Suspicion

by Leigh Russell

Would you trust your instincts... or your husband?

Happily married to the charismatic headmaster of a prestigious boarding school, Louise thinks her life is perfect.

But after hearing that her husband is having an affair, Louise must decide how far she is prepared to go to save her marriage. Confident in her IT skills, Louise cyber bullies her rival.

When the police become involved, Louise realises she has made a dangerous choice as first one woman, then another, is found murdered.

Realising she has taken on more than she intended, Louise has to make another choice and this one could cost her not only her marriage but also her life…

Leigh Russell is the international best-selling author of the Geraldine Steel series and the stand-alone psychological thriller The Adulterer's Wife. Suspicion is a stunning domestic noir thriller which will appeal to fans of authors like Louise Jensen, Shalini Boland and Lisa Jewell.

Genres: Thriller

265 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 16, 2019

About the author

Leigh Russell has sold over a million books in her Geraldine Steel series of crime novels. Published in English and in translation throughout Europe and in China, the Geraldine Steel titles have appeared on many bestseller lists, including #1 on kindle. Leigh's work has been nominated for several major awards, including the CWA New Blood Dagger and CWA Dagger in the Library.
Leigh has also written a trilogy featuring Lucy Hall, set in the Seychelles, Paris and Rome, and two standalone psychological thrillers.
Leigh serves on the board of the Crime Writers Association and chairs the judges for the prestigious CWA Debut Dagger Award.
She is represented by Bill Goodall.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louise is content, her husband is headmaster at one of the Countries top public schools and they have a charmed life, functions, travel ( raising awareness of the School for example in Japan ) and their relationship is sturdy and reliable.... until a journo informs her that her husband is actually having an affair....and has pics to prove it!!!
Louise’s life then spirals out of control as she seeks revenge, on them both, then gets further and further into trouble as the body count goes up!!!
I didn’t particularly warm to Louise although I did smile at her excitement for revenge and how she went about it ( well at first! )
The story then continues as the plot thickens as lie befalls lie and it all turns into a disaster for all concerned......Louise sees it all
through, things improve and then you are hit, full on with an unexpected yet ‘thrill’ of an ending
Easy to read, flows well and a very viable story that you can imagine happening ( or happens ) thet gets very out of control very quickly
8/10 4 Stars

[Linda Strong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Louise, married to the new headmaster of a distinguished boarding school has the perfect life ....

until a journalist shows her proof that her husband is having an affair with his secretary.

Louise will do what she must in order to save her marriage. Her thought processes turn to cyber-bullying ... and she does exactly that. Sending name-calling emails to his mistress has consequences that she couldn't foresee.

A few weeks later, the secretary is found dead in her apartment. At first, suicide is suspected, but when the police show up at Louise's house to question her, she and her husband discover that she was murdered.

The journalist now denies that she ever had any pictures and never spoke to Louise about her husband. The journalist is soon found dead in her bed.

Did her husband kill the secretary to keep his secret safe, as well as killing the journalist?

Louise has to make another choice and this one could put her life in danger.

Extremely well-written psychological drama featuring finely drawn credible characters. This one kept me guessing until the very surprising ending. Twists and turns kept me riveted to every page.

Many thanks to the author / Bloodhound Books for the advanced digital copy of SUSPICION. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book reviews on www.snazzybooks.com

Lies, confusion and revenge... Suspicion is in many ways a stressful read, if you put yourself in the place of Louise, who is told by a journalist that her husband is having an affair and shown some photographic evidence. She decides to not only get mad but ALSO even...

However, things aren't as straightforward as they seem, and this is when the story comes into its own. Things start getting very confusing as there are some unexpected outcomes from Louise's initial 'revenge' plan. It all starts to spiral, and we sense Louise's own guilt and frustration as things become incredibly complicated and we, as the reader, wonder who exactly is telling the truth.

It's a fairly fast-paced, punchy read which I didn't want to put down. The characters weren't all particularly likable - the fact that many weren't simply added to the story - but they were really interesting to read about, and they felt convincing. I thought I had it all worked out at one point only to discover I was very wrong. I hugely enjoyed this fun, exciting read and will definitely be reading more from Leigh in the future!

[Adele Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book of Leigh Russell's and it certainly won't be the last. If Suspicion is anything to go by then I must read more of Leigh's material.
This book keeps you guessing until the end. Just when you think you know who done it, something else happens that changes your mind.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I persevered with this one, rather than enjoyed it. For me, the storyline was silly, the characters one dimensional and the whole thing a bit boring. The ending just left me confused and I still don’t know ‘whodunnit ‘. But the most frustrating thing is everyone else’s rave reviews. Did I read the same book?

[Lel Budge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nick Kelly is the new Headteacher at the exclusive public school, Edleybury. With his wife Louise they are settling in and Nick has plans to update the school. They have a journalist, Rosie Whyte visiting to interview them as publicity for the school. When the interviews are over, Rosie approaches Louise and tells her, Nick is having an affair with his secretary Sue…she has pictures to prove it…….

Louise is so rocked by this, her marriage is so important to her…..she decides to use her IT skills and starts a campaign of hateful emails about Sue to force her to resign so life can go back to normal…..but then Sue takes her own life….

The police investigate and feel Louise knows more than she’s saying….that she may be responsible for the death……but then there’s another death….just who is responsible?

I am a fan of Leigh Russell’s writing, but this is my favourite so far….great characters and some really clever twists mean suspicion falls on so many…..this will keep you guessing right up to the last amazingly jaw dropping moments…..brilliant.

Thank you to Bloodhound Books for the opportunity to participate in this blog tour and for the promotional materials and a free copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest, unbiased review

[Julie Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great read that had me hooked from the first few pages.
Nick is a newly appointed headmaster and his wife Louise is happy to support him.
A journalist comes to interview them about the school, but later comes back to see Louise to speak to her in private.
She tells her that her husband is having an affair and shows her some photos.
Louise is shocked and then angry that her husband could do this to her.
She sends an anonymous email to the staff about the woman he’s been seeing and is pleased everyone is talking about it.
When the woman dies Louise is devastated that she may have contributed to her suicide. However, the Police then decide it was murder so Louise is a suspect.
Events spiral out of control for Louise and with Nick still denying he was having an affair, she doubts her sanity.
Louise realises she needs to get to the bottom of this but makes matters ten times worse.
I really felt for Louise but some of the decisions she made were questionable.
This is a great read that will have you racing through the pages to find out what really happened.
Thanks to Bloodhound Books for the opportunity to read this book.

[Kira FlowerChild]

The main character is unsympathetic and the story drags on and on. I got to 33% and skipped to the end. I had figured out who the killer was within the first few (very short) chapters. There are too many good books out there waiting to be read to waste time on books I don't enjoy.

[jaine justice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't do it for me

I persevered to the end, but found it hard work. Weak boring characters, silly storyline and a ridiculous ending. Boring

[Michael David (on hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book that kept me intrigued, but the ending was very implausible.

[Morgan Schulman · Rating 3 out of 5]

In which two women put themselves through a lot of bullshit for a completely garbage man

[Alyson Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many psychological thrillers rely on a normally rational thinking person performing one act that is completely stupid and out of character, then making things worse by trying to cover up that act, at which point events balloon totally out of control and they find themselves digging an ever larger hole for themselves. This is exactly what happens to Louise Kelly. Louise is a trained IT teacher but now devotes her time to fully supporting her husband Nick in his first year as headmaster of a prestigious private boarding school in the Home Counties. A newspaper reporter is interviewing the couple about their plans for the school and afterwards confides in Louise that she believes Nick is having an affair with his secretary Sue. She even shows Louise photographs of them together in bed. Louise reacts by sending childish and malicious emails about Sue to all the staff in a bid to upset her love rival and break up the affair. She believes she has covered her cyber trail but what she does not foresee is Sue committing suicide and the guilt that she then feels over hounding the poor woman to her death. She then spirals downwards further when police inform her that Sue was actually murdered and they believe Louise to be involved. Louise starts to doubt her own sanity when she can find no proof of the incriminating photos and wonders whether she is mentally ill, a thought echoed by her husband. Can she trust her own memories or should she believe those around her, including the man who should be standing by her - someone, by his own admission, who is an experienced and professional liar? And does anyone trust her? This was an engaging read and one where I wasn't sure quite who to believe right up to the end. It was well written and I never felt that I wanted to take sides with any one character which kept up the suspense with a well grounded plot that didn't get too unrealistic. Very enjoyable.

[Paula Stammers · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are after a thrilling twisty psychological thriller then this is the book for you.

Louise has what seems like the perfect life. Her husband, Nick, is the headmaster at a well known boarding school and she is by his side supporting him. That is until Rosie, a journalist, visits them as research for an article. When speaking to Louise she suddenly drops a bombshell, Nick is having an affair and Rosie has pictures. At first Louise won’t believe it but then her suspicions grow until she is consumed with jealousy and decides to take revenge. Being an IT expert Louise finds a way to send anonymous emails to all the staff saying hurtful things about Nicks secretary, who was seen in the photos.

Louise thinks she has gotten away with it but then the secretary is found dead. Did she commit suicide ? Or was she murdered ? Can Louise trust her husband ? The police start to investigate and Louise’s life begins to unravel and she finds herself getting in deeper and deeper. Who can Louise trust ? Can she even trust herself ?

This is a great twisty turning psychological thriller that will keep you on your toes. I changed my opinion several times throughout but nothing could prepare me for that ending !! A definite one to add to your TBR pile, definitely right at the top.

Thank you to Bloodhound Books for a digital copy of this book.

[Grace J Reviewerlady · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very engaging read, with an original concept, this is a novel I enjoyed very much indeed.

Louise and her husband have worked together over the years to get his career advanced to where he wants it to be - as Head of a public school. By mutual understanding, Louise has ceased teaching in order to support Nick in this new endeavour. All is going well until someone interferes in their life together and give Louise a reason to suspect her husband's fidelity  . . .

This is a book which got under my skin very quickly and I found myself racing through the pages. It's fair to say that I wasn't sure at any given time who to believe or who to suspect, and this continued until the very end. What a read! An entirely believable situation, I found myself wondering what I would do in Louise's position and, frankly, I'm still not sure but I do know that this story gripped me from first to last and I couldn't wait to find out how it all ended up; then I was gobsmacked! Fabulous writing, a beautifully constructed tale and an awesome read all add up to a bright and sparkling 5* novel, and one I'm very happy to recommend. If you haven't read this author previously, then this is an ideal novel to begin with!

My thanks to Heather Fitt and Bloodhound Books for both my copy and including me in this Blog Blitz. As always, all opinions given here are entirely my own.

[Misfits farm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Louise’s husband is a newly appointed headmaster at a prestigious boarding school. She has given up her own teaching job to support him and develop the school, a role which is expected of the headmaster’s wife. On doing an interview for a local magazine feature the journalist contact Louise again as she has something to tell her. On meeting Louise is horrified to hear Rosie say that she should be aware that her husband is having an affair with his secretary and Rosie has pictures to prove it. Sue is a keen worker and spends much time with her boss so Louise doesn’t take this news lightly. She wants to stop the affair and tries to do so using her IT knowledge with a little cyber bullying. What it leads to is more than she ever could have imagined. Oh boy!! I was on the edge of my seat with this. You know a book is well written when you start to feel anxious for one of the characters as they are up to something you wouldn’t dream of. I felt for Louise but boy, did she put herself in some situations! I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough as I needed to find out that she was alright! A tense exciting read that I very much enjoyed.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second standalone psychological thriller by Leigh Russell, published by Bloodhound Books and like the first one, The Adulterer's Wife, it did not disappoint.
Louise, who is married to Nick the ambitious young headmaster of a long established prestigious school, gave up her career to support her husband in the role of 'headmaster's wife'. Now, almost after their first academic year in post, she is given good reason to believe that her first and only love has been unfaithful to her. Keeping this knowledge to herself, she starts a campaign to displace her rival, but little did she know that this would have chilling consequences that threatened not only her marriage but her liberty.
After each chapter, I was compelled to read another and another, wanting to know what happens next as Lousie's dilemma went from bad to worse. Everything anybody could wish for in a psychological thriller, and I hope Leigh Russell has more like this in the pipeline. Couldn't be any less than the maximum five-star rating.

[Ruth Matheson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this one off book from Leigh Russell, she is diversifying from her usual series of murder/ mystery books which feature Geraldine Steel. This novel is set in an all boys boarding school in England, where tensions are growing between the new headmaster who is all for the change and those who want to see the school remain steadfastly as it has always been.

The idyll is shattered when the headmaster’s secretary is murdered and suspicion falls on his wife... and not without good cause. Add to that another murder of a local journalist and the perfect lives which they are all trying to hold onto, slowly disintegrate. But who is doing all this?

Suspicion is a good read and has a great twist at the end which I didn’t see coming!

Thanks to Bloodhound Books for the ARC to review

[Nan Christine Borton-Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read

For the most part, I really liked this novel. David has been appointed Headmaster of a private boarding school and he and his wife had grand plans for the school and David’s career. After an interview with local reporter, Rosie White, David’s wife found herself questioning everything she believed about her husband. As she tries to figure out the truth David’s wife keeps putting herself in situations that make her look guilty when his secretary & later the reporter were found dead.
What I didn’t like-the vocabulary was so over the top, I felt like I was getting a vocabulary lesson & the ending fell flat with me.

[Mary Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! If you like psychological murder mysteries, this is the book for you. Excellently crafted, the story and specific characters evoked a range of strong emotions- from irritation to dislike; from disbelief to feminist angst.

It is a challenge to comment on the book without giving away information that could spoilt it for other readers. Suffice it to say that after I finished, I was compelled to reread several chapters to check my own perceptions....

...... but I won’t say which chapters! That would be telling!

[Vina · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Suspicion” by Leigh Russell is an average read- in my opinion. Your’s could be different. The story based in a residential school is about the new Headmaster and his wife.Along with these two characters we have the school staff, and the governing board. The popular secretary to the Headmaster is found murdered. Suspicion falls on those close to her. This murder hasn’t been solved, when we have yet another murder. Someone is on a rampage. But who? Somebody suspects the staff, someone the press, someone..
2.5 Stars

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louise seems to have the perfect life with Nick, the headteacher of one of the top schools in the UK, that, until one day a reporter claims to have evidence that Nick is having an affair.
As the story unfolds, people are murdered and Louise must do what she can to clear her name.
The story had me gripped, and I found myself holding my breath in certain parts, especially when the plot thickens.
Highly recommended if you like psychological thrillers

[Chris Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leigh Russell is a prolific writer in the genre of crime fiction, and her Geraldine Steel series is consistently excellent. Her writing is always of a high standard and her portrayal of character is very good. Suspicion is a standalone thriller which races along with many twists and turns and, while it is a very enjoyable read, it lacks the tension that the genre needs.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever twisty turny plot that keeps you guessing. This is a quick read that you really don’t want to put down. I changed my mind a few times on who the culprit was. Cracking ending too . I’m a big fan of the author’s Geraldine Steel series and wondered if this would live up to it but this standalone does not disappoint while being a totally different type of read.

[Jamie Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read with interesting twists

Enjoyed the book and found the characters easy to get to know. I liked the unexpected twists and unpredictability of whodunnit. At times it felt like there was too much background content which I often skim read through. All in all a really good read.

[Joyce Rigg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining read. Louise, the headmaster’s wife, is told that her husband is having an affair with his secretary. Had I been Louise that would have been the end of both my marriage and the book. Luckily for us she becomes the prime suspect in said secretary’s murder. With a few twists and turns along the way we reach a very satisfactory conclusion.

[Su Biela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great thriller from Leigh Russell

Once again a superb thriller from the pen of Leigh Russell. Who killed Sue. Who killed Rita. Is Louise the next victim? This book will keep you gripped from the first page

[Abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sinister

Suspicions are the worst. They fester in your mind and cause all sorts of things to happen that would never normally be thought of. Be careful, if you get too suspicious, something like this may happen to you.

[E J · Rating 1 out of 5]

What??

Waded through this book just to get to the end so that I could read something else. Plot you could drive a bus through, unrealistic characters and unbelievable ending. Not for me.

[MRS M R DUNNE · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couple of hours in a couple of days I won’t get back

Just as the heading says. A waste of my time, really. Quite entertaining but completely implausible. I won’t waste any more time on my review.