The Bookvent Calendar 2019: Day 1

#Bookvent – Celebrating my top reads of 2019

I can’t believe it is that time of year again, the one where I get to reintroduce my #Bookvent countdown. For those of you who haven’t come across bookvent before, this is where I count off the days until Christmas by sharing some of my favourite reads of the year. Originally it was going to be 25 books, but as I am a) indecisive, b) hopeless and c) guilty of reading far too many excellent books in a year, it invariably goes well beyond 24. This year is no exception but then hey, my blog my rules!

The rules (because we must have some rules and i do need to be able to narrow down my list somehow)
1) The Book must have been published in 2019 in some format.
2) I must have awarded the book 5 stars at the time of reading
3) Anyone who has been awarded a RED HOT READ badge automatically qualifies for the countdown
4) Books will feature in no particular order other than by and large being in the order they were published
5) The only exception to this is/are my book(s) of the year which will (all) feature on 24th December and I will try (in vain usually) to narrow it down to just one of the top three. (Oops – did I give too much away there?😉)

Without further ado – here we go with my #Bookvent choice for day one is …

The Guilty Party by Mel McGrath

On a night out, four friends witness a stranger in trouble. They decide to do nothing to help.

Later, a body washes up on the banks of the Thames – and the group realises that ignoring the woman has left blood on their hands.

But why did each of them refuse to step in? Why did none of them want to be noticed that night? Who is really responsible?

Available from: Amazon UK | Kobo | Waterstones | Googleplay | Apple Books

Good golly this book. It drew me in from the start with a very tense and dramatic opening, and kept me glued to the pages all the way through, in spite of having a cast of very objectionable, far from likeable characters. Everyone in this book has something to hide, some more than others, and you can feel the claustrophobic and toxic nature of the friendships as they try in vain to have one last trip together. The book poses a real moral question – what would you do if you saw someone was in trouble? Would you help or would you walk away? And if you walk away, are you ready to live with the consequences?

Beautifully written and completely gripping, you can read my full review here.

Happy #bookvent reading all

Jen