘Instagram family’ doesn’t compensate for what she has missed out on. She loves her husband, hates her job and doesn’t know if she can trust her father.

Most of the novel is set in modern day but there are occasional flashbacks to Izzy’s teenage years, mainly concerning the few days before her mother was murdered. But you also get to see her dreams of going to ballet school and her relationship with her first boyfriend. You also see the way that her interpretation of her parents relationship and how it differs from her father’s. These accounts were increasingly fascinating, especially when Izzy finds documents that suggest she may not have been fully aware of what was happening.

I did work out who killed Alex before Izzy did but the way it was revealed left me hanging on to see if I was correct. The explanation was different to what I imagined but it did work. And how it was handled left me a little emotional. Izzy trying to find out who was responsible wasn’t what I liked most about this novel, it was the character and relationship changes that I was more interested in. It was this part I will be thinking about for the next few days.

Another excellent, unputdownable story from Gillian McAllister. Gripping and meticulously researched as always. The ending was just wow! WOW! Another 5 star stunner.

This has immediately risen to my top three books of 2019 so far. It's a beautifully crafted novel which completely surprised me: I was expecting a fairly typical mystery/ crime thriller (which had me excited to start reading, as that's my favourite genre!) but The Evidence Against You is so much more than that. It's sharp, mysterious and utterly heartbreaking. I finished it feeling bereft that it was over and confused as to how I felt about the ending... before realising that the way the book finished was just so right. 

The characters are completely convincing, well-rounded and never over-simplified. Each character had their own faults, but they felt like real people and this only made me want to read about them even more. There were parts which had me desperately trying to work out what really happened, parts where I was convinced of one outcome before swinging back to the opposite theory, and parts where I actually cried! Without giving too much away, it addresses various themes, some of which I really didn't expect, and kept me guessing right until the end. A fantastic novel which I'm not surprised I loved, when I reflect that I've given 5 shining stars to her other novels - this certainly lives up to those and more.

I have become a huge fan of Gillian McAllister in the last couple of years so when I saw this on Borrow Box I knew I wanted to give it a listen.

I loved the whole plot, I always enjoy playing detective so uncovering a mystery is just my cup of tea. Having the flashbacks and some of the original court case read aloud kept the momentum going and it was an interesting way to drip feed information. Just when I thought I had figured it out another curve ball was thrown my way!

Izzy was an interesting character. She seemed quite immature, perhaps that was the lack of parenting but for some reason she grated on me quite a bit. I wanted her to have a bit more get up and go about her and be more confident in her actions. Towards the end she seemed stronger and I’m glad she finally did something for her. My favourite character was Gabe. From the beginning I felt that he was quite a genuine person and desperately wanted to find the truth. My favourite part was the ending. I liked that it wasn’t a sail off into the sunset cliche, it was more emotional, raw and true.

My only gripe with the story was the length of it. I felt that in some places it could of been cut down slightly and tied up a little quicker. I also found that the narrator had quite a soothing voice so I often felt quite sleepy when listening to it. I ended up speeding the voice up so that I paid attention. I have a feeling that if I had read this as a physical book I would of enjoyed it more but overall the story and the characters still made it a pleasure to listen to.

Gillian McAllister - you've done it again.

When I first read 'No Further Questions' last year, I very quickly named it my favourite read of 2018 and I got that exact same feeling with The Evidence Against You. Its going to take a lot to beat it.

Izzy's father was convicted of murdering his wife, Izzy's mother Alex, 17 years ago. He has now been released and is protesting his innocence. Izzy decides to listen to his side and see if she can work out if he's telling the truth or not by looking into evidence.

I couldn't put it down and I kept saying to myself "just one more chapter" until I was up until 2am reading! I was chasing the end to see the conclusion and what an ending it was! I felt like I needed a breather afterwards. It's so well written.

Izzy's father, Gabriel, telling his side of a situation then Izzy recalling the same moment from her point of view was done very well and I loved how it wasn't just all about her trying to find out the truth. It touches on her sadness of not having her mother around to do typical mother/daughter things and her sadness of seeing her father trying to integrate back into society after being incarcerated for almost 20 years.

I cannot recommend this book enough and if you have never read a book by this author before, do it!

A great book - Izzy dad has just been released from prison after 18 years. He was convicted for the murder of Izzy's Mum. A shocking murder that has shaped how her entire life has spanned out.
Izzy knows her Dad has been released and also knows that he will come and look for her. Will she be safe?
This was a great book - Really kept the suspense until the end and I just couldn't second guess whether her Dad was actually guilty of the murder. And if not, then who?
I would probably have given this book 5 stars and would definitely read another Gillian Mcallister but it was so long that I went for 4.5.