A Version of the Truth by B.P Walter

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Avon (7 Feb. 2019)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0008309612
• ISBN-13: 978-0008309619

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

We all see what we want to see…

2019: Julianne is preparing a family dinner when her son comes to her and says he’s found something on his iPad. Something so terrible, it will turn Julianne’s world into a nightmare and make her question everything about her marriage and what type of man her husband is or is pretending to be.

1990: Holly is a fresher student at Oxford University. Out of her depth and nervous about her surroundings, she falls into an uneasy friendship with a group of older students from the upper echelons of society and begins to develop feelings for one in particular. He’s confident, quiet, attractive and seems to like her too. But as the year progresses, her friends’ behaviour grows steadily more disconcerting and Holly begins to realise she might just be a disposable pawn in a very sinister game.

A devastating secret has simmered beneath the surface for over twenty-five years. Now it’s time to discover the truth. But what if you’re afraid of what you might f

 

Review

A Version of the Truth is a dark  psychological thriller with a split time line.  On her first day at Oxford University in 1990 Holly meets Ally, and becomes part of a group with her and her twin brother Ernest and his friend James.  In the present day Juliane’s world is turned upside down when her teenage son, Stephen, comes to her after finding files on the iPad that make her question just how well she knows her husband.  This is a fast paced thriller that is disquieting and sinister in parts, but brilliantly plotted and will have you hooked.

Holly is a middle class, naive and without much life experience, and I have to say one of the nicer characters in this book.  She finds herself out of her depth with Ally, who has lived a hedonistic lifestyle and is very elitist.  Holly is uncomfortable in some of the situations she finds herself in, and Ally, Ernest and James seem to revel in this, and treat her like a plaything; a pawn in their dangerous games.  Neither of those three is likeable, they are narcissistic and have an air of entitlement about them, and have no care for who hey hurt.  Julianne was also at Oxford, and was James’s girlfriend, and again was fairly naive, but now she has a beautiful house in Knightsbridge and is married to James.  I did have some empathy for her as her life implodes over a dinner party, everything she has is destroyed.  However, I did feel that selective memory came into it which altered my perspective of her character by the end of the book.

Throughout this book B.P Walter builds an atmosphere of unease and tension.  When I started A Version of the Truth, I had no idea where the plot was going, so I just went with it and was gripped as the plot gained momentum until it rushes towards the shocking conclusion.  I don’t want to say much about the plot as it would spoil the book, but it does go to some very dark places, but it does highlight issues that are very prevalent in today’s society.

I thought this a cleverly plotted, tense and addictive read; once you pick it up you won’t be able to put the book down.  The characters are not very likeable and don’t redeem themselves in anyway, but we all like a baddie in a thriller; although in this case a couple really are despicable people.  A Version of the Truth is a fabulous debut from B.P Walter, and I can’t wait to read his next novel.

 

I would like to thank Avon Books for my copy of this book to read and review, as part of the blog tour.