September 12, 2021

In a genre littered with “jaw-dropping twists, you won’t see coming,” it is kind of rare for me to find one that actually delivers and absolutely floors me.

This happens to be one that does.

I don’t like using the word “literally,” because it gets overused and sometimes loses its meaning. But in this case, I did literally gasp and say, “NO WAY!” out loud more than a few times.

And at the end, I just sat there thinking, “What the hell did I just read?”

To be more succinct, this book was freaking awesome.

It’s everything anyone could want in a psychological thriller.

Sympathetic main character: check

Jen is a mess as she deals with the recent death of her husband (Jeremy), a moody teenage son, and the repercussions of a night that she would rather forget.

Ominous occurrences: check

The mystery surrounding Jeremy’s death, their marriage that may or may not have been in trouble, a strange patient (Jen’s a doctor) who is obviously a threat…for some reason. They’re all present.

Flashbacks: check

Labeled simple as “Then” in various chapters, the story from the past has obvious ties to the present…but it’s not exactly clear what those ties are.

Red herrings: check, check, check

Who is M? Who is Scott? What does the past have to do with the present? Who is the real monster in all of this? Just when you think you know the answers to these questions…you don’t. (The cover is 100% correct).

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The author has created such an intricate plot that even little innocuous things that don’t seem important suddenly loom large as the real picture comes into focus. It’s this attention to detail that makes this book as amazing as it is.

Wisely, there is a slow build as the author lays the groundwork for the fireworks that are set to go off in the last third of the book. And when you get to that part, hang on. Because roller-coaster doesn’t even begin to describe it.

If ever there is a time to NOT give away any important details, this is the time, because you truly need to discover the twists on your own.

I will repeat, just when you think you know why a character did something…you don’t. When you think you know who someone really is…you are mistaken. And when you think you figured out how everything fits together…you most certainly did not.

The twists do not stop until the very last page. Literally (there’s that word again). And the last part of the book will leave you questioning how you feel about…everything you just read.

If you get to the end and want to go deep and philosophical, I’ll just throw it out there to think about who the real monsters are in this book. You may be surprised at your answer.

Do yourself a big favor and pick this one up. If you are a psych thriller fan, it should be at the top of your TBR list.

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Twitter: @samhayes

Author Bio:

Samantha Hayes grew up in a creative family where her love of writing began as a child. Samantha has written eight thrillers in total, including the bestselling Until You’re Mine. The Independent said “fantastically written and very tense” while Good Housekeeping said, “Her believable psychological thrillers are completely gripping.” Samantha’s books are published in 22 languages at the last count.

When not writing, Samantha loves to cook, go to the gym, see friends and drink nice wine. She is also studying for a degree in psychotherapy. She has three grown-up children and lives in Warwickshire.

I’m a roll of good thrillers lately and am happy to report that this book goes into the list of “must-reads.”

The author did a fantastic job of laying out the plot, allowing the reader to move methodically through the plot. It never felt rushed or overcomplicated.

Additionally, there was no time wasted in getting to the heart of the story. Important characters were introduced, the tone was set, and away went the action! I liked that it got to the heart of the matter quickly and didn’t waste time with long, boring build-up.

I thought the author was very smart in how the character of Freya was portrayed to the reader. Since it was primarily from her point of view, the reader got used to her perspective quickly and was easily able to see what Freya saw.

Even as she began to have doubts about her new neighbors, it all still seemed “normal” and realistic.

And then, roughly halfway through, there is an incident that occurs which totally throws Freya’s character into question and suddenly makes her an unreliable narrator. It also caused me to wonder about the first half of the book, and how much of what she saw was actually “real.”

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There were chapters interspersed that were the inner thoughts of an unknown character. These were effective and added to the “creep factor” because both the identity of the character “speaking” and who they were referring to were unknown to the reader.

There were a couple of plot points that I thought were weaker than the others. Cathy’s part could have been a little bit more defined. I understand why she was used the way she was, but a few of her statements seemed to be essentially ignored in the overall wrap-up of the book.

In retrospect, something that appeared to be useless actually served to establish Freya’s frame of mind and her reference points for all of her actions and beliefs. That turned out to be a great insight into her narrative status and allowed the reader to question her as much as she questioned everything else.

I did guess one “twist,” but I didn’t entirely guess the reasons why, so I was totally okay with that plot point being obvious to me. And I really liked the scene with Henderson at the end. I thought it cemented that his character was more astute than he let on.

All told, this book had me questioning the reliability of just about every character and their motivations at one point or another. I liked being off-balance and thought it was a great read.

Facebook: chrismerrittauthor
Twitter: drcjmerritt
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Author Bio

Chris Merritt is a British author whose crime thrillers combine psychology, suspense, and characters you care about.

All his novels are set in London, where he lives. He began writing fiction in 2014, after previous careers as a diplomat, based in Iraq and Jerusalem, and later as a psychologist working with victims and perpetrators of crime. He specialised in treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which sparked his interest in telling stories about how people cope when faced with extreme adversity.

Now, he spends most of his time writing novels and drinking coffee while *thinking* about writing novels. When he’s not writing, he loves climbing and playing basketball.