No One Saw It Coming

by Susan Lewis

Don’t miss the new gripping novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Susan Lewis. Secrets lie at the heart of every family…When the unthinkable happens…Hanna’s world is crumbling.An unimaginable crime has been committed, and everyone’s looking for someone to blame. Her loved ones are under suspicion.Now Hanna must work out who is threatening her family – before it’s too late.No one could have seen this coming…Real readers love Susan Lewis‘Master storyteller Susan Lewis blends emotional family drama, heart-stopping tension and nail-biting suspense’ ‘A mesmerizing, immersive and emotional tale that is a struggle to put down’ ‘Had me hooked from the start’ ‘Best book I’ve had the pleasure to read in a very long time’

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Suspense

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 5, 2023

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.


Susan Lewis is the bestselling author of over forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense and crime. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s. Following periods of living in Los Angeles and the South of France, she currently lives in Gloucestershire with her husband James, stepsons Michael and Luke, and mischievous dogs Coco and Lulu.

Reviews

[Sandysbookaday (taking a step back for a while) · Rating 3 out of 5]

EXCERPT: I am staring at the TV where I've frozen the screen on a shot of Hanna and Jack in happier times. They are a very glamorous couple and look so happy, sophisticated, on top of the world. Hanna's laughing. She has such a beautiful, infectious smile; her eyes shine with humour and kindness; her skin is lightly freckled and smooth.

I look at Jack and my heart swells with Hanna's grief. He might not be a classically handsome man, but there is a magnetism to him. I feel a confidence that is arresting. I can imagine wanting to be a part of his world.

I wonder if Hanna knows his big secret yet, the one that Cait told Riona. Yes, Riona does confide in me from time to time, and she was so upset about this that it all came tumbling out.

How could he have betrayed his beautiful wife like that?

He was, at heart, a despicable man and yet I have little difficulty imagining how terrible his loss must be for Hanna. I wish I could comfort her, but there is nothing I can do.

Maybe it won't be so bad once she learns the truth.

ABOUT 'NO ONE SAW IT COMING': Secrets lie at the heart of every family…

When the unthinkable happens…

Hanna’s world is crumbling.

An unimaginable crime has been committed, and everyone’s looking for someone to blame. Her loved ones are under suspicion.

Now Hanna must work out who is threatening her family – before it’s too late.

No one could have seen this coming…

MY THOUGHTS: I am conflicted by my feelings about No One Saw It Coming. There's a thread in the first half that I really didn't enjoy and I believe that a different vehicle could have been used to facilitate the storyline. But it does serve as a cautionary tale . . .

I really didn't get involved in the storyline until the second half, and then I really did become involved. It took me three days to read the first half, but I read the second half in one sitting.

Despite the shaky start, I grew to love Hanna's character. Ditto Kate and Leo. Jack I liked from the start - with reservations - and I never had any doubts about Seb, Andee or Graeme. There is one character who is absolutely despicable.

The family is wealthy, but philanthropic. They are also complicated. A few of the complications I could have done without.

The majority of the story revolves around Hanna, with occasional interspersions from an unknown character who seems to know an awful lot about Hanna and her family.

The plot focuses on family relationships, which we know Susan Lewis is a master of. It also includes the issues of infidelity, teenage pregnancy, mental health, assault and murder.

⭐⭐⭐.3

#NoOneSawitComing #NetGalley

I: @susanlewisbooks @harpercollinsuk

T: @susanlewisbooks @HarperCollinsUK

#contemporaryfiction #domesticdrama #friendship #mentalhealth #murdermystery #mystery #suspense

THE AUTHOR: Susan Lewis is the bestselling author of over forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense and crime. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s. Following periods of living in Los Angeles and the South of France, she currently lives in Gloucestershire with her husband James, stepsons Michael and Luke, and mischievous dogs Coco and Lulu.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction, via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of No One Saw It Coming by Susan Lewis for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
https://www.instagram.com/p/CoJYE2IrY...

[Heather Adores Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐
Genre ~ psychological fiction
Setting ~ England
Publication date ~ October 10, 2023
Page Count ~ 372 (61 chapters)
Audio length ~ 10 hours 9 minutes
Narrator ~ Helen Stern
POV ~ multiple 3rd & single 1st
Featuring ~ 2 part story, infidelity in the way of an open relationship, attempted r@pe, murder

Mostly told by Hanna & Jack who are married and in an open relationship. They each have to tell the other how it goes and they can't keep secrets....yeah sure.
Seb is their best friend and starts dating Riona.
Andee & Graeme are part of the friendship circle and Andee helps out with the murder investigation.
Blanche has some chapters told in the 1st.

Part 1 was a bit slow moving for me, but there was a nice zinger at the end to get me intrigued for part 2.
Part 2 definitely picked up the pace. I do like when unsuspecting secrets are revealed after someones death, can't say I liked what it was in this particular circumstance though.

I liked the friendships between Hanna, Jack, Seb, Andee and Graeme. Jenny, Jack's stepmom, was a lovely lady. After the reasoning behind Hanna and Jack's daughter, Cait, being a bratty adult child is revealed I liked her progression into a more mature adult. She always seemed like a good mother to her daughter, Sofia, which was nice. The murderer was interesting ~ I'm not going to say too much more about that, except that the disorder brought me back to when I watched the soap opera One Life to Live back in the day, anyone watch that one?

Overall, this was fine, but it took me over a month to read it. I'd give this author a whirl again though.

Narration notes:
I did not listen to this one, but am just giving the info above for reference.

*Thanks to Sophia at Harper Collins for sending me a paperback. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

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[Natalie M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow, somewhat predictable but sound concepts and characters.

I did find the plot had many similarities to other novels of this genre and I anticipated the resolutions. Not the most memorable read but certainly not a bad one either.

The mental health aspects of the novel are well written and researched. A slow start improves and builds to a faster paced second half read.

Good but not great for me.

[⌜Linaraxx⌟ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow ok that was actually a great book! Definitely a fast reading one, not gonna lie, at the first 50 pages I wanted to dnf it BUT! I decided to give it a second chance... And I have to admit it! It's totally worthy it!!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A horrific crime has been committed and everyone is looking for someone to blame. Her loved ones are under suspicion, Hanna must find out who is threatening her family before it's too late.

A slow burner to begin with, but I like that as it gave me time to get to know the characters.

I did find myself hooked with it's surprising twists and no I did not see the end coming!!

Another great book by the amazing Susan Lewis.

[Ken · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed a Susan Lewis mystery, but this one seemed a bit of a slog.

Maybe the slow start as the reader is introduced to the seemingly idyllic Hanna who's wealthy job and loving marriage seems perfect from the outset.
Though an unimaginable crime and family secrets made it hard to gel with the characters.

The mounting sense of a twist did keep me reading, but found this to be lacking in this author's normal high standards.

[Dee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m afraid I saw it coming a mile away. The twist is really obvious early on, and I just kept reading to confirm I was right.

The story itself is meandering and repetitive and none of the characters are particularly likeable.

[Liv (livreads_) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hanna is a mother of two with a supportive husband and loving friends. However, the family dynamic isn’t the most straightforward and there are lots of secrets being withheld. When a life changing murder occurs, Hannah must work out who is causing her and her family so much hurt and threatening her family, before more damage is done.

This book was really well written and I was definitely gripped by the story. The first half was slightly slow but I liked getting to know the characters and their dynamics - even though I didn’t find any of the characters super likeable!😅

There is a good representation and discussion surrounding a mental health diagnosis within this book which I found to be written about in a very informative way.

The one thing I would say about this is I found it very predictable and it wasn’t that different to other thrillers I’ve read in the past. Because of the similarities, I don’t think it’s 100% memorable, but I definitely did enjoy it!

3⭐️ from me!

Thank you to Harper Collins for sending me a copy of this book!

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the publisher's synopsis, but instead recommend that you read this for yourself!

I've read many books by Susan Lewis and always enjoyed them - this was no exception. The characters are well written and the interplay feels genuine on the whole (wasn't sure about the Hugo subplot as he was so vile!)

I like the fact that some of the characters - notably Andee (and Jay) - recur from previous novels - it makes the network of connections feel authentic. I also like the way the book is written from the viewpoint of more than one character.

A well thought out and intruiging plot with several twists - I did however guess the main plot twist, but will give nothing away by saying anything further!

Looking forward to reading more by this talented writer.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

[Hazel · Rating 2 out of 5]

In my late teens and early 20’s I loved Susan Lewis. I count 2 of her books - Dance While You Can and Darkest Longing in my favourite all time books.

I was really looking forward to reading this book as it has been a while since I’ve read any of her books. Unfortunately this book was not for me.

It took me a long time to read as I found the first half of the book very slow. It was only in the last 15% of the book that my interest was peaked and I was engaged with what was happening to the characters and that I felt the pace picked up.

The plot line I guessed relatively quickly and I think this was part of the frustration with the slow pace. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters or feel that I liked any of them enough to care. The most likeable was Seb who seemed to be a nice person that had a bad thing happen to him.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fairly mediocre for me unfortunately, I would like to give it 2.5 so I'll round up to 3 stars.


The blurb mentions an unimaginable crime happening but that doesn't occur until over 50% of the way through. That's a lot of scene setting and a not very enjoyable introduction to the characters. None of them are particularly likeable so it's hard to feel any empathy when the crime happens. If your used to reading thrillers then it's fairly easy to spot where the plot is going so the title isn't very apt, and to be honest the slow start doesn't make it particularly thrilling.


I would read a whole book about Riona as she was the only character that kept my interest, and I feel like her back story was very quickly glossed over so that they could get the "bad guy".


I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins UK and the author.

[S.W. Hubbard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ludicrous! I can’t believe I finished this. It starts off slow with a gazillion characters introduced at various parties and functions. The couple at the center of the book have an open marriage, which brings down all sorts of trouble on their heads. But we’re supposed to feel sorry for them. Hmmm…not me. The subplot (which I figured out early on) eventually overtakes the main plot for a ridiculous finale. Don’t bother.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw it coming 😐

[Josephine Jarman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every family has hidden secrets that lie at its core. When the unthinkable happens all of hanna's family is under suspision . She must solve the riddle whilist trying to stop all tge family secrets tumbling down.
A well written noveĺ good character development more than justifies the length. You are hooked on discovering everything the secrets that are holding and ultimately who is responsible for this unforseen tragedy. A real pleasure to read thank you to net gallery for my arc. Highly recommended

[Francesca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had wanted to read this author for a while and I am glad I have started with this book. It kept me hooked and I definitely didn’t see it coming. I was expecting something completely different. Well done to the writer.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was just ok- it read a bit like a YA book to me. It centers on Hanna, who seemingly has it all, but it turns out there are some cracks in her perfect life. You also get occasional chapters from Blanche, who is initially not connected to the story until the author ties everything together.

The first half of the book is pretty straightforward, and again, I felt like it read like a book for younger audiences. It takes a big turn in the 2nd half of the book, but turns out that some people DID see it coming because I figured out the twist early :) I liked the twist and the 2nd half of the book better than the first half, but I just wasn’t that surprised by anything that happened and some of it seemed pretty unrealistic. The ending was mostly satisfying to me, though I didn’t think the mini twist on the last page was necessary.

Overall, this was an ok read that kept my interest but not my favorite. I’d give it 3.5 stars, rounded up. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️ 3 ⭐️

No One Saw it Coming is a good, solid read, although I’m afraid to say I did see it coming right from the very beginning.

The book is well-written and well-plotted, I just thought the main twist was really obvious and very similar to other books I’ve read recently.

The characterisation is excellent, although none of the characters are particularly likeable, and I didn’t connect or warm to any of them.

Overall, No One Saw it Coming is a decent, entertaining read. Looking forward to reading more from Susan Lewis in the future.

Many thanks to the publisher for my copy, in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐️🎧

My first book by this author. I had the audiobook read by Helen Stern, a great range of distinct voices for the array of characters.

What a complex family dynamic and so much going on with the plot. It made for a full on pacy read. There are a lot of characters, flaws, secrets, twists and a lot thrown into the mix ( almost kitchen sink level)
One of the disclosures didn’t endear me to 2 of the characters, and didn’t seem to fit the rest of the their character traits, although with wealth it seems extreme behaviours are more commonplace.

There is a crime, but it’s more of a dark domestic suspense than a crime thriller. It’s very character driven. All of the characters are well fleshed, all very complex, Seb seemed the most straightforward and uncomplicated and the most likeable and dependable. I didn’t really like the rest of the characters but it didn’t stop me being engaged with the story. I don’t think characters always need to be loveable.
I did guess who committed the crime, but in a million years wouldn’t have guessed the why, that was very convoluted.

At times there were parts which felt overly dramatised but I’m not sure if that’s the writing or the narrators interpretation.

It kept me very entertained and I whizzed through it so it gets a good rating, but would I recommend it? Yes if you enjoy a convoluted complex story that’s a bit different. Not so much so if you are looking for a straightforward crime thriller.

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

No One Saw It Coming opens with Jack and Hanna Madden who are at a lavish and elegant evening party in Clifton, a posh Bristol suburb. Hanna is talking to Dr Riona Byrne; Hanna's friend Andee Lawrence is also at the party. The Maddens have a son, Leo and a daughter, Caitlin, and live in a seven bedroom Grade II Georgian property in the Chow Valley, near Bristol.

The layered plot contains some shocking, largely well-disguised twists. The pacing is steady and everything builds to an exciting conclusion in this tale of family relationships. With realistic, well-constructed, though not necessarily likeable characters this is another winner from the pen of Susan Lewis.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from HarperCollins UK via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

[Kayl_may · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Susan Lewis book and it did not disappoint. Initially I wondered where it was all going in terms of the storyline but once the first significant event happens, it was like a rollercoaster after that and a very enjoyable one. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

[Megan O’Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit predictable but I enjoyed it a lot!

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hanna and Jack have been married a long time, although their relationship is not monogamous. They have a son Leo and daughter Cait who has a young child. Cait is a troubled teenager who doesn't have a good relationship with her parents.
Seb is a long-time friend whose wife has sadly passed away. He meets Riona through a dating website.
The first part of this book introduces us to the characters, some likeable, others not so nice.
I found this unputdownable. It is a very compelling read as you want to know what happened and how it all ties up.
It's a pacy read, and I loved the , although I did guess before the reveal.
I was disappointed that Astor never got his comeuppance.
Mental health is a very complex issue, and I thought the writing highlited this well.
Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC in return for an honest review

[Angela Carey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldnt get into it 😕

[Eliza Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Slow and predictable. I found all the characters unlikable and felt that there was too much dialogue (the toddler dialogue was also cringey and unnecessary)

[kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read that was well written with a compelling story line and well developed characters that were all believable and in some way or another all relatable.

The book is well paced with a good level of suspense and tension which immediately hooked me in right from the start. There are a good number of twists and turns and I was definitely kept guessing until the end, which although was definitely good and I didn't guess it, it didn't blow me away either.

I would definitely recommend it to people and I can't wait to read more by the author

[Jamie Park · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone in this book is rich and perfect and do everything right, at least in the beginning. That annoyed me. The couple is so perfect and in love that they have affairs. Their house is the most perfect and beautiful house of all time.
I found it off putting. Give me a flawed mom who maybe hates her husband a little and has dusty baseboards.
Thanks!

[Jess Risley · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨ BOOK REVIEW ✨

ɴᴏ ᴏɴᴇ sᴀᴡ ɪᴛ ᴄᴏᴍɪɴɢ ʙʏ sᴜsᴀɴ ʟᴇᴡɪs

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️// 5

OMG. THIS. BOOK.

I totally judged this off of the cover and thought “ehh..” but decided to give it a shot. Let me tell you.. I’m so happy that I did!!

The first half of this book I didn’t really know when or how I was going to be thrown for a loop. I had worked out all types of directions it could go and then it hit me. BOOM 🤯

I couldn’t put this book down and found myself making any and every excuse to finish it. So if you feel like being super unproductive, drop what you’re doing right now and order this book!

[Kath Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this book gripping til the end- found it very hard to put down and read it in 2 and a half days! Eager to read another Susan Lewis book and hoping it lives up to this one!

[Marilyn Docherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one saw it coming,…,,, neither did I. Fascinating.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I saw it coming from pretty early. Awful unlikeable improbable characters. Obvious implausible plot...