Hunting Annabelle is a début psychological thriller which examines the struggles a young Korean American wages against the dark desires of his soul. Sean Suh spends his day at a place called Four Corners, a location he calls “a cheap Disneyland rip-off”. He likes to draw the people wandering through the park, although the one thing he can never capture on paper is the very thing that attracts him to them. Sean sees auras; the seething red of an angry parent, the calm blue of a happy couple. He has never seen one like hers before though: “Tendrils of copper roll off her like fog, and close up something shadowy and elusive lurks behind them.” He follows her across the park, catching up to her in the Ghosts of Texas past exhibit, where she introduces herself as Annabelle and they bond while discussing the biography of serial killer Deadly Annie. This is their beginning.

But is it also their end? Just a few days later, Sean sees Annabelle snatched off the street. His schizophrenia diagnosis and juvenile record have the police deeming him an unreliable witness and dismissing his testimony. His mother insists he up his meds and see his psychiatrist more frequently. Everyone thinks he’s hallucinating or worse, covering up his own culpability, but Sean knows what he saw. He begins a quest to find the missing Annabelle and destroy whatever dark forces have taken her from him. No matter what it costs, he will have her back.

Maggie Boyd and Shannon Dyer read Hunting Annabelle and got together to share their thoughts on the novel.

Maggie: The book centers primarily around Sean, his struggle to control the dark forces within him and how others around him respond to him due to his past. I had a lot of different feelings about all of that. In regard to how people treated him, I was appalled by the racism of some but mostly, I felt people were responding to him with a certain empathy and kindness. Given his past, I didn’t feel like they were being especially cruel or unsympathetic. What were your thoughts on that?

Shannon: I was most impressed with Ms. Heard’s ability to show us the wide variety of responses Sean elicited on a daily basis. There was some obvious and appalling racism, but I was also struck by the kindness and empathy he was given. He displayed some mannerisms that could have been distressing to people, but I never felt he was being unfairly victimized because of them.

Maggie: One of the characters whose responses to Sean are held up for our critique is that of his mother, Dr. Suh. I am sure it was not deliberate, but the text seemed very judgmental of her job: the fact that she had nannies caring for Sean, the fact that she didn’t accept pseudo-science over established medical practice, and the fact that she used her wealth to help him all seemed to be criticized. In fact, I would say professional women in general – Sean’s psychiatrist, his mother and Annabelle – are portrayed rather negatively. Did you get that same vibe? If not, which professional female character do you feel was treated positively?

Shannon: I definitely saw this with Dr. Suh. She was judged quite harshly for her choices, both personal and professional. I wanted people to give her the benefit of the doubt, to actually see her as a mother doing the best she could for her son. I didn’t like everything she did, but I do believe she was acting from a place of love and protectiveness. I didn’t see other female characters tarred with the same brush though.

Maggie: Sean is Korean American but to be honest, I wasn’t sure why. In every respect, the character is American and the only way his ethnicity affected the story was that it enabled Ms. Heard to show the bigotry of certain people around him. I rolled my eyes a bit at this as I felt the author used an overtly heavy hand with the issue. Subtle racism is much more typical, insidious and troublesome. What did you think of how Sean’s ethnicity was used within the story?

Shannon: I was pleased that the author didn’t gloss over our society’s negative reaction to racial differences by making Sean’s heritage a nonissue. Sean freely admits that he isn’t really in touch with his Korean culture, and that works in the context of the narrative.

Maggie: The story is set in 1986, enabling the author to avoid forensic details like cell phone locations, and DNA evidence, but beyond that I didn’t feel the author did much with the time period. What are your thoughts on that?

Shannon: I definitely think the story could have been imbued with a stronger sense of time. We know it’s 1986 because the author tells us, but aside from the lack of cell phones, laptop computers, and electronic communications, the time period wasn’t easily recognizable. The story could have been set any time before the advent of today’s technology.

Maggie: Sean as our primary character is the only person I felt we really knew, and he is most definitely an anti-hero. Honestly, I kept expecting a twist that would give us a moment of clarity as to why we should like him or root for him in any way and I didn’t receive such a moment. Even with the issue regarding his diagnosis, I didn’t accept the new explanation and while I pitied him for his difficulties, I was infuriated by how he was handling them. What were your thoughts on Sean?

Shannon: The term anti-hero describes Sean perfectly. I found him incredibly difficult to like, especially once we were given glimpses into his past. Its clear life wasn’t easy for him, and I did feel badly for him because of it, but the obsessive nature of his inner dialogue and his inability to consider the consequences of his actions proved difficult for me to get my head around. Even so, I found his story quite riveting.

Maggie: I agree, he definitely held your attention. Stacey Hetzel, the former friend from Lone Herman, gave a perfect assessment of Annabelle: “She’s always the one judging, holier than thou, prissy. . . stuck up.” I thought that pretty much nailed the character along with the definition of “messed up family.” What did you think of Annabelle?

Shannon: I have conflicting feelings about Annabelle. Since we mainly see her through Sean’s somewhat distorted lens, I never felt I really knew her as a person. She’s a flawed character to be sure, but that’s a gross generalization. Her family is quite dysfunctional, and Annabelle is a product of that dysfunction. I would have liked a clearer look into her psyche. I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have made me like her, but it might have cleared up some of her motivations.

Maggie: That feeds into my biggest complaint about the book, which is that I kept waiting for a twist that never came. I needed something that would put the tale into perspective and help me to feel something for the two leads beyond a little pity and a whole lot of disgust. What was your overall assessment of the story?

Shannon: The novel did possess some twists, but I didn’t completely buy into many of them. I got the distinct impression Ms. Heard was trying too hard to shock and confuse the reader. I love twists that come out of nowhere, but they have to make a certain amount of sense when I look back on them, and most of the plot twists employed here didn’t work well for me.

Maggie: I think the book is created to be for fans of Dexter or maybe Breaking Bad, although I felt it lacked the nuance found in those shows. I really struggled with my final grade. The prose is good and the beginning of the story intriguing. It’s certainly very readable but when you set the book down, you start to see all the flaws. Ultimately, I came up with a C+. I could easily be swayed to go a bit higher or a lot lower because I really struggled to pull all the elements into grade format.

Shannon: I had similar difficulties. The story is very readable, and I was eager to uncover the truth along with Sean. However, once I started evaluating the story in a critical way, its many flaws became quite apparent. It’s one of those books that didn’t manage to live up to its potential, and so I’m giving it a C+ as well. I can’t completely discount it, but neither can I give it a wholehearted recommendation.

This book was super entertaining. The writing was great. The characters were interesting. It was well paced. The plot was engaging and full of twists and turns. I would have given it 5-Stars, but I thought the "twist" was a little far-fetched, and what in the heck happened to his Mom?? Other than that this was a great read.

This book had me enthralled from the very beginning. Did it happen? Did he do it? He doesn't even know! Definitely a creepy book, with a huge twist! I recommend this to all mystery/thriller/crime lovers!

Thank you #NetGalley for the early copy of #HuntingAnnabelle!

“The therapy they gave me didn’t work and neither did the meds because they’re treating the wrong illness. What I have can’t be treated. It’s just what I am. I am a predator. I am a beast.”

I almost ended up passing up this title, since I had not seen many of my fellow bloggers and reviewers cover it, and those that had covered it seemed to have mixed reviews. But I am SO glad that I decided to give this one a go because it was right up my alley.

If you are a fan of Dexter and/or enjoy getting to see inside the dark corners of the mind of the ‘bad guy’ in a story… you HAVE to meet Sean. He has been through a lot of traumatic events (that he ultimately caused), is recovering and adjusting to a ‘normal’ life after institutionalization, loses chunks of time, and is highly medicated— I mean, could we possibly get any more unreliable of a narrator?! And we all know I’m a sucker for those unreliable narrators!

While he has a dark and dangerous past, the way in which the author places us inside of Sean’s mind creates this looming sense of pity. I found myself becoming very attached to Sean as a character, feeling defensive of him, and in a sense, excusing some of the things that he has done–which is an insane thing for an author to be able to do in the realm of swaying reader opinion. Sean is 100% humanized and although there were so many periods of time during the story line where I found myself doubting and questioning him… I always found myself rooting for a positive outcome for him.

The novel is fast-paced, quickly shifting us through the stages of meeting Sean, meeting Annabelle, experiencing (Sean’s interpretation of) Annabelle’s abduction/kidnapping, and going on a search for answers alongside Sean, who has fallen helplessly in love with Annabelle.

And man… that ending!!! What a whirlwind.

So many of the things that I love about this novel cannot be discussed without presenting spoilers– so if you end up picking this one up, I would LOVE to chat about it with you and discuss some of those topics and characters.

Very enjoyable, fast-paced, thrilling, and highly recommended!!

Trigger Warnings (May Contain Spoilers): Graphic Violence, Murder, Assault, Sexual Assault, Rape, Drug Use/Abuse, Mentalism, Institutionalization, Mentioning of Suicide

Thank you to the author, Wendy Heard, and MIRA Books for providing me with a DRC of this title via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, I was definitely not expecting that!
Seems like an odd choice of time of year to release this book, it seems more like a Halloween style book because it's very, very dark. A twisted suspenseful thriller that is not for everyone (many trigger warnings, I'm not going to list them because of spoilers, but if you get triggered by pretty much anything this isn't for you), but if you like that type of book this one will hit the spot.
Mental illness (or not?), murders, missing people, and some twists that come out of left field. I have some mixed feelings about the ending. It's quite shocking, not the way I thought the book was going, and it left me with a bit of a bad aftertaste, but still...you have to credit the author for a unique conclusion that is both surprising and disturbing at the same time.
Sean is an unreliable narrator (you know this from the start, it's not a spoiler) but his motivations are unclear until the end. I can't say much more because I don't want to give anything away. If you like dark thrillers, make sure to put this one on your list.

Wow! There is a lot to unpack here. And not much to say that wouldn't be a repetition of the summary or give something away. Needless to say, Ms. Heard has a lovely twisted mind and the writing skills to reel in a reader! Has Sean reverted to his psychotic killer self? Did Annabelle really get kidnapped or did Sean do something to her? And how come Sean seems to be the only person concerned? I love where Ms. Heard took the story and her characters. I almost wish she could follow up with a sequel. But to say why would give things away. Just read it!

I always get a bit excited when I see a Korean-American lead in a book. Even if he's one of the most unreliable narrators I've come across in a while! No one seems to believe him when he says he saw Annabelle get abducted so it's up to him to find her. In doing so, he finds himself - or at least a part of him he was extremely confused about.

As a debut, this is a fantastic start to a long career for Heard. I love where her mind went with Suh's story. While I did feel it jumped the shark a bit at the end, I wish there was just a little bit more given. From the journey Sean went through, the last parts felt a bit rushed, abrupt and uneven when it came to the rest of the story line. However, I absolutely love the fact that it was unexpected and different.

Anyone who is a fan of the unreliable narrator, enjoys an off the rails story where you're not entirely sure what's going on, this is a fun ride to be on. Put on your seat belt.. or don't.. live a little dangerously and go hunting with Sean.

The premise of this novel intrigued me for sure. It sounded different… and it was different.

Sean is an intriguing protagonist. You know he has killed, you know he is mentally unstable, but you still cannot help but like him and root for him. The author wrote his character very well. Through his eyes you see Annabelle and his desperate search to find out what happened to her after she is kidnapped.

This story really kept me on the edge of my seat. I changed my mind about the probably outcome several times. It was an easy read and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I did not absolutely love the ending and thought it was a bit far fetched, but not to the extreme. I personally did not really care for it, but I am sure a lot of people will appreciate the resolution.

I did enjoy the writing. It was uncomplicated and flowed well. I will definititely keep an eye out for future books by this author.

Hunting Annabelle is a good read and I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a psychological thriller that reads a bit like YA.

This psychological thriller starts off strong and quickly establishes the unreliability of our main character, Sean. The use of the unreliable narrator is well-done, the story is dark and often creepy, and a number of red herrings are introduced to pose the whodunit question. However, red herrings aside, this one was a little too easy to figure out the who, and even with Sean's mental state, my thoughts on that didn't waver. The middle of the story lags and is sometimes repetitive as Sean goes about his amateur investigation. There are parts during his search that add to the tension, but they don't really make up for the lag time. Things do pick up, which brings us to the big reveal and where this one lost me. I can get behind a big twist, especially when I've figured out the who, but the why of it all and how it all goes down is ridiculously over the top and just left me shaking my head in exasperation. The ending, while not what I suspect most readers would hope for, could've been the biggest twist of all had it not been for everything that led to that point. It felt like the author was trying a little too hard for that big twist and Stephen King-ish surprise ending, and it all just fell flat for me. In the end, Sean was the saving grace of this story for me. I really like the way his character is done, but the story had so much more potential than was realized.

It's 1986.

After serving three years in a psychiatric prison, Sean Suh is starting anew. Then she met Anabelle and he can't seem to resist her beauty and confidence. But then Annabelle was kidnapped right in front of his eyes. No one believes his story and considering his past, that isn't surprising. The police even believes that he does the kidnapping himself. Worse, he's not sure what really happened too. He's forgotten things before and sees things that aren't there. Raised only by a neurosurgeon mother, diagnosed with schizophrenia and an ex-con, Sean doesn't look good for the investigation. But he still needs to find out what really happened to Annabelle.
MY THOUGHTS:
All I can think after reading this book is how twisted it was and how much I liked it. That was surprising because lately, I've been reading less twisted stories. I was too intrigued when I saw this on Netgalley and requested right away. It seemed like a great psychological thriller and it didn't disappoint.

The main plot is really intriguing and the storyline was very engaging. From beginning to end, I found myself fully engrossed in the story. Though I might say the first quarter and that last are the best part of this novel. It's not that the middle was boring, but it was when Sean was figuring what happened to Annabelle. It was still engaging enough to make you read till the end. And phew, THAT ENDING will surprise others. It's like a tangled web I willingly let myself got caught just as Sean did, and then when everything was untangled, I was left amazed. This story is so dark and filled with lies and secrets which I think most of us prefers. Obviously, this is a plot-driven book.

But this is also a character-driven one which makes this book a really good read. Sean is a dark tortured hero that in real life, I might not root for. In real life, I won't even befriend him and just tell him to get more medical attention. He might give me the creeps in real life. Sorry Sean! But in this book, I totally root for him. I walked with him in his journey of hunting Anabelle. And yes Anabelle. This lady is full of secrets and lies and I like her too. A lot.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. This is dark, twisted and chilling psychological thriller. But I can't give it a 5-star rating because at some points the pacing went slow when I think it can be faster. I mean the range of the story is actually just short so the telling can be shorter too. And the ending. Yeah, yeah, I said it's one of the best parts but it didn't surprise ME that much. I read a book recently with a bit similar concept of the ending though the book I read didn't deal with people with mental health issues.

Hunting Annabelle, Wendy Heard's impressive debut novel, is a truly engrossing read. From the moment I picked it up those pages were feverishly turning, faster and faster I flew until it was completely devoured. Despite having not been born until the late 1980s I thoroughly enjoyed the references to the times and thought it added a distinct mystique and intrigue to the story, and I loved how Heard builds her characters until they are complex, multi-layered and incredibly realistic. I found antagonist Sean Suh absolutely fascinating, and it's safe to say I was riveted.

There is such a wicked sense of foreboding that runs for the duration, and the author evokes a chilling, spine-tingling atmosphere that literally had goosebumps appearing on my arms at certain points. There are many twists and turns and the suspense is slowly ratcheted up over the course of the novel until it culminates in a breathtaking crescendo that shook me to the core. By making the antagonist someone who clearly has psychiatric issues and is one sandwich short of a picnic she adds an extra dose of unpredictability that often comes with the territory when it comes to individuals with mental health problems. Highly recommended and fully deserving of all the stars!

Many thanks to MIRA for an ARC.

A dark and twisty (make that twisted) psychological thriller

Sean Suh is a mentally unstable 23 year-old man who lives with his famous neurosurgeon mother in Austin, Texas. He was institutionalized in an asylum for the criminally insane for three years for killing a young woman and is now "all better."

He spends every day at a small theme park, drawing portraits of different people who visit the park. One day he meets Annabelle, a beautiful young woman that he spends the day with, showing her hidden spots in the park, and the next day he sees her being kidnapped.

Because of his past history, the police don't believe his story so Sean starts tracking down clues himself.

This book started out great and the reader really gets a chance to find out what makes Sean tick but it is the final few chapters of the story that make this truly exceptional. Twists and turns and dead ends and blood - lots of blood.

Be forewarned that the book needs a trigger warnings posted on the first page. This isn't your granny's suspense novel (unless she happened to be related to Lizzie Borden).

I received this book from Harlequin/MIRA through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

Fantastic debut novel. Will be looking out for more by this author. I loved the style and that it was set in the 1980's. A real page turner, definitely recommend 📚

Recently released after three years in a psychiatric prison for murder, Sean Suh, 23, has moved with his mother from San Francisco to Austin, Texas in hopes of starting life anew. He spends every week day in Four Corners Park drawing sketches of people he sees there, sometimes obsessing about one and drawing them over and over and over again. He keeps to himself, not wanting to interact with anyone because it might tempt him to do bad things again.

Sean sees auras surrounding peoples heads which indicate their emotional state to him. He is captivated by Annabelle because of her unique (metallic copper) aura, and is surprised when she notices him and talks with him. The conversation prompts her to ask him to spend time together; infatuated, he agrees. Soon Sean feels that he loves her, but he is afraid that he will hurt her.

After spending a day together at Four Corners Park, Sean hears a scream and as he runs to check it out, he witnesses Annabelle being kidnapped! He reports it to the police immediately, but they seem to focus their investigation on him. Frustrated that they aren't doing anything to find the real kidnapper, he tries to track down people who knew Annabelle hoping he can find out what happened to her, and/or who would take her.

Hunting Annabelle is a quite delicious, taut psychological suspense! With a schizophrenic main character who loses time and has committed murder in the past, the reader (and Sean himself) doesn't know whether his version of the events surrounding Annabelle's disappearance can be trusted.

There are twists in this book that I NEVER saw coming, and the ending was completely unexpected! It's rare that an author can pull that off and I applaud Wendy Heard for doing it. This is a definite must read - put it on your list now!!

My gratitude to NetGalley and Harlequin Mira for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Yikes! Well this book was different!! Creepy, scary, sickening, puzzling, horrifying - - and fascinating. Sean reminded me of when I used to watch Dexter (and always wondered at my sanity when I wanted Dexter to get away with his crimes!) Through most of the book, we are kept in the dark as to whether Sean has given in to his demons. The tension is kept up throughout the book and it's a page-turner of a read.

I didn't especially like the ending but overall, it was a fascinating read.

Hunting Annabelle by Wendy Heard, this book was totally unlike anything I have read before, it kept my attention and I had to know what was going on! Definitely a twisty,weird page turner. This is definitely an author I will be following and looking for more books from. Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers at MIRA books for allowing me to read this ARC book in turn for giving my opinion.

Set in the 80's this is a creepy dark love story that reminds me a bit of Dexter. Heard is a new author and if this is her debut look out for more creepy fun to come. Sean spends most of his days at Four Corners sketching and wandering around. Diagnosed with Schizophrenia he is on a lot of medication that leave him missing time and in a haze. The drugs are supposed to stop hallucinations and curb his desire to hurt people but Sean can still see colors swirling around other people and his desire to hurt hasn't gone away.

Annabelle is a med student looking for a place to scatter her grandmothers ashes. She takes a liking to Sean and then suddenly she disappears, her screams echoing in Seans head. The police think he had something to do with it and his missing time and violent past don't help his insistence that he is innocent. Determined to find her Sean goes on a quest to discover what really happened to Annabelle. While experiencing symptoms of withdraw from his medication, he starts to feel more clear headed and more like himself, but is that a good thing or a bad thing? What Sean finds is not what I expected and the ending almost felt like a cliff hanger. I could totally see this turning into a series.

This is a fast paced thriller that leads you down twists and turns and has you routing for our flawed hero. Did he hurt Annabelle or is she really missing and if so who took her? Who are the bad guys in this book? The cops who set their sites on Sean because of his past, the mother who seems to want to keep her son medicated and locked away, or the well hidden predators that lurk and prey on innocents or is it Sean? Heard keeps you on the edge of your seat turning page after page just so you can find out the answers. Excellent.

Sean Suh doesn’t do much with his days other than sitting in a park and drawing people he sees. He was in a psychiatric prison for three years and is considered rehabilitated but he’s not at sure he has been. He still has thoughts and urges that he shouldn’t have and his meds make him feel terrible. When he meets beautiful Annabelle, he has hopes that he hasn’t felt in years. But when Annabelle is kidnapped right in front of his eyes, the police give Sean a hard time and have difficult believing anything he says. Sean’s determined to find Annabelle before it’s too late.

I initially was pulled into this book. The main character, Sean Suh, reminded me of Norman Bates in The Bates Motel TV series. Both were characters with psychiatric problems with controlling mothers but they were trying so hard to get better and redeem themselves for past deeds. That was enough to keep me reading though I don’t think the book was very well written. I did have sympathy for Sean. Then I hit the last fourth of the book. That’s when the author completely lost me. The book ended up going in the direction I thought it would but I thought it was done in a very silly, cheap and gory way. I don’t want to ruin anything for anyone who wants to give this book a try but the last part of this book just turned me off and ruined anything of substance that I thought I had found in the rest of the book. It may well just be me but this isn’t one I can recommend. It had potential to be much better.

Not recommended.

Thriller? Romance? Mystery? I have no idea how I would classify this compelling debut by Wendy Heard, but I know whatever it is…I want more!

Though predictable and a tad more Young Adult than I was prepared for, Hunting Annabelle is a thrilling ride with an adorably confused hero you just can’t help but love. With a fast pace and intriguing twists, you won’t want to put this one down.

With a debut like this I can’t wait to see what Heard comes out with next!!

I received this ebook through NetGalley and the publisher to read and provide my honest opinions.

A phenomenal debut that masters both the art of writing memorable characters, and the art of pacing in this horror / psych thriller mashup.