The Bestseller by Jenny Knightsby review – A captivating thriller

The Bestseller by Jenny Knightsby: The review

The Bestseller is dark. Right from the word go, we learn about main character Helena, a therapist, and her client, Belle, who is being abused by her husband. Belle’s recounting of the things her husband does to her are so vile that Helena needs to confide in someone. She shouldn’t – but she ends up telling her best friend Tala.

The trouble is, Tala is an author who is struggling to write her next book. That is, until she talks to Helena. She won’t let Helena read what she’s working on, even though she’s normally only too keen to give her a proof as soon as they are available. Helena sneaks a look at it – and she’s dismayed to find Tala has written about Belle. Not only is her job in danger thanks to rules about client confidentiality, but if Belle’s husband finds out – and if he’s really as dangerous as Belle makes out – her life could be in danger too.

There’s little of The Bestseller that surprised me. I guessed most of its twists, but that didn’t matter; I still enjoyed being along for the ride. The story is told over two timelines: the present day, and Tala and Helena at university, when their friendship started. It was initially hard to gauge the relevance of these sections but I enjoyed the slow build and seeing everything come together.

I was gripped by Belle’s relationship with her husband, though sometimes struggled with Helena and Tala’s reactions to situations. Perhaps I had to suspend disbelief a little from time to time, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this. It’s well written, captivating and even raises some interesting questions about the way people behave. Overall, a strong debut novel from Knightsby, an author whose future books I’ll be keen to read.

Thank you to Mountain Leopard Press/Headline Books for providing a copy of The Bestseller to facilitate this review.