Time was when extreme emotional distress to me meant not being able to have my morning coffee - you know, that stuff that magically turns you into something close to human - before heading out to get my annual blood test that requires fasting. But reading as many books as I have (75 so far this year), I've found something else: realizing it's 5 minutes before bedtime and I need 20 more to finish the book that's got me on the edge of my seat.

This is one such book. And yes, I lugged my Kindle up the stairs and sat in our computer room as usual - the last thing I check before hitting the sack is email - and finished it. Then - mostly because of a near-end twist - I couldn't get to sleep right away. Ah well - it was worth it.

As a mostly former journalist, it was easy for me to identify with the main character, Alice Henderson, also a journalist - with one happy exception: I've dealt with a few folks who gave me a royal chewing out over something I'd written (or failed to write), but never in my entire career did anyone threaten my life. Alice isn't so fortunate; and while first phone call mostly just shook her up, the next thing that happened left her so frightened that her boyfriend hired a private investigator.

It's pretty clear someone is out to get Alice, but who? Could it be someone who didn't like something she wrote? A person from her past, or even a co-worker? That's what P.I. and former cop Matthew Hill wants to find out, but because he's no longer on the force, he can't be an official part of the investigation. That's mitigated a bit by Hill's relationship with a very pregnant detective Melanie Sanders, his former partner who's now assigned to Alice's case. Needless to say, the whole thing becomes a race to find Alice's stalker - if that's what he or she is - before something more sinister happens.

Chapters switch to show snippets of three characters - Alice, Hill and an unidentified boy known only as "Him." Each chapter adds another dimension to the story until the very end, when everything comes together with that aforementioned twist. All told, a very well done and, dare I say, exciting book that I expect will do well. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

When I started reading this book I thought the storyline had potential. However, the further I got the more difficult I found it to continue. The character development is very formulaic and the ending is cliche. I found that the story line moved unnecessarily slowly and at times felt like it was dragging.

Despite this, I still found myself switching back and forth between who I thought the stalker was, from Jack to Matthew to Tom to Claire and Paul. I enjoyed the way the author described the lives of both Alice and the stalker in parallel both in the present and the past to build the suspense. There were also some interesting plot twists and jumps however, again, very cliche.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my only Teresa Driscoll novel but I just didn't care for it. The writing was a little dull and boring. I'm sorry but this is only my opinion and it just wasn't for me. We have Alice, a young journalist who is being stalked but the strange thing is the stalker only hits on Wednesday every week. What significance does that particular day hold? Thank you to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing for my honest review

Wow this book was so good! It had me hooked from the very first sentence! I never guessed the ending. I thought i had it all figured out too! This is my second book by this author and i have loved both! I will definitely be reading more by her! Thank you Netgalley for the early release of this book!

It seems like an ordinary Wednesday, until the phone rings. A mysterious caller with a chilling threat. Journalist Alice Henderson hangs up, ready to dismiss it as a hoax against the newspaper. But the next Wednesday, the stalker makes another move—and it becomes clear that this is all about Alice.
Someone wants her to suffer, but for what? Her articles have made her a popular local champion—could it be her past rather than her work that’s put her life in danger? Alice is determined not to give in to fear, but with the police investigation at a dead end, her boyfriend insists on hiring private investigator Matthew Hill.
With every Wednesday the warnings escalate, until it’s not only Alice but also her family in the stalker’s sights. As her tormentor closes in, can Alice uncover what she’s being punished for before the terrifying threats become an unthinkable reality?

I was really looking forward to this, the premise sounded so intriguing and I’ve enjoyed a couple of other books by Teresa Driscoll. I loved that there were a few characters I recognised from previous books (although they are all standalone stories).

I thought the book started out brilliantly, it was chilling, I felt a bit jumpy as Alice realised that she was being targeted and I was really intrigued about who it was, and why. There were a lot of twists, turns and red herrings throughout the book, maybe a few too many. My main issue with the book was that there weren’t that many characters, so I felt like the reveal of the stalker was a little predictable. I really like Matthew’s character, but I felt fairly indifferent towards Alice, so was maybe less invested in the outcome than I should have been. I read a lot of thrillers, and for me, this one was well-written and very readable, but not one of the best I’ve read.

* Gifted for review by NetGalley

This was an addictive read that kept me guessing and reevaluating the whole way through the book.. The many twists, turns and thickening plots were like decoys to my brain. I couldn’t keep up; but had to at the same time.
Reading this book was a powerful reminder of the talented authors we have today. The author was able to captivate me, keep me engaged and totally manipulate my mind into thinking different scenarios. I loved it!
Alice; A’s she’s now known receives a call at her work that scares her. There’s a voice recorder. As a journalist; they don’t take calls like this lightly.
Every Wednesday for the next month; something happens that changes Alice’s thinking and puts dread and fear into her.
Then finally it happens. She falls captive to the person responsible.

I found this a little hard going and a little unbelievable to be honest. The main character wasn't particularly likeable and this possibly coloured my view of the story. It was quite well written and certainly a different type of read. I think it will appeal to those people who do enjoy a mystery.

Theresa Driscoll has reeled me in again! Alice is a reporter who realizes she has a stalker, and not just any stalker, but one who only hits on Wednesdays. A stalker who almost seems playful in his subtle moves - not really causing harm, but scaring the crap out of Alice. Until, of course, he does. But Alice has secrets of her own that could confuse Matthew, the private investigator her boyfriend Tom has hired, as well as DI Melanie Sanders, the officer investigating the case, Alice's fear when she finds herself in danger is palpable. The writing is tight and well thought out, and the ending was a complete surprise!

Arc received from NetGalley. This is a great thriller. It kept me guessing til the end. Alice has a stalker that likes to schedule his attacks on Wednesday. When he first calls he threatens to slice her up with cheese wire. He spends the whole book terrorizing her while we try to
Determine who it is and why they are after her and also why on Wednesdays. Alice also ahas a secret that only her mom and sister know and even though her sister tells her to let the authorities know
Alice keeps it to her
Self. This is really well done and I
Even though I had figured it out but boy was I wrong.8’ recommending this one to
Everybody!

Another great book by Teresa Driscoll! I really enjoyed this one, didn't want to put it down! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

When journalist Alice Henderson realizes that she is being terrorized each Wednesday, she is desperate to figure who is behind the threatening calls and notes. As her life is changed while the police and PI Matthew Hill are working on her case, Alice realizes that her own secrets can't be held anymore.
When her mom becomes one of the intended targets of her stalker, Alice knows she must do everything she can to stop the stalker.
The book never really got going for me. I didn't ever really feel Alice's fear, or really much of any emotion from her. The chapters that were from the stalkers viewpoint were a bit more enthralling but still had a bit more mundane detail than necessary. The ending was almost a surprise, after leading me in another direction so that was good.

This is my kind of twisty thriller! Alice gets a creepy phone call at work and someone threatens her life. Because she's a reporter she assumes it could possibly be a prank, but when things escalate and he continues to send a threat each Wednesday, her boyfriend suggests a private detective look into it. So of course there are many suspects and Alice must also work to make sure her aging mother is safe as she is also used as a pawn in this scheme. Going back and forth between Alice and the present and the past with an un-named kid living with his grandma, the novel has us guessing from the beginning. Who are her true friends and why would anyone want to hurt this young woman? Very enjoyable!

Every Wednesday, like clockwork, the terror returns.
It seems like an ordinary Wednesday, until the phone rings. A mysterious caller with a chilling threat. Journalist Alice Henderson hangs up, ready to dismiss it as a hoax against the newspaper. But the next Wednesday, the stalker makes another move—and it becomes clear that this is all about Alice.
Someone wants her to suffer, but for what? Her articles have made her a popular local champion—could it be her past rather than her work that’s put her life in danger? Alice is determined not to give in to fear, but with the police investigation at a dead end, her boyfriend insists on hiring private investigator Matthew Hill.
With every Wednesday the warnings escalate, until it’s not only Alice but also her family in the stalker’s sights. As her tormentor closes in, can Alice uncover what she’s being punished for before the terrifying threats become an unthinkable reality?

****

I really enjoyed this book. It certainly picked up pace towards the end. But.... I can only give it 3.5* stars. This book certainly made me tense and anxious etc, like all good stalking cases. But I just didn't feel enough for the characters involved. If they have been fleshed out more, I think this would have made a much better story.

3.5*

If anything, this is definitely a page turner.
The story switches between multiple key characters, both in the past and present, which certainly keeps you guessing on who wants payback, and why.

The focus on parental relationships is another key element to the storyline and Teresa does a great job of portraying the inherent love between those involved.

I’ll be honest with you, early on we are presented with Alice withholding information (yes, I know this is a key attribute to many books in this genre), but at that stage I was simply hoping that when this information was revealed I would buy into the notion that it was something that was understandably withheld. Later on we find that this happen before in the past, and perhaps it’s this character trait that’s results in Alice accepting predators into her life. Anyway, at the end of the day these necessary omissions worked well in the greater plot, and I suppose we couldn’t have a suspense novel if everyone told everyone else the truth the entire time.

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for a review copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher


This was a solid thriller told thru different characters perspectives as the storyline advances.
A crazy story with twists and turns, I enjoyed it.

This one had me gripped from the very first line, so much so, that I had to read it in one go.

Alice is being stalked, but she doesn't know by whom or why. A journalist, she does her best to investigate, but she discovers, as so many other women have before her, that it's almost impossible to do anything about her stalker until it's too late.

Fast paced, with interesting characters, I flew through this one because I was loving it so much. Apparently it's part of a series, but I haven't read the others and don't feel I missed anything as a consequence because this works well as a standalone.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

4 ☆ This fast-paced, dark mystery|thriller starts off when Journalist Alice Henderson picks up the phone to hear a technically distorted voice with the chilling threat “I am going to use cheese wire on you.”
She just realizes that this is not the first time but the third Wednesday she’s had something bizarre happen, although not as scary as this last one. She continues to receive calls, threatening notes and packages, odd coincidences.. all on Wednesday’s (is an important day of the week to this story.) Someone is evidently following her, knows everything about her life. Police have come to a dead-end with the case so boyfriend Tom hires former police turned Private Investigator Matthew Hill to watch over Alice and find who’s behind the threats. Alice is hiding a big secret because she doesn’t want any harm to come to her mother or sister. Matthew soon discovers what she’s hiding making his job that much harder. Told by two narratives, one Alice, the other by “him,” this story caught me by surprise - - I would of never in a million years guessed who the “him” was. It’s an intriguing and clever mystery that had me suspecting e v e r y o n e with a fantastic dark twist at the end that I promise you, you’ll never believe! This is my first Teresa Driscoll book. I was told the author is using some of the same characters in previous books, but this can be read as a standalone. Enjoyed this and definitely adding her earlier release I Am Watching You to my tbr.
*Caution for sexual abuse, violence.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

I can’t remember reading a psychological thriller as good as this. Tension started in the first sentence and remained until a surprising conclusion. I couldn’t bear to put it down and got irritated if someone interrupted my reading.
A great storyline well told from start to finish - another one please

Never saw that twist coming. Great read was right into it couldn't put this one down.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for posting this as a to read on netgalley.

Told in multiple POV, but mainly focusing on Alice, someone has been sending messages to her every Wednesday. Messages that are unnoticeable to being with, but start escalating until she’s being terrorised. Someone wants to hurt her... or is it her family they’re after? And who’s behind it all. The police are investigating, but due to limited resources Alice hires private investigator to help protect her and gather the all important evidence. Added to the mix are flashbacks to a young boy and his nan, who’s trying her best to pay the rent, look after her grandson and keep him off social services radar. She has to works nights every Wednesday, leaving him home alone. And he’s deeply distressed by this. But why? And how is it connected to Alice’s story? A very tense thriller - you’re with Alice every step of the way (especially on the train! 🙈) There’s plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing, and I didn’t see the big reveal coming!! I really enjoyed it.
⚠️ WARNING ⚠️
The story includes references to suicide and is a bit graphic which could trigger if you’ve been affected by suicide.