BOOK INFO

Title: Follow Me

Author: Kathleen Barber

Publisher: Gallery Books

Publish Date: February 25 2020

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

Everyone wants new followers…until they follow you home.

Audrey Miller has an enviable new job at the Smithsonian, a body by reformer Pilates, an apartment door with a broken lock, and hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers to bear witness to it all. Having just moved to Washington, DC, Audrey busies herself impressing her new boss, interacting with her online fan base, and staving off a creepy upstairs neighbor with the help of the only two people she knows in town: an ex-boyfriend she can’t stay away from and a sorority sister with a high-powered job and a mysterious past.

But Audrey’s faulty door may be the least of her security concerns. Unbeknownst to her, her move has brought her within striking distance of someone who’s obsessively followed her social media presence for years—from her first WordPress blog to her most recent Instagram Story. No longer content to simply follow her carefully curated life from a distance, he consults the dark web for advice on how to make Audrey his and his alone. In his quest to win her heart, nothing is off-limits—and nothing is private.

MY REVIEW

Audrey is an influencer with over a million Instagram followers. She moves to Washington, DC, for a new job, and attracts the attention of an obsessed fan. Now, she’s faced with figuring out who is her friend and who is her stalker.

Told from multiple points of view – Audrey, Cat (Audrey’s best friend), and Him (the stalker). Audrey is insecure and anxious, but she’s also somewhat shallow. Having so many followers makes her feel good about herself, and she enjoys sharing things online. Cat values Audrey’s friendship more than Audrey does. They’ve been friends since college, but are opposite in many ways. Cat stays away from social media and has something dark in her past she doesn’t want getting out. Him is an obsessed fan who follows Audrey’s every move online and in real life.

Follow Me is a twisty psychological thriller with plenty of suspects. Audrey seems to attract some creepy guys in her life – the neighbor, the ex-boyfriend, the co-worker, the new beau, and Cat’s crush. With alternating POVs and plenty of suspects, this is a fun read. Clever, suspenseful, and chilling.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books by Kathleen Barber:

1. Are You Sleeping
2. Follow Me

BOOK INFO

Title: Dead to Her

Author: Sarah Pinborough

Publisher: William Morrow

Publish Date: February 11, 2020

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

Marriage can be murder…

SOMETHING OLD

Marcie’s affair with Jason Maddox catapulted her into the world of the Savannah, GA elite.

Old money, old ties, old secrets. Marcie may have married into this world—

but she’ll never be part of it.

SOMETHING NEW

Then Jason’s boss brings back a new wife from his trip to London.

Young, attractive, reckless—nobody can take their eyes off Keisha.

Including Marcie’s husband.

SOMETHING YOU CAN NEVER, EVER UNDO…

Some people would kill for the life Marcie has—what will she do to keep it?

MY REVIEW

Marcie had an affair with Jason, but now she’s his new wife. She’s married into the high society life, and she wants to keep her place in it. When Jason’s boss, William, brings home a new, young wife, Marcie feels threatened. Jason starts acting sketchy, and Marcie thinks the worst.

A fun thriller that starts off with drama that leads to murder. Told with multiple points of view – Marcie and Keisha. Marcie was the young new wife in the social circle until Keisha came along. Marcie has become accustomed to the high-class lifestyle, but everything isn’t perfect between her and Jason. Keisha is William’s new wife, and it’s pretty clear she’s in it for the money. Marcie and Keisha are second wives and trophy wives, and both have secrets from their pasts.

This novel has unlikable characters, secrets, betrayals, voodoo, and a delicious ending. The characters are unlikable, but they’re enjoyable to read about. The southern setting of Savannah is fantastic. A great read for fans of domestic thrillers.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books by Sarah Pinborough:

1. Behind Her Eyes
2. Cross Her Heart
3. Dead to Her
4. Insomnia

BOOK INFO

Title: When I Was You

Author: Minka Kent

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publish Date: February 1, 2020

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

A stolen identity leads a woman down a dark and desperate path in a gripping novel of psychological suspense by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Minka Kent.

After barely surviving a brutal attack, Brienne Dougray rarely leaves her house. Suffering from debilitating headaches and memory loss, she can rely only on her compassionate new tenant, Dr. Niall Emberlin, a welcome distraction from the discomfiting bubble that has become her existence.

But Brienne’s growing confidence in her new routine is shaken when she stumbles across unsettling evidence that someone else is living as…her. Same name. Same car. Same hair. Same clothes. She’s even friended her family on social media. To find out why, Brienne must leave the safety of her home to hunt a familiar stranger.

What she discovers is more disturbing than she could have ever imagined. With her fragile mind close to shattering, Brienne is prepared to do anything to reclaim her life. If it’s even hers to reclaim.

MY REVIEW

Brienne was brutally attacked months ago, and now rarely leaves home. She has taken on a tenant, Niall, so that she is not alone. When Brienne learns someone has stolen her identity and is living as her, Brienne has to get out of her comfort zone.

When I Was You is told with the alternating points of view of Brienne and Niall. Brienne is not the most reliable narrator, since she recently survived a brutal attack. Niall is kind and provides Brienne with the support she needs. Of course, nothing is ever quite as it seems, and there are more layers to the story.

After discovering her identity has been stolen, Brienne is led down a complex and crazy path. When I Was You definitely requires some suspension of disbelief, but it’s a fun read.

Books by Minka Kent:

1. The Memory Watcher
2. The Perfect Roommate
3. The Thinnest Air
4. The Stillwater Girls
5. When I Was You
6. The Watcher Girl

BOOK INFO

Title: A Good Man

Author: Ani Katz

Publisher: Penguin

Publish Date: January 14, 2020

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

A dark and gripping novel of psychological suspense about a family man driven to unspeakable acts, in the vein of The Perfect Nanny and We Need to Talk About Kevin.

Thomas Martin was a devoted family man who had all the trappings of an enviable life: a beautiful wife and daughter, a well-appointed home on Long Island’s north shore, a job at a prestigious Manhattan advertising firm. He was also a devoted son and brother, shielding the women in his orbit from the everyday brutalities of the world.
     But what happens when Thomas’s fragile ego is rocked? After committing a horrific deed — that he can never undo — Thomas grapples with his sense of self. Sometimes he casts himself as a victim and, at other times, a monster. All he ever did was try to be a good man, but maybe if he tells his version of the story, he might uncover how and why things unraveled so horribly.

MY REVIEW

Thomas is a man with a good life. This is his story about how things went wrong.

Told from Thomas’s point of view. He recalls the early days with his wife, his family life, and his work life. While everything seems ordinary, and even a bit dull in Thomas’s life, there is an underlying darkness. As Thomas tells his story, it’s clear that he’s not the good man he claims to be.

This book reminds me of Looker by Laura Sims, but from a male POV. A slow-paced psychological drama. While this novel has several things I love (unreliable narrator, picture perfect life, dark and twisted tale), I was never drawn into the story.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

BOOK INFO

Title: Good Girls Lie

Author: J.T. Ellison

Publisher: MIRA

Publish Date: December 31, 2019

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

J.T. Ellison’s pulse-pounding new psychological thriller examines the tenuous bonds of friendship, the power of lies and the desperate lengths people will go to in order to protect their secrets.

Goode girls don’t lie…

Perched atop a hill in the tiny town of Marchburg, Virginia, The Goode School is a prestigious prep school known as a Silent Ivy. The boarding school of choice for daughters of the rich and influential, it accepts only the best and the brightest. Its elite status, long-held traditions and honor code are ideal for preparing exceptional young women for brilliant futures at Ivy League universities and beyond.

But a stranger has come to Goode, and this ivy has turned poisonous.

In a world where appearances are everything, as long as students pretend to follow the rules, no one questions the cruelties of the secret societies or the dubious behavior of the privileged young women who expect to get away with murder.

When a popular student is found dead, the truth cannot be ignored. Rumors suggest she was struggling with a secret that drove her to suicide.

But look closely…because there are truths and there are lies, and then there is everything that really happened.

MY REVIEW

A couple of deaths, plenty of drama, and questionable behavior combine to make a clever suspense novel. The characters in this book are primarily young adults, but it reads as an adult novel.

Ash is the new girl at The Goode School, an elite boarding school for girls. Her arrival is the catalyst that leads to the events at The Goode School. I especially enjoyed the atmospheric boarding school setting. Lies, secrets, and rumors combined with money and power.

A slow burning mystery with secret societies and mean girls. Good for readers who enjoy mysteries and thrillers in a boarding school setting.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books by J.T. Ellison

1. No One Knows
2. Lie to Me
3. Tear Me Apart
4. Good Girls Lie
5. Her Dark Lies

BOOK INFO

Title: The Family Upstairs

Author: Lisa Jewell

Publisher: Atria Books

Publish Date: November 5, 2019

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone comes another page-turning look inside one family’s past as buried secrets threaten to come to light.

Be careful who you let in.

Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am.

She soon learns not only the identity of her birth parents, but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames in London’s fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, worth millions. Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. But what she can’t possibly know is that others have been waiting for this day as well—and she is on a collision course to meet them.

Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a healthy ten-month-old happily cooing in her crib in the bedroom. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at Cheyne Walk were gone.

MY REVIEW

After turning 25 years old, Libby inherits a valuable property and learns who her biological parents were. Libby was unaware of her biological family, but there are a couple of people who have been waiting for her to discover where she came from.

Told using multiple points of view (Libby, Lucy, and Henry) and alternating timelines. Libby and Lucy’s stories are present day, while Henry’s story takes place in the early to mid-1990s. At first, I found the alternating POVs to be confusing, but I soon got into the flow. The stories do all meet up, and it’s not all that surprising how people and events are connected.

The Family Upstairs is a domestic suspense with some crazy people and plenty of drama. Dark, chaotic, and twisted.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books by Lisa Jewell:

1. The Third Wife
2. The Girls in the Garden
3. I Found You
4. Then She Was Gone
5. Watching You
6. The Family Upstairs
7. Invisible Girl
8. The Night She Disappeared