Wanted this to be better than it was and ended up skimming it to find out who did it.

Apparently everyone hated this book but it is the first book I've read in a long time where I just read and enjoyed it and wasn't distracted by how much I HATED EVERYTHING, and that is all I ask for in a book. Also I hate supposedly "good" books (I'm looking at you, The Fault In Our Stars, and your ironic hipster drivel) so maybe I should start looking for more 2 star reviews.

This book was so devoid of strong feelings of hatred that I loved it. Not because it was great, because it wasn't. But because it was actually good enough. In the same way that Nancy Drew is good enough. I just read it and enjoyed it and that was all.

I had absolutely no expectations going in, no idea what it was about, nothing, and it was blissful.

Dit boek vind ik beter dan de opvolger die ik eerst las. Verrassende wending in het verhaal op het laatst. Geloofwaardige personages. En ik vind Jessica Mayhew een leuk personage. Spijtig dat er geen vervolgdelen meer op kunnen komen doordat de auteur gestorven is.

2.5 stars. Picked it up because it was inexpensive and sounded intriguing, but the book didn't quite live up to the overview.

Not great but not bad for a debut

When Gwydion Morgan hires Jessica Mayhew as his therapist, it's under the guise of treating a button phobia and insomnia he fears will hinder his burgeoning acting career. Gwydion is charming and attractive but soon confesses he's been dealing with another issue: a recurring dream that reveals itself a bit more with each session. Jessica soon learns that a young woman died while working for the family when Gwydion was just a boy. As Gwydion recalls more and more of the dream, it soon becomes clear that it's linked to the woman's death and a secret the Morgan family has tried to keep under cover for many years now. Gwydion isn't Jessica's only concern either. Her own family is in turmoil as she faces the fact that her husband has recently cheated and her teenage daughter becomes entangled with one of Jessica's former clients.

This is apparently the first in a series that will feature Jessica Mayhew. It's just been released here in the States but was previously released in the UK.

This is a tough post to put together because while I know I can't possibly love or even like every book that I read, I still expect to love or at least like every book that I read. THE HOUSE ON THE CLIFF should have had everything necessary for me to like it - a UK psychological suspense debut described as "pacey" and "intriguing" by The Guardian. The publicity material even compared it to Daphne DuMaurier. With all of that in mind I'd started Charlotte Williams's debut with pretty high expectations, not the least of which comes with the new Bourbon Street Books brand.

Unfortunately the book just doesn't deliver on any of those counts. It was not very suspenseful, though the pacing was fine. Williams's writing over all was fine as well. Fine. Not wonderful, not particularly intriguing, and sadly not what I would expect at all from a psychological suspense or as the set up for a new crime series.

Jessica Mayhew comes across as a kind of lackluster therapist as well. I hate to say it, but the way her character is set up and the way things play out I was scratching my head the whole time wondering if a real therapist would react in the same ways and seemingly miss all of the various things going on around her.

THE HOUSE ON THE CLIFF was an unfortunate miss for me.

Very predictable. I didn't really get the whole "fall into lust with a younger man" to punish her husband. Like who even does that? Could she seriously not see what Arianrhod (sorry can't be bothered to look up the spelling) was up to? None of the characters felt real, none of the situations felt real. I didn't like the main character and her morals/belief system.

Borrowed the book from the Little Free Library across the street. Took it back as soon as I finished. I'm sorry to the next person who takes it to read.

This assured debut from Charlotte Williams is perfect for fans of the psychological thriller very much on a par with Erin Kelly, Sophie Hannah et al. Focusing on the professional and personal life of psychologist Jessica Mayhew, balancing the demands of a difficult family including a wilful teenage daughter and a snake-in-the-grass husband, Jessica’s life is further complicated by the arrival of a troubled new patient, Gwydion Morgan. Morgan places many demands on Mayhew emotionally and professionally, as events from his childhood reveal a dark tale of jealousy and murder.

Williams skilfully interweaves this two disparate areas of Jessica’s life into a fluid and engaging narrative, and although for me personally, the guilty party was quite evident in the murder plot, I was carried along quite nicely by the dilemmas facing Jessica. There was a good intergration within the book of psychological detail and the professional treatment of psychological disorders which made for an interesting curve in the central plot as Jessica’s professional life plays such a central role. Her family life, focusing on the demands of a difficult teenage daughter and the rebuilding of trust with her husband after his sexual indiscretion, also had an extremely authentic feel leading the reader to feel great empathy with Jessica’s woes. Her relationship with Gwydion Morgan also makes for an interesting dynamic, professionally and personally and likewise her interaction with other members of the Morgan clan, a family steeped in jealousy and untruths. One aspect of the book I felt was particularly good was William’s depiction of place and atmosphere especially in relation to the central setting of the rugged west coast of Wales. She captured perfectly the wild beauty of the area, and there was also a nice little sojourn in Sweden as Jessica attempts to untangle the complicated threads of Morgan’s troubled family history. All in all a good thriller and certainly an author I would read again.