From the author of The Family Across the Street comes another gripping psychological thriller about a family in crisis, a marriage at breaking point, and how secrets can be deadly. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and The Housemaid .
I gaze at my husband’s once handsome face, so still and pale in the hospital bed. The doctors say I should keep talking. He might be able to hear me even after the terrible accident that left him fighting for his life. But all I have to whisper to my husband is I know what you did.
Every day I wave my husband Damon off with a kiss and a smile, drive our precious children to school, and make sure our house is pristine before preparing a delicious meal. I pretend I’m not filled with fury that he once nearly destroyed our perfect life. It’s important to carry on as normal.
That is, until the accident.
My husband was hit by a car. It was pouring with rain. Nobody saw what happened. But the police are asking questions…
Do they know about the terrible argument we had that day?
Do they know about the text message I sent, telling someone to Delete everything?
Nicole Trope writes psychological thrillers about families in crisis and the secrets we keep from ourselves and others. She has always been fascinated by the stories behind the headlines and published her first novel in 2012. In 2026 she will publish her 20th novel with Bookouture. She is a USA Today and Amazon bestseller in the USA, UK, AUS, Canada and Germany. Her books have been translated into German, Italian, Polish, Hungarian and French and Japanese. She lives in Sydney with her husband and three children Current Publication: The Therapist-July 31st 2025 Next Publication: What Have You Done?-October 17th 2025
If you are familiar with my favorite song from the Musical “Chicago” it describes this book perfectly. As I reached the climax of this book, I could hear the thundering crescendo of the “Cell Block Tango” playing in my head…..
“HE HAD IT COMING”
Wednesday 11:30 AM Police, Fire or Ambulance?
A man has been hit by a car at the corner of Williamsburg Road and Cook Avenue. Several witnesses have called it in, but nobody can describe the car that hit him. It happened too fast, and it happened in the pouring rain…
Police are appealing for help in identifying the man.
THREE women are watching the news when they recognize the hand of the man being loaded by stretcher into the ambulance that has raced to the scene.
The story unfolds through the alternating perspectives of Marla, Sonya, Athena, and an unnamed FOURTH narrator.
At least ONE woman knows the “truth about the accident”.
Nicole Trope has delivered another delicious tale of REVENGE which plays out with quick chapters which allow you to convince yourself “just one more”! Her stories are fun-you can usually read them in one sitting as she keeps you guessing!!
And, this one is AVAILABLE now!
A buddy read with my friend, Susan! Be sure to watch for her amazing review for additional insight!
Thank You to Novel Suspects for sending me a gifted copy! It’s always fun to find a book in the mail, and it was my pleasure to offer a candid review!
A quick, easy read revolving around an unfaithful husband, an angry wife and a number of women on the side who really should know better.
I loved the way the book began with accident reports on a hit and run. Each of the witnesses describes a totally different vehicle as being responsible. Eventually you do discover why. The story is told in three different POV's plus a mystery person who is not revealed until the end and I found their identity to be quite a surprise.
An entertaining read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
A hit and run affair involving a pedestrian at a busy intersection has caught the attention of two dogged detectives.
During a blinding rainy day with non operating traffic cameras - much to the detectives' chagrin - the weather has hindered the investigation in search for the perpetrator and those close to the hospitalized man are worried sick.
Written from three women’s perspectives, each with varying secrets but one common denominator: a beautiful narcissistic husband.
Gaslighting and cheating are the highlights - or I should say lowlights of his behavior but the trio of female protagonists associated with him weren’t the epitome of good comportment either.
A fun buddy read suggested by Jayme that had me immersed for the majority although I did find the mid section sluggish. However, the conclusion was more than a satisfying wrap up so I felt rewarded for seeing it through.
Damon, a charming handsome man, has been hit by a car. The driver didn't stop to help. 999 has been called and the witnesses are all unsure who hit him or the color of the car that did it. The rain made everything more difficult for the cops investigating the hit-and-run. Now, Damon is in a coma and he might not survive.
Marla is Damon's wife. She has been fighting time with any cosmetic procedure available to keep herself young and pretty. Her children are almost adults. She is day drinking wondering what it's going to happen to her marriage.
Sonya has a soon-to-be teenage son. She is a therapist and she is upset her 1 o'clock is a no-show. She is thinking of what's going to happen when her son doesn't want to spend time with her any longer.
Athena is at her first ultrasound to check on her pregnancy. Her boyfriend is a no-show to the appointment. Is this her future?
The Truth About the Accident was a quick read. The alternating chapters by the three women plus a mystery woman were captivating. There is also a dual timeline that guides the reader until the time of the accident giving us multiple twists.
This stellar read stuffed with family drama, secrets and lies needs to be on your night table!
Nicole Trope delivers gripping suspense revolving around the family of a hit-and-run victim. She sheds light on the secret life of the recently deceased CEO of a successful tech company, alerts readers to his wandering eyes and the wake of dejected, hurt women he’s left in his tail lights, brings us to the place of doubt about what could have happened that rainy night, and then continues to offer equally plausible reasons, one after another, for his death. Readers' heads will be spinning! Where does the truth lie? With her? him? somewhere in the middle?
I loved Trope’s short chapters, fast pace, increasing tension, and her fine-tuned cast of characters. She always delivers a binge-able, rich, dark and intricately twisted drama.
I was gifted this copy by Bookouture and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.
The Truth about the Accident is an intriguing contemporary mystery-drama, unfolding through a back-and-forth timeline, told from the perspectives of three women, the wife, mistress and lover of the charming, handsome but duplicitous Damon Kennedy. An unnamed fourth woman's obsessive perspective forms a prologue and occasional intermezzo between the main narrative threads.
Traffic is heavy on Williamsburg Road late on a Wednesday morning in October, as heavy rain pours down on Sydney, Australia. Shortly after 11.30am, emergency services start receiving multiple calls from motorists reporting that a man has been struck by a car while running across the road at the Cook Street intersection. But the incessant rain makes visibility and stopping difficult, and the descriptions of the vehicle that hit the man vary substantially.
Later that day, affluent middle-aged homemaker Marla Kennedy slowly gets drunk as she stares at the rain out the window. She senses that she's starting to lose the battle to maintain her looks, despite constant beauty treatments and botox injections. She's questioning the purpose of her life, now that her two children are verging upon adulthood and she feels compelled to confront her husband Damon's serial infidelity, if they're to recover any authenticity in their relationship.
Meanwhile, therapist Sonya sits frustrated at her desk, irritated that her 1.00pm patient is a no-show, after having called her earlier for an inconveniently-timed urgent appointment. She's the single mother of a 12-year-old son, and is also feeling like she's at a crossroads in her life. Her passionate affair with a patient is in contravention of her professional obligations, and she feels that the time is right to think about a more permanent relationship.
In a nearby obstetrician's practice, young woman Athena is undergoing the first ultrasound of her pregnancy. She'd hoped that the father of the baby, a handsome and romantic man with whom she's been engaged in a passionate relationship for some time, would make an appearance at this momentous moment in their lives, despite his less-than-enthusiastic reaction to the news of her pregnancy.
That evening, all three women tune in to the local television news and are confronted with shocking news...
The reader can predict where this is going, and that the three separate storylines are going to coalesce at some point. Each had a reason to seek revenge against the unfaithful and gaslighting Damon Kennedy, but who was driving the car that hit him? As Damon clings to life in hospital, the sequence of events that have led each of the women to this point is revealed, as is the fact that they all seem to be hiding something from the police investigation into the accident. And how does the mystery fourth woman fit in? Is she yet another hapless victim of Damon's womanising, or does she know something that the other three don't?
The triple narrative structure of The Truth about the Accident was well-executed to maintain the pace of the plot and keep readers guessing right up until the dramatic conclusion. Each of the three central characters is well developed and the challenges they face resonate with those commonly experienced by women.
I enjoy Nicole Trope's domestic mystery-dramas in Australian settings. There are clear thematic similarities between each of her books that I've read, and it's clear that she has great skill in exploring the psyches of middle-class women facing some sort of personal or external crisis or trauma. Most readers will recognise parallels between experiences in their own lives and those of Trope's characters, although hopefully without the dramatic repercussions her protagonists often endure! While we can identify with many of the issues her characters deal with, whether that be dissatisfaction with life choices, relationship conflicts or the demands of parenting, her high-octane plots give us the opportunity to contemplate "What would I do?" as the character(s) face situations of moral ambiguity and life-changing decisions.
I'd recommend The Truth about the Accident to readers who enjoy twisty domestic mystery-thriller-drama plots and modern women's fiction.
My thanks to the author, Nicole Trope, publisher Bookouture, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.
I gaze at my husband's once handsome face, so still and pale in the hospital bed. The doctors say I should keep taking. He might be able to hear me after the terrible accident that left him fighting for his life. But all I have to whisper to my husband is I know what you did.
This story is told from the differing perspectives of Marla, Athena, Sonya and a mystery woman in alternating chapters. Damon is in a medically induced coma after being hit by a car. We find out his relationship with each of the women. The police are struggling to find out who was responsible for the accident. The characters are well developed, and the pace is fast. I was instantly pulled into this book. the story has a dual timeline that's told in the past and present-day format, giving us an insight of what had happed leading up to Damon being hit by the car. There's are plenty of twists in this addictive read.
I would like to thank #NetGalley #Bookouture and the author #NicoleTrope for my ARC of #TheTruthAboutTheAccident in exchange for an honest review.
I love the book burb it sets the scene for a fast paced domestic thriller.. The story begins as people ring in with reports of a hit and run in the rain. The story is told from the view point of three very different but strong women. Each chapter got me further hooked in as they told me more about the characters and their history. I couldnt wait for them all to come together and the strange chapter in between from a non named character really kept me turning the pages. I like the honesty of each character and their reaction was accurate and true to life. I felt tge story foccued on the women and i would have liked a little one on him by him . The plot reveal was fabulous and the way it pulled all the characters together and the final twist at the end. Highly recommended 5 stars.This was a real pleasure to read thank you so much net gallery and bookoulture for my arc.
Really enjoyable read from Ms. Trope! I loved the arrangement of the novel- the 999 transcripts hooked me immediately as you notice slightly differing observations by the callers. Then you have the different POVs and timelines- two things I love in my books! The characters... there's some horrid ones here! The plot was fast paced, and you can happily settle in for a good read if you pick this one up!
Three women pine after the same lying, cheating, narcissistic manwhore. The book begins after the gigolo scumbag has been hit by a car (the "accident" of the title) and is now in an induced coma, but skips back in time to flesh out the storyline.
Each of these seemingly smart, successful, pushing-40 women believes she's the one who will change the adulterous cad's mind about commitment.
You'd think his wife, whom he's cheated on repeatedly, would know better, but nah; she's too busy injecting botox and starving herself to fit those tiny-sized jeans to care.
There's also the beautiful, ethereal mistress with long, golden locks (barf) who stays with him even after she's confronted by the wife; the therapist who has no ethical standards and fucks her patient because he's just too gorgeous to resist, despite him jilting her once before (gag me with a spoon already); and a fourth mystery woman whose obsession borders on madness because she's soooo pretty and deserves better (bitch, get in line).
This man apparently has magical sperm because every female within walking distance is getting knocked up left and right. Birth control, anyone??
It was honestly gross and embarrassing to read about pathetic, insecure, shallow women lacking all self-respect (even more so, because the author who wrote this bullshit is a woman).
So was the hit and run really an accident? Maybe, but if I were any one of these ladies, I would have aimed, accelerated, and then reversed for good measure. That's just me tho.
Tedious plot, flat characters with similar voices, absurd ending with a silly twist.
Wooooh!!! This book just got better and better as it went on. Holy smokes did I dig myself into this book and not let go. Expertly written just enough wonder to make you second and even third quess yourself. Perfect chapter length and buildup on all characters. Brilliant.
Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.
Mmmmmmm so I have decided to remove this authors other books from my TBR. I don’t hate her style, I don’t hate the plot, they are very easy to run, a holiday read I think where you just want to slip into an easy read book without a lot of thought process. But for me the twists aren’t amazing and once I’ve finished the book I know I’ll never think about it again!
Before I would have read the rest anyway, but now I think life is too short for mediocre books and I’ve given three a go (okay so I’m still working on my life is too short theory haha 😂)
After reading a glowing review of The Truth About the Accident, I jumped at the chance to read and review the novel. The old saying, “different strokes for different folks” rang true for me with this book. While I did enjoy the first few chapters, the novel slowly devolved into something that I couldn’t wait to be over. Still, I managed to persevere and finish the book. After all, the narrative did have some interesting plot twists.
The story unfolds through the three main characters’ points of view. Each view dovetailing each other. It did get a little confusing and tedious at times, especially when the timelines changed. Perhaps if the characters were more refined, I wouldn’t have had that problem of identifying who’s who in the novel.
The narrative follows a whodunit theme laced with family drama. I suspect that the family drama was supposed to add an air of suspense. It did, to a point. But after a while it got frustrating, especially when those women, who are supposed to know better, kept repeating the same mistakes. And with a lukewarm finale, I was left feeling like there was something missing in the whole scheme of things. Three stars.
I received a physical copy of the novel from Grand Central Publishing. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
This is a quick, easy read. I wasn’t blown away with the storytelling or the twists, but I wasn’t bored. The chapters are short and to the point, so not a lot of fluff to skim over. Overall it’s a good read, but it wasn’t fantastic by any means.
They say eyewitness accounts can't be trusted. Everyone "saw" something different that day but they all heard the stomach-turning thump of a man being hit by a car.. and the driver kept on going. It was a rainy day so visibility was low.
Marla is a day drinking soon to be empty nester. Her life has been about keeping up with the Joneses. Ferrying the kids to various activities, buying all the right clothes, getting the right "work" done. Who will she be without the kids to care for?
Sonya is a single mom of a 12 year old boy so she only has a short time left to hang out with her boy before he's too cool so she's savoring every moment. His dad was abusive and ran off to America and started a new family and conveniently would like for Jasper to come stay a while. Disneyland Dad strikes again.
Athena is a future single mom, carrying the baby of her boyfriend who wants no children. She's at a baby appt hoping he shows up and when he doesn't, she's seeing red.
Who does the dead guy belong to? All of these ladies have reasons to wish to harm the annoying and problematic men in their lives. Eventually, we have to get to the truth about the accident.
This was a pleasure as always! I love Nicole Trope. She has such a unique and interesting voice in the mystery/thriller world. I am all ears anytime she wants to share..
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review!
Setting: Sydney, Australia; modern day. Nicole Trope has done it again! At a busy road junction in pouring rain, a male pedestrian is knocked over and seriously injured by a car which apparently fails to stop. The pedestrian, Damon Kennedy, is the CEO of a prominent IT company - and a rampant womaniser. As a result of the accident, Damon is now in a coma in the local hospital - and the three women in his life reflect on the incident and the events that led up to it... Damon's wife, Marla, has long become accustomed to Damon's affairs over the twenty years of their marriage but she has finally reached the end of her tether.... Damon's mistress, Athena, who runs a local shop, is pregnant with Damon's child but he has told her that he doesn't want the child and that she should have a termination - but she refuses to consider this.... Damon's therapist, Sonya, is risking her professional career by continuing to see Damon as a client - because she slept with him thirteen years earlier and has a son as a result of the one-night stand.... As the story unfolds, each of the women appear to have something to hide from the police. The traffic cameras on the junction were not working, so it is not clear which vehicle struck Damon - but each of the women's vehicles were in the vicinity, and they all have a motive for wishing Damon ill. As the women separately narrate their tales, there is also an unidentified woman who also seems to have an axe to grind in relation to Damon..... This is yet another excellent read from this author, who never disappoints. A gripping and unpredictable tale unfolds from the different perspectives of the three named women and the mystery woman. Most, if not all, readers would have little sympathy for Damon from what the other characters reveal about him and will be hoping he gets his comeuppance - and I was certainly one of those as the story progressed! - 9/10.
The complete package! A very suspenseful, very twisty and very mysterious story. The Truth About the Accident opens with the accident. It's quite a while however, until the injured party is identified and just how they are related to the other characters. The characters are well drawn and sympathetic and before long you are quite invested in the outcome!
Trope carefully winds and unwinds threads of the story as you begin to understand little is what it seems. If you love a domestic thriller, love a book with more than one shocking twist or just want a story to keep you up all night, The Truth About the Accident is for you! #Bookouture #TheTruthAboutTheAccident #NicoleTrope
This is my second book by this author and the other one, very popular, was also a 5 star read for me. There is something about her style of writing that makes you want to continue reading. I read it in one sitting as I couldn’t stop turning the pages! It is written in the wife and mistresses point of view. The husband is a classic narcissist, and he surely does no wrong! There is a hit and run accident with an ongoing investigation as to who/what caused it. We also learn the anguish of each woman and what prompts their actions. A fun read!
I have been walking on cloud nine since I received the approval for The Truth About the Accident .
I was first introduced to Nicole Trope, by the Bookstagram group. Everyone was obsessing over The Stay At Home Mother. There was no way I was going to miss out on what everyone else was swooning about so I hit request. That day began my love affair with Trope’s writing style .
Since then I make sure to stalk NetGalley for any new Trope releases.
When “The Truth About the Accident”, graced the screen, I once again, hit request.
The book gods were working in my favor and my request was granted.
My eyes got big and I devoured the book in just a few hours.
HOLY SMOKE! Trope has done it again, this book was absolutely fantastic!
The Truth About the Accident, was narrated with perfection, the plot was executed without being boring or dragged out and the characters were multi-dimensional and came alive before your eyes. The twist? Oh, well I cant tell you that without giving away the book!
Teaser:
I gaze at my husband’s once-handsome face, so still and pale in the hospital bed. The doctors say I should keep talking. He might be able to hear me even after the terrible accident that left him fighting for his life. But all I have to whisper to my husband is this: I know what you did.
Every day I wave my husband Damon off with a kiss and a smile, drive our precious children to school, and make sure our house is pristine before preparing a delicious meal. I pretend I’m not filled with fury that he once nearly destroyed our perfect life. It’s important to carry on as normal.
That is, until the accident.
My husband was hit by a car. It was pouring with rain. Nobody saw what happened. But the police are asking questions…
Do they know about the terrible argument we had that day?
Do they know about the text message I sent, telling someone to Delete everything?
And do they know that no-one is happier that my husband is in a hospital bed, than me?
It was a Quick and enjoyable read. I liked that it was 3 pov. I liked the revenge aspect. And I liked the ending. Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest opinion
Well, I went into this one a bit deceived by the cover, which states: “There are three sides to this story. Hers. Mine. And the truth.” This had me thinking I was going to be reading a story told from the POV of the wife, the POV of the husband from his hospital bed and finally a third person POV who gave us the truth somewhere between. That is not what we get.
For most of this book, we are told bits of a story from the POV of three different people, but all that is revealed until the very end of this book is background info that simply does not hold my interest. We are simply teased with the knowledge that something happened that is causing fear and guilt for our three narrators, but what role did they play, if any, in this accident? Prepare yourself for an extremely slow burn, although for me, this barely sparked. Somewhere along the line, we start hearing from a mysterious fourth narrator and in the very last pages we finally learn who this person is and how they are relevant to the story.
For me, this just didn’t offer enough to keep me interested throughout and the ending was anti-climactic after the slow build-up to get there.
On the bright side, this was a well-written quick read. The story just wasn’t for me.
I enjoyed this book. She's a new author to me. I liked the twists it had.
The story was well-written. I couldn't put it down. Each character was brought to life with details that made you like, hate or want to scream at them. I don't think I could ever have the strength to remain that strong in the face of such cheating lies. And yet, I could not stop reading this book, I had to know what would happen next. This book was entertaining and kept me interested to see how it all came about from all the women whom the narcissistic husband had used.
As a regular reader of Sports Romance and nonfiction books, mostly about baseball and Las Vegas, this was me branching out, trying something new, and I went in with tempered expectations.
It was a good book. Almost put you as the reader in the shoes of the movie Memento as you have the answer but are searching for the work along the way. The slow incremental reveal keeps you glued to each page and it is enhanced by the climax being ultimately realistic and in line with the personality and emotions of each main character. It’s an easy and quick read that will make you frustrated, upset, and intrigued in all the right ways.
“Beautiful women flower everywhere but a beautiful man is a rare find.”
This book started off really strong, and then it went downhill quickly. I seriously don’t know how this has such strong ratings. We start with an accident. Damon is a husband, a father, and he has been struck head on by an unidentified vehicle. Nobody is truly a suspect, because the rain was so heavy and the cameras around the street were down. There are 4 POV’s that we follow: Marla - Damon’s wife. She knows Damon is a scumbag, but stays with him to keep up her very privileged Instagrammable life. Sonya - A therapist, slept with Damon over a decade ago. Athena - A new age store owner, Damon’s current mistress, extremely naive for a 30 something. Mystery Woman - Obsessed with Damon for some reason, you find out why at the very end. Honestly, ALL of these women are naive, and completely unlikeable. They all have feelings for Damon even though he’s a man whore who has been sleeping around for years. And even when they find out about his issues, they still think there’s a chance that he’ll recover from his disgusting ways??? It’s just really strange and I felt absolutely no sympathy for any of them. Marla knows he’s a douche and stays with him out of complacency, and the Mistresses sleep with him even though he has a wife. They’re all just… dumb and have zero substance. I wouldn’t recommend this at all, and having a child with a loser beta man child is no reason to keep being a bad person.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All of these thoughts and opinions are my own.
Damon Kennedy is the CEO of Crisis IT. At home, Damon is Marla's husband, and Sean and Bianca's father. It may sound like the perfect life, but behind closed doors, Damon's life with Marla and his family is not the same reflection that Sonya hears as his therapist nor the same as shared with his mistress, Athena. After being the victim of a hit-and-run accident, Damon is in an induced coma. It will be curious to know which truth Damon will tell the police about the minutes leading up to the accident when or if he wakes up. Damon may not be the only one with secrets.
In alternating chapters, the reader learns about Damon through the POVs of Marla, Sonya, and Athena. Each POV reveals how Damon conducts himself in different settings and relationships. At first, there are more questions than answers of a life with interlocking threads that may unravel faster than Damon can address locked in the silence of a coma. There is also a 4th and anonymous POV, and when the name was revealed, I was taken entirely by surprise. What a plot moment of Gotcha!
It was hard to put the book down, and I look forward to reading more of the author's writing.
The Truth About The Accident By: Nicole Trope 5 🚙🚙🚙🚙🚙
This is one DELICIOUS novel about love, deception and revenge. 🚙 Damon is run over while walking across the street on a rainy night. He has a wife Marla and two teens. Damon is now in a medically induced comma as the police try to find out who hit him. 🚙 Damon is a CEO of a powerful tech company, but he has a wandering eye. We quickly learn that he is leaving a trail of broken hearts. Camera footage on that faithful rainy night is slim. The suspects could be anyone! Could it have be someone from the company? A spurned wife or loved? 🚙 Trope always delivers domestic suspense with a silver platter! She invited us in, serves us a delicious story and lets us bask in the finale. 🚙 Thank you Bookouture, Netgalley and Nicole for this advanced copy which is available June 30, 2023.