Suspected of a murder she can’t remember, a troubled woman takes an unusual approach to proving her innocence in this gripping thriller from the bestselling author of Little Voices.When Jules Worthington-Smith’s wallet is found next to a dead man, she becomes the prime suspect in his murder. After struggling for years to build the perfect family and career, she’s dangerously close to losing … dangerously close to losing everything.
Sure of her innocence, Jules is desperate to clear her name. But there’s one big problem: she was blackout drunk when the murder took place and can’t remember what happened.
Unsatisfied with the police’s handling of the case, Jules embarks on her own gin-fueled murder investigation. As she uncovers fresh clues, she starts a true-crime vlog that becomes a viral sensation, pushing her into the public eye. It’s not long before the ordeal forces Jules to confront her demons, including her turbulent childhood and excessive drinking.
The deeper Jules digs, the more dirt she uncovers about the murder and herself. Unexpected truths pile up until she’s buried so deep even finding the killer might not be enough to set her free.
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Heartbreakingly wonderful story that covers so many different controversial topics that it would make an excellent book club read. This book had me flipping pages long into the night and left me with a book hangover. Well worth in because this was an exciting read. Highly recommend.
Wow! A big fan of this authors first novel I was so excited to read this novel and I read it in a day! Captivating from the very beginning and filled with many twists and turns I couldn’t put it down! Jules has worked extremely hard to get we’re she is in her life so when she wakes up after a night drinking and can’t remember what happened, her life as she knew it is gone. She must fight to prove her innocence as she is now a accused of murder. Will she be able to or will she loose everything? You must read to find out!! Loved this book and highly recommend you get it today as this author has become on my must read list without a doubt!
Twisty, unpredictable, and compulsively readable, FOR THE BEST deftly explores the intersections of healing and justice. Vanessa Lillie has created a riveting mystery about a woman desperate to remember what happened the night someone close to her was murdered—and she was named the prime suspect. Packed with surprises, this book will have you turning pages long into the night, right up until its stunning conclusion and beautiful last line.
In her sophomore novel, FOR THE BEST, Vanessa Lillie proves once again she is a master of the final twist. With an expert hand, Lillie creates a fascinating, gripping, thought-provoking thriller that weaves past trauma and present-day consequences for a protagonist accused of her beloved colleague’s murder. Complex, edgy, and smart, FOR THE BEST reveals secrets page after page, leading to a shocking ending you won’t see coming.
I love Vanessa Lillie! I love how she can weave in a big murder mystery that her main character is somehow involved in. Her strong protagonists get involved to find out the answers. In For the Best, Juliette, the mead, is at the center of a murder as the mead suspect. She works to get to the answer of who killed her friend. As usual, Lillie has so many angles the story could go into, but surprising the reader with the truth at the end. I love a good mystery/suspense that I can’t guess and that surprises me. Lillie does just that.
This may be my first book by Vanessa Lillie, but it was my second vlog/podcast themed audiobook! I must say, I’m really enjoying this style of writing. Think of this lit technique as a DIY crime defense, if you will, for that is exactly the path the story’s main character Jules Worthington-Smith takes to prove her innocence.
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The author of “For the Best” takes her readers down a winding, spiral path with Jules’ hunt for the truth. Why is it a hunt? Because she was blackout drunk and cannot recall the events from the night her business associate ended up dead.
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The book blurb does well to outline the story within, but what it doesn’t tell you is that you will be sucked in from start to finish. I was lucky enough to win an audiobook copy of this title from an author giveaway; I also picked up an ebook copy on Kindle Unlimited so that I could follow along when time permitted.
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I’ve come to realize that I won’t always enjoy the main character of every story, which is quite alright, to each their own. Jules was one of those characters you either loved or hated; most of the characters in this story were. While I wasn’t moved by any single personality, I fancied the overall storyline and the way it ended up playing out.
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I appreciated how Lillie intersected Jules’ current predicament with scenes from her past, leaving the reader constantly exploring the relevancy of it all. While I don’t want to give too much away, I will say that the concluding events tied together with the overall narrative quite well; there was a special type of justice in those final moments. I’d happily recommend this book to fellow thriller fans, especially those interested in the vlog/podcast themed style of writing!
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Many thanks to Vanessa Lillie for my gifted giveaway audiobook copy of “For the Best” and Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program for the borrowed ebook. I have voluntarily and honestly reviewed this title.
Set in Rhode Island and with a surprise appearance by a character from Lillie’s debut LITTLE VOICES, this book grabbed me from page one and had me compulsively tearing through each chapter all the way to the surprising end. I loved the use of the vlog transcripts, as the creative story structure was engaging and evocative. Lillie’s sophomore novel FOR THE BEST is not to be missed!
For The Best is a fast paced thriller with intriguing characters, yet by the end you’ll realize it’s deceptively deep as it delves into quite a few serious issues. Recommended for fans of thrillers, mystery and suspense.
Gripping Thriller !!! Yes indeed !!
“For The Best” was a phenomenal mysterious novel that kept me on the edge of my seat wondering who-dun-it….. all the way up to the last chapter.
Vanessa Lillie has many unexpected and complex twisted situations throughout this novel that kept me wanting to turn the pages.
The ending was truly brilliant and I did not see it coming.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for fair and honest review.
Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “For the Best” by Vanessa Lillie, Thomas & Mercer, September 8, 2020
Vanessa Lillie, the author of “For the Best” has written an intense, intriguing, captivating, and suspenseful thriller. The genres for this novel are thriller, mystery, and suspense. The timeline for this story is set in the present and goes to the past when it pertains to the characters or events in the story. The author describes her dramatic cast of characters as complex, complex, and dysfunctional. There are secrets, and betrayals. I like the way Vanessa Lillie brings attention to the use of media in solving crimes.
Jules Worthington-Smith has a loving husband and son and soon hopes to be at the top of her career. Jule’s wallet is found next to the body of a dead man, that Jules knows quite well, making her the prime suspect. Unfortunately, Jules was drunk, and had blacked out, and doesn’t remember anything.
Jules is determined to find the actual killer and using her phone, starts to make vlogs, interviews other people who were involved that night to see what really happened. The more Jules attempts to do, the more damage and danger she makes. Secrets from the past keep surfacing, that could destroy people.
I highly recommend this edgy, intense, novel with twists and turns for other readers.
Jules Worthington-Smith wakes up with a massive hangover. She can’t piece together all the events from the night before. The police knock on her door and want to question her about her wallet being found next to murdered body. This book starts off from the ground running! Jules can not remember what happened so she must try and figure out what did happen before she is arrested for murder. I enjoyed this fast paced thriller and trying to figure out all the twists and turns. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.
In this nail biter of a thriller, Lillie delivers an unconventional, unlikeable, but not unsympathetic protagonist who gets caught between a decades-old tragedy and a current day mystery. CEO Juliet finds herself in an impossible situation when her colleague is murdered, leaving her the prime suspect. What follows is a high-stakes unraveling, forcing Juliet to confront both her past and who she fears she’s becoming. Character-driven and heart wrenching, FOR THE BEST is a book to be devoured more than read.
Vanessa Lillie has done it again with another brilliant psychological thriller.
I finished this in two nights. So much tension. Jules is an alcoholic who’s experienced past trauma. She doesn’t remember the night Terrence was killed. Her character was so 3D through her faults and all. This story made me think about taking ownership and making amends.
With damaged characters and a dark undercurrent, the plot unravels a myriad of devastating secrets in the wake of an alcohol-soaked night that left a man dead and a woman accused of his murder. Mesmerizing and thought-provoking, For the Best smolders with a brooding, slow-burn tension. A fascinating look at the power of restorative justice, For the Best is Vanessa Lillie at her finest.
Vanessa Lillie deftly writes about complex and gritty relationships, and the damage long-term familial secrets can cause. The story had me switching allegiances like it was a tennis match, made me suspect everyone, and the ending…pure perfection. Loved it!
Lillie follows up her smashing debut Little Voices with another winner, this time exploring just how far a person will go to keep old secrets buried. For the Best is dark and gritty, starring a host of damaged characters who blur the line between what’s true and what’s not. A slow-burn, moody mystery that will keep you on your toes.
I really wanted to like this book because it has been recommended by so many authors I like, but the dependency of the main character on alcohol really bothered me. Of course, alcohol and not taking responsibility is a major part of the story.
Juliet Worthington-Smith can’t remember the night before, and when it is discovered that her friend Dr. Terrance Castle is found dead, she is the main suspect. She spends her time trying to prove her innocence. A long-held secret is the key to unlocking a lifetime of guilt.
I did like how the story was resolved in the end, but I felt like it took forever to get there.
December 24, 2020
You’re never gonna guess!
I was totally blown away with this book! I really thought I knew. But boy, was I Wrong! Sooooo Good!
Jules Worthington-Smith is surprised when cops show up at her door one morning. It seems her wallet was found next to a dead man lying in an alley. The alley just happened to run beside a local bar … where she and the dead man had drinks … many of them. So many that she has no memory of the night at all … she was blind drunk. She has now become the prime suspect in his murder.
Unhappy with the way the police are investigating, Jules takes it upon herself to do something that will prove her innocence, along with the help of a true crime author who just happens to be an ex-boyfriend from many years ago.
She starts a true-crime vlog as they start looking into this murder. What is revealed may not be something she wants the world to know.
Did the victim have a girlfriend, one who was also at the bar that night? His wife was also there … did she kill him in a fit of jealousy? And her father, of all people, were also in the bar with a lady friend. He already killed a young man years ago when he was drunk … did he get drunk and bash the victim in the head? And then there is Jules herself … police have a copy of a surveillance tape … she was seen crying and possibly arguing with the victim. Is she actually guilty and just doesn’t remember? But why would she even want him dead?
The deeper she digs, the more she discovers and she finds more questions than answers.
It’s highly suspenseful from the very beginning and steadily increases with each twist and turn so cleverly inserted into each of the convoluted circumstances. It’s an intricate plot with characters solidly drawn and who will be remembered long after the book reaches its final unexpected ending. Jules, especially, is a polished character. She’s .. until now … been a highly respected woman, has a loving husband and a young son …. yet never stops drinking even after her ‘black out’ night of drinking.
Many thanks to the author / Thomas & Mercer / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
***** AUDIOBOOK REVIEW *****
For the Best by Vanessa Lillie was not my favorite listen. The narration was good. I can’t find any faults there. I felt Teri Schnaubelt really made this story. She was able to make a, somewhat unlikeable character, slightly tolerable. Jules is the main character and the story is entirely in her POV. She’s an alcoholic and her situation reminds me of Gone Girl (which I disliked immensely and was probably one of the only readers that didn’t end up enjoying that book). Perhaps if she had just put down most of those gin and tonics she might have found a few answers.
My issues were with the story. It dragged and all the drinking kind of irked me. She tried to go all sleuth and figure out what happened but she gets in her own way the entire time. It seemed like Jules had very limited interactions with her husband and son. I just had a super hard time relating to her and understanding her thought process. I was totally behind her when she decided to investigate herself but she wasn’t really driven to do anything and that is what bummed me out. However, if I ever need a party girl who won’t remember a drunk Sara, well, I’ve totally got my girl!
Thank you Brilliance Publishing for the complimentary copy of this audiobook with the hope that I would leave an Unbiased Opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… my opinions.