Duplicity (A Detective Carter Thriller)

Oh my very goodness!!! I don’t remember the last time I flew through a book like this! This one ticks all the boxes for a psychological thriller that you just can’t put down. Fast-paced, tons of ‘OMG’ moments, and with enough twists and turns to ensure you’ll need a good physiotherapist to see you right when you’re done!
Max and Alissa Burbeck are the perfect couple: wealthy and gorgeous, they’re the newly-weds who have the world at their feet … until one night an intruder murders Max, inexplicably leaving Alissa to escape unscathed. Who would have wanted him dead? And why didn’t they kill her too?
These are questions that are left for DS Warren Carter (although I must say it took a few chapters for his first name to be mentioned and I wasn’t sure if he was male or female!) to find answers to. Carter has his own demons to deal with – he’s still trying to overcome the loss of his wife to cancer roughly a year ago, and he’s bitter about being passed over for promotion due to a previous case where palms were greased, stopping the true criminals from being brought to book.
And along the way he needs to deal with a preening superior, an obsessive ex-boyfriend (not his own, Alissa’s!), a depressed colleague, and a distraught widow and a band of friends determined to protect her. Throw in an ecological cover-up, hidden jealousy and a mysterious childhood of horrific abuse, which could only lead to the victim becoming a sociopath of epic proportions … but who could it be?
Hodge keeps the action going at a cracking pace. You might have to suspend belief a teensy bit, but hey, it’s fiction, so just go with it! She doesn’t leave anything to chance, and ties it all up very neatly with no loose ends at all. Her characters are well-rounded and she cleverly shows you exactly what she wants you to see of each of their personalities – you’ll only catch on to that afterwards though!
If you’re looking for something that you just can’t put down, then this one’s for you! 5 big shiny stars from me!
Many thanks to THE Book Club (reviewers group) and the author for my copy of this book in return for my honest review.

Newleyweds Max and Alissa live a happy life together, until one night Max is murdered and Alissa narrowly escapes. Duplicity switches point of views between "The Other One" and "The Detective" as the search for Max's killer begins. It's not uncovered until later in the story how the two relate to each other. There are a number of characters who have motive to kill Max, and it's up to Detective Inspector Warren Carter to figure out who killed him and why.

Duplicity was my first book by Sibel Hodge, and I loved it! The pace was really quick, and I found myself engrossed in the story from the first chapter. I love when a book jumps right into the action! What I loved about this book was that there were so many twists! Just when you think you've got it all figured out, something else happens that throws you for a loop, until you've finished the book and you're staring at it wondering how that all happened!

I have to say, I loved the characters. DI Carter was one of my favorites. After getting in trouble with his boss for pursuing the truth on a former case even though it would incriminate a popular member of their city, he's at his wits end in his job. Then he gets tasked to Max's case and everything seems to wrap up too cleanly for him. Despite direct orders from his supervisor, he decides to continue to secretly work the case. Each character seemed to have their own voice and was well developed.

I can't say too much more without ruining it for you, but if you're looking for a quick and smart psychological thriller, this is for you! Sibel Hodge's writing was straightforward and to the point, and she didn't a single word with her writing. This definitely won't be my last book by Hodge!

Detective Sergeant Carter is extremely unhappy believing she should have been elevated to ‘Acting’ Detective Inspector, not the pompous twat Richard Wilmott. Constantly at each other's throats with threats of demotion for Carter, it’s evident in this division only one will survive. When a murder has been discovered in a posh Georgian mansion, they must try to make amends without much hope of doing so. DS Carter is suspicious of everyone and looks at all suspects along with the young wife who inherits it all after only eight weeks of marriage. Carter is one of the more interesting characters showing determination and skill to root out the killer while DI Wilmott persists in playing nursemaid to the young gorgeous wife of the deceased. Duplicity has an unusual, and to some degree improbable plot. Many readers follow this popular author and enjoy many of her books.

** Thank you to Publisher Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review. **

Is there anything more exciting than discovering a new to you author that you really enjoy? Not to me there isn’t! Immediately after I finished Duplicity I rushed to Goodreads to see if Hodge had any other books and I was so thrilled to see she has others with outstanding ratings from some of my most trusted friends. Now to find the time to actually read them…

I was hooked by this one right away, there are two viewpoints, the Detective and the Other One. The detective is DI Carter who is looking into the murder of Max. I really liked Carter, in fact I think he’s the only character that I actually enjoyed. He is relentless in his pursuit of the truth even if it means risking it all. The Other One is clearly the person responsible for killing Max but you have no idea who it actually is until much later. I’m a fan of alternating timelines and it worked so well here, the truth was slowly revealed in bits and pieces and it left me hanging onto every word. Part one is the slowest section but I was still very interested, but when part two starts? BAM! The pace really picks up and there were so many plot twists I think I may have whiplash.

I can’t talk about the plot very much here, but I can say that it is dark, twisted and full of shocking surprises. I was patting myself on the back for being so clever and correctly guessing which direction things were headed, until Hodge decided to spin me around and smack me upside the head for being so bold and presumptuous. I love when an author manages to deceive me and I was mislead so many times here that I lost count. This is an excellently crafted psychological thriller with all the necessary elements that I need in the genre. The pacing was right on, the tension was heavy, you don’t know who to trust, and there are surprises up until the very end.

Duplicity by Sibel Hodge is an intriguing psychological suspense thriller. This is my first book by Sibel Hodge and I cannot wait to read more books by her as this was a great twisty read .

Alissa and Max Burbeck have a perfect fairytale marriage. The newlyweds are madly in love with each other and after their honeymoon hold a reception for a few of their friends. But Alissa’s happiness does not last too long as soon after Max is killed in his home office and Alissa barely escapes the intruder with an inch of her life. In comes DS Carter who is suffering through depression after a tragedy and has been passed over a promotion .He does not believe the case is as simple as it seems and suspects there is more to Alissa than meets the eye.

It’s very difficult to say much about the book without giving away some of the suspense so I will say as little as possible. There aren’t any lack of suspects in this book and the author keeps you on your toes trying to guess who killer is . The characters are very well developed and the ending was a complete surprise . Overall a great entertaining read with a 5 star rating.

Many thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest and fair review.

Max and Alissa have the perfect life. They are in love, newly married and recently home from a honeymoon in Australia. Their happy existence is torn apart when Max is murdered, with Alissa barely escaping herself.

Duplicity is my first title read in 2017 and it did not disappoint me. A fast-paced thriller, I had trouble putting it down. I highly recommend this to any fans of psychological suspense, but I suggest you go in knowing as little as possible about the book before reading!

The book club voted it an ok book

Duplicity is my first book from Sibel Hodge and it won’t be my last. Duplicity has two points of view: ‘The Detective’( DS Warren Carter) and ‘The Other One’. I always enjoy books with multiple points of view. You are pulled in from the beginning and wonder who ‘The Other One’ is… and then we find out! This itself is a twist.

Alissa and Max have returned from their honeymoon in Australia and one night Max is murdered and Alissa gets away. The head inspector DI Wilmott is taken with Alissa and decides she is not a suspect, but Carter has his doubts. Carter is also dealing with the loss of his wife from cancer. Throughout the novel we really get to know Carter.

You can’t say too much about Duplicity without possible spoilers. There are many twists and turns to Duplicity. You think the novel is going one way but then it isn’t! You find yourself not really knowing who to believe and everyone should be a suspect! There are twists up until the very end and you find yourself thinking, “What did I just read”?!?!? But in a good way!

Duplicity is one that should be read in one sitting if possible. I wish I had been able to.

Duplicity is recommended.
Thank you NetGalley for my copy.

Alissa and Max have the seemingly perfect life. Until Max is murdered.

The twists and turns in this brilliant book are shocking - especially the last one.

I give this book 5* and would highly recommend anybody to read it!

Duplicity by Sibel Hodge

Max and Alissa have everything to look forward too. One night while Alissa is taking a bath Max is stabbed in the back of his neck. Detective Carter is investigating this case and something feels off about sweet, lovely Alissa. Alissa discovers Max's body and escapes through her bathroom window to a near by neighbor to safety. There are a lot of things that are not what they appear to be. There are more twists and turns in this book than anything I have read so far. Detective Carter has dug up a few motives for Max's murder. Alissa is kept safe by another detective who throws up barriers to detective Carter carrying out the investigation.

This is one book where I agree with other reviewers that you can not trust any of these characters. What started out to be what I thought was a crime procedural turned out to be a psychological thriller. I thought I had it figured out but I was so wrong. It takes a talented author to be able to fool you time and again to until the final explosive conclusion.

Thank you to Net Galley, Sibel Hodge and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with my digital copy for a fair and honest review.