A fast paced psychological thriller. The set up was good and the ending satisfying. But the middle was a little drawn out.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. I enjoyed the complexity of the plot and the twists. Started to drag for me midway, but the last part flew by. Then it was over, and I feel like I missed something. After reading other reviews, I see it was the book snd not myself with a big gaping hole in the story.

I loved this book so much, it's a thriller that has so much to offer and I can't wait to see other people loving it as well!

I enjoyed this story it was very interesting. The book just draws you in with the story line, characters and the premise.. I recommend this story!

This book had me hooked from the very beginning. A true mystery coupled with a true crime podcast, which I love. The ending was unexpected for me and kept me guessing.

Possession by Katie Lowe centers around Hannah, a woman whose husband was murdered ten years ago. She doesn’t recall anything about that night, how terrible! The police found a suspect however and the person was locked away in prison. Hannah took her daughter and ran.

Fast forward years later and a podcast is revisiting the crime. This podcast is bringing attention to the fact the man who was locked up for the crime was probably innocent, and they are looking at Hannah. What is Hannah hiding?

Here’s the plot:

Ten years ago, Hannah’s husband was brutally murdered in their home, and she (conveniently) doesn’t remember a thing about that night. But the police charged someone else—a stranger—and put him away for life. And Hannah packed up her six-year-old daughter and left London behind.

But now her hard-won countryside peace is threatened. Conviction, a viral true crime podcast known for getting cases reopened and old verdicts overturned, has turned its attention to Hannah’s husband’s murder for its new season. They say police framed the man who was found guilty, and that Hannah has more suspicious secrets than just her memory loss: a history of volatility; citations at the clinic where she worked as a psychiatrist; dependencies on alcohol and pills; and a grandmother, locked away in a Gothic insane asylum until her death. As Hannah loses the trust of everyone she loves, the only person she feels she can confide in is a former colleague, Darcy, who’s come back into her life—but who may have motives of her own. But Hannah can’t tell even Darcy her deepest secret: that she’s still tormented by the memory of her husband and the crater he carved through her life.

I always love an unreliable narrator and Hannah is VERY unreliable! A very complicated, interesting, twisty book!

Coming in January! Pre-order here.

Possession started with interesting characters and premise. "The sound of my husband's blood dripping on the floor". The story is told by Hannah through two different marriages and three different years ranging from 2008 to 2018. I was I interested for the first half of the story and then things started to loose focus. It was a struggle to figure out just what was going on the as the story progressed. This book may hold other reader's attention to, what was for me, an unsatisfying conclusion.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from St Martin's Press through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.
#Possession #NetGalley

Started out strong.. had potential but really sort of fizzled out about a third of the way through.
I personally love true crime podcasts so I had a lot of hope for the story line but this got boring.

POSSESSION is one of those books that had a lot of promise as I was reading it, but then lost me with the ending due to excessive twists and turns that didn't work for me. There were a lot of elements that worked for me, like a very unreliable narrator (and the reason for her unreliability uncertain as well), a podcast that is supposedly pursuing truth and justice but causing harassment of someone who may be a victim, and tense pacing that brings lots of suspense. But the big problem for me is that the ending had multiple twists, turns, and false climaxes, which then led to an epilogue that did more of the same. If I feel like an out of left field twist is deserved I'm happy for this kind of surprise, but I didn't feel that POSSESSION earned one, much less multiple. That really derailed my enjoyment of this book.

That isn't to say that it won't work for others, but for me POSSESSION was a bit of a let down right at the end. I will probably read more by Lowe in the future, as her prowess for building tension was evident. But this one fell short.

I ended up really enjoying this mystery/thriller. Hannah begins the novel telling us that she killed her husband, but we’re increasingly sure that she’s not mentally all there, so we don’t know what to believe.

This had to be a challenging book to plot, because it bounces around in time: 2008, when the murder occurred. Years before, how their marriage was leading up to the murder. 2018, the present day, where the podcast Conviction comes out, questioning if the young man put in prison for the crime for the last ten years is, in fact, guilty. It paints Hannah as a vindictive wife against her philandering husband, trotting out women he allegedly slept with as well as interviewing the cop who was first on the scene and so on. Thus, as people in her small town listen, Hannah looks more and more guilty, and thus her life with her now-16-year-old daughter and long-time boyfriend crumble.

There were a few clues I picked up on during the course of the novel about what was really going on although in one I didn’t figure out the whole story, thus, I thought the ending was a nice twist, and thought this was a fun, engaging read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES JANUARY 26, 2021.

The past haunts her. The present hunts her.

Possession by Katie Lowe is a thrilling story about ghosts, murder, and secrets that need to be let out. Years ago, Hannah's husband, Graham, was murdered. The police thought they put the killer behind bars, but Conviction, a true-crime podcast, wants to challenge the case they made all those years ago because they don't believe the real murderer was caught. The podcast brings up parts of Hannah's past that she would have rather kept buried, and people believe that she is the one who killed her husband. Everyone begins to believe that she is crazy, but Hannah knows that something isn't right. And she is determined to find out what's really going on.

I absolutely loved this story! As a thriller and horror fanatic, I enjoyed getting to see a combination of spooky elements throughout the book. The plot was intense and action-packed, and the narrator was a bit unreliable, which I personally believe can make thrillers so much better. I am drawn to these genres because they are captivating and addictive; Possession was just that and so much more. I was not expecting the twists at the end of the book, but they were perfect. This book kept me on my toes and wanting to know more. I cannot recommend it enough!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC of Possession!

This was an interesting and well-plotted story. Hannah was a complicated and unreliable narrator, and I found myself frustrated with some of the choices that she made. This book kept me turning pages to find out what would happen next. I could really feel Hannah’s decent into madness.

Possession is a good entry into the suspension/mystery genre. I recommend it highly for people who are looking for a smart, suspenseful read.

This book started out really slow for me and was hard to get through because of that it did pick and hold my interest in the last 15 chapters...

Really enjoyed this book!

Characters that you feel like you know? Check
Writing style that lets you visualize the story? check
A mystery that you want to solve? check
Suspense that keeps you reading into the night? check again

I want to thank the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the advance read. This did not impact my review and I will be reading other books by this author.

An interesting and brilliant twist on a psychological thriller, detailing the potential that true crime podcasts can have on those that are truly innocent. Unputdownable, fiercely captivating and full of twists and turns that leave you unable to put the book down.

Hannah’s husband was murdered in their own home ten years ago. She only remembers certain moments from the night it happened, but a man was eventually charged for the killing and put in prison. Now, Hannah and her daughter have moved in with her loving boyfriend, in an attempt to move on from the terrible tragedy.

But Conviction, a popular true crime podcast, has decided to focus on the murder of her husband for its fourth season. As Hannah, her boyfriend, her daughter and -- it seems like -- everyone they know listen to the podcast, it is revealed that the man who has been in prison for the murder may have been wrongfully convicted. This means the killer may still be out there, roaming free. And with horror, Hannah realizes that suspicion may soon turn towards her.

I really loved the set up of this! The story follows a character whose personal tragedy is the focus of a true crime podcast, and it was fun to experience the revelations of the podcast along with her. Very fun premise!

I also appreciated the unique relationship that Hannah had with her first husband. I won’t say too much about this to avoid spoilers, but I found it very specific and interesting.

There was a lot that was haunting and creepy about this story, including the writing style and tone. This is more of a slow burn type of thriller. I did feel that the beginning and ending of the book felt more like a fast-paced mystery, while the midpoint of the book seemed to slow down quite a bit, most likely in the service of character development.

I also loved the inclusion of a storyline that involved an old mental institution, because I’m a sucker for that type of thing. And, as a former actor and psychology major, I appreciated the psychological insights that were present throughout the story.

I ended up reading this on the spur of the moment because I saw other bloggers and bookstagrammers raving about it. And I did enjoy it.

This hits the shelves on Jan. 26!

Thank you @stmartinspress and #netgalley for the ARC!

I'll share my thoughts on the blog and social closer to publication!

This is my first book by the author, but I can guarantee that it won’t be my last.

This is quite the thriller. As you learn more about our main character and her deceased husband, you’ll find out about all sorts of sordid secrets.

Now, I’ll admit that I didn’t love the truth about everything, but it definitely took me by surprise! I’m still not sure I completely buy into it, but it sure kept me reading!

It’s an entertaining book and I’ll be looking for the author’s books in the future!

*ARC via Net Galley

Podcasts, fake news, a painful family history, spousal abuse …..all combine into an exciting psycological thriller. There were times I wanted to shake the main character and yell at her to get her act together but as the story rolled along I soon wanted to become an advocate for her. No one believed anything she said, she alienated her family and friends, the power of the press only accelerated her situation and she had no-one to turn to so she accepted her fate without question. The “aha" moment at the end, while totally surprising, does not provide the reader with sense of finality. There’s more to come for this character in the end, we just have to fill in the storyline ourselves.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC. This book started out promising. Then, as the book went on I started to not care about Hannah. She was so unlikable. But I was curious about the story so I kept reading although I admit I skimmed quite a bit. Then, the book picked up again. The end was really good and at some point I might try to actually read the whole book without skimming now that the ending is worth it!

A page-turning psychological mystery that will keep you reading to the wee hours! I want to avoid any spoilers here, so tempting to comment on the story itself - but just read it. Well fleshed-out characters that will keep you engaged and what you think is going on, may or may not be reality. The mix of reality and games the mind can play is well done - you really won't be sure of anything until the end.