Remarkably caustic to the psyche. This narrative will be one that readers either love or hate and stand no middle ground. Shannon Kirk has created a culmination of chaos, suspense, and outright shock. Avid readers of the genre will think they have the plot twist pegged, but be warned, Shannon Kirk is diabolical with her words. The slower paced chapters in the beginning lulls one into a false sense of ease in anticipating the novel to be predictable when it is anything but. Fantastic read. 5 stars.

Thank you to #NetGalley for this ARC

I got about 25 percent of the way in to this book and gave up. The premise is just too implausible and the character's actions really make no sense. I simply could not suspend my disbelief long enough to buy into the plot.

It was a good book overall but felt a little disjointed for me .
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

I've read so many 5* reviews for this book I thought I was in for a treat. Nope! Boring, dragged out, repetitive and unrealistic. Not my cup of tea at all!

I read this book in an afternoon/evening as I couldn't put it down! It has so much going on and I didn't guess any of it!! Lucy and her mom move around a lot. Their latest move is to New Hampshire and there they meet Gretchen and her dad. Lucy and her mom know something just isn't right but they stay anyways. What happens next is a great psychological thriller! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

WOW! Gretchen is an absolutely crazy thrill-ride that had me hooked from the very first page. This story is so dark and intense that I felt like I was holding my breath the whole time I was reading it! It is full of WTF moments and I stopped trying to predict what was going to happen pretty early on because it was full of surprises and shocking moments that I don't think any reader could predict. Kirk's writing style is tailor-made for the suspense/horror genre and held me captive until the very last page. I thought her character development was superb. Each character was carefully crafted and was distinctive, even the minor characters. I thought Lucy was a particularly strong protagonist and her voice was appropriate for a 15 year old girl. There are multiple plot lines in the book but they all weave together well by the end. Overall, a well-written creepy book that captivated me the entire time!

Wow, so much going on in this book, it was like a never ending rollercoaster. Read this in on sitting - now it’s 1am so I’m going to be exhausted tomorrow, but I had to finish!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

Since the age of two, Lucy has been on the run with her mom. 13 years and 12 states later, they feel like they have finally found their home in New Hampshire. Their new landlord and his daughter Gretchen are quite peculiar. The closer Lucy becomes with Gretchen the more she sees just how strange she really is. However Lucy is determined to stick it out because she doesn’t want to give her mom another reason to run.

The story that Lucy has been fed her whole life is that they are on the run because her father is a bad man who once kidnapped her when she was a toddler. Because of this kidnapping, people may recognize her so they have to be careful when they’re out in public. Her mother has very strict rules for Lucy - “Keep your head down, don’t engage. Don’t connect. And if anyone recognizes you, tell me.” When Lucy begins to question her back story she starts to realize the story she has been told just doesn’t add up. Lucy begins to realize her mom is not to be trusted and gets pulled even deeper into Gretchen’s creepy existence.

The first half of this book completely pulled me in with the suspense of a mother and her daughter on the run. When they finally settled into their new home, I was even more invested in the story, especially with the introduction of their creepy landlords. But this book took a huge left turn for me in the second half. The storyline became too far fetched and insane to the point of disbelief. While this book was initially suspenseful, the outlandish twists in the end just felt bizarre.

Thank you Netgalley for my advance reading copy. This book will be published on 7/23/19.

Lucy and her mother are always on the move- she is 15 and they have lived in 11 states since she was age 2. Lucy’s Mom tells her they are hiding from her father who kidnapped her as a baby and is still looking for them to take Lucy to a country where women have little to no rights. Lucy has gotten used to wearing contacts to cover her distinctive violet eyes, to changing her name, to packing and moving overnight, to the lies her mother has created as cover stories. She is not allowed a phone with internet access and she and her mother rarely go out together in public. On one of these rare outings Lucy leaves her contacts out and encounters a man who seems to recognize her which leads to another move - this time to New Hampshire. Her mom found a small cottage in a tourist town where she hopes they will not stand out as much.
Upon meeting the owners of the rental a recuperating pianist and his odd daughter Gretchen, Lucy’s Mom senses red flags and wants to keep moving but Lucy rebels. She is tired of running and hopes to have a friend in Gretchen - her mom has even told her she can have a job.
Lucy begins keeping secrets from her mom to avoid having to leave.
Gretchen is determined to be friends with Lucy. Everyone has a kid they remember who was an outcast because of being a little different- in the case of Gretchen, it might be warranted. She is beyond creepy/weird/intrusive.
I couldn’t read the first two thirds of this book fast enough but like other reviewers have stated the last third was a struggle. Some of the character backstories may have been helpful, the it seemed as though it took a turn and I deducted a star for that. There are parts that truly strain credibility but that is why it is fiction I guess.
Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy- I can’t wait to read “In the Vines” next.

Let me just say, I'm so glad I read this during the daytime, when the sun was shining and I was in a plane full of people bc OMG. This book is creepy in the best possible way, and waaaaaay scarier than what I'm used to reading. The poor lady sitting beside me had her arm grabbed more than once because we've all known a Gretchen, a strange loner who turns out to be a batshit loon, only mine was named Pamela. Pamela, if you're reading this, I'm talking about a different Pamela. 😬 Five terrifying stars.

I good thriller, Gretchen definitely terrified me. The atmosphere reminded me of the movie "The loved ones"

I can see a lot of improvement comparing it to "Method 15/22". There were more twists and turns in "Gretchen" which kept me hooked.

However, I found Lucy's actions slightly unbelievable in the first few chapters. But it got better later on in the book, so that's not a big issue.

Would give it 4.5 stars.

Gretchen was definitely a WTF did I just read??? I can’t decide if I liked this book or loved it, perhaps both.

Fifteen year old Lucy and her mother have been on the run for the past thirteen years and spanning eleven states. Finally they have found a secluded New Hampshire cottage which Lucy loves and hopes to stay at for the foreseeable future. This property is owned by Jerry, a pianist, and his odd daughter Gretchen who live in a mansion type house up the hill.

Clearly Lucy and her mom are running for a reason and have things to hide but all is not exactly right with Jerry and Gretchen.

The first half of this book was a lot of background and building, but it held you and made you want to keep flipping those pages. The second half was like a freight train coming at you out of nowhere.

This was mystery, suspense and horror cleverly crafted to give you the ultimate creeps and have you shaking your head while repeatedly thinking WTF! I’m having a hard time putting into words some things in this book as I could not do it justice. These characters will haunt you long after you are done this book!

This would make for a great movie! Get ready to be traumatized by juice boxes, bacon and puzzles and so much more

This book is a wild ride from start to finish. The writing was atmospheric and haunting, in a good way. There are several plot twists and one that I audibly gasped when I read. This is an interesting book and I'll be thinking about it for weeks.

Last year, I read and listened to Kirk's book, In The Vines, so I was curious about this one, her latest book! The format switches between two perspectives - 15 year old Lucy who is tired of her life on the lam and her mother's voice. This works more to drive the plot forward and keep the reader guessing than to really develop the characters, unfortunately.

The plot's initial twists may not surprise everyone, but the later insanity is definitely hard to see coming! There isn't really enough foundation for some of them (trying not to give anything away inadvertently here, so my apologies for sounding vague!) which really makes up my main complain about this one. The ending has some Scooby Doo style explanations that lacks depth. The house in Millberg, New Hampshire has some interesting background that doesn't really fit with the rest of the story. It's almost as if two separate novels were combined into this one and it doesn't really fit well at the seams, as the last third of the book really is rather jarring. The book is just unbalanced and the "friendships" here defy logic (probably because the character's aren't deeply developed and never feel authentic). It's just a rather unbelievable book that relies on the plot to move forward based on coincidence. Plus, the villains of the story leave a lot of unanswered questions, too.

And yet, it is an engaging read and I never once considered setting it aside.. I just wish that there had been more depth to the characters and the book required less suspension of disbelief. If you don't think too much about this one, it is pretty entertaining....

*sighhhhhh*

Gretchen.

Ohhh Gretchen.

A lot of us knew a Gretchen back in school.

In my case her name was Francine Sharp (please don't let her be reading this and come butcher me in my sleep). Gretchens are friendless, awkward outcasts with a tendency to glob onto anybody that shows them the least little bit of attention. Oh, and lest I forget, they are always BATSHIT CRAZY.

As fun as Gretchen is she's not the MC. That would be Lucy and it's been awhile since I've loved one as much as I did her. She's
smart and snarky and uber relatable.

This story is rife with mystery and tension and wacko characters and everything else I love about a psychological thriller.... UNTIL IT'S NOT.

At 74% it's like a different author takes over with a whole new plot. And it ruined what was, up until that point, an exceptional book. For that reason I had to knock off a star from my rating.

Gretchen is a complete departure from Kirk's In the Vines, which reached a new level of madness, but equally captivating. Kirk's writing is magnetic and the true star of her books.

Despite it's failings near the end, this book is creepy fun and I can't wait for the next offering from this author.


Side note to Francine Sharp: please don't kill me 😬


I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Gretchen by author Shannon Kirk is so far SO GOOD! Will update when I am completely finished, I am LOVING it so far!!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

WOW Gretchen by Shannon Kirk was a wild ride from start to finish. This book was filled with crazy characters and a story that had me flying through till the very end.

Gretchen is a fantastic thriller that I could not put down. Wow. A must read for the year. Great writing and characters.

Whoa. Just, whoa. I feel like I just read at least 3 different books for the price of one. Well, I mean it was free from NetGalley, but still, what a deal! So many shady characters, so many good characters that I waited for some of them to go bad! Do NOT miss this book. Thank you to #netgalley for making sure I didn't!

Gretchen, Gretchen, Gretchen...what do you do when a girl like Gretchen wants to be your friend? What do you do when you've been on the run your entire life? What do you do when you don't know who to trust?

Under strict orders from mom, she's not supposed to "engage" with anyone when they arrive in their 11th state and she better not take out those colored contacts to reveal her startling violet eyes again. Lucy is stuck between a haunted house and a hard place. But by morning, she is allowed to be friendly with Gretchen, the creepy little neighbor girl. She is allowed to get a job at the local gourmet grocery. But this comes at a cost, her mother is no longer speaking to her. It's a long terrifying summer for Lucy as her life turns upside down.

Yes, there are minor flaws. I felt the chapters focusing on Mother took us out too far out of the main storyline. There was certainly a lot of coincidence involved. But holy crow this was the best walk through a haunted house I've had in years! Sometimes it takes excellent writing like Shannon's to make me realize it's not the destination, but the eerie journey that I enjoy the most.

But, is it weird that I think I'd really like one of those cute apple print sundresses?

"Nobody wins when I want something." "I always get what I want."
A mother/daughter duo on the run, with father/daughter landlords with a obsession with puzzles and and a lot to hide, this book was down right crazy. Told through the points of view of the mother and Lucy, this novel is full of secrets, lies and deception. The writing style and the writing itself was exquisite with such detail that you felt you were expierencing it as it was happening. I literally was holding my breath through this book and my heart was beating out of my chest. Full of twists and turns that you will never see coming, you will not want to put this book down. A thrill to say the least, it has my skin crawling with one of the creepiest characters I have ever come across. All I could say as I finished this book was WHAT??!!

I want to thank netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.