May 15, 2022
Rounded down from roughly 4.5 stars ⭐️
It Could Never Happen Here follows the lives of those involved in an Irish primary school in a small town. A scandal is about to tear their lives apart in ways they couldn’t have foreseen. Can they protect their children and keep the school musical going?
I have a bit of a love for books set in a small Irish town, so I absolutely loved the setting of this book. I really felt the claustrophobia of living in such an insular community where everyone thinks they know your business. There are very few characters who you can actually like, but that is definitely the point of this book. I did end up loving Arlo and Charlie. I always have a soft spot for the underdog, but they showed so much kindness and bravery. The drama seeping into the lives of these rich mums gave me Desperate Housewives vibes (although I admit I’ve never seen it). It kept me desperately wanting to turn the pages.
My only small complaint is that multiple points of view were used and weren’t clearly marked. I love the depth that comes with seeing multiple perspectives and it worked perfectly for this book. But the lack of obvious marking made it difficult for my brain to catch up to the shift at times. I did love the inclusion of extracts from the police interview though, I felt that was a fun addition! I also loved all the twists and reveals that happened near the end! I almost felt like I got whiplash, I just could not keep up! I do love it when a mystery/crime book can surprise me! I will definitely be looking out for more books by this author now!
I would recommend this to those who love a mysterious crime novel with a large dose of playground drama. But please be aware there are some possible triggers in this book, so be very careful if this could be an issue! I want to thank NetGalley, Atlantic Books and Eithne Shortall for allowing me to read this book and give my personal thoughts