Day: October 27, 2021

There is an awful lot going on in this new psychological thriller. I’ll do my best to unpack it all and make sense of it.

I will say right off that the author drew me in with a youth soccer team being the center of the story. We have been involved with youth soccer at numerous levels for over 12 years, so I instantly related to every single issue and complaint that arose.

It also made it easy for me to understand the different characters. Every team has its stereotypical soccer parents. So, that was also something that made it interesting for me.

On top of that, the author added a great bit of mysticism, from the ducking stool to the creepy woods, and even the new age-y mom. That’s another interest of mine, so those aspects drew me in as well.

I liked how the author kept me guessing about several aspects of the story. How much did the spookiness matter? Why was the dynamic of the football team all screwed up? What happened to Alex’s husband?

And who was behind the gossipy videos exposing the deepest secrets of the parents?

Those questions made for some page-turning moments.

However, I think that in some ways, the author did try to do too much, which can be disappointing in a psychological thriller. There were times that it seemed to lose focus and some of the threads didn’t get as much attention as they deserved.

For example, the spookiness of it all was kind of woven through, but never really came to fruition. There was an ending section that made me wonder if there was more to that, but it was a bit unclear.

Additionally, a few of the jaw-dropping twists were ultimately too forced. As most of the book read smoothly, the reveals did not seem plausible. This was especially true in Alex’s case. I thought that plotline went too wonky.

Other people may have a completely different take on it.

I would still recommend this book because the spookiness was perfect for this time of year. And if you’re a football (soccer) fan, you will recognize several characters. Definitely worth your time!

Author Bio

Claire Seeber is a Londoner who started her professional life as a (bad) actress and went on to become a documentary maker, lucky enough to travel the world meeting amazing people. Also writing features for newspapers such as the Guardian and Independent, when she had her first baby in 2004, Claire started writing psychological thrillers. The Observer called her first novel, Lullaby, ‘a disturbing debut’ whilst the Guardian called it ‘powerful’. Her third thriller Never Tell became a bestseller, and she has been published in more than twelve different languages.

Claire has been CWA Dagger-nominated, also writes for stage and screen, and today studies psychotherapy, as well as (trying to) manage a home of slightly feral children and animals. Luckily her very nice partner helps too.