Alex is living his best suburban lief with Beth until the creation of a nature trail is announced, threatening to expose decades-old secrets. Modern-day issues like the importance of the environment fit seamlessly into the narrative, a vital part of the plot rather than a shoed-in sermon. This time its Silver Vale, where the big news is that the local council has finally given the go-ahead for a nature trail near their home. Beth was on the committee, and has no idea that her husband is terrified by this turn of events for their neighbourhood. This adds to the tension which Candlish dials up as the story progresses.

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. I'm blown away by how good it is. A gripping tale of love, secrets and deception - it's the best psychological thriller I've read in a long time.' Hello and welcome! I am the bestselling author of 16 novels - a fact I can't quite believe myself - and my books are published all over the world. My brand-new thriller THE ONLY SUSPECT is out now and described by the Daily Mail as 'a perfect mix of nostalgia and menace'. Alex leidt een fijn leven met zijn vrouw Beth in een mooie Londense buitenwijk. Hij is wat op zichzelf, maar wel vriendelijk; een goede echtgenoot en buurman.Once again, Candlish gives the reader a tightly-plotted tale with plenty of red herrings and distractions that keep the reader guessing right up to the final, fantastic twist and reveal. Her setting and era are perfectly rendered, and her characters recall people we all meet in everyday life, even if many of them are not at all what they first seem to be. This is excellent slow-burn British crime fiction.

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.) Ook vroeg ik mij af wat het verleden en het heden met elkaar te maken hadden. Ik had namelijk een vermoeden en dit bleek gedeeltelijk goed, MAAR... er kwam op het einde echt nog een plottwist aan die ik dus absoluut niet aan had zien komen! Simon & Schuster has scooped Louise Candlish’s The Only Suspect, a thriller set in 1990s London and the present day suburbs.The two stories eventually merge of course and not in the way I expected. I know others will certainly enjoy this twisty read. I did also but I think ultimately I didn’t really care as much as I would have liked about some of the players, from the past and present, so was ultimately unaffected by events that played out. The Only Suspect is a slow burn - a very slow burn, well, more of a simmer, really - that doesn't really get interesting until over half way through. By that time I was well and truly into 'yeah, nah' mode and wondering if I was reading the same book as everyone else. Alex is our narrator in the present we know he’s keeping secrets and fearful of his past rearing its ugly head but we’re not quite sure what form it will take.

The Only Suspect was a book I couldn’t put down! Louise Candlish you did it again, I was riveted with this storyline that is very unpredictable.I haven’t read much of Louise Candlish’s work so far but am keen to read more since I read her book, Our House and watched the TV adaptation. I couldn't have asked for more, really, and feel so proud that readers are continuing to discover it and recommend it far and wide. Alex isn’t particularly likeable and I suspect Candlish does this on purpose. He implies he kinda ‘fell into’ his relationship and marriage to Beth. This phrase stayed with me, “… he caught himself wondering how he had come to have this wife and not the one he’d once fantasized about.” #charming Wow, what a read! The Only Suspect was a twisty thriller and I did not guess the ending! Even after finishing the book, I kept thinking about all the clues I missed while reading Alex’s stories across the years. Kelly, QLD, 5 Stars