#BookReview | #IConfess by Alex Barclay | @alexbarcs | @HCinIreland

Seven friends.
One killer.
No escape….
– I Confess

[ About the Book ]

A group of childhood friends are reunited at a luxury inn on a remote west coast peninsula in Ireland. But as a storm builds outside, the dark events that marred their childhoods threaten to resurface.

And when a body is discovered, the group faces a shocking realisation: a killer is among them, and not everyone will escape with their lives

[ My Review ]

I Confess is the latest novel from Irish writer and bestselling author, Alex Barclay. It will be published tomorrow, 22nd August 2019, with Harper Collins Ireland.

I Confess is a standalone psychological thriller and is described as ‘addictive and twisty’. I am thrilled to be bringing you all my review today of a novel which just happens to be set in my home county of Cork. A few weeks back I was honoured to host an exclusive extract from I Confess which I know you will want to read….after you read my review first of course 😉 ( Link HERE )

Pilgrim Point, a remote and fictional place off the coast of West Cork was described in 1886 as ‘an anvil-shaped promontory on the south-west coast of Ireland….once been a battleground, and at various times in the centuries that followed, had been fought over, lost, regained, or relinquished.’ It is here that seven friends reunite for a planned evening of laughter and regalia, a time to look back at their youth with a mixture of happiness and sorrow, a time to enjoy and remember the way they were. That was the plan….

Edie and Johnny, decide to renovate an old property near the place they both were reared and transform it into luxury accommodation for paying guests. Married for twenty years, Edie and Johnny had left their home in West Cork for San Francisco. Investing in real estate and property development, they eventually settled in Colorado, owning a ski lodge, but the dream was always to develop a luxury inn. When Johnny heard of a property up for sale back at Beara, near their family homes in West Cork, he convinced Edie that this was it, this was their chance. So with their teenage son, Dylan, they made the decision to move back to the Beara Pensinsula and start the next stage of their lives.

Before the official opening of the inn, Edie and Johnny invite some old friends to stay, to join them for an evening in celebration of their friend, Helen’s birthday, to relax and enjoy their hospitality.

Helen, Laura, Clare, Murph and Patrick all arrive, each in awe of the work that Edie and Johnny have put into the old place. Murph is his usual self, keeping them all entertained with his stories and self-effacing humour. They all relax into the evening of laughter and fun that only old friends can truly experience. As the evening passes, we are given insights into their pasts, secrets that have been kept buried for years start to emerge. The tension starts to build, the heart-rate increases as you suddenly find yourself in the middle of something very sinister indeed. The weather turns, the power flickers and a body is discovered….

The shock of this horrendous discovery causes panic and fear among the friends. The weather is dreadful outside, there is nobody else here, only themselves. Suspicions are raised, accusations are thrown about, the friendship starts to crack……. Who is the killer and what do they want?

Alex Barclay cleverly weaves the past and present together revealing the deceit and the lies that have shadowed these seven friends all their lives. The descriptions of their childhood days is portrayed expertly with each having their own secrets to keep, their own memories tucked away in the recesses of their minds. As this tragic evening develops, the past quickly comes catching up with them all and the guilt of those early days becomes a fresh pain, a shame that resurfaces. Alex Barclay writes with such prowess, craftily introducing these revelations to the reader, leaving a trail of shock and horror in her wake.

There is so much going on in this book, it’s best left to you the reader to discover it’s complexities and it’s truly gripping story-line. I Confess is a fast and furious tale, as the pace gathers toward the final chapters at a ferocious speed. This is a book that you WILL NOT be able to put down. With your heart in your mouth you WILL read until the small hours. You WILL be appalled as the veil is removed and the truth exposed. You WILL be in denial. You WILL be bereft. Amazingly in the midst of all this drama you WILL also laugh.

Alex Barclay lives in west Cork and, as a blow-in, it can be a very daunting prospect to write about your new home place and to use the local dialect of the people who are now your neighbours, but Alex Barclay skillfully nails it.

I Confess is a heart-pounding, disturbing read. It has everything a reader could want from a novel with a very believable cast of characters. A compelling, thrilling, shocking, ominous and very tense page-turner. Highly recommend!

[ Bio ]

Alex Barclay studied journalism at university and worked for a period in fashion and beauty journalism as a copywriter in the RTÉ Guide. In 2003, she left the fashion industry to write Darkhouse, the first of two novels featuring NYPD detective Joe Lucchesi. She was the recipient of the Ireland AM Crime Fiction Award at the Irish Book Awards for her fourth novel, Blood Runs Cold. 

She is the bestselling author of a number of books, including Darkhouse and The Caller, as well as the Ren Bryce series.

Alex Barclay lives in County Cork, Ireland.

Twitter = @alexbarcs