ARC REVIEW: The Secret – by K.L. Slater @bookouture

Title: The Secret
Author: K.L. Slater
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
First published: July 27th 2018
Publisher: Bookouture
Finished reading: July 4th 2018 
Pages: 

“Sometimes you know what’s good for you but you go and do just the opposite anyway.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

The fact is that I’m a huge fan of K.L. Slater‘s psychological thrillers, so any time I see a new title popping up, my heart skips a beat. The Secret is without doubt another great title to welcome to the family. While not my absolute favorite of the bunch, there is no doubt that this newest psychological thriller is a very strong read with an ending that will leave you gaping at the last page and unable to utter something coherently. Oh yes, you might think you have this story all figured out early on (I’m including myself here), but this is all a smokescreen. The Secret has a couple of masterly incorporated plot twist bombs included that will shake you to the core and will dishevel you. Did I have a very STRONG dislike for Louise? Yes. Did I think Alice was a mayor pushover? Yes. Did those things sometimes frustrate me? Most definitely. But despite the unlikeable characters that made you want to hit something or someone and talk sense into them, you will find yourself completely hooked as you try to figure out what is really going on. And if you like surprises, you will be in for a real treat with the final reveals. Make sure to add The Secret to your wishlist if you are a psychological thriller fan, because this story is one of those rollercoaster rides that starts out slow but will have you breathless by the final page!

The sisters Alice and Louise used to be close, but their different personalities made them drift apart. But as Louise is struggling to juggle her new promotion at work with her eight-year-old son Archie, she has been starting to drop him off at her sister Alice’s flat. As Alice starts spending more time with Archie, she is starting to suspect something is off… And she has the feeling Archie might be hiding a secret or two. He isn’t the only one hiding something though…

Let me tell you a secret: the secrets and twists in The Secret will have you flabbergasted by the time you reach the last page. Oh yes, you will be in for one hell of a surprise and shocking ending with this one… Make sure to brace yourself. It is true that the strong dislike for one of the main characters did get a little frustrating, but the story would not have been the same otherwise and the suspense and general plot made up for it. What a read!

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ARC REVIEW: The Perfect Friend – by Barbara Copperthwaite @bookouture @BCopperthwait

Title: The Perfect Friend
Author: Barbara Copperthwaite
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
First published: July 5th 2018
Publisher: Bookouture
Finished reading: June 23rd 2018
Pages: 295

“I am a Russian doll of secrets, so many cradled one inside the other, all looking like me but diminishing until what is left is so tiny I fear I’m disappearing.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

!! Happy publication day !!

I have consistantly enjoyed Barbara Copperthwaite‘s psychological thrillers in the past, so of course I couldn’t resist trying out her newest title The Perfect Friend. And now I’ve finished it, and I can’t believe what I’ve just read. Oh yes, don’t let the bright and cheery yellow cover deceive you… This one will mess with your mind. When I think of Barbara Copperthwaite‘s books, I think of well written, intricately developed plots full of twists, secrets and lies to fool us readers. The Perfect Friend is no exception to this rule. I’m normally not a big fan of unreliable characters in psychological thrillers, but somehow this technique works really well in this story. Nothing is as it seems and between the intricate web of lies and secrets and the mystery around the past and background of both characters you will be drawn right in as you try to figure out what is really going on. What is a lie, what is the truth and how does it all fit together? Your brain will have a field day with this one, and I’m promising you the final reveals will leave you flabbergasted. Oh yes, The Perfect Friend has quite a few shocking surprises for us in store, as nothing is as it seems and it’s impossible to guess the full truth. The main characters are actually quite easy to like for unreliable characters, making it easier to connect to the story from the start. I did start wondering about the credibility of it all, but I was too distracted by all the plot twist reveals to be really bothered by that. Definitely read The Perfect Friend if you enjoy reading well written psychological thrillers full of surprises!

Alex her life has fallen apart ever since her husband had left her and her children won’t speak to her. She has been struggling with an eating disorder ever since, anorexia almost meaning her death sentence. But somehow Alex managed to come back from that experience, and has been trying to recover ever since. Her life changes when she meets Carrie during a group meeting, and despite the age difference the two become fast friends. And when Alex discovers Carrie’s cancer is back and this time it’s terminal, she decides she would do anything to help her friend. But is Alex truly the only one hiding secrets connected to her past?

If you are looking for a well written, engaging, twisty and surprising psychological thriller, The Perfect Friend is just the book for you. Trigger warnings are in place for abuse, (mental) illness, eating disorder and some sensitive scenes, but overall nothing too shocking to handle. This is not the easiest read and there is no doubt you will find yourself tangled in a web of lies and secrets along with the main character. I always love it when a story manages to mislead me! I also really liked the relationship between Alex and Carrie and how the story unfolded. All in all a very solid read.

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ARC REVIEW: The Silent Sister – by Shalini Boland

Title: The Silent Sister
Author: Shalini Boland
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
First published: July 16th 2018
Publisher: Bookouture
Finished reading: June 18th 2018
Pages: 144

“But I’m gradually realising that, given the right circumstances, anyone can have their self-esteem eroded.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I’m a huge fan of Shalini Boland‘s psychological thrillers, so of course I was superexcited when I first heard about The Silent Sister. It might just have been that I had sky high expectations, or it might have been it was the wrong story at the wrong time, but somehow I didn’t react in the way I thought I was going to when I started reading it. Oh yes, I’m really surprised by my initial reaction to The Silent Sister, because normally I find myself hooked from the very first page. Before I continue a little note: I seem to be in the minority so far, since most people seem to absolutely love this story, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. Ok, with that out of the way, let me try explaining why I somehow didn’t love this story as much as her other psychological thrillers. Apart from the reasons I already mentioned above, I think the main problem I had was with the main characters. There was just something about them that irked me, and as a result it took me a long time to warm up to the story. Also, the beginning of the story wasn’t as suspenseful and absorbing as I’ve come to expect, but I do have to say things improved a lot as the story continued and the second half definitely has a lot more twists and turns. I’m happy to say that I despite some reservations I was still able to enjoy the story in general and the second half is without doubt very strong! Especially regarding the plot twists and the creation of suspense. I did have an idea of what was happening, but I wasn’t able to guess the full truth at all. And that is always a good sign in a psychological thriller. In short, while not my favorite, I can still recommend The Silent Sister to fans of the genre.

Lizzy Beresford discovers what appears an old letter inside her own home, but the content makes her feel really uncomfortable. Who sent the message? How did they get into her home in the first place? Lizzy doesn’t seem to have any enemies in her life, so who would want to do such a thing to her? Especially since more letters and threatening messages start piling up… And things are starting to escalate. Will they be able to discover who is behind all this before things go too far?

Like I said before, I’m still surprised by my reaction to this story, but The Silent Sister turned out to be a slowburner for me. It took me a long time to warm up to the story, both because of the slower pace in the beginning and my lack of connection to the characters. I enjoyed the second half of the story considerably better though, and The Silent Sister will have some surprises and unexpected twists for you in store.

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ARC REVIEW: Bring Me Back – by B.A. Paris

Title: Bring Me Back
Author: B.A. Paris
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
First published: March 1st 2018
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Finished reading: June 12th 2018
Pages: 336

“But there is only silence, and the dust of hopes never fulfilled, taunting me with what could have been, if only I’d acted differently.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

!! Happy publication day !!

Bring Me Back has to be one of the most hyped psychological thriller releases this year. While I was stoked to be able to receive a copy early, I was also worried about the possible consequences of such a popular title. Because let’s face it: popular books and me don’t exactly have an optimal relationship. And as the mixed reviews for Bring Me Back started coming in, I was getting more worried about my own reaction. Hence the reason I’ve been posponing my own experience with this title until there was hardly time left before the publish date. It might have been that I went in with lower expectations, it might have been because of different reasons, but I was pleasantly surprised with what I found. The first thing that stands out for me is the writing style, which shows a certain quality you only see in the better psychological thrillers and was just as good as my previous experience with her work in The Breakdown. B.A. Paris knows how to create suspense and how to start a story with a bang. There is no doubt that the first couple of chapters will have you completely hooked! And while the pace was a little slower than I would have liked, I found Bring Me Back a very entertaining read. BUT. And here come a few elements I wasn’t too sure about and I know others struggled with as well. First of all, I was able to guess quite a few plot twists long before they happened and the plot was quite predictable in general. Or at least the mayority of the story… The final part was actually the complete opposite, but sadly not in a completely positive way. Let’s just say, without giving away spoilers, that the ending is so absurd and over the top that there was no way I could think of it as a believable plot twist. It was surprising for sure and I don’t think anyone would have guessed it… But I personally would have preferred a more predictable but at least credible ending instead. The change of past and present and different POVs did add a little something extra to the story, and I liked learning more about how the main characters first met and finding out what happened (even though it was easy to guess quite a lot of that information early on). As for the characters: I can’t say I particularly liked them, and this made it a bit more difficult to connect to the story. But the main issue for me was both the predictability of the majority of the plot and the highly implausible and over the top ending. Going in with lower expectations probably saved Bring Me Back for me though, and I was able to enjoy it better than I thought I would.

Finn and Layla travel to France during a holiday, only for Finn to return home alone. During a stop on the way back, Layla disappears from the car and nobody ever sees her again. Finn is initially accused of being involved, but later freed from blame although there is no trace of Layla anywhere. Years later, Finn has found happiness again and he’s engaged to be married… To Layla’s sister Ellen. Then one day a tiny Russian doll shows up on their doorstep, and their lives are about to change forever.

I’m aware of the fact that Bring Me Back has been receiving a lot of mixed reviews, and I can understand why. If you read a lot of psychological thrillers and go in with high expectations, you will probably be disappointed by the rather predictable plot and completely implausible ending and final twist. But if you instead take it slow and don’t focus too much on those points, you will be able to enjoy the solid writing and an otherwise slower paced but enjoyable story. And trust me, you won’t be looking at Russian dolls in the same way after finishing Bring Me Back.

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ARC REVIEW: The Date – by Louise Jensen @bookouture @Fab_fiction

Title: The Date
Author: Louise Jensen
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
First published: June 21st 2018
Publisher: Bookouture
Finished reading: June 3rd 2018
Pages: 315

“It’s far easier to deal with the black and white rather than the shades of grey lurking in the darkest depths of our minds.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I have been staring at this review for a week now and I still can’t get something proper on paper that isn’t the phrase: ‘just read the damn book‘. Because frankly, The Date left me speechless and blew me away and I’m still not sure how to properly turn this love into a coherent review. Time is ticking away though, so here is me giving a try anyway. First of all let me start with the basics. The fact is that Louise Jensen is one of my favorite thriller authors and of course I had very high expectations about her newest title The Date. I had no doubt this was going to be another excellent read, but what I didn’t expect was to get my socks knocked off and find a new absolute favorite. Holy cow, what a read! I literally dropped everything I was supposed to be doing after reading the first few pages and couldn’t put it down until I reached the very end. Not only is the writing sublime, but the suspense is spot on and I’m always a sucker for the amnesia element. Especially in this case, where the main character is unable to recognize faces (prosopagnosia) after trauma, which is something I had never came across before and is truly fascinating. This element plays a key role in the development of the plot and plot twists and without doubt adds a lot of suspense and intrigue to the story. But The Date doesn’t bet on one horse and an intricate web of twists, little hints and unlikeable discoveries is cast over the plot in a way that will have you fully absorbed. You can guess all you want about the ending and maybe even get one or two little facts right, but you will never be able to guess the full truth early on. The Date is one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read this year and without doubt a new all time favorite!

Alison Taylor’s Saturday night started out normal enough. She has recently separated from her husband, and her friends have convinced her to go on a date with a man she met online. While nervous, she is excited to be taking this step towards a possible new future… But what she doesn’t know, is that her life is about to change forever. Because when she wakes up the next day, she is home alone, hurt and has no memory of what happened to her. Even worse, when she looks in the mirror, she doesn’t recognize her own face… And as turns out, she doesn’t recognize the faces of her friends and family either, along with the face of the person who is trying to destroy her in the first place.

Bring out the superlatives and invite them to this review party, because I’ll need a lot of them to describe my feelings about The Date. I read a lot of thrillers, but this story was simply something else. The Date ticked all the right boxes for me and more, and I literally dropped everything to read this psychological thriller. Fascinating, highly addictive and utterly absorbing! If you are a fan of the genre, you simply MUST try this one. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

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ARC REVIEW: The Good Twin – by Marti Green @amazonpub

Title: The Good Twin
Author: Marti Green
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
First published: May 15th 2018
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Finished reading: March 28th 2018
Pages: 272

“Nothing in life is foolproof.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I always love a good psychological thriller and I was immediately intrigued when I read the blurb of The Good Twin. Deception, twists, suspense… Always consider me signed up for that! I want to say before I start my review that it is preferable to go into this psychological thriller completely blind and don’t pay too much attention to the blurb. Thankfully I didn’t remember the details myself when I started reading The Good Twin, but the blurb does give some spoilers that might ruin some of the surprises and twists. Of course I have adapted my own summary to avoid those spoilers. Ok, what that out of the way, it’s time to talk about this story. Because boy, it was one heck of a ride… I found myself hooked from the moment I started reading, and this had a lot to do with the writing style. There is just something about the way Marti Green writes that makes me fly through the pages and I literally finished it in less than a day. The Good Twin kind of has that The Kind Worth Killing air, and only in the best possible way. The plot development and the order in which the story is told, from different POVs, are both simply brilliant and only add to the overall suspense. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot to avoid spoilers, but there will be twists that will mislead you and you won’t be able to get the full picture until the very end. Always a good sign of a successful psychological thriller right? The main characters are very important in this story and have been very well developed, each identical twin with her own background story. They were easy to relate to and it was interesting to see the events unfold and find out how they reacted to it all. In short a highly entertaining, fascinating and well developed little masterpiece of psychological suspense.

Mallory Holcolm hasn’t had an easy life, growing up with a single mom and not a penny to spare. She has finally made it to New York to chase her dream of becoming an artist, talking art classes when she is not working as a waitress. Then one day she discovers something truly remarkable about her past: she has an identical twin she never even knew existed. Charly has had quite a different life than Mallory, being adopted by very wealthy parents and she never wanted for anything during her childhood. She is married to her college sweetheart Ben, owns a gallery and is the heiress of her father’s fortune. Mallory found out about Charly by chance, and it is also by chance she meets her sister’s husband Ben first. And what Ben proposes to Mallory might just change both their lives forever…

There is no doubt whatsoever that The Good Twin has everything I look for in a psychological thriller and more. A well developed plot, interesting characters, just the right amount of suspense and plot twists to keep me guessing… And of course a writing style that is engaging and flows naturally. The premise of The Good Twin is fantastic, and the execution without doubt lives up to expectations. It’s easy to say I can recommend it to any psychological thriller fan. You will be in for a treat with this one!

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ARC REVIEW: The Child Next Door – by Shalini Boland @bookouture @ShaliniBoland

Title: The Child Next Door
Author: Shalini Boland
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
First published: March 29th 2018
Publisher: Bookouture
Finished reading: March 12th 2018
Pages: 279

“My stomach gives a sudden lurch, and I have the sensation that something has irrevocably shifted. That nothing in our lives will ever be quite the same again.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

Birthday review!! 😀 Because receiving the message my request was approved last week was like an early birthday present in the first place.

I’ve been a big fan of Shalini Boland‘s psychological thrillers ever since she first reached out to me with the question if I wanted to read The Girl From The Sea back in 2016, and these feelings haven’t changed after reading her next three psychological thrillers. The Child Next Door is already book number five and was yet again very much another winner. There is just something about the writing style that has you hooked from the very first page and literally doesn’t let you go… I finished The Child Next Door in less than a day! This psychological thriller starts with a bang and every mother’s worst nightmare, setting the tone for the rest of the story. Who were those voices Kirstie heard? Are they after her little girl? Oh yes, you are starting to feel paranoid yourself as well as you keep reading and things start to happen to Kirstie. The characters are well developed and feel realistic in general and it was interesting to see them react to the different situations, although I’m not sure they are completely likeable. The pace is perfect for a good psychological thriller and the amount of plot twists and false leads is just right as well. There are a lot of different angles included in this story, making for a rich plot and a wide pool of suspects and possibilities. I did feel the general ending came a bit as an anticlimax after all that was being build up, but it was definitely not something that I saw coming and shocking as well. And that final statement!!! I SO need a sequel or something to know more… I was left staring open-mouthed at the last page because I just couldn’t believe what I just read. If you enjoy reading psychological thrillers, I can highly recommend both The Child Next Door and any of her other books. They are excellent!

When Kirstie wakes up and hears her child crying through the baby monitor, she hurries upstairs to tend to her. But then she hears an unknown voice in the baby monitor, telling someone to just take the child and go. Kirstie panicks and flies up the stairs, only to find her daughter safe asleep in her cot. Who was the voice she heard? There are no other babies living closeby… And neither the police nor her husband believe she actually heard the voice. But Kirstie knows something isn’t right, and these feelings only increase when things start happening…

The Child Next Door is psychological thriller at its best. Just the right amount of tension, a rich plot and a healthy dose of twists and false leads, but also well rounded characters and a pace that is just right. To top things off, the writing style will make you want to keep on reading and you will have a hard time letting go. I didn’t see the ending coming at all, as it kind of came out of nowhere, but it was shocking as well. And like I said before, that final reveal left me both speechless and wanting for more. Recommended!

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