Member Reviews
Not for me. Started out ok but once the subject matter was revealed I quickly became uninterested. I’m not the targeted audience, My error in requesting this one. Apologies but thank you.
Lexie loves her home. She feels safe and secure in it – and loved, thanks to her boyfriend Tom.
But recently, something’s not been quite right. A book out of place. A wardrobe door left open. A set of keys going missing…
Tom thinks Lexie’s going mad – but then, he’s away more often than he’s at home nowadays, so he wouldn’t understand.
Because Lexie isn’t losing it. She knows there’s someone out there watching her. And, deep down, she knows there’s nothing she can do to make them stop…
Sometimes a woman just knows something, even if her husband doesn't agree. This is one of those times. This was a gripping read and you just had to see how it ends. Recommended.
A great read, and very intense! It worked really well having the dual narrative of Lexie and Harriet separated largely by just a wall. It builds up a lot of tension and drama this way.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.
After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.
I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.
Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.
This one wasn't for me unfortunately. These sorts of books are a let down recently. I need to be more selective in what I request going forward.
A huge Thank You to The author, The publisher and Netgalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for a unbiased review of these works.
how much do you hear your neighbours? and when passing intrest turns in to obession what then? brillant story, great characters and a wonderful pace!
Lexie and Tom love seem to have it all according to their next door neighbour Harriet; friends, a relationship, no worries. Harriet is alone in a foreign country, so desperately wanting what she doesn't have.
The first 2/3 of this book left me wanting to read, read, read. The little snippets of harriers secrets and her past, the look into Lexie's inner thinking's.
However by then I felt it dragged on too long and the last 10% was predictable.
Would keep an eye out for the writers other work in the future definitely and would recommend the read even for the 90%!
I was highly drawn to this book. City life with Rear-Window vibes is one of my many literary jams so I was intrigued by the premise.
This follows two females in their 30s living in an expensive luxury flat, that has a swimming pool in the basement, and based in leafy Islington. Neither woman have ever spoken to each other even though their flats has only a thin wall to separate their homes, yet both peer into each other’s lives, romanticising it and perceiving the others as more ‘desirable’.
Lexie is freelancing, lonely in her flat while her partner, Tom, goes to work. They pay a low amount of rent on their flat as its owned by her partner’s parents, while her friends are paying mortgages on their own houses, something that Lexie increasingly resents. She’s desperate for a baby, and has been frustratingly trying for a year to no avail. She feels like a failure.
Then you have Harriet, who moved to London from Chicago with her then-boyfriend Luke. Only to be dumped. Harriet composes songs for musicals. She’s successful yet lonely and fills her life with parties full of strangers. Until she sees Tom, who looks remarkably alike Luke...and is determined Tom ought to be with her, not Lexie...Thus begins a game of cat and mouse as Harriet sets upon wrecking Lexie’s life...
Fatal Attraction meets Rear Window in this urban thriller. Short, pacy chapters this was a fast read. I ripped through the first half but then the middle began to sag as it became repetitive with Lexie going on and on about wanting to get pregnant and Harriet’s obsession with having Tom as her boyfriend. Also this book wasn’t quite a thriller and more of a women’s fiction and a psychological drama with some suspense elements.
Unfortunately because the book ended up going down a predictable and cliched rabbit hole it’s 3/5 from me.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this book.
Great start, but I got fed up halfway through and really struggled to finish but I did and wish I’d given up. Really not for me and won’t rush to read another by this author.
Fantastic fast paced novel with a great premise that kept me hooked all the way through, building up to a good climax.
Thank you Netgalley for my copy of Through The Wall.
This is such a brilliant story. One where the author creates that feeling of unease and suspense throughout. We meet Harriet and Lexi who live next door to each other in an apartment block. Despite living in close proximity they've never met each other or spoken to each other however they do hear each other's lives through the wall. They've also googled each other and seen each other's social media and each woman is totally envious of the others seemingly perfect and fulfilled life. I was hooked on this book from the get go because what they see of each other on social media isn't the full truth. Lexi, on the face of it has it all, she's young, she has a lovely boyfriend and she has a great job but behind the smiles there's heartbreak and a desperation to have a child. Harriet is also young, beautiful and so gel. There's a constant stream of people partying at her flat however behind the facade Harriet is extremely lonely, she has various one night stands just to feel companionship and now she's cine to the realisation she wants the life Lexi has including her boyfriend. The story covers jealousy, secrets, lies, obsession, it also tackles mental health problems, toxic relationships and gaslighting. I really enjoyed this read, the author is on my radar now and I eagerly await her next offering.
Oh you know I do love a good debut...
If you are looking for a disturbing, mess with your head type of psychological thriller, then this one is for you..
Would you ever be so unhappy in your life that you think your next door neighbour has a much more exciting one than you which you hear through the wall between both houses....
We meet Lexie and Harriet in this story....
Lexie is living with her partner Tom. They are struggling to conceive...
Harriet is a party girl, no responsibilities....
Both lives could not be more different....
Jealousy however soon rears its ugly head.......
What happens if someone decides they want your life but you don't know about it. Does she try to drive you mad.... steal your boyfriend perhaps...
We begin to enter stalker ish... territory at this point. Little things Lexie begins to notice but with her hormones raging and her mind in overdrive, she doesn't know what is real or what she is imagining.
I can completely relate to this one in terms of raging hormones from fertility issues. You don't know whether you are coming or going.
Add to that the fact that you think someone is trying to drive you mad and it sure does make for a compelling read.
This is disturbing, chilling and eerie all rolled into one...
I bet you won't be able to put it down,,,,
Well done to author Caroline on a cracking debut.....
This really is a heart racing thriller, it was bloody brilliant.
Lexie on the surface seems to have the perfect life, a loving boyfriend, home, friends and work & someone close by doesnt like that.
Lately things havent been right, her home feels different, she can sense a presence, things are moving and her boyfriend seems to be getting more and more distant when Lexie needs him the most.
Told from two perspectives we unravel the lives of those involved in this, it is a complex narrative where not everything is as it seems & feelings run a heck of alot deeper. I adored this book, my heart was racing as i got to the final few chapters & for me that is a book that is really well written when it gets a real life response from me.
I adored the characters because they were so multi layered and fascinating, they were full of flaws, issues & concerns and as a reader we get to discover those layers. What makes this so scary is so much seems normal, its not horrific and obvious in gore, its slowly built up and creepy, like it was taken pleasure in.
Fan-bloody-tastic. I was on the edge of my seat & this is one of the best thrillers i have read in a while, because it could happen to anyone. I am so grateful to be invited onto this blog tour.
Oh, this is one of the most original and intense thrillers I’ve read in ages. I was starting to think the genre had no surprises or anything new left. I’m glad I’m wrong. I knew within a few pages I was going to love this book. I was spot on. This book is pretty twisted at times but the menace is slow burning for the most part. The author likes to lure you into a false sense of security before revealing what twisted new treat hides in the dark. The book is written in the first person alternating between Lexie and Harriet. You know from the second chapter that Harriet is the villain. It would normally put me off a book, knowing the bad guy from the start. However, the fact the chapters alternate between Lexie and Harriet stops this from happening. You get to read about Lexie falling apart, convinced someone is watching her every move and Tom is cheating on her while also reading about Harriet’s manipulation and twisted mind games. I also liked the fact you get to find out about Harriet’s past and the events that set her on such a dark path. She does monstrous things but she’s far from a monster.
How well do you know your neighbour? Lexie and Harriet live next door to each other in an upmarket block of flats in London, but never speak. It’s not as though they dislike each other, it’s just not the done thing. The thought of bumping into each other in the lift abhors them and yet they happily eavesdrop on each other through their paper-thin walls. With both women experiencing problems in their personal lives, they soon begin to covet each other’s life with dangerous consequences…
With its slow build-up, Through the Wall is one of those books that takes you a while, but once it’s grabbed you, there’s no letting go! From its opening in a psychiatric hospital, there is a air of foreboding where you know that something bad is about to happen, but what?
From the outside, Harriet looks like the ultimate party girl, her raucous gatherings drawing in strangers from near and far. Lexie wouldn’t be as jealous, however, if she knew Harriet’s past and that this was one way of hiding her loneliness. Similarly, Lexie looks like she shares the perfect life with her husband, Tom, the sort of life that Harriet dreams of. Her happy social media posts hide the trauma of losing a child, though, and do not take into account the pain of trying for a baby. This was a good lesson in how we should not always believe what people choose to share on the likes of Instagram or Facebook, as these posts often display a skewed version of the person’s real life.
Throughout the book, we see Harriet’s interest becoming more and more of an obsession, to the point where she is stalking both Lexie and Tom, even gaining access to their property. I began to fear for Lexie as Harriet became fixated with Tom, wondering just how far she would go to achieve her aim. At the same time, I had nothing but sympathy for Lexie as she began her IVF journey, believing at the same time that her husband was having an affair with a woman called Rachel.
Just when I thought that Harriet had no redeeming qualities whatsoever, the author hit me with details of her past, exploring how she had been the victim of an abusive ex-partner, even if she was in complete denial about this. At this point, I was desperate for someone to take Harriet into their care, to stop her from hurting someone else or even herself. The fears for Lexie were still there, however, and were proven correct when we finally get to the showdown between the two women. The tension was palpable as I began to wonder if history was about to repeat itself.
The story ends where it begins – at the psychological hospital, and it is here where we get the twist that made me gasp. This was one of those moments where you can visualise it on the screen, and I hope that this is something we get to see at some point.
Through the Wall is a disturbing psychological thriller with some genuinely emotional moments.
I managed to read a chunk of this and it just does not connect with me at all. I don't find either character interesting or well built and feel that the action is a bit silly in places. I wish i had loved this as the premised sounded great but this wasn't the book for me.
A deliciously twisted and unsettling thriller that will send many a shiver down your spine, Through the Wall is Caroline Corcoran’s phenomenal debut novel and it’s absolutely fantastic. Packed with plenty of shocks and surprises, Through the Wall is a brilliant thriller you will not be able to put down or stop thinking about.
Lexie’s life is as perfect as it is possible to get. She has a beautiful home she feels safe and secure in and is in a relationship with a wonderful man called Tom who has made her unbelievably happy. Everything seems to be coming up rosy for Lexie, but lately she simply cannot shake off this feeling that something isn’t quite right. Things are happening in the home that has always been her haven and her sanctuary that are making her wonder whether a perfect stranger has found a way into her refuge. Lexie is sure that she didn’t leave that wardrobe door open or that book in that particular place. And she has certainly not lost a set of keys that have gone suddenly missing. Lexie is convinced that she is being watched and that somebody is playing with her mind, but when she shares her fears with Tom, her fears are brushed away.
Tom thinks that she is going mad, however, with him being away so much lately how could he possibly know what is really happening at home? Somebody is watching Lexie and she knows it. Will the life which has come to mean so much to her be taken away from her? Is Lexie safe in her house? Or is there somebody who is so desperate to have Lexie’s perfect life that they will do whatever it takes to get it- including murder….
Creepy, sinister and full of menace and suspense, Through the Wall is a book that will have you switching on all the lights, locking your doors and checking your house for any recording devices. A book that is cleverly written, densely plotted and brilliantly set up, Through the Wall is an outstanding nail-biting thriller from a terrific new voice in the genre.
Tense, terrifying and jaw-dropping, Through the Wall is a must-read for psychological thriller fans everywhere.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
This precis of this book sounded curiously compelling and probably a very true representation of what goes on though party walls between homes.
The narrative switched between Harriet and Lexi, who were neighbours with an adjoining wall. Both characters made assumptions at face value about the other one without really knowing the difficulties in reality the other was going through. Despite the reader knowing both characters supposed and actual lives, the storyline was somewhat humdrum. The story does gradually build up to the consequence of their perceptions, and it all goes down pretty much as expected.
I did find the book interesting enough to read and I was kept reading to the end, but I can't say I found it exciting, gripping or thrilling.
Harriet lives next door to Lexie and Tom and to her they have or Lexie has a life that she wants, how far will she go to get the life she believes she deserves?
This novel is difficult to rate for several reasons one, I read a review and I know that the author pulled from her own experiences of fertility issues to write this and you can really tell. If you're triggered by such a topic I would stay clear of this novel as it talks in deal throughout the entire novel of Lexies fertility issues. Those parts I do believe are written in an emotional rare way so I can't fault them.
There is also domestic abuse within this novel which is talked about a great deal which if you're triggered by I'd also stay clear.
The plot of this novel however and the characters I just felt was lack luster and it was a little boring at times.
I would however be willing to try more from this author in the future.