The more you read, the more you understand, but the author has woven the two settings together so well that the story just flows, and the movement between past and present are clear and not at all jarring as they could have been. Then there are so many twists and turns that you could be forgiven for losing track of what is going on. I picked PART of the twist quite early and was feeling VERY smug about it- but the ending still got me.

But he never quite anticipated just how disastrous his life would become after becoming embroiled in her personal problems. I was on high alert with one of the main characters in this tale but the story didn’t go quite the way I anticipated, which was excellent! As the landscapers get to work, a secret threatens to surface from years ago, back when Alex got entangled with Marina, a seductive young woman who threw both their lives into turmoil – and who sparked a police hunt for a murder suspect that was never quite what it seemed. Even when I thought I knew the culprit (ah, did I, or didn't I) Candlish kept me guessing such is the superiority of her prose.Surprising, intoxicating, elliptical and vexing, The Only Suspect is a five star read from Louise Candlish. This is a bit of a slow burn but all of the detail from the past is needed to understand the outcome of the story.

You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. The periods set in the past felt authentic and many a scene made me smile, reminiscing over times past and the dodgy music of my youth. That’s until Beth announces the creation of a nature trail on a local site that’s been disused for decades and suddenly Alex is a changed man. I love these kinds of novels immensely as they seem to pull me right in and make me slow down my naturally fast reading style.Whilst the key action and the really dynamic and jeopardy laden parts of the story take place in the past, the chapter set in the present are important too. Louise Candlish serves it with a helping of beautiful prose that hints at the threatening nature of its conclusion and other times hits you full on with the force of a guillotine. When his wife’s activist group succeeds in their campaign to get a local walking trail reopened, Alex Parker gets nervous. I didn’t like the main male character, Alex and then realised I wasn’t keen on any of the main characters. He cares deeply for her and wants to help her find a way to help her escape the tyranny of Drew – even saving a fund for her new life.