Bobbie - Shop now
Kindle Unlimited
Unlimited reading. Over 4 million titles. Learn more
Read for Free
OR
$6.99 with 30 percent savings
Print List Price: $9.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Sold by Amazon.com Services LLC.
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Justine John
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Gilding the Lily Kindle Edition

by Justine John (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.8 out of 5 stars 26 ratings
A gripping mystery of jealousy, murder and lies.

An invitation to her estranged, wealthy father’s surprise 75th birthday party in New York sees Amelia and her husband, Jack, set off across the pond to meet a whole new world of family politics.

Amelia, now a successful businesswoman, feels guilty about never liking her father’s women, so does her upmost to give his new socialite partner, Evelyn, the benefit of the doubt. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could just all get along? But there’s something very dark, determined and dangerous about her…

When Amelia’s father, Roger, becomes ill, Jack grows suspicious that there is more to it. Amelia understands why, but no one else will believe them. They travel back to America to piece together the puzzle, but when Roger goes missing, the couple are driven to their wits' end. It takes a DEA officer and a secret assassin to bring them answers, but the ruthless truth is something no one expected…
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    245 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    November 25, 2016
  4. File size
    1.0 MB
  5. Page Flip
    Enabled
  6. Word Wise
    Enabled
  7. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
Next slide of product details

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01N535MZY
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ I_AM Self-Publishing (November 25, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 25, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.0 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 245 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1911079751
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 out of 5 stars 26 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Justine John

Justine John

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

After thirty years in corporate life in London, half of which was running a successful events company, Justine decided to take a chance to write the novel that was ‘in her’ since she was a child. Gilding the Lily is the result of this and is a domestic noir, phycological suspense story which will keep you on the edge of your chair/sofa/bed/train/plane-seat.

While she's not writing she loves spending time with her family, riding three horses (not at the same time!) or walking her two dogs. She lives in the alluring and inspiring Surrey Hills and likes chocolate, keeping fit and deep hot bubble baths. She dislike spiders, olives and bad news.

Find her on Twitter @justinecjohn

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
26 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Books Of All Kinds
    5.0 out of 5 stars A stunningly disturbing debut thriller
    Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2017
    GILDING THE LILY by Justine John is a stunningly disturbing debut thriller, with twists and turns that you will never see coming. Amelia longs to feel close to her father and hopes that their trip to New York for his surprise birthday party will be the beginning of that. But things never seem to go to plan. Evelyn, her father's partner, is a complicated and jealous person who is determined to cut Amelia and her husband Jack, from his life. And as the story progresses we get to see the lengths that she will go to to make this a reality. Amelia and Jack are deeply in love with each other, and it breaks Jack's heart to watch his wife suffer at the hands of this woman. But as her father's health takes a turn for the worst, they begin to fear that something a lot more sinister is going on. This story is fast-paced and really makes you feel like you are there as this mystery unfolds around you, but nothing prepared me for the ending! GILDING THE LILY by Justine John is an emotive psychological thriller and I cannot wait to read what the author has for us next.

    *I voluntarily reviewed this book from Authoright.com
    Helpful
     Report
  • donnasbookblog
    5.0 out of 5 stars Really enjoyed it!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2017
    This was such a great story!  It was so well thought through and planned it was a really excellent read and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

    The book starts with such promise I was a bit concerned that it might not be able to carry it through the book, but I needn't have worried - it was very, very good!  

    This is a cracking debut novel, full of suspense, great characters and a brilliant plot - 5 stars from me! It is an excellent psychological thriller.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Whispering Stories
    4.0 out of 5 stars This is the kind of debut novel that holds the bar high for any subsequent novels that follow.
    Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2017
    Amelia’s relationship with her father Roger has always been a strained one, caused by her step mother Helen. Helen despised her, and stopped allowing her to visit them in New York. When Helen died the two managed to build bridges and become close again. So when her father announces that he was dating again, Amelia makes a conservative effort to be friendly, and get along with the new woman in her father’s life, Evelyn.

    Everything seemed to be going swimmingly. Amelia and her husband Jack had even been invited by Evelyn to attend her fathers 75th Birthday party. But not long after touching down from London, the two begin to question Evelyn’s part in Rogers life. Especially when she hires a seedy nightclub, in her fathers worse place in New York, Coney Island, to throw him a surprise party, something that he despises.

    Amelia determined to stay on the good side of Evelyn, does everything she can to be friendly, but there is only so much you can take when the woman, who is playing the good ‘pretend’ wife to Roger, starts to treat Amelia and her husband like dirt, and tries to turn her father against her, though not in front of everyone else. What is this woman’s motives, and how does she have such a hold over Roger?

    Gilding the Lily is a slow paced thriller. There is no sense of urgency about the plot, yet the book hooked me in. I was pulled completely into the lives of Amelia, Jack, Roger and Evelyn, and couldn’t wait to see where the story would take me. To gild the lily means to give a falsely attractive or valuable appearance to something, and Ms. John certainly chose a title that couldn’t of fitted more perfectly.

    The book is written in alternative view points of Amelia and Jack, except for four chapters told by two other characters. Written in this manner, you get to delve into both of the protagonists lives deeper, and really get a sense of what each of them are going through, managing to get inside of their heads.

    The storyline throws a lots of curve balls at you, and it certainly didn’t play out how I thought it would, catching me off guard more than once. It’s not only a thriller, its a book exploring the inner lives of families, and tells a cautiously tale of how it can take only one person to destroy many others.

    This is the kind of debut novel that holds the bar high for any subsequent novels that follow.

    Reviewed by Stacey on Whispering Stories Book Blog

    *I received a free copy of this book, which I voluntarily reviewed*
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • TheQuietGeordie
    3.0 out of 5 stars Domestic thriller
    Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2017
    *Thanks to the author for the free copy in exchange for an honest review*

    The book is mainly told from a dual perspective, that of Amelia, the daughter of Roger, and her husband, Jack, and their relationship with him and his partner, Evelyn. It begins with a trip to America to visit Roger and Evelyn. Evelyn comes across as being jealous of Amelia's relationship with her father, and at first Jack can see both sides. As the novel continues, they become suspicious of Evelyn, and think she's trying to put up barriers between father and daughter. Told over a period of 3 years, this is a family drama like no other.

    It took quite a while for me to get into the story, as some of the chapters feel quite repetitive - the same scene being played out first from one character's perspective then another. However, once it got going, I was hooked and desperate to read "Just one more chapter".

    I liked both the characters of Amelia and Jack, I found them to be very believable and well rounded. Evelyn was also well written as a villain, however Roger felt a little flat and underwritten as a character.

    I would recommend this mostly for people who enjoy a domestic thriller.
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Dom Flint
    5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging style, interesting characters
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 31, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Really engaging writing style and loved the backstory of the most unpleasant character in the book - made her believable, interesting and almost (almost!) made me feel more sympathetic towards her. A really good jolt at the end of the book too. Looking forward to reading the author's next book.
    Report
  • Nellie&Moles music
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, fresh & different
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Loved the style this book was written in, real characters, with interesting believable lives, takes a lot for me to get into a book (I'm a film addict really) but this book I just couldn't put down. Hurry up and write the next book Justine John.
    Report
  • Valerie Bayliss
    5.0 out of 5 stars A genuinely good read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 26, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I loved this book. I liked the writing style where chapters are written from the perspective of different characters but in the third person so there is no confusion. A well crafted and cleverly plotted story which made you want to keep on reading. Thoroughly enjoyable and would recommend.
    Report
  • TIMOTHY H JENKINS
    5.0 out of 5 stars A totally compelling read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 10, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This novel held me from the very first page. I am a dyslexic reader and yet I read this book in record time for me for the simple reason I couldn't put it down, except for periods of sleep when I regained my reading energy. This is a book not to be missed.
    Report
  • Anne Storey
    5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed this novel
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I really enjoyed this novel; interesting characters with an thought provoking twist. I liked the summary start of each chapter, and the fact that each chapter was then written from the perspective of different characters. I also enjoyed the amount of detail...descriptive yet appropriately underdone. Recommended!
    Customer image
    Anne Storey
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    I really enjoyed this novel

    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2017
    I really enjoyed this novel; interesting characters with an thought provoking twist. I liked the summary start of each chapter, and the fact that each chapter was then written from the perspective of different characters. I also enjoyed the amount of detail...descriptive yet appropriately underdone. Recommended!
    Images in this review
    Customer image
    Report

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report