It was the moment she should have said she did trust him, even if they both knew it was just lip service. But it hit her that they were past the point of pretending, and Zaki had nailed why. He stared at the ceiling, like he was asking for strength, and when he looked at her again there was frustration in his eyes. ‘I’d like to say I can’t marry someone who doesn’t trust me, but the sad fact is I’d marry you anyway. But you shouldn’t marry someone you don’t trust. And you’ve never trusted me.’ This was the first book I have read from this author and I'm not sure after this if I want to read any of his others. If it’s nothing, why did you delete it? Yes, I looked. You emptied the trash too. That’s a lot of steps for nothing.’

From the top, the plot was where this story soared. Starting off as a slow burn as the women arrived and their relationships were established, things really got underway about a quarter of the way into the book. From there on out, the revolving door of multiple POVs kept me just as bamboozled as the characters themselves. And while each of their individual thoughts could have been confusing, they were anything but. In fact, the way it was written actually felt much more like a single POV storyline, but allowed for a near omniscient perspective. And for this plot to be a hit, that was a definite must. There are dozens of novels based on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, but Christopher Brookmyre's ingenious take is by far the best I have read. He makes you feel for and fear each character. He keeps you guessing until the very end—after an avalanche of revelations and twists. " - The Times (Book of the Month) I had a suspicion of which of the ladies was involved from pretty early on, but the ending did offer something more. When it is the winter months coming in, having somewhere for people to gather and in a cosy environment for a cosy discussion certainly seemed to create a conducive atmosphere to talk about books,” he enthuses. Chris Brookmyre on books – what’s he reading? I have enjoyed a number of Chris Brookmyre's books so enthusiastically, applied for a review copy of The Cliff House (2022).We have been to St Andrews a lot but the Elie is one of these wee areas of Fife that you tend to bypass. Cosy Conversations on the Coast The Cliff House takes places on a remote Scottish island on a hen weekend and it’s really about the fact that we have different levels of friendship,” he explains. This is a special novel. A brilliant, original, up-to-the-minute tale with all of the dark, edgy, humorous brilliance we've come to expect from one of the finest crime fiction writers in the world' Any story of invitations to a select and secluded gathering where death is the true host will inevitably make the seasoned crime reader think of And Then There Were None. There is no point in denying that Agatha Christie’s classic thriller played a part in shaping my book, but THE CLIFF HOUSE is as much subversion as homage. Compelling and brilliant as Christie’s tale might be, on an emotional level I recoil from how literally unforgiving it is, as a group of people are extra-judiciously executed for their secret crimes by a figure representing the rule of law. I wanted to respond to how Christie’s book is about retribution by writing a novel about forgiveness.

Seven women. Seven sins. One night of judgment. Jen Dunne is forty-two and getting married for the second time, but that doesn’t mean she can’t go all out for her bachelorette weekend. She’s taking her closest friends to the kind of place that has a years-long waiting list for a three days of super-exclusive luxury accommodation on a remote Scottish island. So excited by the complicated means of transport required to get to the island, no one gives much thought to the implications for getting off again, especially if the weather should turn. But why would they? They’re in for a time they will never forget. Just not for the reasons they imagine. This is a special novel. A brilliant, original, up-to-the-minute tale with all of the dark, edgy, humorous brilliance we’ve come to expect from one of the finest crime fiction writers in the world’ It’s like a toy box and you are going to let them root through it and you are not going to have some new character arrive three quarters of the way in.”Some of the group helicopter into Clachan Geal, while Jen’s oldest friend, Michelle, comes over by powerboat. She’s a big-name pop star these days and has been in ‘retreat’ on a nearby island and she and another woman in the party have history. This is a disparate group; some are friends of Jen’s because they play tennis together, while Beattie is the sister of Jen’s late first husband. And then there is Samira, who nobody knows. She’s Zaki’s sister, a new mum in need of a break, and she was foisted upon Jen by her fiancé.