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The Rival: The most addictive and unputdownable thriller you'll read all year by [Charlotte Duckworth]

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Charlotte Duckworth

The Rival: The most addictive and unputdownable thriller you'll read all year Kindle Edition

by Charlotte Duckworth (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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A GRIPPING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER, PERFECT FOR FANS OF THE WHISPER NETWORK AND LIANE MORIARTY

'A taut, chilling read with a killer twist at the end' Sun
'Brilliant and insidious' Lucy Clarke, author of You Let Me In
'A compelling addictive read . . . I absolutely loved it' Karen Hamilton, author of The Perfect Girlfriend

Helena is beautiful, privileged, happily married and the Creative Director for the UK's hottest luxury beauty retailer. She has everything that Ashley has ever wanted.

When Ashley wins a job as Helena's assistant, she is determined to impress. But is Ashley the perfect protégée or a ruthless rival?

When Helena discovers she is pregnant, Ashley's fierce ambition soon becomes apparent and it sets in motion a terrible series of events that could see both women lose everything . . .

READERS ARE LOVING THE RIVAL

'Tense, intriguing and satisfying' *****
'Don't miss this gripping, shocking and poignant read' *****
'Fantastic, brilliantly evocative' *****
'A must-read' *****

Length: 352 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled	Audible Narration: Audible Narration Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible narration. Add narration for a reduced price of $4.99 after you buy the Kindle book. Ready	Language: English

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Product description

Review

Absolutely terrific, a beautifully written debut from an exciting new voice in psychological fiction--Cass Green, bestselling author of In a Cottage in a Wood

Brilliant and insidious--Lucy Clarke, author of Last Seen

Dark, thought-provoking and compelling, The Rival is a brilliant study of female tensions that builds to a shocking and unexpected climax--Rebecca Fleet, author of The House Swap

Sharply observant, smartly plotted and beautifully written--Phoebe Locke, author of The Tall Man

The Rival is a gripping psychologicalsuspense that delves deep into the complex relationship of two women--Elisabeth Carpenter, author of 99 Red Balloons

The Rival is a compelling, original read about ambition, motherhood and how far people will go to get what they want. Chilling, complex and unnerving, I loved it--Phoebe Morgan, author of The Doll House

A chilling and compelling debut--Lucy Dawson, author of The Daughter

A compelling, addictive read... I absolutely loved it--Karen Hamilton, author of The Perfect Girlfriend

A distinctive new direction in psychological suspense, The Rival is as compelling as it is unpredictable, building tension cleverly right up to the satisfying conclusion. An excellent, fresh and absorbing read--Caroline Hulse, author of The Adults

A fantastic debut of how female relationships can turn toxic with devastating consequences--Sue Fortin, author of Sister Sister --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Review

Brilliant and insidious - Lucy Clarke, author of Last Seen

This is a taut, chilling read with a killer twist at the end - Sun

Absolutely terrific, a beautifully written debut from an exciting new voice in psychological fiction - Cass Green, bestselling author of In a Cottage in a Wood

A fantastic debut of how female relationships can turn toxic with devastating consequences - Sue Fortin, author of Sister Sister

A compelling, addictive read... I absolutely loved it - Karen Hamilton, author of The Perfect Girlfriend

A chilling and compelling debut - Lucy Dawson, author of The Daughter

Dark, thought-provoking and compelling, The Rival is a brilliant study of female tensions that builds to a shocking and unexpected climax - Rebecca Fleet, author of The House Swap

The Rival is a gripping psychological suspense that delves deep into the complex relationship of two women - Elisabeth Carpenter, author of 99 Red Balloons --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

ASIN : B074ZGJ94B
Publisher : Quercus (1 September 2018)
Language : English
File size : 3217 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 352 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 86,518 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 1,364 in Psychological Fiction (Books)
- 1,595 in Psychological Thrillers (Kindle Store)
- 1,641 in Women's Fiction About Domestic Life

Customer Reviews:
258 ratings

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overrated

Reviewed in Australia on 11 November 2018

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This is the story of two women who vie for the top job .
It tends to get a bit boring at first and then the story twists to a change in concept towards the end.
While I sympathise with the ending it surely was not the primary meaning of the story in the beginning.
Shame really as it was a reasonable 'power struggle' between two women but ended up very different

Helpful

Took Me By Suprise...so good!!

Reviewed in Australia on 5 September 2018

Wow.. The Rival by Charlotte Duckworth was good!! Totally took me by surprise and did not want to put it down. I read 80% of it in one sitting and If it hadn't been for work this morning I would have finished it all. I was fully engrossed in the story and really couldn't see how it was going to end which is always a good thing.

The Rival tells the story of Helena and Ashley. Helena is a career woman with a husband and her work - that is all she thinks she needs. She hires Ashley who is a young, single and very ambitious girl. They become a dream team at their company...and then Helena falls pregnant. What happens next changes both the women.

There were times in this book that I was not a fan of either of the women, but as the story progressed my feelings changed. It is told from the point of view of both the women and jumps between then and now. And ending that you will not imagine and this is a brilliant book. Just loved it!

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Two novels met in the park one day...

Reviewed in Australia on 14 September 2018

We could perhaps say ‘plot twist’ or ‘pivot’ (you know, to be irritating like the cool kids) but either way you are getting a bit more bang for your buck than usual with THE RIVAL. It is very much like two novels found each other somewhere in the middle and decided to merge; one being a workplace psychological thriller, the other a drama piece about the horrors of new motherhood. We do have past and present perspectives so there is that fore knowledge that something horrific has happened to Helena since the motherhood train pulled into the station. We just don’t know during the read how that is connected to her working life. Were clues there all along?

Ashley prides herself on her keen ambition and sees no reason why she shouldn’t achieve what she feels she deserves. There is always a cost, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be a cost borne by herself. The other employees in her new firm need to be conquered either by charm or clever manoeuvring but as long as the end result is that she powers up the corporate ladder, Ashley considers that things are progressing exactly as they should be.

Helena welcomes the opportunity to mentor a new person on her team, and fully believes in the value of a happy and nurturing workplace. If she can bring out the talents of her colleagues in such a way that the company receives their best efforts, it’s a win-win all around. Inviting her new young colleague Ashley to assist in an exciting new project, Helena envisions that between Ashley and herself, magic will happen. What happens next is nothing of the sort.
THE RIVAL has a huge ticking bomb threaded throughout most of the read but it might not be what you think. It is definitely there (oh the wonders of hindsight when you’ve just finished a book) but the power of it is understated. Every single mother out there knows that your first pregnancy was the one where everyone began to look at you in a different way. You’ve suddenly been assigned a different role, and your own opinions on this altered status seem to have little or no relevance as to how people intend to newly perceive you. Also, every single woman out there knows that other women in the workplace are not necessarily there to support and lift you up. They too need to look after themselves first.

What THE RIVAL does extremely well is to keep the reader glued to the page. There’s a lot of subtleties and nuances here that will have you leaning one way or the other with your suspicions and sympathies. It’s possible to make the assessment that there are no outright bad guys, just different personality types and different approaches encountered. Just as you find in every large workplace. Odd bosses, easy going co-workers, paranoid desk jockeys etc. The creeping sense of unease that Helena is blindly walking into a nasty quagmire tensely propels a book that is not just all about women crawling over each other to get to the top. THE RIVAL is a reminder that when it all goes to hell, your safety and personal wellbeing are more important than any job. The earth is crumbling underneath Helena’s feet in this novel and she seems powerless to stop it.

British author Charlotte Duckworth has written a slow burn novel of what it means to confront a demon on more than one front at the same time. What are our strengths and who are our allies when life takes an unexpected turn? THE RIVAL will resonate with a broad spectrum of readers who will recognize that they’ve likely crossed paths with an Ashley at some point throughout their careers. It’s always an interesting question to put to yourself as to what lengths you are prepared to extend to when challenged.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

L. Pearson

Well-written and cleverly plotted

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 September 2018

Verified Purchase

I’m really impressed with how clever and timely The Rival is. Charlotte Duckworth has taken on that most ubiquitous of topics, how pregnancy and child-rearing impacts on women’s careers, and explored it within the setting of a page-turning psychological suspense novel. Genius. Why didn’t I think of that? I’m a mother of two, and I’ve seen this stuff (although not quite this extreme) in action. How as soon as a woman’s pregnancy is announced, she might as well be invisible. How when she returns from maternity, people are wary of giving her too much responsibility in case she announces a second pregnancy. It’s infuriating, and it happens.

The Rival’s main characters are Helena and Ashley. Helena is a driven career woman. She’s married, and she’s putting off the question of having children to focus on her work. Ashley is younger and fiercely ambitious, and when Helena hires her, they make a good team. But it’s not long before Ashley’s actions seem to be pushing Helena to one side. This is cleverly done, with everything Ashley does seeming simultaneously sinister and yet not quite serious enough to report to anyone without seeming petty.

Despite the narrative switching back and forth between the past and present and between the two central characters, I was always fully aware of where I was, and who with, and I think this is a sign of how well this novel is written. The two voices are suitably distinct, and I love the way the full story gradually comes to light through the shifting narrative. The ending was suitably surprising, and satisfactory, too. This debut marks Duckworth as a writer to watch.

11 people found this helpful

Blackadder

Disappointing Story, Poor Ending

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 March 2019

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This novel is essentialy about two women, narrated from two time periods. Helena is in control at her office. Her new employee is Ashley, who has ambitious aims to get a lot higher. Before long, Ashley is her equal, and a pregnancy threatens to put the once-new employee way ahead.

The characters in the story are hard to warm to, and the men are just paper- thin extras. The two lead females are the main stars, giving a slice of office life run by women.

I just did not like this story. The final 10% of it is a mishmash of explanations, as if the author is trying to wrap it up in a hurry. Everything would have been a lot better if it were all told in chronological order, and we had seen a real battle between the women.

8 people found this helpful

SMitchell

More than a page turner...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 September 2018

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Today's world of work is sadly just as tough for women as it was a generation ago and we can sympathise with both Helena and Ashley alternatively throughout the story. However, the plot revolves around the tough read that is Helena's trauma and we want to know 'What happened to her baby?' The cleverness of the plot, switching between the voices of the two characters, urges you through each tense chapter and the suspense builds to the most amazing, unexpected ending. I promise you'll be moved and the story will stay with you. Highly recommended as a psychological thriller with an insight into the world of new motherhood today.

6 people found this helpful

papapownall

It’s your ATTITUDE, not your APTITUDE, that determines your ALTITUDE!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 June 2020

Verified Purchase

This is the story of two ambitious women Helena and Ash who work in a London marketing agency and their rivalries. At least the first two thirds of the book is. The tale rumbles on from the perspective of each of the characters jumping between "then" and "now". Nothing much happens but the tension builds nicely such that the anticipation is high by the time Part Three starts.

And then things change. It reminded me of The Abyss film that started as a fairly standard underwater rescue story until director James Cameron seemingly became bored and then the aliens arrived. No one was really expecting this twist, and I suspect many people will not expect the abrupt change in this book either.

* Spoiler alert * Childbirth can trigger extreme reactions in those are already suffer from mental health issues and this may be a little close to home for anyone who has suffered from postpartum depression or even, as we see here, postpartum psychosis.

2 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

An intelligent, gripping thriller

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 September 2018

Verified Purchase

In the present day Helena is a career woman and a mother without a job or a child. Her husband is acting strangely and accidents keep occurring on the road next to her house. In the past, she starts mentoring the ambitious and brilliant Ashley, who has an agenda of her own.
I didn't want to put this book down. The sense of growing dread as the past and present storylines start to unravel make this a really gripping read, and the final twist is immensely satisfying; both original and surprising but seeded through the story from the start. It is also genuinely thought-provoking, asking questions about the ways in which women sabotage each other and themselves and the choices working mums forced to make that dads aren't. It's also refreshingly (and as someone with a young baby myself, sometimes uncomfortably) honest about the difficulties of becoming a first time mother.
A must read.

6 people found this helpful

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