𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Woman Outside My Door
Rachel Ryan
Publisher: Gallery / Simon & Schuster
pub Date: January 5, 2020

I am giving this 5 stars!!!!!

How far would you go to protect your family? What if your suspicions were invalid? What if this was all just in your head? How would you know what’s real or what maybe past trauma from recent stressors breaking through again? You’ll have to read to find out which it is.

This psychological thriller/ suspense was AMAZING! There was lots of drama and twists that left me speechless. I read this in almost one day! If you liked The Wives and Verity, it’s comparable to them, in my opinion.

This is Rachel’s debut novel, and she knocked it out of the park! It was such a quick read, and I got into it right away. I felt all the emotions of Georgina. I cried at the end! I was entirely invested in these characters and this story. There were constant suspenseful moments that left me speechless and unable to put down this book down!


Truly gut-wrenching and hypnotically suspenseful!

Creepy and unsettling and even a little bit weird. The Woman Outside My Door is an awesome read, full of twists and turns. You'll question your sanity, as well as the main character, because no one seems to know what the heck is going on. This is definitely one that is unputtdownable!!

4/5 Stars

This book was filled with suspense and kept me asking questions. The suspense starts at the beginning and builds throughout the story. Is Georgina crazy or is she smarter than we think? What does grieving and loss do to the mind?
Many thanks to Gallery Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am not a fast reader, and I finished this book in 4 days over Thanksgiving weekend.
I was also reading 2 other books at the same time, and I don't get much down time to read when I'm with family. I say all this to show how short the novel was. I couldn't tell initially because I was reading it on my kindle. And the shortness of the novel speaks to how underdeveloped I felt the plot to be.

This book had the bones of a solid story. A mother, Georgina, starts noticing some off behavior regarding her son. He keeps mentioning his new granny. Georgina and Bren dismiss it as his way of grieving for his grandmother who recently died. You can understand how Bren doesn't take this seriously as the adults are dealing with some more serious issues in their marriage to worry about silly imaginary friends their son is talking to. But things start to happen that spool Georgina. Rather than believing her, Bren starts to blame it on her history of mental illness. The good old crazy woman who isn't really crazy plot line that we know and love.
Of course it doesn't end up being Georgina who is crazy, but her long lost aunt comes from left field and the whole mystery comes together at the very end.

The execution of the plot was so poorly done. I felt like I was reading the first draft of a story rather than a full fledged book.
The characters were extremely underdeveloped. We never see the first grandmother alive, which I think would have told us much more about Georgina and her son as characters and given us a deeper look at the family dynamic. I also could not figure out where Bren and Georgina's marriage stood. It seemed like every chapter they were in a different state. He was a cheater, they were great parents on the same page, he calls her mentally unstable, she can't forgive him, then they are a team again. I got whiplash trying to understand that relationship.
The part that bothered me most thought was how the plot was strung together. There was no depth or build up within the chapters. Every scene from the very beginning spoke to this "second granny" without us fully understanding the family or where each character stood within the story before we came along. There was no segue between scenes, and we jumped from event to event without ever seeing much into the character's day to day life. While if executed well, that can make for an exciting thriller, this one just made the book feel shallow.

Overall, this was probably one of the worst books I read in 2020. It was a clunky story with underdeveloped characters and an ok plot line,

Georgina's mother died six months prior to the beginning of the book. Her husband also confessed to making out with an ex girlfriend while hiking with a group of friends. Georgina is struggling with coping with these events - clearly understandable. She is also parenting her seven year old, Cody, with her husband, concerned for her father, working and finishing a teaching degree.
While her son and his friends are playing at the local playground, they go between some bushes to a clearing. Georgina calls them out - Cody being the last to return, with a lollipop. When questioned, Cody states his granny gave him the treat. Georgina looks around for another woman but there is none.
Cody spends a considerable amount of time on the phone - talking to New Granny. He draws her in his sketch book.
Bren, Georgina's husband, chalks it up to an imaginary friend though she can't help feeling there is a real woman searching Cody out.
Then there is someone looking through their front window.

Overall, this was a decent read. I sympathized with Georgina - parental loss, stress from a too full life, family, work, etc. I did not like Bren - he continued to push her concerns aside; I appreciate this was to suspense and plot. But he was an ass.
Quick enjoyable read.

What would you do if your son told you his new granny gave him sweets in the park? Georgina’s mom recently passed away. Bren, Georgina’s husband, is convinced new granny is Cody’s imaginary friend, a way to cope with recently losing his grandmother. Candy wrappers, drawings, mysterious phone calls, and more odd happenings occur. What does all this mean? Could it all be a coincidence or is Cody’s new granny not so imaginary after all?
This story constantly had me guessing, trying to figure out if new granny was imaginary or not, and if not, who could she possibly be? Rachel Ryan did a wonderful job with her debut novel. Her writing drew me in and I did not want to stop reading. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good thriller!

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This book had you on the edge of your seat and suspecting several characters throughout the book, but left you stunned at the end of the book. The author gave this story line a real life feel for any mom (especially if they struggle with any depression/anxiety) and then so many more added stress on top of the regular everyday stress. This book will have you in a book trance till the very end.

As a debut book it was a fast and compelling read. A mom distracted by grief, school and marital issues doesn’t pay attention when her son is befriended by an imaginary friend. As the story unfolds just how imaginary is this friend ? What I didn’t care for was the twist that came out of left field. A good suspense horror has clues along the way. This one didn’t.

One day in the park, 7 year old Cody met someone who asked to be his new granny. Not having seen her, Georgina is unsettled. Her husband, Bren, chalks it up to an imaginary friend as it hasn’t been many weeks since the death of his real grandmother. Georgina suffered postpartum psychosis after Cody’s birth and as unexplained things start to happen and Cody insists he’s playing a game, she soon starts to wonder if she’s losing her mind. Is new granny a figment of Cody’s imagination or is Georgina indeed losing her mind? A fast paced psychological thriller that once started is difficult to put down.

First of all, thank you to Netgalley and Rachel Ryan for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This story is about a young mother, Georgina, and her son Cody. While they are at a park one day, Cody mentions that he has a new friend whom he calls "new granny". "New granny" likes to give him treats and secretly calls him on the phone. Georgina is instantly terrified that someone is stalking her son, while her husband believes that this is nothing more than a coping mechanism after Cody had lost his grandmother recently. When Georgina starts to notice a change in her son, she insists that there is more to this "imaginary" friend that meets the eye...

What I loved: The cover and the premise of the book is what drew me in! This was a super-fast read and was pretty easy to follow along as different storylines intertwined. Also, as a horror fan, nothing is more terrifying to me than when kids start talking to an "imaginary" friend out of nowhere. Kids can be CREEPY. While the family unit was a bit flawed, I felt like that gave more depth to the characters and it made me care about how this family was going to survive as a unit.

What I didn't love: It's hard to describe without giving it away, but there was a huge red herring character that sorta disappeared once the story didn't really need that person. This character was talked about throughout the first and second part of the book, but once the twist was revealed, never mentioned again. For me, that left a storyline unfulfilled that I wish was given some sort of closure.

All in all, I would rate this a solid 4 star. It's definitely fast-paced with a unique storyline! I look forward to reading more by Rachel Ryan!

For a debut, I thought this was pretty good. It kept me interested and I was able to read it in an afternoon, so that's a plus. I felt like there were too many red herrings though. The twist came out of left field. I am sure plenty of reviews will say that the audience won't be able to figure it out, but of course - there were literally no clues. On the flip side, I liked how the author stuck with one narrator. Too many authors in this genre attempt multiple perspectives / multiple timelines that don't work. Overall, good.

Imaginary friends are sent over the edge in this psychological thriller. Being a new author in the genre isn’t a detriment to this story! So original and amazing

This is author Rachel Ryan’s first book and I did a double take on that information, because this book was all and more. As the story of this family unfolds, the little cracks, the words that your mind whispers to you and push your self-doubt and insecurities forward. The shadows you think you see and the remembrance of the past. Is your child safe, are you safe, and is your family safe? Who is telling the truth and who is hiding things from Georgina?

Okay, The Woman Outside My Door was kind of a creepy book. I kept thinking the husband, Bren, was making his wife, Georgina, feel like she was crazy on purpose so that he could commit her and take everything including their son Cody. Then I thought maybe Cody is making "New Granny" up and it was a ghost or something. Then I thought maybe it was Bren's ex-girlfriend. Then I thought maybe Georgina was just making it all up in her head. Rachel Ryan had me guessing the enter time and I did not see the ending coming. This is a great mystery/thriller that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat not wanting to put it down.

Rachel Ryan has hit a home run with her first novel. I thought around page 170 I’d figured it all out. Then BAM! I was all wrong. It was quite satisfying to be surprised by the twists of the story.

Many children have imaginary friends. In fact my children experienced this. Georgina tells herself, it’s perfectly normal, and they all grow out of it in the end. But Georgina’s gut tells her this is not normal when her seven-year-old son, Cody, tells her about his New Granny, the new friend he’s met in the park, Georgina is instantly suspicious. Something, call it maternal instinct tells her he isn’t making it up.

Geirginas mother also Cody’s beloved granny recently died of cancer. This has left Georgina bereft and trying to cope with life as a busy working mom. It’s no wonder she’s feeling paranoid that Cody has invented a “New Granny” to replace his grandmother.

Her husband, Bren, becomes the voice of reason, assuring Georgina that it’s just a game, the product of their son’s overactive imagination. But on top of all this there are big problems in the marriage further complicating everything.

Could Cody’s imaginary friend be something much more sinister?

This creepy story carries you up to the top of the roller coaster slowly but fast enough to build many suspicions, then all of a sudden the story crests and you are plummeting to the surprising end.

I really liked this thriller of a novel! It was fast paced and kept me guessing. I loved the ending, and I definitely did not see that plot twist coming. I would definitely recommend this book, and look forward to reading more by this author. I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Seven year old Cody has a secret friend. His mom freaks out whenever he talks about her, or finds the candy wrappers. She doesn't want him to talk to his secret friend, so he has to lie about her. But its ok to lie, his secret friend says, its all part of the game.

The Woman Outside My Door is about a mothers frantic struggle with keeping her child safe. Every mothers worse nightmare is their child being taken in the night, or lured away by puppies and candy. Georgina finds herself in an impossible situation with trying to figure out if her sons new friend is make believe or a real life predator.
The book starts off strong, laying the grounds for a great thriller, but then quickly goes in the wrong direction. There are too many character distractions that are suppose to become suspicious but end up going nowhere and being unnecessary. If the writer just stuck with one path, and started the plot twist set up earlier, the book would have worked. But the plot twist is so unexpected that I felt it didn't actually fit the story at all. Almost like the writer needed to wrap up the story quickly, so she just went with whatever.

I did like the main characters and felt invested in them, wanting to see where it went. I even thought the actual villain was a brilliant idea, they just didn't quite fit. The Epilogue did not fit the characters either. I was left unsatisfied with the end.

Could put this down, it was a great mystery, The characters were great. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

I loved this book. I had so many different theories about what was going on and one of them turned out to be correct (sort of). The end nearly had me in tears. Definitely recommend.

This novel by Rachel Ryan is her first novel and what a doozie it is! Based in Ireland, it grabbed me from the first page and kept me on the edge of my seat till the last. When your 7 year old kid has a piece of candy and tells you his new granny gave it to him at the park - you just think he made it up. But then things start happening and your mind goes into overdrive. Action packed all the way through! Can’t wait to read more books by this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.