Loved the book, hated the ending. Liked the characters and their conflicts.

As much as I tried, Poison by Galt Niederhoffer was just not the book for me. I found the plot so unbelievable, the characters actions and responses so far out there, that I was taken out of the story again and again. I typically like domestic thrillers, but this story just didn't work for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review this ARC. All opinions in this review are strictly my own.

I wanted to love this book after reading the description but I just was unable to connect with this book.

POISON
Galt Niederhoffer

MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️▫️
PUBLISHER St. Martin’s Press
PUBLISHED November 21, 2017

POISON is a compelling story of one woman's maddening struggle to be believed.

SUMMARY
Cass and Ryan Conner have a happy marriage and lovely family. They have three wonderful kids, a nice home and both have successful careers. But in the blink of an eye something changes. The betrayal and lies begin, the defenses go up, accusations are levied. The disagreements start small and then they mushroom. The happy marriage falls apart and suddenly it becomes a matter of life or death.

“She feels the power of desire, the power of attraction. He is her poison. The only question is the dose at which he is fatal.”


REVIEW
I struggled with the writing in the beginning of this book, but never one to give up, I thankfully stuck with it. The story was gut-wrenchingly good. It is a frustrating and frightening psychological thriller. It's the story of a perfect crime that leaves no fingerprints and flips the suspicion from the attacker to the victim. Overall, I liked the premise of the story, but found several essential part of the story unbelievable. I appreciated the strength of Cass’s character, but found it incongruent with many of the decisions she made. I highlighted several thought-provoking passages in the book, but found the book heavy on narrative and light on dialogue. Overall, despite its issues. I enjoyed the book

Thanks to Netgalley, St Martin’s Press and Galt Niederhoffer for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“His outrage fuels her outrage, his anger her indignation…Is it possible this is all her fault, that she has created the problem, that her mistrust is the root of their ills, as opposed to his indiscretions?”

I couldn't finish this book. I found the use of adjectives overly used that you ended up skimming the pages to get to the actual story. Maybe that was the style the author was using but it didn't work for me.

Cass Conner is happily managing her family in a Seattle suburb, enjoying her part-time professor position and relishing the joys of motherhood. After the death of her first husband, she was surprised when she met someone as perfect for her as Ryan seemed to be, someone warm and loving who was willing to take on her two children. Having a baby together cemented the closeness of their family, and everything was wonderful.

Then something changed. Ryan became distant, abusive, holding Cass by the throat and telling her she was no longer in his life, though the next morning he acted as if all was well. Cass became ill, with stomach cramps, vomiting, rectal bleeding, and she started to suspect Ryan was involved somehow. Since their relocation from New York to Seattle, Cass had no one she could turn to for help, and she inevitably trusted all the wrong people. Can Cass manage to convince the authorities of the danger and find a safe space for herself and her children?

I’m a bit conflicted on this book. There are so many times Cass failed to protect herself and her children, especially after she realized she was somehow being poisoned. She wasn’t proactive; she simply reacted to whatever craziness Ryan presented to her. I enjoyed the first half of the book. I felt the characters were developing well and the scenes were realistic. And then…I had to suspend belief when the family went off to Bermuda. Holy crap. Your husband is poisoning you with an unknown substance; you’re so ill you’re vomiting and bleeding, and you scamper off to a relatively deserted resort with him? And you take your three kids along?

There’s an interesting premise, along with a compelling and timely issue, but I felt Cass simply wasn’t a strong enough or consistent enough character.

3.5 stars
Cass was a single mother with 2 children. Her world changed for the better for both she and her kids when she met Ryan. Or so she thought. They married and he was a loving husband and a wonderful father to her kids. They also had a baby of their own. Life was idealistic until Ryan started acting strangely but making Cass think she was imagining it and it wasn't his fault their marriage was heading south but hers.
This story was a tad unrealistic at times but also very disturbing. Even with proof of a crime, some times the victim is, not believed for the mere reason her story is crazy and she maybe she is just a deranged person.
This story will show everything this woman went through to show she wasn't crazy but a victim.

Appearances can be deceiving. The Connors appear to be a perfect family however, Poison is spreading through it. Ryan, the husband, turns out to be one creepy freak. Cass is altogether too trusting, forgiving and naive. Cass should have listened to her Mother. Mama was right. A psychological thriller, chilling.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

This one looked really good but the execution just didn't live up to the amazing premise. I just wasn't sure how I should rate this one. The premise screams thriller but I didn't really get that. The pace was very slow and I really didn't care about the MC Cassandra. I really wanted to like this one but it just didn't happen. The writing style and the story it just didn't work out for me. For me, I just cant overall recommend this one.

This book had me at "They both loved The Beatles and Raymond Carver." This was Cass and Ryan when they met. This writer shows great observation, insight, and wisdom into family life. I really enjoyed the narrative style of writing. In the first half of the book, I found the story to be wonderfully descriptive and detailed. The second half was a bit confusing at times, as to the really bad things happening. It was vague and with very little transition. The story was good overall and definitely held my interest.

This was a slow starter for me, but when it took off, it was a wild ride.
Many women facing the medical, legal & police systems face the problems of not being believed, taken seriously, or thought of hysterical or crazy. Cass was able to find a support system that believed her and were able to help her fight her way back.

Will leave a review on Amazon under name of Connie

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, via NetGalley, for an e-Uncorrected Proof in exchange for my honest opinion.

I didn't know much about this novel and I think that's why I enjoyed it so much. So if you plan to read it, don't check many of the reviews because of the spoilers. This is a hard review to write without giving away the points that made it so enjoyable for me. It's a psychological thriller that is fast-paced except for the beginning when the author was setting the story line and characters. Once that was done, it moved quickly for me and I didn't want to put it down. The novel revolved around what seems like the perfect family of five but that plot quickly goes awry because of the protagonist's husband who turned out to be an abusive husband in every way possible.

The author had to have done a tremendous amount of research into matters such as investigative journalism, police matters, psychiatric procedures, lethal drugs and doses, and computer hacking. This novel reinforces how hard it is for women to be believed when trying to assert their rights in reporting crimes.

This book spent over 20% of itself electronically giving too much background detail about these people and repeating itself. It was literally the build up that would not end, so I ended it.

Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

This book has the potential to be a suspenseful read but as it stands has a number of flaws that get in the way. I had a hard time with credibility. I just didn't believe many of the decisions made by the protagonist nor did I think the situations were realistic. This detracted from my overall enjoyment of the story and quite honestly left me frustrated.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for letting me read Posion before the release date. Cass and Ryan seem like the perfect couple, until we start to realize that there is more there than we realized. This is the first book of Niederhoffer's that I've read. She writes beautifully. I really enjoyed the twists and turns, but I feel like the ending was maybe rushed. I still don't quite get what actually happened at the end. The "gotcha" moment didn't really seem like it resolved everything. That said, I would definitely recommend this book, and look forward to checking out more from this author.

Thanks to Netgalley, I was given the chance to read this ebook prior to its release. Cass Connor, works as a journalism professor, has three children, and is married to Ryan, an architect. The youngest child is his, the other two are from a previous marriage and the father of those children has died. As Cass experiences more and more symptoms of illness, she slowly realizes her husband is trying to poison her. But her efforts to get him arrested meet with giant obstacles. At this point, the credibility of Cass comes into play. Would you stay with someone who was trying to kill you, just to get him the proper punishment?

Although the plotting is good, some minor details niggled at me. The book takes place in Seattle, which is all well and good. The author uses fake place names for the most part. But when they go to their cabin for a getaway, they take a ferry across Lake Washington into Puget Sound and on to an island two hours away. There is no ferry on Lake Washington and we don’t have a ferry crossing that takes two hours. Why mix fact with fiction when it comes to setting?

It’s a good, solid read with lots of tension. I just couldn’t believe the heroine would put her life in jeopardy like she did.

I did not want to put this book down. Even though the plot was pretty direct, it did have a lot of excitement that pulled me through the story. It is very believable and I enjoyed the explanations of the poisons so that I would have a better understanding how she was being manipulated. It also pointed out a key problem with the justice system and how the woman, even if they are the victim, has the burden of proof and is seen as dissevering of their abuse.

Several times I found myself confused about the timeline. I would have really like to have had dates attached to each chapter. Sometimes I thought several days had passed when it was actually the same day. The book also ended abruptly. I would have liked a little more of an explanation.

I would still highly recommend this book. It was a quick and easy read that is very well written.

Cass met Ryan after the death or her first husband. Her Mother never liked Ryan but Cass was in love and wanted a second chance at happiness. After they were married, Cass and Ryan moved with her two young children to Portland to start a new life for their family. Soon they have a child of their own to complete their family. Cass and Ryan seem like the perfect couple and Cass appears to be happy until she starts to notice little things that are off. First lies, then angry denials, omission of the truth, acts of cruelty and eventually threats.

Just what the heck is going on in this book!?! This is a psychological thriller which captured my attention from the very first page. I sat and read this book in basically one reading. I had to know just what was happening, how it was happening, is what is happening real, is there an unreliable character or is one of the characters a dangerous and evil person?

I enjoyed how Cass started out as strong and intelligent but as the story progressed she appeared to weaken and make bad choices, as in really bad choices. I never really cared for her husband Ryan as he appeared manipulative and too syrupy sweet from the start and soon changed into a defensive, controlling and horrible person. I also did not find the whole neighbor angle to be believable and how Cass could trust someone she does not know so completely. That part seemed a little too convenient.

This book has a fast pace and there is always something happening which keeps the reader engaged in the story even if not everything is plausible or for me believable. The ending came really fast and out of left field for me.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed this book. I did sit and read it in one sitting. I just found some things to be off. Overall it is an enjoyable psychological thriller.

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

Poison was an unexpected read for one- one that I truly enjoyed even when I wasn't so sure about it. The fact that a book can surprise like this one has me is brilliant!

This is a psychological thriller/ drama novel that shows the slow disintegration of marriage through a series of social issues that are near and dear to many readers. The characters are extremely well thought out and realistic even if they sit on the edge of creepiness. And the plot? unexpected and stunning!

I really LOVED the writing style of the book. The descriptions of the home life were so clear, and it was just something about those passages that really spoke to me. So, I enjoyed the book in large part due to the writing. The plot itself was good and kept me engaged, but I was left confused at parts. I felt like maybe there was something missing at times, like it seemed like we jumped from a relatively happy marriage to the husband trying to murder Cass with no real explanation of why, unless I missed it. Some of the choice Cass made left me scratching my head, so I had to suspend my disbelief a little more than I would have liked. Overall, I did enjoy it!