Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I will start by saying that I know I am very late to the party! This is one of those ARC's that just slipped by. I ended up reading it as a hard copy only recently. That said, I can't believe I waited so long! This was such a great read and I was hooked from the start. I can't wait to read more from this author.

I love a good thriller and this one did not dissapoint!

*thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins Publishers Australia and C. L Taylor for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*


4 stars.

Woah, what a thriller of a ride that was! This was a gripping read right from page one! The plot was absorbing and the characters were mysterious enough to keep me interested right until the end. C. L Taylor is either a hit or a miss from me but this is the second of her books I have given 4 stars to and this definitely deserves it. I felt the way the the story ended was so well done that it stepped the whole novel up another step of wonderful.

Lou is now 32 years old, but her story started when she was only a teenager at the young age of 14, when Mike groomed and sexually abused her. Chloe is only 13 and is Mike's latest pray. One day when Lou sees Mike and Chloe kissing, she realises she has to do something for fear that what happened to her all those years ago will happen again to Chloe, and Chloe may not be quite so lucky to survive. Things start to catapult further and deeper than Lou had intended as she tries to help Chloe and complications arise.

This is definitely a psychological thriller that pulls you in all directions. The story was one that I wasn't able to predict what would happen next which shows just how well written this was. I also liked and appreciated that the ending was satisfactory. That is quite important to I reckon.

I, for personal reasons, did find it hard to read in parts so that's just a bit of a warning for those who have been or currently experiencing abuse of this kind. It is best to be sure within yourself that you can handle this topic, because it is talked about at length and in details.

I highly recommend this to be read when you have a lot of free time because it is one that you wont want to put down.

I find it difficult to review C L Taylor's books as words don't ever seen enough to explain how much I have enjoyed them.
An interesting, but not complicated plot that, for me, just flowed.
It was gripping and I was scared all the way through!!
There are twists and turns that had me on edge and I went through all manner of emotions during the course of this book ... sadness, disgust, anger, frustration, anticipation ... that I didn't want to stop reading.
A great book.

Thank you to the Author and Netgalley for a chance to read this book.

Lou made a mistake when she was fourteen, and it broke her heart and compromised her safety. Now a woman, Lou knows that the man she thought loved her may have been grooming her. She suspects he is doing the same thing to another girl, and she will need to find out for sure and decide how far she would go to stop it.

This book is a compulsive read, as CL Taylor takes the reader deep into the story and keeps you waiting around every corner to find out what Lou will do, and how it will affect her life as she increasingly risks her relationships, her job, and her reputation.

Not just an account of abuse, but the long-term repercussions and the impact it can have on a survivor's life long after the event.

WARNING: If you have experienced sexual abuse, this book may be a trigger.

Wow! Finally a book that hooked me right in and kept me hooked through to the bitter end. And what a bitter end it was. I actually had no idea in the end if they were all really the bad guy in this? One things for sure, it all stemmed from Mike's actions. This premise was something different and it worked!

Thank you to netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to HarpersCollins Australia and NetGalley for a complimentary ARC of this book, in return for my honest review.

I have not read many thrillers or suspense books in recent years as ones I had tried seemed lacking and not particularly suspenseful. Thankfully CL Taylor has changed my mind. I was riveted to this book and couldn't wait to read it at any opportunity to find out what happened.

I look forward to reading more by this author and to revisiting a previous love of this genre.

I couldn't review this book as it wasn't sent to kindle. Shame because I have heard such good things.

I can never say no to a good psychological thriller, so when C L Taylor’s new book started popping up on social media I absolutely had to read it. And it lived up to all my hopes! Here we have all the hallmarks of a gripping story that had me hooked from the start. A creepy predator – check. A crime in the past linked to the present – check. A flawed and damaged, but ultimately likeable and plucky heroine – check! A multi-layered plot that plays out over two separate timeframes – check! There are plenty of twists and surprises in store as well, and emotional triggers that will make sure that no reader can escape without some visceral responses to certain scenes described.

The most difficult part of reviewing a mystery is the fear of giving something away that will spoil the surprise for other readers, so I will leave this one very short and sweet. The blurb really tells you all you need to know about the story itself, except that there is a third, intriguing character (Wendy) who drives part of the narrative and whose role is not immediately obvious. This offers a whole new angle to what you may think is a straight-forward plot that has been done many times before. I particularly enjoyed the dynamics between the three different female leads, who each offer their own unique circumstances, strengths and vulnerabilities to the story. This is also one of the few books where excerpts from a diary work well and ratchet up the tension and emotional involvement a few notches.

As things begin to spiral out of control, these women will come into their own, in whatever part they are playing in the story. Taylor’s interest in abnormal and criminal psychology is evident in the believable way she portrays not only her villain, but also those whose lives have been affected by him, to the point where it is impossible to disengage from the story. This is a page-tuner, so allow plenty of time for it! There was a little element that required suspending disbelief, but I thought that the final little twist was so clever that it was worth the effort.

If you enjoy a good mystery, then I recommend you put this one on your TBR list!

The s is the second book I have read by this author. I was introduced to her by a staff member at one of our stores and wanted to confirm her style of writing.
Once again you were pulled into a story with enough twists to keep you hooked until the end.
Thank you

EXCERPT: 'Please,please don't do this. Mike, please, if you loved me you wouldn't do this. Please, Mike.'

'I'm doing it because I love you,' he says as he shoves a sock into my mouth, presses the tape over the top and ties my wrists to the bedposts. 'Sometimes I think I love you too much.'

ABOUT THIS BOOK: When Lou Wandsworth ran away to France with her teacher Mike Hughes, she thought he was the love of her life. But Mike wasn’t what he seemed and he left her life in pieces.

Now 32, Lou discovers that he is involved with teenager Chloe Meadows. Determined to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself, she returns home to confront him for the damage he’s caused.

But Mike is a predator of the worst kind, and as Lou tries to bring him to justice, it’s clear that she could once again become his prey…

MY THOUGHTS: That ending! I am sitting here, eyes gleaming, shaking my head in amazement! Didn't see that coming. Thought this was a good solid 4-star read right up to the end. But that ending deserves an extra half star on its own.

I have read two of Taylor's previous books, The Lie and The Treatment, both good solid four star reads, but with The Fear, the ending makes it stand out from the others. Yes, I keep going on about the ending, but it was jaw-dropping!

Okay, okay, enough about the ending. Let's get into the meat of the book.

There have been a lot of books written about older men preying on young girls, insecure girls, lonely girls. But what about afterwards? What happens to these girls? What effect does that experience have on their lives? And the other people in his life, his wife, how does she cope? These are the questions that Taylor has used as the basis for The Fear. She takes these people, angry, damaged, vengeful, fearful, and places them in an explosive situation. At one point I didn't know who was sane, or if any of them were. I rooted first for one, and then another.

4.5 stars for an emotionally exhausting but supremely satisfying read.

Thank you to Harper Collins Publishers, Avon Books via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of The Fear by C. L. Taylor for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system.

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