This was...fine? It took me awhile to get through and did not hold my interest. I adore Karen Cleveland, so I will read more of her work.

Stephanie is a higher up in the FBI, so she’s well-versed in stressful situations and handling herself under pressure, but really what prepares you for raising a teenager? One day she finds a gun in her son Zachary’s bedroom closet and can’t fathom what he would be doing with a gun, but the real fear comes when an old friend and co-worker from the domestic terrorism unit knocks on their door and informs Stephanie that Zach is being investigated. Everything Stephanie thinks she knows about her sweet academic boy is now being questioned as she tries to figure out what he’s involved in without letting him know she knows there’s something going on.

I thought the premise of this book was really good – we’ve seen books before about parents investigating their kids behind their back, but I don’t know that there’s ever been one where the parent as well as a long-time family friend are both in official roles with the capabilities to dig deep. It was tense and uncomfortable at times knowing what we knew Stephanie knew and seeing her interact with her son as if nothing was wrong. The suspense only builds as the book progresses culminating in an epic final ‘showdown’ that was very exciting, but unrealistic. However, I’m a big fan of suspending all reality while reading, even when reading ‘real world’ books, so that did not bother me at all.

This book definitely had me wondering what I would do if I were in her shoes, how would I protect my son, what lengths would I go to to prove his innocence (or conceal his guilt). I really enjoy books that call ethics into play; it’s no surprise that I am trash for morally grey characters in my fantasy and dark romance books, but I also really like them in a contemporary setting where I have to imagine myself in the same position and what I would do to keep my loved ones safe.

I truly enjoyed the pacing of the story and the well-written characters. This book took me by surprise. It kept me interested throughout the story and I needed to see what was going to happen. I would recommend this story to all thriller and who-done-it lovers.

Keep You Close was a book with many twists and turns. It started off a bit slow for me, but it quickly picked up the pace. I wish there were a sequel to this book because the ending left me with soooo many questions.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
I found "Keep You Close" by Karen Cleveland to be an addictive, interesting & well written story that pulled me in & didn't let me go until its final page.
Political thrillers aren't the usual type of book that I read but, when I discovered that the author was a former CIA analyst, I had to give this book a try.
I'm excited to read her newest book, "The New Neighbor" which will be released in August 2022.

An emotional page-turner, Keep You Close is a riveting story about a single mother whose sole job is to expose corruption within the FBI. Although her work, unfortunately, made her miss many of those important events in her son's life she still will do anything to protect him.

However, the unexpected happens when one day while straightening her son’s room, Steph is shaken to discover a gun hidden in his closet. A loaded gun. The worse part is that knock on her door. When she opens it there stands a colleague on the domestic terrorism squad, who utters three devastating words: “It’s about Zachary.”

Riveting!!

Wow! I missed that is was about a woman hearing from the FBI that her son may be involved in something awful, it’s so hard to watch, yet looking away is tough, too. I couldn’t imagine if a knock came to my door saying my son was 8n trouble like this. 8 believe I’d be a protective bear!
I received a copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Karen Cleveland likes to tackle ethical dilemmas and how much you really know about the ones you love. Stephanie Maddox is the FBI agent in charge of Internal Investigations, so needless to say she has a strong sense of right and wrong. Which makes it even worse when she discovers a loaded gun in her teenage son’s room.
We’re quickly given glimpses of Stephanie’s past interspersed with the current story. This book moves at a fast pace. But I can’t say I ever really connected with Stephanie. For some reason, she and the rest of the characters felt flat. This is a good story and an easy read.

First person, present tense writing felt stiff. Unlikable protagonist made one bad decision after another, especially with respect to her son. Convoluted plot. After reading 33% of the book I skipped to the Epilogue and was glad that I had avoided the rest of this mess. As in the author’s first book, this book makes you doubt the intelligence and integrity of everyone working for the US Government. Maybe she’s right, but there must be a more entertaining way to write about it. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

This book had some promise- the plot was interesting, but the execution left something to be desired. The reader is constantly reminded of the stakes and as the story unfolds, there's a lot of possible "bad guys" and that gets muddled quickly. There isn't a ton of character development other than that the main character is a bad mom. The way things ended up was super un-satisfying and just kind of depressing.
Overall not a terrible book and it's a quick read, but not my favorite.

Karen Cleveland's 2018 debut, Need To Know was a fun read and I was eager to check out her second book.
Keep You Close starts with the question of How far would you be willing to go to protect your child, then it bends and twists until it goes slightly askew. The book is very action driven, which does keep the pages turning, but I found it hard to connect with the characters. I was hoping to warm up to Stephanie as more and more of her past was revealed, but I never quite got there.
As the story progressed, the conspiracies got more complicated and convoluted, and it felt like character development was put on a back burner to make room for twist after crazy twist. All of that may have been okay if not for the lack of conclusion. I kept reading to see which way things would go and granted, there is a big twist, but it felt like the story stopped before it was meant to.
I thoroughly enjoyed Cleveland's first novel, Need To Know, so maybe my disappointment originated from high expectations.
Nevertheless, the Karen Cleveland is talented, and I'll be interested to see what she does next.

This was a very engaging follow up to “Need to Know.” While a little slower to build than its predecessor, Cleveland takes the story in a satisfactory direction, providing crucial follow up to the original cliffhanger and leading it open for more.

The book is not a completely tied-in sequel, and could be read as a standalone. However, the book’s twist is much more resounding if the reader has already read “Need to Know,” and going in order is highly recommended.

I was able to read this book thanks to NetGalley. I love thrillers and I did enjoy this one. It had a great story and I will be looking to read more by this author in the future. Thanks again to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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

I enjoy Keep You Close as teh bok is engaging and keeps you guessing, Karten Cleveland's pacing is perfect for this kind of book, and the text isn't overly wordy keep it light and moving. The only issue is that the scope is so big it was hard to understand how the characters would get out of the predicament. The author gives them a magical outlet that disappointed me. But overall I enjoyed the novel.

I really liked the book until the ending. That is why it was a 2 star only review. I was so pissed at the ending and felt totally adrift with really no ending. The rest of the book was decent and I was sucked in and the ending was a killer for me.

I read this book while I was moving into my new house. My life felt like chaos surrounded by boxes, but it is NOTHING compared to the main character in this book. Makes you put your life in perspective when this FBI agent is fighting Russia agents, the government, and protecting her son.

This was a roller coaster of a ride, and had me on the edge of my seat. I definitely recommend this book!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Wasn't a huge fan of this book. The writing was good, but it was repetitive with the Protagonist wondering who was setting her up on what felt like every other page. Plot was really good and nice solid characters. Ending was disappointing and anticlimactic to me.
I'm sure there are those who will disagree with me and find this a really good book, but it just lack a little for me. Because of the solid characters and great plot in rating a 4 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author and publisher for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

In Keep You Close, Karen Cleveland has given us another page-turner suspense novel with a strong female protagonist (Stephanie) working for another government agency (FBI) who has a family member in trouble (son, Zachary). While this might sound like a do-over from her debut novel, Need to Know, I wouldn’t draw that conclusion. Each novel stands well on its own. And, given the author’s background, she’s clearly writing from personal knowledge.

I recognize the workaholic ethic that drives Stephanie in her internal affairs position, which gives her both the skills and tenacity to figure out if the allegations about her son are true. Having found a loaded gun in her son’s room (yes, she was snooping), her faith in her child is shaken. She also has secrets of her own to protect. These elements combine to create a distance she has between herself and her son that seems unbridgeable. (I am saying this as one who has never raised a teenage son). She stays so focused on trying to determine his guilt or innocence that those parts of the story where the characters act as mother and son felt forced and awkward, which, I imagine, they might in real life, and not entirely believable.

The author pretty well hid most of the twists (though I DID anticipate one near the end), and the writing was good and well-paced. All in all, a good read and recommended for those who like thrillers that are not full of gore, violence and psychopaths.

My thanks to NetGallery, the publisher and the author for a complimentary copy to review.

Keep You Close was such a twisting adventure! This is a great recommendation for my political thriller patrons.