#BlogTour: The Confession by Jo Spain @SpainJoanne @QuercusBooks @Hannah_Robbo #TheConfession

Published on 25th January 2018 by Quercus Books. My thanks to the author and the publisher for the review copy and Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for inviting me to be a part of the blog tour. 

Late one night a man walks into the luxurious home of disgraced banker Harry McNamara and his wife Julie. The man launches an unspeakably brutal attack on Harry as a horror-struck Julie watches, frozen by fear. 

Just an hour later the attacker, JP Carney, has handed himself in to the police. He confesses to beating Harry to death, but JP claims that the assault was not premeditated and that he didn’t know the identity of his victim. With a man as notorious as Harry McNamara, the detectives cannot help wondering, was this really a random act of violence or is it linked to one of Harry’s many sins: corruption, greed, betrayal? 

This gripping psychological thriller will have you questioning, who - of Harry, Julie and JP - is really the guilty one? And is Carney’s surrender driven by a guilty conscience or is his confession a calculated move in a deadly game?

My Thoughts:

The Confession is the first book that I have read by Jo Spain and oh my it won't be my last. I had been looking forward to reading this one for ages and it didn't disappoint in any way. The gripping narrative and intriguing tag line had me hook, line and sinker. 

A man known as JP enters the house of Harry McNamara and his wife Julie. He proceeds to bludgeon Harry with a golf club in a brutal attack where Julie seems to enter shock and is powerless to do anything. JP then hands himself into the police. It was an interesting concept to know who the attacker was at the beginning of the novel, and as the story plays out we start to learn why. 

The narrative is driven by the viewpoint of three characters, Julie McNamara, JP Carney and Alice Moody, who is the police officer on the case. This way of telling the story worked perfectly in the unravelling of events. There are really not many characters to like here, and this also added to the mystery and suspense. 

Harry McNamara is not a pleasant man and is sure to have made some enemies among the way, particularly when as a banker he was cleared of financial fraud with many of his colleagues taking the fall. Many suspected he was guilty. A man of wealth and power but The Confession is about what goes on behind closed doors and the fact that things are not always as they seem. 

The Confession is utterly absorbing and I had no idea as I was reading how things would end up. This book had the perfect balance of psychological thriller and mystery and made me think. It was quite gruesome in places but this only ramped up the tension on every level. 

Such an accomplished novel, really recommend it to all fans of this genre. 

About the Author:

Jo Spain’s first novel, With Our Blessing, was one of seven books shortlisted in the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller competition and went on to be a top-ten bestseller in Ireland. She has written two further in the series, featuring DI Tom Reynolds. Jo has has worked as a party advisor on the economy in the Irish parliament and is now writing full-time. She lives in Dublin with her husband and their four young children. 

You can find her on Twitter: @SpainJoanne

Please do have a look at the other stops on the blog tour.