The Good Listener

Reviews / Votes

Brilliant from start to finish * Woman's Own * Its missing-child scenario proves that Watt's standalones are every bit as adroitly constructed and absorbing as her series novels * Financial Times * An emotional, electrifying thriller that will have you hooked * Psychologies * Heart-stopping ... a deeply felt, superb novel about female vulnerability, motherhood and the way man hands on inhumanity to man * Literary Review * An ingenious hook, expertly developed and carried through in a typically propulsive, intelligent read. Watt manages to take the most disturbing of subjects and avoid making it feel exploitative or mawkish. Her love of Dartmoor - wild and secretive - shines through, even as we understand its danger, but it was the sense of past traumas impacting on the present that struck me in this cat-and-mouse read -- Sarah Vaughan, author of Anatomy of a Scandal and Reputation In Holly Watt's electrifying new novel, The Good Listener, she manages the near-impossible feat of balancing a heartbreaking and original premise with edge-of-the-seat suspense. Bold in style and beautifully written, grieving mother Clara Brennan is a protagonist to root for, and this rare gem of a thriller deserves to rocket to the top of your reading list -- Fiona Cummins, author of The Neighbour and Into the Dark That rarest of things: a brilliant book, perfectly executed. The Good Listener drew me in with pace, intrigue and emotional weight and just would not let me go. A terrific read from an author who never disappoints -- Gytha Lodge, bestselling author of the Jonah Sheens Detective Agency and Dead to Me A cut above. A poignant, intelligent and genuinely gripping thriller woven from a mother's worst nightmare and her search for the truth. Holly Watt is a brilliant writer -- Anna Mazzola, winner of the 2025 CWA Gold Dagger for The Book of Secrets The Good Listener is a taut, elegant thriller that grips from the first page and won't let you look away. Holly Watt balances heart-pounding suspense with nuanced characterisation, giving the main character, Clara, depth beyond her tragedy. Tense, assured, and heartbreakingly human -- Paula Daly A fabulous premise and a thrilling, complex mystery. I was hooked from the first page -- S. E. Lynes, bestselling author of The Housewarming and Every Mother's Nightmare I adore Holly Watt's storytelling. The Good Listener is an intelligent, involving novel with the pace of the most propulsive thriller, and a story that sweeps you into its emotional heart -- Charlotte Philby, author of The End of Summer It's so rare to read a truly original thriller plot, but this is one. Watt's plotting is so clever that this is a book that you immediately want to reread to collect all the clever clues and misdirections. The interactions between the two women are more than a game of cat and mouse - they're almost a dance. This is the perfect book club book -- there is so much to think about that you're left dying to talk to someone about it! -- Ellery Lloyd A fabulous thriller with a premise that had me hooked right from the start. In Clara, Holly has created a protagonist who is broken after facing a mother's worst nightmare but who is then given a chance to find the answer she so desperately seeks. A truly emotional, utterly gripping read - this is perfect book club material. I loved it -- Nikki Smith Tense, heartfelt and profoundly moving. Even murderers need Good Listeners -- Sarah Sultoon PRAISE FOR THE LAST TRUTHS WE TOLD: 'Seriously good. Ingenious plotting and the sort of writing that makes you pause and wish you'd penned that' -- Sarah Vaughan PRAISE FOR THE LAST TRUTHS WE TOLD: 'Absolute book-club dynamite. A must-read!' -- Ellery Lloyd PRAISE FOR THE LAST TRUTHS WE TOLD: 'Very well written and genuinely creepy ' * The Times *