A great creepy thriller and it hooked me from the first few chapters. The characters Olivia and Vivian were great. The author wrote some intriguing characters and I had to keep reading to see what happened.

The Night Visitor is a psychological thriller that revolves around the disappearance of a famous child psychologist and the impact it has on her family and colleagues. Its engaging storyline, well-crafted characters, and gripping suspense make this a page-turning read. It is a well-written and entertaining novel with a number of twists and turns that keep the reader engaged until the very end.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Who doesn't like a Victorian gothic novel? While I wasn't thrilled with the ending, overall I loved the book. So much so, I bought a copy for me and one for my best friend.

I read this quickly but didn't love it. Some of the flashbacks were hard to identity and the violence wasn't particularly believable for the characters.

Well. I have torn through this book, trying to figure it out, and... damn. The ending. So disappointing. I loved this book so I'm still giving it 5 stars. There are a few issues. One, the ending. Is this going to be a series? If so, ok, I can handle that. Is this a one-off? I'm angry. Two, the loose end that wasn't tied up. I can't say any more because spoilers. Three, the author tricked up by dangling questions in front of us at the beginning. Something that wasn't even really pertinent to the plot was dangled for WAY too long, like it was going to be a huge twist or something. I really did feel tricked by that, and I wasn't happy when the truth came out. There are just too many questions left here. Those of us who read thrillers, we're like little baby detectives. We want to know if we had the right answers to whatever the looming questions are. If things are left hanging, we don't get that satisfaction and we might be a little angry. But still... give me a good thriller and give me science (especially bug science), and I'm good to go. Thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for a copy of the ARC.

Well written, literary Gothic novel. When a Victorian History professor finds a diary of a woman admitting to the murder of her husband, she is so consumed with getting the details and publishing her findings that she will do anything to obtain the information. Getting the diary's details is problematic though, and she must go through the caretaker of the diary first, and that is where things begin to go wrong.

Tense, suspenseful and brilliantly written. Highly recommended.

So. So. Good. Like, seriously awesome you have to read this good. This, to me, is what psychological thrillers should be--twisty, dark, and with palpable menace. Harrowing--yeah. The Night Visitor definitely is that. (And I loved it!)

Five stars all the way--bought a copy about fifty pages into the ARC because I want to pass this one around and get people hooked enough to buy their own.

You might have to read parts of The Nigjt Visitor during the day. It'll be so worth it!

A dark and creepy psychological thriller. A rather uneven telling of the story, where I liked certain portions and others, I did not. Overall, just okay for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Victorian period specialist and history professor finds a diary of a woman admitting to the murder of her husband. The publication will be a life changing event but not in the way you would assume. The ending was a disappointment.

I love a good creepy thriller and this certainly filled the bill! It's a little gothic in nature which was appealing to me and I love a good flawed character--which both of the main characters, Olivia and Vivian--were. The plot was also unique as it dealt with a Victorian diary made into a book written by Olivia, with Vivian as her "research assistant." The novel begins with the launch party of the book and we sense something sinister immediately as Olivia is nervous and where oh where is Vivian? Told from 3rd person Olivia and 1st person Vivian, the story unwinds slowly as we see that their relationship is odd and both withhold secrets of their pasts. I did not see the twist coming and even if I had, it was satisfying. A couple of loose ends that I wanted tied up but overall I enjoyed the story and would certainly read more by this author!

The Night Visitor is another phenomenal suspense by Lucy Atkins. Olivia is a historian, author, wife and mother who comes across the diary of a Victorian woman, Annabel, who admits to committing murder. Vivian is the caretaker of the estate where the Annabel once lived. Olivia decides to write a book about Annabel and Vivian becomes her research assistant. Meanwhile, very strange things seem to be happening in Olivia’s life. She feels like she is being stalked by a mysterious stranger, her daughter becomes a victim of a strange crime and she suspects her husband of being unfaithful. The book she is writing is the only thing that is holding everything together, but soon her relationship with Vivian is in serious peril and questions arise in regards to the book as well.

Atkins is a master of writing slow burn, character-driven suspense. Chapters alternate seamlessly between the viewpoints of Olivia and Vivian and we see how complicated both women’s pasts are and how their pasts have shaped their present. We learn what drives and motivates each of them and what they value. There is no overt mystery begging to be solved from the get go with this. Rather each chapter is like the peeling of an onion, with the unraveling of layer upon layer. The ending takes an unexpected turn which will keep the reader in contemplation well after the final page. The only negative I have to say is that there is one event that takes place that is left unresolved. I can’t go into more detail without spoiling, so I’ll leave it at that.

Overall, another excellent read by one of my favorite authors!

Many thanks to Netgalley, Quercus, and Lucy Atkins for providing me with a complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book opens with History Professor Olivia Sweetman's book launch party. Sweetman has it all. She is a respected academic with both beauty and style. She is a regular TV personality, and now, has written her first novel, a biography which promises to be a best seller. The idea for Sweetman's novel began when Sweetman heard about a century old journal written by Anabelle Burley. Burley, one of the first women to attend medical school, was a successful physician in male dominated profession. Sweetman visits the small museum in Burley's old home to view the journal. There she meets Vivian Tester, the caretaker of the estate and Tester reveals that in the journal, Burley admitted to murdering her husband. Sweetman convinces Tester that Burley's story would make a great book. With Tester as research assistant, Sweetman uses the journal and other family stories to write Anabelle Burley's biography which is expected to be a bestseller.

I expected to love this book and I did not. I liked it. Why I could not give it five stars: It took so long for the book to reveal the various motives that held the book together. I realize that sounds obscure, but if I reveal more, this review would be a spoiler. The story is told from two points of view, Sweetman's third-person narration and Tester's first-person. I thought it awkward transitioning between first and third-person narrations. There was a part unresolved, an incident that occurred to Sweetman's daughter in France. The ending was abrupt and the author left the reader with two possible scenarios of what occurred and between Tester and Sweetman in the final scene. I found it tedious waiting for whatever was going to happen, happen. so much so, I felt the book really got started at the end. In my opinion, "The Night Visitor" was not a mystery; it was more of a psychological thriller. It was well written and the characters well drawn, hence, I can understand why some readers loved the book. Despite my criticisms, I will be interested to see what Lucy Adkins writes next.
I thank NetGalley for providing the advance e-book in exchange for an honest review.

As I started The Night Visitor I was unsure as to what to expect. The cover, no matter how creepy it is, doesn’t give much of a clue. But, the book didn’t disappoint. Both Olivia, a brilliant and successful history professor and Vivian, a socially-awkward housekeeper, are flawed individuals who have secrets. Nonetheless, they form an uneasy alliance that is filled with dread and an overall and subtle feeling of peril. The story is told from the points of view of both women and what a story it is.

I thoroughly enjoyed the interactions of the characters, the dialog and the very story itself. It is one of those books that can be quite hard to put down. With its twists, unexpected complications and a great ending, I heartily recommend Lucy Atkins newest book, with the hope that she has many more to come!

Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

The Night Visitor by Lucy Atkins

The story starts with the reader learning about Olivia Sweetman, a historian, TV presenter, mother of 3 and a wife. She has written a book with the help of Vivian who was a housekeeper for a Sussex manor that found a journal penned by a Victorian woman named Annabelle who was the first female surgeon. You will see that Annabelle has killed her husband and was able to get away with it. The books name is based off of Vivian’s dead mother who visits her at night. There are similarities between Vivian and Annabelle down to their dogs names. This is a very creepy thriller that I’ll have you asking questions throughout the novel. It is well written and very descriptive. The scenery described is done so in a very passionate way. The characters are believable as well as interesting. I gave this one 5+ stars ⭐️ out of 5.

Thank you to the author as well as netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Can secrets be kept hidden?? Olivia Sweetman is a tv presenter, historian and married mother of three children. When Olivia decides to write a book on Annabelle a Victorian woman who was the first woman surgeon she hires Vivian tester a 60 year old housekeeper who works for Annabel’s relative and holds the diary of Annabelle. Annabel’s diary shows that she murdered her husband and got a way with and Olivia is excited and ready to write about her. If this story line isn’t crazy there’s a story line involving a dung beetle. The night visitor is the ghost of Vivian’s mother who she claims visits her and sits on her chest to smother her, if that doesn’t give you the creeps you might agree that Vivian has a few screws loose..Olivia believes she’s hit the jackpot Annabelle is going to be a best seller once it’s finished and she’s busy doing press releases for it and she thought once the book was written Vivian would go away. Vivian has other plans she feels Olivia owes her for all her hard work but is there more to Vivian than just a lonely desperate old lady? Why does Olivia always feel likes she’s being followed? I loved this book and I gave it five stars!

Very interesting and original psychological suspense that took me by surprise, having never read this author and not knowing exactly what to expect. Fascinating characters and interesting setting, with the background of academia and an old estate that gives the story a really unique atmosphere.

The story is thru the eyes of Olivia and Vivian. Olivia has written a new historical novel with the help of Vivian. Vivian wants to start another book with Olivia but she has other ideas. Each woman has her version of the book's creation. There are twists and turns.

I really enjoyed this story about flawed individuals and the lengths they would go. I found the story pulled me in and the characters were believable. I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

This book turned out to be quite different than I expected. It's billed as a thriller and mystery but somehow didn't seem very thrilling or mysterious to me. It's an interesting premise but I didn't really like any of the characters and I could easily see the 'twists' coming so there wasn't much suspense. It's a very long book; perhaps if it were shorter and more concise without so much unnecessary detail, I would have enjoyed it more.