After the Accident by Kerry Wilkinson

Is it a true crime tale, or is it an examination of family, jealousy and grief? Maybe it's all of those things? Or maybe, it is a simple tale of someone who pushed their father off a cliff and got away with it."

Originally titled "Seven Days in July", this book certainly opens itself up to intense scrutiny and unlimited speculation. It's the story of a group of people who tell their version of events, interview style, explaining what happened when they all went on holiday to the island of Galanikos in the Mediterranean. Based on a real incident, all the names have been changed but the basic fact is that Geoffrey McGinley, a British businessman, was standing on a cliff after dinner on the first evening there and later he was found unconscious and broken on the beach below. Did he fall or was he pushed? Geoffrey was at the resort with his wife, Beth, their grown children Julius and Emma, his business partner, Daniel Dorsey, along with his wife Liz and their son, Victor and Vic's wife. In addition Julius's 8-year-old twins, Chloe and Amy, were along on this trip. The getaway was planned by the elder McGinleys as Beth had been diagnosed with a medical condition and wasn't doing well. They had been to the island many times, but hadn't gone for the previous 9 years. So, a family trip with a party of 10 descended on the resort. The problems started the very first night. NO SPOILERS.

This book is so different to what Kerry Wilkinson usually writes and I had no clue of what to expect. I definitely enjoyed it, especially the style created by recordings made of interviews with all of the subjects. The entire collection of photographs, film and recordings was supposed to be a movie based on the case but the author used the material to create this novel presenting everything in written form and then leaving the reader to make up her own mind about what happened and who to believe. I can honestly say that there wasn't a character in this whole story that I actually liked. I questioned everything -- perhaps if I'd heard it all relayed in their own voices, watched their body language, analyzed their verbal tics, I might be able to put my reactions and thoughts into better perspective. I might be able to say which person I really believed. There should definitely be a film of this, a miniseries for sure. This type of docudrama is quite popular nowadays. So, in the end, "It's not only a question of who did what, but whether anything was done at all."

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read, review and recommend.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre - domestic drama, "true" crime, docudrama