Hunting Annabelle
Wendy Heard
MIRA (December 18, 2018)
http://www.mirabooks.com
13-digit ISBN number 978-0778369349
$16.99
Suanne Schafer
suanneschafer.author@gmail.com
SuanneSchaferAuthor.com


Wow! Hunting Annabelle grabs readers from the start. Told in first person by Sean Suh, who has served three years in a psychiatric prison, the reader is immediately dragged into his lonely, dark, seemingly-twisted mind. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Sean lives with his Korean mother, a well-known, well-respected physician, but a cold unloving mother.

Sean is an anti-hero deluxe. He knows he’s a monster and does his best to stay away from temptation, to avoid giving in to his urges to throttle women. Sean “loses time,” frequently feels drugged out by his psych meds, and has some PTSD symptoms from his time on the psych ward. There are enough hints that perhaps he isn’t as crazy as his diagnosing physicians assumed when they planted the schizophrenic label on him.

One day, at his usual hang-out, he is attracted to Annabelle—and, surprisingly, she to him. When Sean sees her being kidnapped, the lack of instant access to information slows the police investigation, so Sean launches his own investigation.

Heard does a superlative job capturing the 1980s with its lack of cell phones, faxes, and email. Also the milieu of the psychiatric world and the medications used to treat schizophrenia at the time. Heard also does a terrific job getting the reader to empathize with the oddball Sean.

Underneath the book lurks a current of menace—enough that I almost put the book down, fearing I wouldn’t be able to sleep. However, I was completely sucked in to Sean’s twisted mind.

Hunting Annabelle is twisted and dark and a bit creepy with a couple of totally unpredictable, yet very logical, twists at the end. I read this back-to-back with Joe Clifford’s upstate New York noir The One that Got Away and found the two books really complemented each other.

I’m going to give this a 3.5. It was a twisty page turner. I like the unreliable narrator and the time period of the 80’s.

Oh wow. Put some time away for this book. It has all the ingredients for a terrific psychological thriller.

No spoilers from me. Book is great with lots of lies, deception, tragedy, and twists. Also, loved the unpredictable ending. Can't say enough great about this. Read it today!!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this fabulous book.

A quirky, unique and fascinating read; I absolutely loved this book. The choice of a schizophrenic main character with a history of violence makes for a truly different perspective & a very unreliable narrator. This lends a real sense of confusion and disorientation to the story and makes for a compelling page-turner. Highly, highly recommended.

I loved that I had no idea what was going to happen. It wasn't a book I knew the ending two chapters in. I highly recommend this book to all mystery/thriller lovers. You will not be disappointed! A gripping read that will have you second guessing everything!!

This was a tailspin of a read.

Sean Suh has a history of killing and has been diagnosed schizophrenic, but he has served his sentence and is released into the wild. Following his release from a psychiatric prison after three years, Sean is confident he is done with killing and is determined not to hurt anyone again. Until he meets Annabelle and his urges are reignited.

On their first date, she is abducted and Sean witnesses the entire event. Given his history and his laundry list of medication, Sean’s credibility is unreliable at best; but he is determined to find her. Will Sean’s hunt for Annabelle release his inner demons and set him back in his rehabilitation and recovery? Who can he trust when he’s been isolated from the outside world for years.

This was a dark and twisted read with A LOT of creep. I was hooked immediately at page 1 and never looked back. Wendy Heard is genius with this fresh take on a psychological thriller – I never saw that ending coming. I thought I had it all figured out (I initially thought it was all in Sean’s head and he was hallucinating all that had transpired the night Annabelle went missing). Wendy Heard’s version was much better than what I had anticipated. Truly TWISTED. My compliments to the author on this debut.

I’m still reeling from all of the curve balls this book threw at me. I highly recommend this one to psych thriller fiction fans.

Hunting Annabelle is one of those titles I have been looking forward to for quite some time now. The blurb sounded fantastic, with a mental health angle and a potentially dangerous and unreliable main character. And there is no doubt that Hunter Annabelle isn't your ordinary thriller read. While I do think the story read more YA than adult despite the twenty-something characters, this doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it any less. And the fact that the story is set in 1986 instead of the present is an interesting touch, because although not as present in the plot as a whole, it does show in the little details (mostly referring to the developments in mental health and police investigation). All in all it definitely wasn't the story I was expecting, but mostly in a good way. The writing on its own is engaging and the use of the unreliable narrator method well developed. The main character Sean is the perfect unreliable narrator candidate and him being both the good and bad guy at once is refreshing. While I did have some issues with the credibility and some of the plot twists, I do think that overall it was quite an interesting and original read. I wasn't sure about the final twists and chapters though... It seemed a bit farfetched and too big of change for me. But all in all I can still recommend Hunting Annabelle to any mystery/thriller fan looking for something different and refreshing.

If you are looking for an interesting thriller read with an original touch, Hunting Annabelle is a good option. Set in 1986, this story doesn't follow the typical thriller structure and plot and with the help of unreliable narrator Sean you will find yourself spinning in circles while you try to figure out what is happening. The final twists were a bit too farfetched and over the top to be credible for me, but it definitely isn't something you will see coming... Dark, intriguing, a healthy dose of blood and serial killer and a very interesting mental health angle: Hunting Annabelle has it all.

This was a thrillingly good read. It was cool to read the book from the point of view of an unreliable narrator with serious mental health issues. It reminded me of the excellent books “You” and “ Hidden Bodies” by Caroline kepnes and the one of my favorite TV shows, Dexter. Thanks to the publisher, author and NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.2/5 stars

3.5 stars. My introduction to Wendy Heard was the new podcast, Unlikeable Female Characters, which I listened to because one of the other co-hosts, Kristen Lepionka writes the marvelous Roxane Weary series. So when I saw Wendy's book on NetGalley, I had to check it out.

<i>Hunting Annabelle</i> is gripping and I was completely engrossed in the experience of reading it. I thought being inside Sean's head was fascinating, and I was eager to find out what happened, especially because Sean was such an unreliable narrator. I liked the writing style, the sense of the setting in 1980s Texas, and it was super suspenseful! Still I'm having a hard time deciding whether to round up or down, because I don't love the feeling I was left with at the end. In any case, it was an absorbing read and I will definitely be looking for more of the author's books in the future. I would recommend it to anyone who likes their thrillers extra twisted and who doesn't mind if the bad guys don't necessarily get what they deserve in the end.

Sean is a loner with psychological problems. He meets and falls in love with Annabelle, who then disappears. He seems to be the only one worried about her but that backfires and the police are convinced that he is complicit in her disappearance and they believe he killed her. Wow a few twists and an unexpected ending.

Sean is schizophrenic. His mom thinks he should just get over it. Sean meets Annabelle and is immediately drawn to her. Annabelle gets kidnapped and no one believes Sean so he goes off to find her on his own. What could possibly go wrong?

This book is VERY dark with a very creepy twist. I recommend it for thriller lovers who aren't easily creeped out (or who enjoy being creeped out).

3.5 terrifying stars
Sean is quite a troubled young man, recently released from a mental institution after being convicted of a grisly murder. Sean is mentally ill, raised by what seems to be an uncaring brilliant neurosurgeon mother, he tries to escape the hallucinations, the psychotropic drugs the delusions, and the overwhelming urge to kill. He sees auras indicative of his schizophrenia, and then one day in a park he frequents he meets Annabelle and there is an instant connection. Could this be love for Sean? Can he believe he is somewhat normal? What about Annabelle, a young brilliant woman from a troubled past working her way through medical school. How can she be attracted to a man such as Sean?

Then the awful happens and Annabelle is kidnapped in sight of Sean. He runs to save her but is too late. What now, now that he is involved in this with a history such as his, how will this end? Is Sean ever the least bit reliable or is he a born killer? As Sean works his way in a desperate attempt to find Annabelle secrets and lies emerge sending him on a chase where no one will seem to win.

This was quite a tale of a contorted tangled web. The suspense stay at a fevered pace as Ms Heard takes us on a journey with characters who are demented, maniacal and unhinged. Recommended for those who like to travel with characters who are teetering on the edge of sanity versus insanity.

Thank you to Wendy Heard, Harlequin-Mira, and NetGalley for a copy of this frightening tale.

3.5 “Dexter in the 1980’s” Stars

ARC via NetGalley

Thank you, Harlequin – Mira

This book isn’t coming out until December, but it’s been on my “most anticipated reads for 2018” for a while. I was lucky enough to get to it now and I can tell you, if you’re a fan of Dexter, you’ll probably really enjoy this.

Told from the POV of a killer—no spoilers, since this info is on the blurb—Hunting Annabelle is a psychological thriller filled with twisted and interesting characters, tension and even some moments that made me laugh a little (even though I know I shouldn’t).

The first chapter is so freaking good. It had a lot of mystery involving Sean (what he was/what he had done) and the chemistry between Sean and Annabelle was undeniable. I was so ready to fall madly in love with them and ignore the fact that Sean was a freaking killer. I’d done that with Dexter, so why not again, right?

Well, I did like Sean a lot, but there was a few things that kept this book from reaching first-couple-of-seasons-Dexter level of perfection to me.

First, I went into this under the impression that Sean and Annabelle were a thing. Don’t know why. I just read the blurb that way. So I expected a relationship (old or newish, but still something solid). Problem is, Sean and Annabelle spend so little time together before she’s kidnapped that it was really hard for me to connect with them and Sean’s love for her. Insta-love rarely works for me, and despite the awesome chemistry in the first chapter, this one didn’t. And because I couldn’t connect with “their love”, I ended up questioning a lot of Sean’s later thoughts and actions.

Second thing that didn’t work for me was the big twist. Not that there was anything wrong with the twist per se. It was a good one if you didn’t see it coming. Unfortunately for me, I guessed it on Chapter 4. I can even tell you the exact paragraph that made it all clear for me, because I highlighted it on my Kindle and added a note. Because of that, when the twist was revealed, it ended up having little impact on me.

BUT, big BUT here, the story was still intriguing, so I kept reading. I think what made this book the most interesting was the choice of POV. Being inside Sean’s head was at times confusing (in a good way), entertaining and disturbing. He was going through so much and trying so hard to keep it together, I couldn’t help but root for him. And the times he let go and embraced the darkest parts of him made for some shocking and entertaining scenes. Those were probably the moments I got Dexter-feels the most.

I love Dexter-feels.

I can’t get into details about the last part of the book (after the reveal) and the ending because of spoilers, but let’s just say those of you who didn’t guess the twist and enjoy messed up characters doing messed up things will enjoy the heck out of some scenes.

Overall, Hunting Annabelle was an interesting read from a debut author that shows promise. The fact that it, at times, reminded me of one of my favorite TV shows only made it better.

I couldn't get into this one and ended up DNF-ing. Thanks for the consideration. The premise sounded interesting but I was having a hard time relating/liking the main character.

One thoroughly dark and delightfully evil romp of a book. Perfect for fans of I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER and PROVIDENCE!

Fabulous book. Really enjoyed this. It has the most fantastic twist. I can’t recommend it enough. Will be looking for more books by this author.

This is not a bad book. For the most part I did like it. I just wished it was not as subtle in the movement of the storyline but a little more in your face with moments that had me saying "wow, what did I just read".

The story is told mainly from Sean's point of view. He suffers from schizophrenia, so he struggles with reality. Thus the reason he is so fixated on Annabelle's disappearance. He does not believe he has anything to do with her disappearance but at the same time he can't be one hundred percent confident. Thus the hunt for Annabelle begins.

As I stated, the pacing of the story is a very slow burn that at times I lost interest and zoned out. The ending does make up for this. It is a shocker. If nothing else, you will want to stick with this book until the ending.

Hunting Annabelle... what a fascinating premise.
Sean is battling his on demons with his mental illness. He has just been released from a mental institution for his previous horrible crimes and is trying to live a "normal life".

Sean meets Annabelle at the park one day and instantly falls for her. They decide to go on a date and Sean swears that he sees someone kindnap Annabelle in a white truck on their first date. What follows is a twisty, dark, and creepy journey trying to find out what happened to Annabelle.

It became a bit stale for me in this journey to find Annabelle... felt like it went on a tad bit too long. I was curious to see what happened to Annabelle of course. BUT, once the story was finally revealed behind Annabelle's disappearance I think I fell over in my chair with eye rolling. I found it so implausible.. and over the top.

Overall, this wasn't a bad mystery but wish the reveal was a lot better.

3 stars for Hunting Annabelle.

Huge thank you to Harlequin/Mira for the arc in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Publication date: 12/18/18
Published to GR: 11/15/18

This was a super dark story- about a young man released from an institution for committing horrible acts, and how he is trying to live a "normal" life in the world. He meets a mysterious, beautiful girl named Annabelle while he is sketching at his favourite park, and he falls for her instantly. One night during what is to be their first official date, Annabelle is picked up by a white truck and kidnapped. What ensues in a twisted, dark mystery of trying to find the missing girl of his dreams.

One word: CHILLS. Wow. This was... terrifying, to say the least. It was CREEPY being in his mind and almost empathizing with him even though that's the last thing you want. Wow.