The Favour: The gripping new thriller from an author 'at the top of British psychological suspense writing' (Observer)

Product Information

I could puff about and say it was 4½ stars that I'm rounding up, but let's just toss that out for a bag of chips. I enjoyed it thoroughly, never dreamed of putting it down, and just sank into the experience of the story. So it's five stars all the way, though I'll admit there are a lot of elements here that might very well disturb (or even destroy) the experience for others. Sept. 2021 Reread: Reread this to fit a mood. It hit the spot, but then, I knew it would. Honestly, it lost a touch in the reread because a lot of the ending is final victory over their opponents and by that time, it was all over but the crying. So it's mostly fallout and exposition and gnashing of teeth. Which I remember being emotionally satisfying the first time around, but I'd already gotten what I was looking for by that point this time. Still love the epilogue where the daughter is asked who her favorite princess is... h (heroine) rating: 3.5 stars. Vienna. I liked her more. I appreciated how she kept her cool and was smart about what was worth fighting for. Then, out of the blue, after an absence of eleven years, her first serious boyfriend, Liam Birch turns up to meet her with a strange request. He wants her to drive up to a remote cottage on the Norfolk coast, using his car and paying with his credit card, and then wait for him to arrive by train the following evening. For some reason we are not initially aware of, Jude agrees to this suspicious proposition.

The book surely has depth. It is not a simple “marriage of convenience” book, it has another story to tell. It is captivating, making you wonder all the time. Of course, it has problems here and there, but it is still good. Although it is a very long book, I never needed to skip anything. I read every line, never getting bored. There are a few grammar mistakes (not too many), such as the use of the verb “ effect” instead of “ affect” etc. The ending was really adorable and beautiful because we got a glimpse of their future where they have kids and are happily married. And also the other side characters like Kent, Hanna and Ashley have their own kids and are happily settled in their life. It was just the way it should be. Perfectly Adorable. Vienna Stratton was a charming heroine. She's level-headed, mature and doesn't let her past weigh her down. Although she had a difficult upbringing, she still manages to be the better person in all situations. She's also hard-working, ambitious and very loyal! I loved her snarkiness and the occasional sarcastic comments she made. She's definitely not as sarcastic and OTT as SW's other heroines, which I appreciated. Vienna is genuinely a good person and thinks beyond herself.

The premise of The Favour immediately drew me in and intrigued me. Just what was Liam up to? What did he want? Unlike Jude - oblivious, indebted and confident - I was a little less trusting and I soon began to detect a few red flags. But still I didn't know why Liam had asked Jude to do this favour. It was like an itch I couldn't scratch. It consumed me. I had to know. They were just the victims of abusive, controlling partners who verbally and physically harassed them. Loving the main characters as much as I did, I also loved how much time we got with them in the book. Due to the fake marriage, the story was about them as a couple almost from the start. My favorite thing to read with a couple is when they work together agains the drama, and not have the drama keep them apart.

I recently realized that I had never read a Suzanne Wright book so I wanted to start with “The Favor”. It was an interesting experience and I surely will read more from her. It was interesting because the writing has a lot to praise for but it also has a lot to criticize about. It could have easily been a 4 or 5-star book for me if it had been edited better (language-wise and content-wise). Newcomer Nora Murphy is a welcome addition to the world of domestic suspense, and a blurb from Shari Lapena fits in perfectly with her style, her pacing, and the Ugliness Hiding Behind the Veil of Perfection trope that so often pops up in these type of stories. This one IS different from your average domestic tale...in some ways. Having a one sided relationship that slowly morphed into a reciprocal relationship between the two characters kept things exciting and unique. There ARE some overused tropes in this one, however, like the alcoholic tendencies of one of our narrators, so be forewarned. I don't necessarily mind this as a device, but normally I feel it really serves to help the story, and in this case it seemed superfluous.

That’s why, I would have preferred a picnic scene instead of a zoo scene. And the way the heroine pities him for going to the zoo only once in his life when he was a little boy didn’t sit well with me.