A woman is in a mental facility with scars, burns, and bruises all over her body. The story that is being reported relentlessly in the media is that she did this to herself ... and tried to take others down with her. But what exactly happened the night Connie drove her car in a river? She doesn't remember, but her psychiatrist Emma is determined to find out.

Too Close by Natalie Daniels is touted as a psychological suspense novel, however I did not find that it lived up to the tense and taut hype. The execution was all wrong for a reader like myself, who enjoys an engaging storyline and intriguing characters. I felt like I was reading this novel through a filter - the setting, dialogue, and characters' thought processes were very cloudy and murky. The intention of this might have been to create suspense, but for me, it just created disinterest.

This novel plods on for far too long without much of anything happening. When the reason for Connie's suicide attempt is finally revealed toward the end of the book, it falls flat. I felt cheated out of an exciting, thrilling twist ending - I read this entire book for this payoff?!

Despite the high ratings, Too Close just wasn't for me. It makes you work entirely too hard for little to no reward.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Too Close delves into what it means when a doctor becomes unprofessionally intertwined in the life of her patient. Connie has committed an unspeakable offense which has rendered her captive in a psychiatric institution recovering from multiple wounds, both physical and mental. Emma is the psychiatrist who is determined to win over Connie’s trust in order for her to tell her side of what really was going through her head when she committed the heinous crime. As the two become close, Emma sees the many startling parallels between her life and Connie’s.

Natalie Daniels successfully creates tension throughout this, as the reader is constantly striving to learn Connie’s story and what her true motives were for doing what she did. Daniels words take readers inside the desperately mad mind of Connie as we see the world through her eyes and then, alternately, through Emma’s. I found it interesting how Emma, although striving to help her patient, was in turn being helped by her patient as an ultimate portrayal of reciprocity in the oddest and most inappropriate of circumstances. I flew threw the first 3/4s of this but wish there had been a little more something at the end to completely sweep me off of my feet and say, “Wow, I had no idea that that was coming.” The psychological nature of this was in the the doctor/patient relationship and not so much the plot, but I wish there had been more of a balance of both. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Harper Paperbacks and Natalie Daniels for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

How much can the human mind take before it shuts down to protect itself? This intriguing story about a woman dealing with everything life is throwing at her, while she loses the closest people to her, is heartbreaking and distressing. The way the story is told makes it hard to stop reading.

As always, please read the synopsis- I hate writing what the publisher has already done so well. Then let me tell you how much I really liked this book. I didn't know the author. There was no cover art. I was thankful to be granted this as an ARC from HarperCollins. I really went into it blind. Natalie Daniels revealed her characters to me as though I were actually getting to know them as my own friends/neighbors. Little bits of conversation, humor and intimate thoughts let me learn what type of people I was meeting. They were fascinating. I wanted to know more about Connie and Ness and their own relationships, how they met and what kind of mothers they were.
As Emma, Connie's psychiatrist, worked to unravel her dissociative amnesia - I learned so much more about each of them. Again, Daniels (what else has she written? I can't wait to read it) unwrapped characters so slowly but so satisfyingly for me. Besides all that, the intensity of Connie's story in the final section of the novel was amazing. This really is a must read for 2019. Again, thank you HarperCollins - I thoroughly enjoyed this one! 4.5 stars

Connie and Ness become the best of friends, intertwining their lives and families. But then Connie finds out a secret, perhaps one she set in motion, that ends up with Connie in a mental hospital and the families fractured.
While the book sets out as a bit of a mystery, it ends up being more of a story of forgiveness, how and why we choose to forgive, and if people can move on from tragedy.
Connie’s doctor Emma also learns her own lessons on forgiveness, and becoming too close to a person and how it can lead to self destruction.
Took a bit to get rolling, but ultimately a solid read.