The Book Club: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller with a killer twist

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I really wish I could have given this book a higher rating. The synopsis was interesting, and at points, I was gripped, but overall I just found myself being bored. Not quite what I would have expected from a psychological thriller (with more emphasis on the psychological - there was nothing particularly thrilling about this at all). Alice slides her way into Lucy’s friendship group and soon suggests a weekly book club for the group. Another psychological thriller with an emphasis on the "psychology" and not on the thrills! Lucy was a well-rounded character (if TSTL), but the plot was slow-going, and once again relies on an antagonist seeking their revenge in the most silly, elaborate way possible. (We know from the get-go that Alice wants to destroy Lucy's life - the only mystery is what her motive actually is.) Instead of Alice sneaking into Lucy's house and just moving her calendar around and other boring shits-and-giggles things, I ended up wanting Alice to just get on with it and break this story out of its tedium.

The Book Club by C. J. Cooper | Waterstones

Intricately plotted, this gripping thriller is written with great style and has a host of wonderful characters to be loved and hated in equal measure Each of the character’s secrets were interesting, and it was easy to see that they didn’t trust their friends completely as they mostly dealt with the secrets they were keeping by themselves. It was also interesting to see just how easy the odd comment from an outsider caused a rift in the friendships and it made me wonder were they really that close in the first place? Enter Alice, who moves in next door to Lucy, Alice knows exactly who Lucy is and wants revenge...and if she finds out the secrets of the other 3 in the ‘clique’ then the more the merrier and so via a Book Club where she chooses books to match their ‘crimes’ chaos suddenly arrives, and life will never be the same for any of them However some negatives did have me rating this lower as two elements I didn't find realistic, one a friendship based one, the other right near the end but don't want to spoil it for anyone. The story focuses on Lucy and Alice, and the suspense the author builds is tangible, however this ultimately results in a very disappointing conclusion. The ending feels rushed, the “revenge” is pitiful for the vehement hatred Alice supposedly feels, she drugs her and leaves her to burn alive, but doesn’t succeed. It left me with more questions than answers. How could Alice get hold of paralysing drugs and why did she let Lucy go rather than be sure she had succeed with the revenge she had plotted for so long. How on EARTH was Alice allowed to walk free when Tom had so many suspicions about Alice? It just makes no sense. There would have been a trail because the drugs obviously would have been obtained illegally. There isn’t even a passing comment from Alice about having to talk to police, apparently no one suspected anything (even though Lucy was drugged and accelerant was used for the fire) she just moved somewhere new as if nothing happened. Additionally when Lucy opens her eyes at the end I wish there was more of a conclusive ending.The premise is great – Alice seeking revenge on Lucy (for an unknown reason at the start) by driving a wedge between friends. Doing so by creating a book club and choosing specific books to highlight and hopefully reveal their secrets. That part of the book is brilliant, the books chosen and how the group of friends react is spot on. The characters and their secrets were great, I loved how they seeped out gradually over the course of the book and that the books chosen for the book club would reflect each of them. They were written very cleverly, the atmosphere was built up perfectly and the switching between the timelines made it all come together in the end.

The Book Club: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller The Book Club: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller

The story follows Lucy who has moved to a cottage in the Cotswolds after an affair with her boss. She moved for a fresh start and has found her feet with a group of friends who all seem relatively close. That is until a newcomer, Alice, moves in next door to Lucy and turns her world upside down. Lucy always knows there’s something she doesn’t trust about Alice, but she can’t seem to quite put her finger on it. Alice finds out secrets about everyone in the friendship group and, after suggesting a book club for them all, manages to suggest or manipulate other people into suggesting books similar to each of the secrets they have hidden from each other. I found the book quite confusing at times, one chapter was from Lucy’s point of view and then the next was always focused on other character or multiple character’s but always in the third person. Because of this, sometimes I had to reread paragraphs because I was confused who it was about. But once I got used to this style, I really did enjoy the book.I had some ups & downs with this, there were parts that were very slow paced & I struggled to get through, & the fact it was from lots Point Of Views without really clearly identifying it for you can be confusing at times (at least for me anyway). It also switched from first person to third often (Lucy's POV is in first, yet everyone else is in third). Lucy moved in the village in the Cotswolds some months earlier and is starting to feel she has made friends, with Tom, Maggie, and Rebecca. Then a newcomer moves into the house next door to Lucy. Though she seems pleasant enough there is something about the newcomer Alice that just seems a bit off. But Lucy’s other friends all think she’s fine. Then Alice comes up with the idea of a book club. But each book chosen seems to be relevant in a specific way to one of the members. As they read each book, secrets of people’s lives come to light. Lucy becomes more wary around Alice as time goes on. But what could Alice’s plan be and why?