Month: September 2021

This book was twisted in so many ways, I am not sure how to even start unraveling it. But I’m going to try.

On the surface, it’s the story about a family coping with the possibility of a life-changing illness in their child. It’s also the story of grudges, betrayals (imagined and real), and family history…in short, lots of issues. And it’s a clear commentary on the danger of assumptions.

That’s a lot to unpack in a psychological thriller. And because it is so much, there were some parts that were more successful than others.

The medical plot thread made sense, and it was a good basis for the tensions between Kay and Matt. When faced with situations like that, it’s easy to become vulnerable to all sorts of worries and internal questions. That was certainly the case with them.

I also liked the thread with Olivia. I had an idea early on where that one would go, but the author did a good job of giving just enough information, dropping hints here and there, to keep it interesting until it took a bigger focus in the story.

I thought that Kay was a victim throughout most of the story. She was worried for her child, aware of something (or somebody) manipulating the varying situations, but also at a loss to see the bigger picture because she was too caught up in drama.

And that leads us to Matt.

He was actually the perpetrator of a lot of the drama, and frankly, he got on my nerves. I didn’t think he was a nice person (even though Kay kept telling us that he was), he obviously held grudges (again, real or imagined) and he flew off the handle way too easily.

He also let his inner demons take control of things, didn’t see reason, was way too over-reactive…just really unlikeable.

I understand that there was a reason for him being that way, and that the family history plays a big part (going back to when he and his brother Jason were kids), but it just seemed to be too much. Especially when he expected Kay to listen to and believe him but didn’t give her the same consideration.

There are also times that the language felt repetitive. For example, there was one section where everyone was feeling poorly (I think it was repeated at least five or six times). There weren’t many instances, but this writer’s language is usually quite sharp, so it stood out to me.

The entire plot is intricate, and I was never quite sure where the author was going with who knew who, what the real story was, and (most importantly) who was the liar and who was the liar’s child. I had my suspicions about all of it – some were right, some were not quite accurate.

If an author can keep me guessing up until the reveal and surprise me in the process, that’s a winner in my book. And this story did exactly that.  

Author Bio:
Sheryl Browne writes psychological thriller and edgy contemporary fiction. A member of the Crime Writers’ Association, Romantic Novelists’ Association and awarded a Red Ribbon by The Wishing Shelf Book Awards, Sheryl has several books published and two short stories in Birmingham City University anthologies, where she completed her MA in Creative Writing.

I’ve made no secret of how much of a fan I am of this author. And while I still feel like After the Accident is his best novel, this one is another solid entry.

It is safe to say that Jennifer has a very bad day to kick off the plot…and things just get steadily worse from there. As always, the blurb gives away part of the story, so I don’t need to recap it. But I thought it was mostly plausible.

The author did a great job of portraying Jennifer’s desperation as one thing after another just rains down on her. It seemed relentless at times. Anyone might crumble with one or two of the things, but with all of it, there is no wonder that she often seemed at loose ends, barely hanging on.

One thing that struck me about this book is that it clipped along on the surface, which was good for the pace. It added to the frantic nature of Jennifer’s life over the few days this covered. But we never really got a lot of depth about motivations or other characters, which I think could have added to the tension.

For example, we know from the opening scenes that Josh is volatile. And that plays a big part in the rest of the story. However, we just keep hearing that he’s a bully and not a nice guy…but (unless I missed it) I never really saw why he was so bad and what made him do the things he did.

In that manner, I thought that Jennifer’s daughter Katie wasn’t very deep either. She seemed like a typical teen for most of the story, so when there were revelations near the end, they didn’t exactly seem realistic. I think also because some of the attempts at twists and to throw shade on her character fell short.

And that’s another thing about this book. From the title, I would have thought that there would be a lot more about Katie herself. And while she figures in it, the story is really about Jennifer. It’s almost as if the author meant to go one way with it all, then switched, but didn’t change the title.

There were a few other parts that didn’t seem to do much except to illustrate how badly Jennifer’s life had changed. For example, the scenes with her (separated) husband didn’t add much (except to her frustration). And the ones establishing her job just were kind of…there.

One of the things that surprised me the most, however, was how abrupt the ending was. The tension was building, and Jennifer was asked to do something completely outrageous…her choice started a new avenue for the plot but then it all just ended. I get where the author was going with her musings and thinking about what had happened.

I just wish there had been a little bit more to the resolution because the tension and frantic pace that Jennifer carried through the plot deserved it.

Regardless, as I mentioned at the outset, this was still a solid entry. I didn’t guess who the culprit was, and some of the things I thought would happen, didn’t. So the author kept me guessing and interested right to the very end.

Author Bio:

Kerry Wilkinson is from the English county of Somerset but has spent far too long living in the north. It’s there that he’s picked up possibly made-up regional words like ‘barm’ and ‘ginnel’. He pretends to know what they mean.

He’s also been busy since turning thirty: his Jessica Daniel crime series has sold more than a million copies in the UK; he has written a fantasy-adventure trilogy for young adults; a second crime series featuring private investigator Andrew Hunter and the standalone thriller, Down Among The Dead Men.

I am a long-time reader of this author and I have found her books to be fairly consistent. This one is no exception.

Nina and Zac are excited to have bought their first flat together, but quickly find out that homeowning bliss isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. You can get more details on the plot from the blurb.

I thought the author did a fine job of creating tension and directing suspicion. There were just enough secondary and tangential characters to keep the reader wondering who was responsible for what events.

It didn’t seem like Nina and Zac were a terrific match for each other, as even by Nina’s admission, they both had different interests and perspectives on their life paths. Even though this was by design to further Nina’s story, it made later events a little less realistic.

However, in thinking about it some more, maybe that was exactly the point. Nina was so wrapped up in trying to make her business work that she was blind to just about everything else. So, if Zac saw that, it would have been easier to believe what he was told about her.

How’s that for not giving away a plot point? 😊

I wasn’t sure what to make of Nina. She seemed flighty and spontaneous, but not necessarily in a good way. There were times that I felt that she was extremely self-centered (like when Zac came home, and she harangued him. That was annoying). I suppose this played into the plot since she had almost zero awareness and couldn’t see anything coming.

Nina’s business was also little bit of a puzzle to me. It seemed as if it was just picked out of thin air and that she didn’t have a lot of background to actually make it work. But again, that might have been by design, because her lack of knowledge would have contributed to the ease with which everything went wrong.

Speaking of things going wrong, I thought this is where the author excelled. The little things that Nina kept hearing and finding out about built the tension nicely, and (with her being distracted) played into the whole question of what was really going on. Each time she heard something or found something odd, the tension ratcheted up.

Interspersed among the chapters are flashbacks. But the reader doesn’t find out who those belong to until late in the book. And it’s as that is revealed that the picture begins to clear up as to who is behind everything.

I did have a suspicion that turned out to be correct but there were several other revelations in the “big reveal” that I did not guess, so that was well done even as some of it seemed a bit too convenient. I think a bit more background on the motivations would have made all of the ending more plausible. But it all made sense and there were surprises.

This was a good book that I read in pretty much one sitting. I would recommend it for the way the tension builds and some twists you won’t see coming.

Author Bio:
Shalini lives in Dorset, England with her husband, two children and Jess their cheeky terrier cross. Before kids, she was signed to Universal Music Publishing as a singer songwriter, but now she spends her days writing suspense thrillers (in between school runs and hanging out endless baskets of laundry).