There's nothing quite so chilling as the roar of mother tiger love. Louise Candlish had my heart in my throat. Dizzily dark. Dangerous. Deadly' Jane Corry Ellen is a hard woman to like. Initially, I could relate to her struggle on how to rein in her teenage son. But after his tragic death, she goes totally off the rails, refusing to accept that her son had any issues of his own. She decides to go after the young man she holds responsible for her son’s death. When she sees him again, after his supposed death, she goes completely bonkers. She is totally obsessed with getting revenge for her son. To be honest, I was surprised that the men in her life continued to stay with her or in touch with her.

Ever since reading The heights, I’ve always remembered Louise Candlish’s name. So when I heard that another book was written by her, I was so excited to get my hands on it. There’s nothing quite so chilling as the roar of mother tiger love. Louise Candlish had my heart in my throat. Dizzily dark. Dangerous. Deadly' JANE CORRY This story of revenge, love and fear - and what justice really means - is a sure-fire hit' Fabulous

I felt nothing for the characters, which surprised me as I expected to have great sympathy for Ellen. Instead I actually disliked her. I tried to put myself in her place, but I don't think that I could sustain that level of hatred and vitriol. Candlish's latest, thoroughly compelling thriller shows off her trademark mix of smartly observed London life, crafty twists and unreliable, but all-too-believable characters' * Mail on Sunday * Ellen lives with her family in London. She's a lighting technician by trade. This is her second marriage since things didn't work out with Vic who is the father of her son, Lucas. They still remain friends. Currently, she is married to Justin and they have a young daughter, Freya. Candlish lays out the typically busy lives of these characters with work and with attending school. It's all day-to-day until the wheels dramatically come off.

Kieran is a disadvantaged teenage boy who earns a scholarship to the posh academy Ellen’s son Lucas attends. He could be that unlikable, annoying, selfish character or a seemingly earnest, sympathetic, flawed, unreliable character. Or maybe it’s Vic, but he is definitely that character who is sleeping with a younger woman. That’s part of the fun here, trying to figure out if Ellen’s obsessive thoughts are reliable or not. Juliet loves her boyfriend, but when Luke is killed her entire world turns upside down in a matter of moments. She is totally overcome with grief and wants more than anything to be able to rely on her sister to get her through this tough time. And Hannah does help her, in a way. She tells Juliet that she knows that she doesn’t have that same trust in life, but they are still going to have to do their best to live it and go on. The Heights has everything you could possibly wish for – tragedy, obsession, revenge and, yes, love. Another finely-crafted masterpiece from Louise Candlish' BA PARIS Louise went to UC London, where she studied English. Before she went on to become a published author, Louise was working as an editor of art books as well as a copywriter. She has also worked as a travel writer. Eventually she transitioned to writing fiction and the rest is history! Her first book was started while she was vacationing in Sicily on what was a total whim, so she must be doing something right. In the vein of William Landay's Defending Jacob, this title is a good choice for readers who enjoy twisting narratives." - Library Journal (starred review)

Ellen suffers from "high place phenomenon," a common form of vertigo that causes people to experience an irrational urge to jump from high places such as bridges, rooftops or balconies. It does not mean that the individual is suicidal, but is, rather an intrusive thought and form of mild anxiety, as well as autonomy. As the story opens, Ellen is meeting with a client when she looks out a window and recognizes Kieran Watts standing on the roof of an adjacent tall building called The Heights. She is convinced she is looking at Kieran and equally convinced that the man cannot be Kieran. She knows Kieran is dead because she killed him. He was a monster who ruined her life. The story relies heavily on that increasing doubt with every turn of the story, and the uncertainty enhances the suspense and tension as Ellen and Kieran battle wits. Not knowing how reliable Ellen's narrative is increases doubt about who is telling the truth or can be a trusted character. I was questioning what was real or what was Ellen's anxiety and if Ellen's obsession with revenge clouded her judgment. FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF OUR HOUSE, WINNER OF THE CRIME & THRILLER BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD, COMES A NAIL-BITING STORY OF TRAGEDY AND REVENGE

Not only is Candlish a terrific storyteller, she has the gift of making you care about unlikable characters' Guardian No surprise who the bad boy was and even in the end, he didn't get his just desserts. And neither really did she. (Whatever her name was-she had that many.) In the present we have Alex who seems to be coasting along in married bliss with his wife Beth. He lives in Silver Vale, he is not the friendliest of men but makes an effort. Normally I love a tale of obsession, but there was something about this one that just didn't sit right for me. However, the main characters were just so unlikeable, and I felt little connection with them. Ellen particularly put me off. I expected to empathise with her as she was angry and grieving, but she was just so filled with hate, bitterness and prejudice. I didn’t like her at all, her pov brought me down, it wasn't a nice experience to be in her head, to be in her world. I also didn't feel like I got to know other characters well enough.While Hannah seems to have no worries, Juliet is slipping further and further down. She’s neglecting herself and her job and her health are starting to slip. Even her relationships with the people that care about her have started to fade and change. She’s also aware that Hannah is pregnant and about to give birth to a child– something that she could never do with Luke now. As always, Candlish's characters are intriguingly multi-layered and fully developed. Vic and Justin are believable as the men who have loved Ellen for years, accepting her as a high-strung, protective, but unquestionably devoted mother. They have always tolerated what they perceive as her quirks. They fail to share Ellen's extreme concern about Kieran's potential impact upon Lucas and their family until it is too late. While Alex isn't likeable, I kinda fked with him on the basis that he doesn't overdo the Mr. Nice Guy(TM) charade. While he's definitely not true to himself, he is entertaining in a way. I found his snarky and cheeky inner monologue to be amusing. Yes, Beth deserves better, without a doubt. And no, I don't want to be married to Alex. But hey, if you're gonna give me a bad guy, give me a funny one at least 😂 It kinda reminded me of Lucas from Never Coming Home. Tweede leven' is niet echt een superspannende thriller en ik zou ook dit verhaal eerder psychologisch noemen. Het leest supervlot en de afwisseling tussen het heden en het verleden vond ik echt goed in elkaar steken (vooral het verleden vond ik heel erg interessant). Uiteindelijk valt alles op zijn plek.