This is a great page turning psychological thriller. Loved the ending.
It kept me on the edge of my seat.

I enjoyed this story about a family hiding many secrets. I thought the writer did a good job making the characters come to life, and I enjoyed the twists and turns in this story. I figured out (sort of) what was going on early on in the story, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I also loved the epilogue and final little twist to the plot. I want to thank the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for giving me an e-copy of this book, in return for an honest review.

As a marriage breaks down, a house guest and an inquiry by the police is throwing a house in disorder. I wish I'd liked this one more. I just found it so unbelievable. I don't like feeling like the mc and her husband haven't actually been together. It felt like they didn't know each other and had never been around each other before. Each new secret reveal pushed me farther and farther out of the story as I just didn't buy that was how a partner would respond. The conclusion was interesting but felt sudden to tie it all up. I was glad this was a quick read, just wish I'd liked it more.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This is my favourite book of Cathryn’s so far. Tense and thrilling, it kept me hooked throughout. Thanks for the opportunity to read

DNF @ 71%. I was extraordinarily irritated by our MC and the fact that she simply LET her husband move this guy into their house. And it's downhill from there. Not for me.

Throughout most of this book, I wasn't sure how I was going to rate. I was fluctuating between 3 and 4 stars. It was good. But I wasn't in love with it. Until the end. Then it immediately shot up to a 5 star book. It's amazing what one little twist can do. And with this book, it wasn't just 1 twist at the end. It was several. And they were jaw dropping.

There are so many great topics in this book, from the mundane everyday life of marriage and parenting to murder, heartbreak, lust, lies. All the things.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

I received this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This book was disappointing. It was listed as a thriller/mystery, and while there was a mystery it did not deliver any amount of thrill worth writing home about.

The characters were poorly developed and uninteresting, the plot was unrealistic, and the ending seemed forced. The way the family acts around the guest seemed very contrived, even considering that they were trying to act nice in front of a guest while dealing with personal issues. And the son’s subplot did not really fit into the story the way I think the author intended. I kept reading because I was hoping for it to get better, but that never came.

Unfortunately, this one did not do it for me.

Thank-you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my advanced reader copy.

Plot: ⭐⭐ ½
Characters: ⭐⭐️ ½
Mystery: ⭐⭐ ½
Writing: ⭐⭐ ½
Overall: ⭐⭐ ½, rounded up

A successful art gallery owner, a husband with a troubled mind, a son who seems to be getting into trouble no matter what life throws at him and a stranger who seems to be ok living with this family as he is trying to figure out next steps in his life.
When all these characters come together, this story forms a good suspense.

Thank you netgalley, Inkubator books for approving the ARC

This was a super fast read. I am a fan of dark thrillers/whodunnits that keep you on the edge of the seat until the very end and this book succeeded in doing just that. There were so many twists and turns and I did not see the ending coming at all. It was quite shocking. The book also was paced perfectly and it was refreshing to read a thriller from a single POV.

Thank you to NetGallery and to Inkuabator Books for giving me a copy for my honest review.

Omg wow this book is amazing it's full of twists and turns it will keep you up all night I really enjoyed this book

The book was not what I thought, but it kept me interested throughout. I would say that I didn’t care for the characters as they were not well liked. Then. A plot twist that I didn’t see coming.. thank you for allowing me
To read this copy!

This one definitely had me hooked when the story picked up. I was guessing until the very end who had good or bad intentions. The writing was easy to read and I found myself picking this up more often than I thought I would

Great book. Highly recommend and will most defiantly read more by this author and suggest to others!

This book was not at all what I expected since I went into it blind. I was definitely entertained and I read it pretty much all in one sitting. I wasn't sure what direction the story was going and I liked the little twists along the way. The characters all seemed flawed in a way that made me intrigued by them, but I would have enjoyed a little more development. I felt like the investigation into the death of the high school girl was really the back burner of the plot and that the family dynamics were the real focus, but so much of those dynamics were reliant on the progress of the investigation. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would read more from this author!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start off this review by saying that I am a criminal defense attorney and one of my biggest pet peeves is when people, but especially privileged white people, don’t understand that the police aren’t there to help you. There are very few instances where I believe talking to the police will be helpful to anybody.

As a result of this pet peeve of mine, I was extremely frustrated by the parts of the novel that depicted the investigation into Jasmine’s murder; particularly, I was annoyed by Ellie’s internal commentary about wanting her son to cooperate, then growing suspicious when he invokes his right to remain silent - especially since that was a right that she was gladly willing to throw away for him! Ugh. Given the ending, and the fact that she knew who Jasmine’s killer was all along, those parts were particularly infuriating. Ellie was acting real dumb, and could have guided her son into making a statement that could have been used by the police to falsely convict him. (It’s happened before, and juveniles are more susceptible to false confessions than adults). The idea that police are out to only discover the truth and find justice is not rooted in reality and was really overplayed in this book.

I also thought that Ellie was too reactionary. She was jumping all over the place. One moment she was coddling Brandon and treating him like a baby bird with a broken wing, the next moment she was suspicious that he stole her lingerie and accused him in her mind of being a murderous perv. (BTW, why did Seth steal her camisole? That part seemed unresolved). Likewise with Ace, one moment she can’t even roll meatballs without becoming damp with desire, then the next moment she can’t even sleep with him under the same roof because “hE’s A cRiMiNaL!”

I can almost understand why Seth wanted to kill Ellie. She’s exhausting and extremely selfish.

My second pet peeve, as a criminal defense attorney, is when people define those who have been convicted of criminal offenses as criminals. I personally don’t believe any one person should be reduced to the worst thing they’ve ever done. Ellie does that continuously with Ace when she finds out about his murder conviction. She even does it to some degree with Brandon when she finds out about the peeping. Both Ace and Brandon seem tainted, in her view, because of the worst thing they’ve done.

Ultimately, that attitude makes her a hypocrite, as we find out she has, in fact, killed multiple people.

All I’m saying is that Ace better watch out.

I also though narrative was a bit disjointed sometimes - the chapters seemed to end abruptly. It didn’t detract that much from the flow of the story, though, and I was curious to know how the major mysteries would resolve.

Despite my major annoyances with some of the substance of the story, I overall enjoyed the book and I understand not everyone would be annoyed by those same things I am.

Ellie is a career woman with a wonderful family. While everything should be going well, lately she has notice her husband acting out of character - and then he, seemingly out of nowhere, he invites a stranger, Ace, to stay with them. Ellie isn't sure what to think of Ace - she finds herself attracted to him, but fears he has a hidden agenda. Then a young girl that attends school with her son Brandon is murdered and police question him. Can her son be guilty? Or could Ace be involved? Twists, turns and secrets will be revealed. Great, fast paced thriller!
Thanks to Cathryn Grant, Inkubator and NetGalley for the ARC.

At first I thought this was going to be formulaic but how wrong was I.
Well written, heartfelt and a very interesting read. Not at all what I expected. I would love to read more by Cathryn.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for opportunity to read and provide an honest review for this arc.

I’m the type that judges a book by its cover and that’s what drew me to this one, even before reading the synopsis. I feel most can still be a hit or miss and most are somewhere in the middle. I’d say that’s the case with this one. The book isn’t terribly long but I didn’t feel it dragged on in some parts. Overall I did like the story though, and was intrigued enough to finish it. I guess I’m middle of the road with this one. I can’t say I’d recommend it but I don’t hate it either. Willing to try another book by this author though.

I really loved the book and can't wait for the next one. Nothing is as it seems, and just as soon as you think you have it figured out, you are surprised again. I hate having people over for a meal, so I can't imagine having guests over that I don't even know! Recommended for anyone that loves a good read.

This has already been archived before I had the chance to read it but I found this a solid thriller. I would have liked more tension and while it’s not a long book I felt quite a bit of it could have been cut back. However, it kept my interest and there are plenty of twists along the way!