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Rachel Abbott

Only The Innocent Paperback – Unabridged, February 5, 2013

by Rachel Abbott (Author)

6,798 ratings

Book 1 of 10: Tom Douglas Thrillers

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Every moment of Sir Hugo Fletcher’s life has been chronicled in the British press: his privileged upbringing, his high-profile charity work to end human trafficking―even his two marriages. But when the billionaire philanthropist is discovered murdered in his London home, tied naked to a bed, the scandal is only a shadow of the darkness lurking off-camera.

Laura Fletcher returns from an Italian vacation to find her husband dead and her home under siege by paparazzi. Is she shocked? Yes. But is she distraught? Not exactly. Especially when Chief Inspector Tom Douglas reveals his suspicions that Hugo’s killer is female. Laura always knew she wasn’t the only woman in Hugo’s life. And she knows she wasn’t the only one with a motive to kill.

The deeper Douglas digs, the more sordid details about Hugo Fletcher he uncovers. And yet nothing compares to the secret Laura guards, a secret that could bring the guilty to justice―or destroy an innocent life forever.

Print length

470 pages
Language

English
Publication date

February 5, 2013
Dimensions

5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches
ISBN-10

1611097843
ISBN-13

978-1611097849
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Popular Highlights in this book

What are popular highlights?

“The slow, relentless destruction of self-confidence is something that is impossible to explain.”
Highlighted by 402 Kindle readers
When shame is your own, it’s hard enough to bear. When other people are witness to it, it becomes intolerable.
Highlighted by 289 Kindle readers
The quiet but inexorable breaking down of self-esteem is much more sinister—it’s violation of the soul.
Highlighted by 198 Kindle readers

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Rachel Abbott has proved with this debut that she is a cracking writer. The book is a complex layered web, every chapter adding more and more layers of intrigue that pull you in further. I love thrillers and have read many of them, and this one stands out as one of the best. Amazing stuff.” ―Rachel Dove, The Kindle Book Review

“Abbott carefully constructed a world of mystery, depravity, sex, violence, manipulation and intrigue on so many different levels that I can honestly say you truly have to read until the last page to understand and appreciate the complexity of the story.” ―Karen DeLabar, Writing on the Rocks

About the Author

Rachel Abbott was born and raised in Manchester, England, and trained as a systems analyst before launching her own interactive media company in the early 1980s. She sold her company in 2000, and in 2005 moved to the Le Marche region of Italy. She lives there today with her husband, dividing her time between writing her second novel, cooking, and dabbling in web design.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thomas & Mercer; Unabridged edition (February 5, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 470 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1611097843
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1611097849
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #779,095 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #8,778 in Traditional Detective Mysteries (Books)
- #21,153 in Murder Thrillers
- #42,606 in Suspense Thrillers

Customer Reviews:
6,798 ratings

About the author

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Rachel Abbott

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Rachel Abbott's debut thriller, Only the Innocent, was an international bestseller, reaching the number one position in the Amazon charts both in the UK and US. This was followed by the number one bestselling novels The Back Road, Sleep Tight and Stranger Child,Nowhere Child (a short novel based on the characters from Stranger Child), Kill Me Again, The Sixth Window, Come a Little Closer, The Shape of Lies and Right Behind You. Close Your Eyes - the 10th in the Tom Douglas series - was released in February 2021.

In 2018 Rachel released the first book in a new series - And So It Begins. This was followed by The Murder Game in 2020 (The Invitation in the US).

Rachel's novels have now been translated into over 20 languages.

In 2015 Amazon celebrated the first five years of the Kindle in the UK, and announced that Rachel was the number one bestselling independent author over the five-year period. She was also placed fourteenth in the chart of all authors. Stranger Child was the most borrowed novel for the Kindle in the first half of 2015.

Rachel now lives in Alderney - a beautiful island off the coast of France - and spends a few months of each year in the Le Marche regions of Italy, where she devotes her time to her love of writing fiction. For more information, see Rachel's website at www.rachel-abbott.com, or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.

Customer reviews

5 star		57%
4 star		27%
3 star		8%
2 star		4%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Petra

Gets better as the series continues

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2016

Verified Purchase

A couple of years ago, I listened to The Back Road by Rachel Abbott and really enjoyed it. Then I discovered that The Back Road was actually the second book featuring DCI Tom Douglas. Only The Innocent is the first. If I had started with this one, I don't think I would ever have bothered with The Back Road.
At the heart of it, Only The Innocent has a really promising story of prostitution, human trafficking, sexual and domestic abuse to tell, but the execution was disappointing. Part of the story is told through letters the protagonist has written but never sent to her best friend. She then hands these letters over to her while the two are together in the same house. This really didn't work for me at all. Firstly, the letters were written in a manner that nobody would have ever written them, and secondly, the reading of the letters disturbed the flow of the story. A lot of the writing felt forced. It was all telling not showing.
Some of it reminded me of traditional cozy mysteries set largely in an old manor house with characters that had more money than sense. The whodunit and why became apparent quite quickly but it took forever to get there. I really liked Tom Douglas in The Back Road, not so much in this one. But at least it explained his history and I now understand his behavior in the next book much better.
I will continue with Sleep Tight, the third book, as I'm hoping the improvement from this to The Back Road will continue further in the third book.
The audiobook narration by Sarah Coomes was very good and it's probably down to her that I didn't give up when the plot became slightly dreary.
Narration 4 stars, Story 3 stars, Writing 2 stars.

19 people found this helpful

Helpful

Christine Terrell

Excellent characterization combine with multilayered plot!

Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2018

Verified Purchase

I’m not sure why I waited so long to try this series. After all, most of my thriller-loving Goodreads friends have read Ms. Abbott’s works, and with the name Abbott, her books always come up first on my sorted-by-author to-be-read list. I have also collected 5 of her books over the years through Amazon sales. Only the Innocent finally called my name and I settled in with great anticipation.

At first I was disappointed. I am currently in police procedural mode with my reading, and since the series is titled the “DCI Tom Douglas “ books, I thought that’s what I would be getting. After reading the first few chapters, however, it appeared I was headed into “psychological thriller” territory—a genre I am currently generally tired of. At this point it was a slow go for me. I soldiered on, however, and am so happy I did as this is not at all your usual 2018 psychological thriller type of thing, and the police procedural angle finally kicked in as well.

This novel is so multilayered. The family drama component is full of intrigue and is somewhat “goth-oid” thanks to the frequently used dreary setting of a mausoleum of a house. There are fascinating relationships amongst various people. I loved Laura and Imogen and Laura’s mom Stella. DCI Tom Douglas is a very decent guy who was dumped by his materialistic wife; she also took his beloved 4-year-old daughter Lucy with her. Bad ex-wife. His character is pretty bland in the beginning, but as the book progressed I really gravitated to his corner and am excited to see how Ms. Abbott develops him further. In this story he struggles mightily with the definition of “the right thing” as well as the nature of his relationship with Laura.

And then there’s the villain, the despicable Hugo Fletcher. What a @*($# this guy is. I usually can’t stand to even read about people like him, but because any overt physical abuse was minimized (relatively so), I never once considered throwing in the towel. On the other hand, I loved loved loved his sister Beatrice! What a character. Hey, Ms. Abbott, how about a spin-off book for Beatrice?

The plot is a tangled labyrinthine of a tale. And I mean in a good way. It was so fun trying to figure out what the heck was going on and how everything could possibly tie together. Kudos, Ms. Abbott, for this.

Other things I liked were the decisions to tell portions of the story in letter form and the title of the book. It took to the very end to realize the meaning of the title, but it could not be more perfect.

If you want solid characterization and a compelling plot, look no further than Only the Innocent. I really look forward to working my way through this series.

5 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer Judy

A winner for me

Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2020

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I really enjoyed this unique book. It is beautifully written and unwind in a slow deliberate pace that at times is almost excruciating! You want to know the whole story SO badly.

I am amazed that the book can do totally capture the reader when essentially absolutely nothing happens! The whole book revolves around the investigation and questioning in a case where virtually every witness is obfuscating lying or simply refusing to answer. A real testimony to the author and the fascinating characters she offers. This was really a unique reading experience and I really enjoyed it.

One person found this helpful

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VeeVon

Intrically Written Tale: Spoiler!

Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2014

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Very cleverly written story of abuse on many levels. It kept my interest, but I had to pause and put it down many times due to the depth and description of the psychological abuse. I don't think Laura tried hard enough to expose Hugo; didn't find that believable. So much more she could have done: hidden cameras, mics/recorders etc. The most unbelievable part was that even though she did what she did to protect Alexa; she absented herself from Alexa's life for years, very falsely believing that Alexa was safe from her father due to her young age. Ms Abbott should have done more research on child sexual abuse in general and particularly father/daughter incest.
While it was a very well written & engrossing story; if I"d known what it was ultimately about, I would never have picked it up. Too very disturbing and don't believe that incest should be used for entertainment in any case. But, I allowed myself to get sucked in and wanted to know what happened & how she did it. But, now I wish I had just put it down when I realized the subject; never to pick it up again. Read at your own risk.

22 people found this helpful

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Zombie Inkpot

Couldn’t suspend disbelief

Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2019

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This is a competently written, easy to read book. However, I didn’t find the actions of any of the characters believable in the way they were presented. The author cheats the reader several times by withholding information that the characters know but is deliberately kept from the reader. The police come across as completely incompetent. My biggest disappointment with this book is that it deals with incredibly serious topics in what I considered was a trivial manner. I only finished reading this book because it was selected for my book club. I hear that the subsequent Tom Douglas books improve, but I won’t be reading them. I don’t recommend this book.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Nik

Not a thriller, not fast paced and basic story line

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 31, 2017

Verified Purchase

Having read the back road which I enjoyed, thought i'd try another from this author.

The first few chapters for me seemed to start well. Once downloaded, it nose dived for me, flipping from what was happening in the present to going back and reading letters written, which sounds odd but they didn't come across as letters, more a recall in the first person, however really disliked the letter part.
I guessed early on who did what, too many clues at the start, which spoiled it for me. It was very drawn out, doesn't seem like it is a thriller, just a recount of past events,

It isn't fast paced, griping, basic story line, husband dies, who has done it, but to me it was obvious.

21 people found this helpful

Garrett

Highly Disappointing Knowing What The Author Capable Of.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 9, 2017

Verified Purchase

I was highly disappointed with the story, having read Rachel's, Kill Me Again which was a brilliant thriller. So on the back of it bought all her books. I started off after the aforementioned book, to read in the correct order leading up to Kill Me Again, as that was a page turner. This was a chapter turner, rather than being a thriller, it was like family members chatting about recollections of the past. Some chapters were just extremely long letters one had sent to the other and one of the character re reading them.
Even the detective on the case has marital problems.
The only thing I did like was the conclusion/ending. Which was more fitting than the end of Kill Me Again.

I just hope the rest of the series is like Kill Me Again rather than this one.

10 people found this helpful

Linda

Absolutely Loved This Book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 22, 2016

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I had already read The Back Road which is number two in this series and really enjoyed it so thought I would start at the beginning with book number one. It was brilliant to get some back story on DCI Tom Douglas which filled in some gaps that I had previously encountered.

The story itself was both fascinating and extremely horrific and was very well told from the point of view of each of the characters. I have to say the ending was a twist that I was not really expecting although I had my suspicions but those had been dismissed several times as the story unfurled.

I will certainly be reading the next in the series - Sleep Tight - which I have already purchased and I highly recommend this author if you are a fan of suspense and crime thrillers.

11 people found this helpful

Kathy Jensen

Well worth a read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 28, 2018

Verified Purchase

This is really a 4.5 star book, not quite worthy of the full 5. I got a bit confused now and again when something that had been revealed in a 'letter' was brought up several chapters later and it was hard to recall the detail - only of the downsides to reading on Kindle rather than an actual book where it is much easier to flick back through pages and refresh your memory. However, it was a good plot, building and assassinating various characters as it progressed and slowly revealing the full depth of depravity that is our murder victim - surely someone who deserved what he got. I did get rather frustrated by Lady Fletcher, feeling that she should have cottoned on to his Lordship long before they reached the alter - I'd have told him where to go after one or two dates and certainly would have abandoned ship immediately after, if not during, the honeymoon! I did like DCI Tom Douglas's quiet style and empathetic nature and, since he is the star of the series, I will try the next book. This one is well worth a read, though not the best thriller ever.

5 people found this helpful

Luxuria

Starts off strong but then slumps and never recovers :(

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2020

Verified Purchase

The tense and gripping prologue followed by chapters 1-4 had me hooked.
The remainder of the story promptly 'unhooked' me, though :(
More backstory than story.
Needs far more excitement and twists and these need to come in the STORY.
By the end, having grown thoroughly bored and caring little for the characters, I didn't give a toss 'whodunnit'.
Sir Hugo Fletcher is an expertly-drawn antagonist, though. If, like me, you are looking for an example of how to create evil characters, you can certainly learn from this book. That's the only benefit you'll be getting from it, though, in my view.
I like the human element of DCI Tom Douglas. He is a rarity in the crime fiction genre, I believe, as he is a police officer who happens to be a regular guy - nothing dysfunctional about him. He is portrayed as handsome too - another rarity! :)
In sum, thrilling start (with an equally thrilling synopsis), but rapidly becomes a bore.

2 people found this helpful

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