Becca Reviews: Her Many Faces by Nicci Cloke

You can read an exclusive author interview HERE.

Thank you to HarperCollins and Nicci Cloke for the ARC physical copy of this book!

I was hooked from the blurb alone, 'a thriller about a woman on trial for murder, as told through the eyes of the most important men in her life'.

Katherine, or Kate, or whichever name sticks with you, is a young girl figuring out her life. Unfortunately, she gets stuck in a very sticky situation. She is accused of, and on trial for, murdering four powerful men in a London club. Not a dance club, more a high powered, only allowed in if you know the right rich white man, kind of club.

The novel follows Katherine's trial from the perspective of the men in her life: her father, a school friend, a lover, a reporter, and her lawyer. The plot is vaguely in line with that of a coming-of-age storyline, but Katherine's formative years are a little more dramatic than most.

One of her brothers was killed in action in Afghanistan, which understandably hugely impacts the whole family. This is the spark that started Katherine's obsession with wanting to understand the situation in Afghanistan, leading her to go down the rabbit hole of 9/11 conspiracies. She introduces a school friend to these conspiracies and he quickly becomes obsessed also. They both scroll endlessly through online forums where anonymous members can add fuel to the conspiracy fire.

Not only is Katherine now focused on online theories, she is also noticing a bigger and bigger wedge being driven between her family. Tensions run particularly high between her and her mother, and later an incident with her brother leads Katherine to move out to her Uncle's farm.

At the farm, Katherine is introduced to a man who will become 'the lover' point of view, but their relationship is far from healthy and effectively leads to both their downfalls.

This is a really interesting commentary by Cloke on the male gaze and the assumptions that the men in Katherine's life have of her. Before reading this story from a feminist point of view, it is also a gripping novel with many twists and questions. You'll see in the Interview with Cloke that I ask about her use of the male gaze, and her answers are very insightful. In one of her answers Cloke mentions the new Netflix series Adolescence (which I have seen and thought was very thought-provoking, it has already led to debates at the pub!). She further mentions a fascinating interview with a youth worker about radicalised young men - read more here!

I think the threads of the plot were neatly and very satisfyingly tied up in the end. The themes of grief, family relations, and self-discovery are relatable to many people. At its crux, this is a story of a young woman attempting to find her place in the world. Although we don't hear from Katherine (until the very end), we gain such a layered insight into her and her actions—you just have to judge which point of view you trust! Notably, as Cloke also mentions in her Interview answers, although we see many sides of Katherine, she is always put into a neat box by these different men (a box that suits them each respectively). By definition, she is viewed through various lenses, and she is never allowed to be her multi-faceted self. This speaks to how women are often forced into the box of: mother, housemaid, cook, support system, employee, etc. They can never just be Katherine.

The characters are convincing and three-dimensional, and no big reveal feels forced. It is a pet peeve of mine when the story comes to a climax or you discover 'who dunnit' and the author has just crowbarred another character or plot point into the story to fit their vision. If there are no bread crumbs towards the murderer (whether I can see them or not) then I struggle to accept that murderer! However, here Cloke has perfectly set that scene so that once the truth is revealed to readers, they are able to look back and understand how everything unfolded - ah hindsight!

I have recommended this book to everyone at my bookclub and I will continue to recommend it!

It was also refreshing to read a book set in Devon, as I am on the Devon/Dorset border! I look forward to reading more Cloke!

Read: 10/03/2025

Published: 17/07/2025

ISBN: 9780063395046

Price: £8.99 (Kindle) (GBP)