The Bodies – Sam Lloyd | Book Review | #TheBodies | @samlloydwrites @TransworldBooks @ZooloosBT

Your child said it was an accident. Then it happened again.

The new break-out thriller from Sam Lloyd, author of Richard & Judy Book Club pick The Memory Wood.

When you look down at your newborn baby, you realise they were right, those smug parents you’ve always rolled your eyes at: you’d do literally anything for your child. To make them happy, keep them safe.

So when Joseph Carver wakes one night to find his teenage son Max scrubbing the kitchen, hands wet with blood and panic flooding his voice as he promises it was an accident, he didn’t mean to do it, Joseph does the only thing he can. He helps Max bury the body.

Joseph thinks that’s the end of the nightmare. Until he finds Max with stricken eyes and bloody hands once again . . .

You’d do anything for your child – even cover up a murder.

But would you do it twice?

MY THOUGHTS

My thanks to Zoe of Zooloo’s Book Tours for the invite and to the publisher for the paperback copy to review. The Bodies was published by Bantam/Transworld on 19 June 2025 in all the usual formats.

The Bodies throws you into the action from the start. When a suspect intruder is heard downstairs at night, Joseph Carver is taken right back to a past tragedy and trauma. This time however the cause is his son Max – whom he finds wiping up blood from the kitchen floor. After being assured by Max that the death was an accident, Joseph makes a decision that will lead to so many unintended consequences – and one, possibly very bad decision that leads to another… and another……

I’m not a parent so I have no idea what I would do in Joseph’s situation. He is desperate to protect his son and past parental failings weigh heavily on his shoulders. The problem is that with every deception, he digs a bigger hole for himself.

There were times when I found the plot ever so slightly preposterous however this fast paced read kept me completely engrossed with its plot twists and surprises. It wasn’t just some of the more gory detail that had me wincing but also Joseph’s endeavours to deal with deadly situations whilst being seemingly held together with Elastoplast strip!

The story also focuses on grief, blended families and parental responsibility and there is a moral dilemma at every turn. Joseph’s attempts to prioritise his son put his marriage in jeopardy however there are secrets aplenty here and Joseph is not the only one with something to hide.

This was a dark, tense and suspenseful read that I thoroughly enjoyed. Whilst I wasn’t sure that I agreed with all of Joseph’s decisions, I was nonetheless rooting for him all the way. And as for the ending, it gave me the chills.

Sam Lloyd grew up in Hampshire, where he learned his love of storytelling. These days he lives in Surrey with his wife, three young sons and a dog that likes to howl. His debut thriller, The Memory Wood, was published to huge critical acclaim in 2020.

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