Great idea for a story, I was hooked from the beginning. There were so many twists and turns I had no idea how it was going to end. I really felt for Ellie and it was good to see her character develop as the story progressed. I would absolutely read Kate Simants next book.

Lock Me In
By Kate Simants

I thoroughly enjoyed this solid thriller from debut author Kate Simants. In the story, we follow the life of Ellie Powers, a 19 year old with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Her case is unique and she has baffled the specialists, as she only shifts while she is sleeping and no one has been able to identify the source of trauma that caused this.

Ellie’s alternate personality, Siggy, is angry and violent. So much so that Ellie’s mother must bolt her bedroom door at night so Siggy can’t get out.

One morning Ellie wakes to find a number of wounds on her body. As she ponders what Siggy might have done during the night, she approaches her bedroom door and realizes that the bolt has been destroyed. Siggy got out! To make matters worse, Ellie soon learns that her boyfriend is missing and she fearfully considers the possibility that Siggy has done something awful to him.

I felt the story was pretty compelling. While it wasn’t utterly impossible to put down for me, it did still beg to be picked up whenever possible. It caused another exciting thriller to sit on the back burner.

I am not a huge fan of thrillers that follow the lives of the investigators as closely as the mystery at hand, although there are some exceptions. This, unfortunately, wasn’t one of them. Mae’s side story was my least favorite part of the book but I see a series in the making with this and for those who enjoy an intriguing detective series, this would make an excellent addition to your TBR list.

There were many aspects of the story that I felt were easy to figure out early on but I still enjoyed the path traveled to get to the bigger revelations later on. I appreciated when Mae’s story was less personal and more focused on Ellie’s missing boyfriend, which eventually became more prominent within the book. I also am not inclined to say that this book is predictable, despite all that I figured out early one. I think each reader brings different experiences into the story and what may be evident to one will not be evident to others.

I think Lock Me In is a promising start for a talented writer as well as a fun and intriguing thrill ride. The expected publication date is early October so keep a lookout for it!

Thank you Killer Reads for this review copy provided through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Lock Me In was a fantastic thriller! As soon as I finish this review, I am going to text my best friend to tell her to read it.

Ellie has had DID (what used to be known as split personality disorder) nearly all of her life. She will awake from fugues with mysterious injuries, even though she is locked in her room at night. And then people close to her go missing...

Thrillers are my favorite, and this was an excellent one! It’s told from multiple POVs. I think that part of the mystery is easy to figure out but there are enough other pieces to the mystery, that armchair sleuths like me will still be eagerly reading to see what else will be explained.

This is definitely one to watch, as I have a feeling that it could get pretty big!
I loved this and it could've been a five-star read, but I found the beginning a little slow. The writing was fantastic though, and I can't quite believe it's a debut! Normally with these sort of books I'm able to predict what's going to happen, but the twists in this took me by complete surprise; a massive thumbs up from me!
If you're looking for a thriller then I highly recommend this, and I think I'll be purchasing a copy upon release in October.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

So it takes a lot for me to read a book and say wow...but truly WOW. I am so glad that I got to read this amazing novel. I have to say that this book truly kept me engaged and was so well written. Ellie was such an amazing and interesting character and you really believe everything that you read. Please do yourself a favor and read this amazing book. I couldn’t put it down and I don’t say that often. Props to the author. I am a fan Kate Simants.

"You want to know fear? Imagine someone there, every day when you wake. Imagine knowing, without even opening your eyes, that someone is watching you."

The second I saw that this book tackles DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder), I knew I HAD to read it. I literally dropped the book I was reading and instantly dove in.
In her debut, Simants writes a thriller that's driven by mental health, and delves into a real, nightmarish thing that many people go through in their everyday lives.

However, we can notice how this psychological condition became a common theme in the genre, and how including it in a fictional story isn't always portrayed in a believable way. But I was completely engrossed by the originality and insightfulness provided by this story and its characters.

One of the mysteries here is to find the nature of the trauma that is causing Ellie's episodes - or what she calls, "fugues". And there's this particular disappearance of one of the characters that she thinks she's responsible for. And nothing is as it primarily seems.
We have a smooth, moderate pace as we follow two POVs (Ellie + the detective) and Ellie's sessions with her psychotherapist - my favorite parts.

Did I mention this is a debut? Kate Simants is indeed a new voice to watch. So light up a candle, grab a snack, get in your comfiest clothes and prepare to savor every word out of this fantastic read.

Lock me in.... what a debut novel!
It's hard to believe it is a debut novel. That's how good it was. One of the better psychothrillers I have read the last couple of years and I have read a lot of them!

I had no idea what to expect as this was an ARC, but I definitely wasn't disappointed. I was reading it at the same time as reading Sweetpea and both are about girls who do crazy shit, but Sweetpea is about a girl who loves to kill and gets a kick out of it and Ellie, the main character in Lock Me In, does crazy shit, but only when in a fugue. So these books had very little similarities for the rest and I ended up shelving Sweetpea until I could finish Lock Me In as I was getting really sucked into it.

Ellie suffers from dissociative identity disorder and her alter Siggy gets up to some crazy stuff. Ellie can wake up in the morning bruised and/or dirty with no idea what she had got up to. That's why her mom keeps her locked in. For her own and everyone else's safety. Most chapters are written first person and from Ellie's perspective. Other chapters center around Mae a detective with Asian roots, but those are written in third person. We get to know Benjamin Mae quite well, not just while solving the mystery of Ellie's boyfriend who has disappeared, but also personally with his relationship with his daughter bear. Mae is really likeable and I loved his sidekick Kit. She's real badass, and if I wasn't already a grown-up I would say I want to grow up to be just like her, PC Pain:

Anyways... to sum it up. It was a really good book, interesting from start to end and always making the reader wonder, what happened and is it really as it seems?
The book had some twists that I really did not see coming!

This was a good intriguing novel .i really felt for the main character and how scary it must have been for her and also the overwhelming dread I felt for her as I felt her becoming more and more suffocated by her mothers hold on her through that fear.
I did guess that those couldn’t be trusted cdnt but how and when I didn’t .i liked how it wasn’t typical of this story line and cd see the desperation of others for this girl to be safe
Thanks netgalley and publishers for this advanced copy

OMGOSH THIS BOOK WAS EVERYTHING! This may be my favorite read of the year to date. And as Kate Simants debut novel - WOW! I will definitely be adding her to my must follow authors because this was such an amazing pyschological thriller!

You have Ellie who suffers from disassociate identity disorder and when she falls asleep her alter, Ziggy, appears and she is crazy. She is angry and causes chaos and Ellie can't control her. Her boyfriend goes missing and she is covered in bruises and wakes with her door busted open even though her mom locks her in every night.

The story switches POV from Ellie to Ben Mae who is a detective who had met Ellie and her mother from a case 6 years before Ellie's BF disappearance. You get a bit of his story as well but it is not as deep as it is with Ellie's pov.

I couldn't put this book down. Every chapter I was obsessed in finding out who was who and where and WHAT! MANY twists and turns and the ending was an entertaining twist! It was an easy read I was sad to end it. I could most definitely watch this as a movie!

This book is about Ellie, who has Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID - multiple personalities). Siggy, her alter, is violent and unpredictable. People close to Ellie have gone missing: first her best friend, and then her boyfriend. The story is told from two perspectives, Ellie, and investigating detective Mae. This is a good psychological thriller and recommended.

What an amazing psychological thriller
This book was chilling and filled with tension. The writing style was very good and kept me guessing right until the end.
The plot was original and really well done.
A must read book

Ellie Power is suffering from a debilitating mental disorder. She has DID, disassociated identity disorder. Her alter is Siggy. She knows this because her mother Christine has told her. Siggy is extremely violent and her mother has has the wounds, bruises and black eyes to prove it. Siggy comes out only at night, so Ellie has to be locked into her room every night. Anything, scissors, knives, tweezers, any of these items and more are locked away because they can be a lethal weapon in Siggy's hands.
Siggy is also capable of murder. Ellie's best friend has disappeared and evidence shows it was probably Siggy. No Ellie's boyfriend is missing.
Things aren't always what they seem and people aren't always who they portray they are. Soon Ellie will find herself in Bosnia, a cross the country from England. She will try and solve the mystery of who she really is.
A psychological thriller. The Author has created a captivating scenario of events that leave you breathless and amazed.

With a loving mom and boyfriend, Ellie Power appears to anyone from the outside to be a perfectly normal young woman. But hidden within is a secret so terrifying, Ellie must be locked up to keep everyone safe from Siggy…

Reviewing mystery/thrillers is tricky. Everyone has an opinion on what glues them to the pages…what terrifies them…and what just didn’t make the cut. Lock Me In hooked me with the line “Whatever you do, don’t open the door…” The problem is, this story became so wordy and dragged on for what felt like an eternity, I forgot why the door had to be locked. This book could have easily been cut in half and been way more enjoyable for this reader. Lock Me In had so much potential, and when I came across this quote in the book, it totally summed up how I felt after losing hours of my life I’ll never get back…“Mistakes get made, life goes less than perfectly, and you cope. Sh*t happens and you move the f*ck on.”

If you are a fan of psychological thrillers, you may enjoy. It just didn’t make the cut for me.


**Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

Lock Me In by Kate Simants is an excellent debut novel which you won’t want to miss.

Ellie suffers from disossiative identity disorder, her alter Siggy is unpredictable and violent. In order to protect themselves from her, Ellie is locked in her bedroom at night.
Ellie wakes one morning with injuries and covered in bruises, and with obvious signs that she broke out of her room. Having no recollection of that night, things just proceed to get worse with the disappearance of her boyfriend Matt.

This story is told through Ellie as well as detective Mae who is assigned to look into Matt’s disappearance. The detective is also acquainted with Ellie and her mom from a different case six years prior.

For me this was definitely a slow burn with many intricate layers which opened to more questions than answers, which I loved. The character development was great and I honestly enjoyed all of their stories and found myself a bit sad having to say good bye.

Over all a very engaging and original story! 4.5 ⭐️

A book that offers great premise and a good cover ( dont usually mention covers but this one did catch my eye!! )

Ellie has Dissociative Identity Disorder which in laymans ( being me ) terms means she feels she has another person living inside her and this person ‘takes over’ at night and does, well, bad things, in Ellie’s case her alter ego is Siggy
The name Siggy got on my nerves every time read it, not sure why but it did however at the end of the book there is an explanation for this name
which made it make ( more ) sense
Ellie isn’t a great communicator in the book, her dialogue often ‘scratchy’ at best but then she does have a lot going on
Ellie has a boyfriend, Matthew, and he goes missing and the story really goes on from there with Detectives Mae and Kit on the case, I liked them both and even though some reviewers found Mae’s personal problems were something not needed in the book I started to look forward to the chapters that involved him and his problems, his character was not the norm for a Police character and I really liked him!
There are were a couple of pages I skimmed as the various stages of the Police marking scale of indecent photos of minors and other things related is discussed, its pertinent to the story and was very procedural but I didn’t lose the thread of the story by not reading the detail and nor is it the main focus of the book
The ending is dramatic and then some and just, just, makes it into believable with a pinch of salt
Kudos to the author for writing about DID, I mean there has to be a million and 1 things easier to base a book around??,the research done is impressive and although not a book ( for me ) I could shout from the rooftops about its a book I wont forget
6/10
3 Stars

I wasn't expecting it to be this good. This book has so many layers it started and ending in a total different direction from what I was expecting. All the characters are very interesting. This is a book that deals with sensitive topics but I am not sure of how much to say just cause I don't want to spoil anything but the writing is great and the story is engaging, it dragged at the end but maybe it was me not a big fan of long thrillers. I really liked it would like to read more about this author.

This is one of the best psychological thrillers I've read in quite awhile! I am not sure I can review it without giving away some of the plot, but I will say it was very well done with a lot of twists that I didn't see coming. I did have suspicions about what was happening, but the reason behind it all was nothing I would have ever realized. I found the story very unique and different from any other book I have read. I am so happy I had the opportunity to read it.

Lock Me In by Kate Simants is a riveting and ambitious debut that is unlike anything that I have encounterrd previously. This one will have you enthralled and keep you guessing in equal measure.

Ellie Power suffers from an identity disorder that brings out her alter ego, Siggy, after dark. As a measure to keep both herself and her daughter safe, Ellie's mother must lock her in her room each night. When Ellie awakens one morning to find that the lock on her door has been smashed from the inside, she is covered in bruises, and her boyfriend, Matt, has gone missing without a trace, she is unable to recall events from the previous night. Ellie begins to question the role of Siggy, and herself, in the shocking turn, and begins to fear that all is not as it appears.

This novel is skillfully woven, and so full of twists that you will not want to blink for fear of missing a crucial detail of the full-on plot. Kate Simants is an exciting new voice, and I cannot wait to see what comes next.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harper Impulse and Killer Reads, and One More Chapter for this ARC.

Lock Me In by Kate Simants -- 3 stars
HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780008353292

The description of this book and reviews by readers saying it had a complex fast moving plot made me excited to read it. I was somewhat disappointed. I didn’t hate it but sometimes I struggled to continue reading. While the plot was unique and intriguing, it became so complex that it was cumbersome and this slowed the action unnecessarily.
The personal issues Detective Mae had with his ex-wife and daughter added nothing to the story and was one reason it often dragged.

The conclusion was interesting, but some explanations of occurrences and actions by the characters were unrealistic making it forced. I realize this is fiction but in mystery books I have to believe that things could actually happen. This wasn’t a bad book. It just wasn’t as enjoyable as I’d hoped.

Reviewer: Nancy

Great premise. Well written and fast paced.

I really enjoyed the characters especially how Siggy kept pushing her way through.

Kept a few secrets right until the end.