A quick and engaging thriller set in Dublin about a mother whose life has been recently upended with the death of her mother and her husband's betrayal. Added to this mix is her son acting strangely, claiming to have an imaginary friend, but how imaginary is that friend? Lots of false clues sprinkled along the way and no one is quite whom they seem. An auspicious start for a new author.

Wow!! If you want to read an intense, action packed, emotional thriller than this is the book for you. I couldn’t put it down from the minute I picked it up. The story built quickly and had just the right amount of twists to keep me wondering till the end. The characters were excellently created, making them believable and likeable. The suspense started in the first chapter and didn’t end till the last few pages. I could feel my heart raising during the last chapters and I couldn’t read fast enough to see what the outcome would be. The supporting characters were a great addition and I really enjoyed the fact that there were only a half dozen or so characters that mattered in the book. It was a mixture of suspense and psychological thriller with some paranoia, imaginary friends and family secrets all wrapped up into one of the best suspense books I have read this year. The author certainly knows how to grab her readers attention and keep it throughout the entire book. I wish to thank NetGalley and Simon Schuster Canada for the opportunity to read this spell binding book.

So, 2.5 stars is my actual rating.

The story is supposed to be a suspense turning around Georgina, her husband Bren and their son Cody who suddenly start talking about his « new granny ». As expected, Georgina becomes the archetype of the paranoid mother while her husband, who had an affair prior to the story, thinks she’s loosing the plot. As the story moves on, we’d expect something to happen but it comes only in the last few chapters and it’s nothing to get excited about. I was was expecting a real suspense a la After Anna but got a poor imitation.

Are you looking for a book you can hardly predict, with real people problem. This story start right away, in a few pages you are already in the story and creeped out. You get to follow along with Georgina and what goes through her head while the story unfolds. getting to know her family and more.

here are some things that i really liked.

1- this book really felt like you discovered her life and what happened to her. Its located in ireland. Really nice to have a book not located in united states. i am sure i’m not the only one bored of having to read about the united states. After a while it does get repetitive.

2- Trying to guess the plot and what was going to happen from the start really was impossible and I really did not get it right at all. I was completely shock at the end. If you are like me, there is nothing like getting a triller that you can’t guess.

3- i really liked the writing style it was not too much of explanation. the way she explained how georgina was feeling and how her life was, was not fake it felt like a real life.

there is really not much I would change myself, i have read a lot of triller, and I always tend to want to change things this one is her debut novel as well and she did a good job of it.

i did give this gem a good old 5 stars.

if you want a real thriller with a lot of complexity and layers give this one a try. It is coming out on November 14th 2020. Its not to be missed.

I did receive this copy by NetGalley, for a honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this intense psychological thriller. Rachel Ryan has crafted a gripping, mystery and shows talent in maintaining suspense, and in keeping the reader baffled about what is really going on. There is some heart-pounding, tension-filled action near the end.

Georgina has had an emotional breakdown several years earlier when her mother died and she learned her husband, Bren, may have been unfaithful. There was also some postpartum depression. I felt I should have been more sympathetic to her growing instability and paranoia, but I didn't find her particularly likeable. The motives and behaviour of some of the characters did not seem reasonable to me. The author's skill in maintaining suspense kept me with the story until the end. It was a quick read with good, plain, direct writing and without embellishments.

Georgina's seven-year-old son, Cody, claims he met a New Granny while playing in the park. He talks to her on the phone and receives loving messages from her. His mother fears the mysterious woman wishes Cody harm and is watching the house. She is compelled to prove that New Granny really exists and to put an end to this inappropriate connection. Her husband, Bren, is the voice of reason, saying that is not unusual for a child to have an imaginary friend and this is his way of coping with the death of his real grandmother. As Georgina's paranoia grows, Bren advises her to see a psychiatrist. She believes he may be plotting to leave her and is making it appear she is insane in order to get custody of Cody.

I believe Rachel Ryan is a name to watch in her stories of family drama and psychological suspense.

This domestic suspense gripped me right from the first page and had me nervously flipping pages until the story was done. It truly was a heart-pounding tension-filled read!

Ever thought you were losing control? Hearing things? Seeing things? Have you felt the paranoia crescendo out of control? This is exactly how Georgina feels when her 7-yr old son, Cody, starts an ‘imaginary’ friendship with someone he calls New Granny. Having just lost her own mom to cancer, Georgina is cautious of anyone claiming to take her mom’s place and put her child in danger, so she becomes suspicious of every move Cody makes and everyone he meets. In fact, her momma's heart goes into overdrive and you’ll see her go to great lengths to keep him out of danger and prove to herself that she isn’t imagining things.

In the first few chapters, I felt gently welcomed into the Dublin neighbourhood and saw myself as one of the neighbours looking in on Bren, Georgina and Cody as they went about daily life. All of a sudden, it was as if I stepped away from the window and took a wild rollercoaster ride. Just as I thought I had things figured out, the author expertly unravelled the plot to give me just enough information to debunk a theory, reassess and focus on another possibility! Up and down. Round and round. Twist and turn. You’ll be emotionally wrung out when you conclude this expertly written suspense fiction.

This may be Rachel Ryan's first novel, but I have no doubt it will be an immediate success once it hits the shelves on November 24, 2020. I can't wait for her next book.

This book is about a mom who realizes her son has an imaginary friend, or is it really imaginary? I liked the twists and turns and trying to figure out who it was. It was a good read, but not as suspenseful as I like.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Georgina's son Cody has an imaginary friend, New Granny - or is she imaginary? Georgina's husband Bren (what is that short for?) has 'put his toe over the line' of infidelity - or was it more? Some one is watching Georgina's house, but Bren doesn't believe this. Georgina fears New Granny is real, but Bren fears Georgina is losing touch with reality 'again'. Is he truly concerned about her or trying to persuade her she is going mad?

I wasn't a big fan of this novel, which flirted with all of my least favourite tropes. It did twist and turn a little and some of the cliches turned out to be replaced by other not terribly original plot devices. It was a quick read, and although it started out really slow, the pace did pick up a bit towards the end.

Really enjoyed this debut thriller. Hard to put down. Enjoyed the Dublin setting. Looking forward to more from Rachel Ryan.