Guilt by Amanda Robson

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Avon; edition edition (19 April 2018)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0008212244
• ISBN-13: 978-0008212247
• Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 19.8 cm

 

 

 

 

 

Syopsis

Your sister. Her secret. The betrayal.

There is no bond greater than blood . . .

When the body of a woman is found stabbed to death, the blame falls to her twin sister. But who killed who? And which one is now the woman behind bars?

Zara and Miranda have always supported each other. But then Zara meets Seb, and everything changes. Handsome, charismatic and dangerous, Seb threatens to tear the sisters’ lives apart – but is he really the one to blame? Or are deeper resentments simmering beneath the surface that the sisters must face up to?

As the sisters’ relationship is stretched to the brink, a traumatic incident in Seb’s past begins to rear its head and soon all three are locked in a psychological battle that will leave someone dead. The question is, who?

 

Review

Guilt is my first book by Amanda Robson, and since finishing it last week I have purchased her first book Obsession as I enjoyed her writing.  This is a fairly fast paced thriller  about twin sisters, Miranda and Zara and Zara’s boyfriend Sebastian.  From the first page we know one of the twins kills the other, but we don’t know who until about three quarters of the way through the book when the plot concentrates on the trial.  The plot is split between past and present, so the reader is party to the build up to the events that led to murder, and the consequences in the present with the surviving twin on remand awaiting for trial.  The suspense builds as events gather pace and move quickly towards the murder.  The tension is also kept in the trial, where events are twisted and you are never sure which way the jury will go, I literally had my heart in my mouth.

What was interesting about Guilt is that the plot concentrates on the three main characters with very few supporting cast members; the only other recurring characters were Miranda and Zara’s mother and Theo, the barrister working on the court case.  This added intensity to the narrative, the spotlight on the minute details of their relationship.  Miranda is intelligent and has a good job as an accountant. She is caring and almost mothers Zara, who is more delicate.  Zara has had mental health issue all her life, she is like a delicate butterfly that needs protecting.  It is interesting how their roles come reversed during the book, Zara taking her sister to the doctor and looking after her.  Sebastian is the catalyst in all of this, and the reason the murder takes place.  He is a horrible character, who is a consummate liar and plays with feelings without caring about the consequences.  As the narrative progresses we slowly find out more about his past and how this has effected him.

I enjoyed Amanda Robson’s writing and the concentration on the three characters alone, it would make a great drama for television, the intensity draws you in.  The only thing I didn’t like is that some of the chapters were very short, in some cases just a couple of sentences or a short paragraph.   I found this jarring at times, stopping the flow of the prose and making the narrative disjointed.  On the whole though I enjoyed the structure of the book, the first three quarters building up to the murder then the murder trial taking up the final part of the book.

Guilt is a suspenseful, and at times a dark psychological thriller, and we see the feeling of  guilt manifest itself in many ways; guilt at not being able to protect someone, guilt at the death of a family member, guilt at not being able to help your sister who is cutting herself, a mothers guilt and not seeing what was happening, guilt at putting a boyfriend before your twin.  The characters are flawed and vulnerable, the plot pacy and tense.  A fantastic read, and one for psychological thriller fans.

 

Thank you taking the time to read my review of Guilt by Amanda Robson.  Please share if you have time and leave a comment, its good to see other peoples opinions.  Have a good weekend x