Just a warning: Do NOT start this book if you plan to do any adulting that day! Seriously, it hooked me in from the first page as 15-year-old Lucy and her mother are on the run in their 10th state as Mom is protecting her from her vindictive, patriarchal father who once had Lucy taken from a store. But this is only the first layer of this multi-faceted tale of kidnappings, mass disappearances, cults, mental illness, and above all take-no-prisoners women who can kick ass with the best of them! Kirk speaks to so many things including parental love, secrets, lies, and obsession (just to name a few)! I'm still a little breathless after finishing this (and of course, getting nothing else done today). My brain is full and sweating a little too! This novel will consume you, not the other way around. Good thing I have In the Vines in my queue as I'm besotted with Shannon Kirk right now!

2.5 Stars for Gretchen by Shannon Kirk.

What should have been a slow burn gothic thriller turned into a tedious, dragging story with twists that I saw coming a mile away.

Mother daughter duo are on the run - from what exactly we don't know - but they rent a cabin from Gretchen and her father. Gretchen seems to lack any sense of social convention and oversteps boundaries more than frequently. Told in alternating perspectives from mother and daughter (Lucy), we begin to unravel why they are running and what they are running from.

Unfortunately, the reveals were a bit lackluster for me and by the time we got to the meatier part of the story, I was already feeling frustrated by the dragging pace.

Such a range of emotions reading this book. It was a slow start, the story of Lucy and Mag, told from the perspective mainly of Lucy. It is a slow burner and took a while for me to get in to but once I hit the 50% mark I was itching to know what happened! Gretchen is a creepy character with a seriously sinister side and I wouldn't like to meet someone like her. Her and her Dad are a disturbed team that makes for a cross between a thriller and a horror story to read. I was really weirded out in parts, disturbed in others but desperate to know how it ended as it was not at all predictable. Having said that....the ending was a total shock but a nice and fitting one, I had been rooting for Lucy all the way through and I liked the way this book ended. I wasn't sure about this at first and nearly DNF'd it, but I'm glad I stuck with it in the end and I will definitely read more by Shannon Kirk.

Shannon Kirk's creepy and propulsive thriller is a first purchase for collections where the genre is particularly popular and a very solid secondary purchase for general collections.

This book was amazing!! The story is thrilling and gripping. The tension and suspense keep rising by every chapter. The choices made by the characters of this book will make you want to scream at them yet we follow along with their deadly decisions anyway.
I was invested and engaged throughout until the last 30% of the book, where I believe the story slowed down and seemed a bit dragged. But overall I enjoyed this chilling read. 4 Stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher of my free advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was much different than what I was expecting, and had me gripping my kindle tightly in parts. The story flowed, but near the end with Laura helping Gretchen (the mom) it got kind of confusing and did start to lose my interest.

3.5 stars

Premise: Lucy has been on the run with her mother since she was two. She is tired of running and tired of being lonely so when the new landlord’s odd daughter tries to befriend her, Lucy’s vulnerability causes her to ignore a lot of red flags.

First off, thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this advance reading copy of Gretchen in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed the way Shannon Kirk developed Lucy’s story and mind frame. I was really able to appreciate the choices she made and the drive behind them. I thought Kirk covered all her bases well while exploring why Lucy did not flee from what others might immediately consider to be a toxic situation.

I did feel most of the book was very entertaining and while I was able to predict many of the twists ahead of time, it was a fun ride trying to get there. The last 30% of the book took a turn that, while intriguing, I did not enjoy very much. For me, those last several pages dragged on and there were some components that robbed from my overall satisfaction.

At any rate, I do feel Gretchen delivers with its chilling narrative and complex relationship structure. I think most thriller lovers will enjoy this book and I suspect that I will be part of the minority with my criticism. I do believe it is worth checking out!

Gretchen is a gripping thriller that is extremely creepy and disturbing at times. It was so good that I read most of it in one sitting. If you enjoy thrillers, don’t miss out on this one.

Thoughts:

Although the book is named Gretchen, the main character is actually Lucy. Or at least, the book is seen and told mostly from her perspective and not Gretchen’s. The other perspective the book is told from is Lucy’s mother – shifting back and forth between the two, but most of the time the story is with Lucy. The story itself is broken up into three Parts. Part I is the longest and is where most of the story and setup occurs. This is where we meet all the characters: Lucy and her mother; Gretchen and her father; and other minor characters along the way. Part II is the shortest and Part III is where the story slightly takes a new direction – in a way – as it reaches its climax.

The main two characters are Lucy and Gretchen. Lucy is just looking for some stability, true friends that she calls “Jenny’s”, and a little more independence from her mother. Gretchen is a social outcast, with a different type of personality, and has very puzzling behavior that makes me cringe because she can be so uncomfortable and unnerving as a character. She is someone that my instincts would naturally tell me to stay away from as much as possible, but due to her situation Lucy is not really able to do that.

The book is extremely engaging and it was such a good read that it became hard to put down. In fact, I read it in two days. Every chapter made me more and more curious about Gretchen’s odd behavior and if there wasn’t that then I was always trying to figure out Lucy’s situation. Why was Lucy always on the run and why did Lucy’s mother act the way she did – overprotective one minute and ignoring Lucy for days on end the next. The writing and way the author put everything together made this thriller fly by with me fully invested through-out the entire story.

This thriller is one I most definitely can recommend. I haven’t read Shannon Kirk before, but now plan to pick up more of her previous books and will always be on the look out for her next one.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a story of a young girl who is constantly “on the run” with her mom, moving from place to place. She doesn’t know much about her past and her mother discourages her from learning about it. Things seem to look up when they end up renting a house from a man and his daughter Gretchen, who seems like she could be a friend.

Turns out she is a bit strange, to say the least! Don’t want to say too much else and spoil the story.

Three stars from me for this one. It wasn’t really a thriller to me and nothing was super shocking or surprising.

Gave it a try but could not get into this story at all. I found my mind on other things while reading and just did not care about these characters. I’d call this a horror/thriller mix.

Gretchen just made it to my favorite read of the year so far. Gretchen had me hooked to the story right from the beginning. It was so hauntingly creepy and messed up i just couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to read an amazing psychological thriller this summer.

Gretchen was a teffifying nightmare that i couldn't look away from. Susan is on the run from Lucy's father who tried to kidnap her when she was 2 or at least that's the story she tells her daughter Lucy. 13 years later they are moving to their 12th state making Lucy 15. They find a nice secluded cabin to rent on the same property that houses their new landlords house. It seems like the perfect hidden away place to keep their secrets. Little do Lucy and Susan know that the landlords, Jerry and Gretchen, are hiding their own secrets. These are some spine-chilling secrets that Lucy wishes she never discovered. As Gretchen tries to make friends with Lucy. Lucy begins to discover how bizarre Gretchen is and how weirdand creepy their brick mansion actually is. This is one nightmareish tale that I'm not going to giveaway, are you brave enough to take the journey on your own?

I would like to thank netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

You can also find my review on goodreads and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/B0HA587AHQa/

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I got a little over half way through and decided not to finish. It was too unbelievable and far-fetched to engage me and I couldn't get into/relate to the characters. On goodreads, the title is listed at Gretchen: A Thriller but Im not sure this is exactly the genre I would put it in. Thank you so much to the publisher and netgalley for giving me shot on this one but it wasn't my fav (although I have heard from other trusted reviewer-friends that they loved it so maybe its just my style that didnt match up!)

Well, this was a weird story. I loved Kirk’s “Method 15/33” and I was really looking forward to this book. In “Method 15/33” we met a genius girl who used what she got at hand to free herself from her kidnappers. In “Gretchen” we meet at last 4 females who are capable of extraordinary things.

At first this story seems to be the one of a girl who is always on the run with her mother. She has to keep her head low, has to wear contacts to hide her violet eyes. Her mother fears constantly that someone will recognize her and that would be dangerous. But there is something strange about the whole story. When they run again after Lucy, the girl, made eye contact with someone without wearing her contacts, the story turns into something completely different. Lucy and her mother find a rental in a small town but their landlords turn out to be very very creepy.

I was not as gripped by this book as I hoped I would. I missed the tension and I was very early irritated by the strange behavior of Lucy’s mother. I knew something was not right about her story. But what really makes this book difficult to review are the last 25%. I will not say too much about it. It was weird, creepy and so unrealistic. The whole thing became a little muddled. I am really a bit lost here. I just don’t know what I’ve just read. It was an odd book but I think because of that I will remember it. I would read another book from Kirk because I like unique story ideas and she proofed that she has such ideas. And I am curious with what bizarre idea she will come up next.

How crazy was this book????? I think I still have vertigo from the nosedive into the insanity of Gretchen’s world and the events that took place in the last 25% of Kirk’s latest creation. After reading IN THE VINES last year, I knew I would be in for a treat, but had little idea of what exactly I was letting myself in for with this one.

I immediately liked Lucy, the 15-year-old MC who is narrating most of the story. Lucy and her mother have been on the run for 13 years, ever since Lucy was two. She believes her mother when she tells her that her evil, powerful father is their enemy and that she must never, ever try to look for him. As if she would even get the chance, because her mother keeps her strictly offline, and every time there is even the slightest danger of someone getting too personal, they do the midnight runner just to end up in another small nondescript town in the middle of nowhere. Now that Lucy is 15, she longs for normality, but most of all she wants a friend. The sort of girl she calls a “Jenny”. Loyal, kind, not asking much in return for a firm quiet friendship.

When Lucy first meets Gretchen, the daughter of their latest landlord, she knows that she is no Jenny. In fact, Gretchen is batshit crazy, with her penchant for puzzles and her way of creeping up on people and invading their privacy. But beggars can’t be choosers, and Lucy is sick of being a friendless girl on the run. Only that her rebellion may cost them all dearly ....

As with her previous book, Shannon Kirk immediately swept me up with her writing and carried me along in its storm like a tumbleweed, helpless and hopelessly addicted to the story. I was so invested that the house could have blown down around me and I may not have noticed. Because Gretchen is one crazy gal, and the setting is so spooky that it gave me nightmares. I LOVE this type of book!

Then came the 75% mark, and the story took a very unexpected turn. I admit that my “farfetched plotline” meter was immediately triggered, ringing all alarm bells. It was all so out there! But in the crazy nightmare that had been evoked by Gretchen in her apple print dress, it all still strangely worked. Is it horror? I’m not sure, though some may be freaked out by the final scenes. For me, it felt more like a fever dream, the sort where you know you are hallucinating but unable to clear your head. I wasn’t totally in love with the ending, but it was certainly different! I had to put a lot of kindling to my fledgling embers of the art of suspending disbelief, so if you are similarly afflicted with a total lack of that skill you may want to be forewarned. Once you have read this book, and have recovered your senses (it may take a day or two), make sure to check out the author’s website for her “additional information” link, which added much to the story for me.

All in all, GRETCHEN was one hell of a ride like only Kirk can deliver, with the same type of modern Gothic setting that delighted readers of IN THE VINES. It definitely delved into batshit crazy territory! If you are looking for a thoroughly entertaining book with one of the craziest protagonists and creepiest houses I have come across in a while, and an ending that you will never see coming in a million years, then this is definitely for you!

Where to even begin here. I really thought I was going to like the book even halfway through. But for me there was too much unanswered at the end and it was way, way too bizarre. From a possible kidnapping/imposter situation to 100 pieces of bacon and mini juice boxes at a dinner table to archaeological slaves, there was way too much going on.
I had a lot of trouble finishing because I just couldn’t keep up with how weird things got. I wasn’t hoping that the end would redeem the book, and that the “twist” would help it all make sense, but it felt unfinished in that sense as well.

Teenager Lucy and her mother live a life on the run. Her mother takes pains to disguise Lucy and to shelter her from contact with others. At the first suggestion that either of them may be recognised, her mother whisks her away and shifts interstate at the drop of a hat.

After fleeing one night they arrive in New Hampshire, where they are offered a lease on a property that Lucy is determined to set down some roots at. She has a neighbour of a similar age, Gretchen, the daughter of the landlord. When Lucy's mother meets Gretchen she is all set to run again, but Lucy puts her foot down and insists on staying.

It is not long before Lucy starts to realise that Gretchen is extremely odd and may harbours secrets as deep as hers.

Kirk's novel is a fast-paced thriller with a couple of very good plot twists. It gets a little bit unbelievable toward the end, but an action-packed final act rewards readers prepared to suspend their disbelief.

This is original different and creepy
Two stories colliding .
I liked the ambiguity of the woman n child on the run
Do we wish her to escape from a darkness chafing her daughter or do we shift our perspectives with each page and chapter
Who is Gretchen wat are her motivations how many puzzles does she have !!?? Loved the description of the rooms and place they created and then we delve even deeper into the grounds
Litteraly
At times this did feel over the top and a tad out there ,well so wat if it is just go with it though is a fine line between dark storytelling and sillyness
Overall a dark adventure romp
Ty netgalley n publishers 😀

Lucy's mom has been keeping a big secret from her for the last 15 years. Why does she have to wear contacts to change the color of her eyes? Why are they always moving? Now, though Lucy has a secret from her mom. And it's not a good thing for her or her mom or really anyone. Lucy and her mom have moved into a house owned by Jerry, whose truly creepy daughter Gretchen slowly wraps Lucy into her orbit. Things go off the rails and get deeply weird as Gretchen begins to spool out information. This is a hard one to review without spoilers but know that it is a page turner. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's hard to pigeonhole the novel into a genre- it's suspense, it's horror, it's a freefall.

All Lucy has ever known is life on the run. Together with her mother, they have hopped from state to state the moment someone gets too close, the moment they heard someone say “you remind me of someone”, the moment they felt eyes linger on them for too long. Lucy has never known the real reason they are on the run. She has never known what drives her mother’s paranoia.

After thirteen years on the run, Lucy and her mother have landed in a town that Lucy feels is perfect. She can see a future here. A chance to go to school and hold a job like a normal teenager. There are a few things less than desirable about their new living situation. Their new home is located in the isolated New Hampshire woods on the outskirts of town. The landlord and his daughter live on the property in a house up the hill. The father is a pianist obsessed with wearing gloves to protect his hands. The daughter, Gretchen, is Lucy’s age and has all the makings of a perfect friend if only she could shake the possessiveness. Lucy is willing to look away from the flaws and fight for a place to call home, but is she denying too much of what is really happening around her?

WOW!! This review is going to be so hard to encompass all of the thoughts and feelings I have over this amazing book! Last year you might remember me raving over Shannon Kirk and her book, IN THE VINES. Well be prepared to never hear me stop talking about GRETCHEN! This book truly has everything I look for in crime fiction. There is a likeable narrator struggling through a personal drama, an atmospheric location that sets the stage for dread, and a cast of characters that are hiding so many secrets it’s hard to keep up. Whatever you think you’re getting into with this book, it’s that and so much more!

The narration of this story is split between Lucy and her mother. With each switch in narrator the reader slowly gains a hold on Lucy’s current life, as well as background from her mother to how living on the run came to be. All of the years Lucy was a baby and a toddler are covered with the mother’s perspective. What’s unique is that Lucy is unaware of the majority of what the reader learns in these passages. I love that Lucy has only a partial grip on her reality and is moving forward to the best of her abilities. She is an incredibly strong character who the reader can truly bond with.

Alongside Lucy are a cast of characters that no reader will soon forget. There are many that I loved and could mention, but not without giving away spoilers. I’ll keep those for chats with others who have read this book and focus on Gretchen. What a strange little girl! I’ve never been so fascinated by a non-narrator/main character the way I was with Gretchen. From learning about what makes her tick, watching her interactions with Lucy, and sitting front row for all of her crazy shenanigans...holy crap! Gretchen is an amazing character that I won’t be forgetting any time soon!

Similar to IN THE VINES, Kirk has mastered within the pages of GRETCHEN, how to use the setting of the story to make the words come to life for the reader. It didn’t matter what town I was in or what house I was walking through. I could vividly imagine all of the places mentioned in this book and truly felt transported into the story. Not only could I envision these places with utmost clarity, but because of that I could also feel every emotion coming from the characters.

At the end of the day, what you need to know is GRETCHEN is an amazing read and it needs to be on your TBR right now!

Disclosure: A huge thank you to Shannon Kirk for sending me a free copy of her book in exchange for an honest review.

A PAGE TURNER!!!! I couldn't put it down, I just had to know why Lucy and her mom were on the run and never would've expected the twists and turns. Lucy, a teenager who wants so badly to be typical but can't because they are on the move constantly. Her mom, Susan. is protecting her and secrets that could but them in danger. As they settle into yet another small town, a series of events snowballs and leads them on a wild ride.