The Warning: A nail biting, gripping psychological thriller

· Bookouture
4.3
29 reviews
Ebook
350
Pages

About this ebook

My little boy’s room was empty, his bed neatly made. Alarm bells should have rung immediately. Then the knock on the door came. All I remember is a thick fog wrapping itself tightly around me. This couldn’t be happening to us.

 

Three years ago, nurse Zoe's son Ethan was found drowned in a muddy river by their home, along with his best friend Josh. With no witnesses, their deaths were ruled a tragic accident.

 

Heartbroken, Zoe and her family, move away from her home. They’re just beginning to get back to some kind of normality, when, out of the blue, Zoe receives an anonymous email: 

 

You need to find out the truth about what happened to your son. Don’t let this rest. Don’t believe the lie.

 

Shaken, Zoe starts an obsessive hunt for the truth. But why is her husband so reluctant to help?

And why is Josh’s mother so determined not to believe her?

 

An absolutely unputdownable psychological thriller about a mother’s desperate search for the truth. Fans of The Girl on the Train, and Gone Girl will be hooked from the very first page.

 

See what readers are saying about The Warning:

 

‘OMG Kathryn Croft has done it again!!! I devoured this book in two days!!! I absolutely loved it along with all the other books I’ve read of hers. From the beginning to end kept in suspense and shock. I really didn’t see any of it coming.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

 

‘I proudly hand over 5 twisty messed-up stars to this book!!! I loved this and all the WTF moments… It was so freakin’ cool to read! Very interesting plot(s) going on here!! Twisted, twisty, dark, sad, awesome!!! Oh let’s just say... THAT ending!... 5 Stars from me!!!’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

 

‘Oh, what a great ride this book was… her best book yet! She writes a great story… keeps you guessing right to the very end! I absolutely loved this book… can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

 

‘I finished this book in one evening, something that's a bit of a rarity… absolutely cracking psychological thriller… It was so refreshing… A truly magnificent read. I was glued to it from start to finish, barely able to put it down… Kathryn Croft is a fantastic writer and I will definitely be going back and reading her previous novels because she is such a brilliant writer, she honestly kept me awake long enough to finish this book in one go… The Warning was the exact book I needed to kick my reading mojo back into gear.’ Leah Reads Books

 

‘My 1st book from this author and I loved it… a page-turner… the twist is explosive… Read it in two days… very gripping and emotional… will be reading more from this author… if you like twists look no further for your next read.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

 

‘Kept me on the edge of my seat… A story of secrets and lies with many twists and turns. A very enjoyable read that I read in one day as I couldn't put it down.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

 

‘This book kept me on the edge of my seat.  A great psychological thriller that had me guessing until the very end… Family secrets, lies and twists made this a page turner that I didn't want to put down. 5 twisty stars from me! Keep them coming Kathryn Croft!’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

 

‘With this author you know you are going to get a true psychological treat, as with every one of her books there is something new ‘brought to the table’ it’s great when you find an author that you know is going to thrill and inspire you. The story is fast-paced, dark and at times sad…The kind of book if a friend says ‘how can you spend all day reading your can hand them the book and say ‘read this, that’s why’. 10/10, 5 Stars.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

Ratings and reviews

4.3
29 reviews
Sheila Easson
October 12, 2018
Another brilliant read from Kathryn Croft. It wrings you out emotionally. Two fourteen-year-old boys, Ethan and Josh, drown in the river. Three years afterwards two families and the boys' brother, Harley and their friends are striving to fight off the fallout - the emotional backlash in their own different ways. It puzzled me how two boys could drown unless there was a boat. There wasn't a boat. Surely, a fight between the boys would leave one dead and one alive. "Curiouser and curiouser." Out of the blue, Ethan's mother, Zoe receives cryptic messages intimating that the deaths were suspicious. This opens old wounds. Unable to dismiss this theory, Zoe starts an investigation. A lot of people have withheld crucial information down the years - secrets kept under wraps. Was it an accident or was there a more sinister explanation? It's powerful, tense, emotive and hugely frustrating. Expect to be led many times astray. There are several intriguing sub-plots handled with sensitivity and compassion. It resounds so realistically as you discover the various ways people employ to cope with the situations and attempt to move on - the extraordinary havoc, disruption and changes it causes on so many lives. You feel every vibration of the characters' pain and guilt which makes you bleed with them. This story will stay with me. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.
2 people found this review helpful
Monnie Ryan
October 12, 2018
Within a few chapters after starting this book, I had a bad feeling. Oh no, I said to no one there, not another woman with a bone in her teeth who refuses to let go and can't listen to reason. Now that I've finished, I've changed my attitude to so what? This book is WAY too good to get hung up on a single character (especially one who does, for the most part, have good reasons for being so obstinate). The story is riveting and truly hard to put down; I actually asked my sweet husband to record one of my favorite TV shows so that I could finish the book and watch the show later. Three years earlier, Zoe Monaghan and her husband, Jake, lost the younger of their two sons. Ethan, age 14, and his best friend Josh somehow fell into a nearby river and drowned after inexplicably sneaking out in the middle of the night; both deaths were deemed accidental. Unable to deal with the emotional upheaval, Zoe, Jake and their remaining son, Harley, move to London, leaving Josh's parents, Roberta and Adrian - who simply can't afford to relocate. At their new location, Jake and his friend Liam are working hard to get their business going, so Jake isn't around to offer much emotional support for his wife and son. Out of the blue, Zoe - a nurse at at a fertilization clinic - gets an anonymous email claiming that Ethan's death wasn't an accident. While Jake is dismissive (and isn't willing to stir the coals of an old and very destructive fire), Zoe is determined to get to the bottom of the message. She's not sure it isn't a prank at this point, but neither is she willing to disregard it. Ignoring advice from Jake and the local police, she sets out to contact anyone and everyone who knew Ethan and Josh back then to at the very least find out why they went to the river in the first place. By all accounts, Josh is headstrong almost to the point of incorrigible; but her son, she insists, had his head on straight and wouldn't have gone along with anything he felt was wrong. As time - and more mysterious emails - go along, readers learn that just about everyone involved has secrets (some much darker than others). Some offer clues to the drownings, while others threaten to disrupt the lives of the major characters for totally different reasons. Thrown in the mix are chapters from the perspective of another anonymous character - an apparent stalker of an unknown victim. Who both turn out to be provides yet another twist to a road already filled with unexpected turns. In short, outstanding - and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.
2 people found this review helpful
Lianne Tanguay
October 18, 2018
I read this book in one day. I couldn’t stop reading, this book was so good! The book goes back and forth between different POVs of the different characters. The chapters are shorts and they always keep you wanting more. They end on tiny cliff-hangers phrases that just got to me. Because of these, I felt the novel was fast paced, and action packed, just the way I like it! I also really enjoyed the investigating aspect of this, a mother that must dig for the truth. A story of the lengths a mother will go to too protect her children. With a great book comes an even greater ending! I thought mid novel that I already knew what was going to happen but boy was I wrong. Amazing twist ending that I did not see coming. Highly recommend! Thank you to Bookouture for providing me with an electronic ARC of this book via NetGalley. As usual, my reviews are my honest and unbiased opinions.

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