Oh my but this was creepy! As the mother of a 7 year old, I found this one deliciously eerie and absolutely spot-on in its depiction of children and their capacity for secrets... From the opening pages I knew Something Was Up but honestly didn't see the twist coming - and that doesn't happen a lot with this type of domestic thriller given the number of them I have read... Ryan did a great job establishing her characters and their circumstances in such a way that the origins and role of "New Granny" felt organic - as did the suspicions, guilt, and questions surrounding their son's behavior and the increasingly odd circumstances invading their lives. This was a very quick and enjoyable read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 Stars!

The Woman Outside My Door had me hooked from the start! Georgina doesn't know what to think or believe when her son Cody tells her about a woman he met at the park, a woman who claims to be "Granny," Georgina's recently deceased mother. After all, he does have candy that he didn't have earlier, so where did he get it? Georgian's confusion quickly turns to concern when she thinks that someone is watching her and her family, and she isn't quite sure whether it's (an imaginary) friend or foe. The idea that a creepy old woman could be watching your family definitely had me on edge throughout the book and the story is filled with tense moments. If you love a good family thriller this book is definitely for you!

From the jump, this book pulled me in. I finished it in one sitting in my desperation to know what was going on. I had my worries that this book would just be yet another crazy wife trope. Honestly, I’m sick of those. Instead of falling back on an obvious plot point, the twist in this geniunely took me by surprise and the build up made all the more sense.

Reviewing thrillers without spoiling them is always tough. This was a quick read and I honestly enjoyed it.

Full review: 01/04/2021

This is a quick read and easy to get into- so definitely recommended if you're looking to sit down for a few hours and read something straight through. Overall, interesting and fun to read, but relies upon the most basic of all psychological thriller tropes- is the husband gaslighting the wife or is she actually crazy? Somewhat satisfying end, though I felt like there could have been more to it.

If you're a fan of Lifetime movies then this may just be the book for you, because I FEELS like a Lifetime movie.

Georgina is still grieving the loss of her mother, so when her son Cody tells her about a woman he's met, who tells him to call her New Granny, Georgina can't decide if she's going crazy or if something more sinister is happening.

I felt bad for Georgina. I can imagine the confusion and fear of this happening, and how at a loss she must feel as she tries to navigate what is really going on. Throughout this book I found myself, like her, reading into every single person she meets, wondering if possibly that is the person who is behind New Granny.

Unfortunately just like a Lifetime movies this novel kind of a let it go ever so slightly towards the end. I wanted there to be a big twist and honestly, there kind of wasn't. Still it was a fun book with an ending that tied up all the loose strings. Good for a read on a raining night.

Frightening to read as a mother!
Georgina and Bren think that their seven yr old son Cody just has an overactive imagination when he starts talking about his new friend. Still struggling with the loss of her mother Georgina tries to explain away her fears as Cody coping with the death in his own way. But things start not adding up and when Cody starts the calling the imaginary friend “New Granny”, and unexplained events occur, the danger that Cody may be in seems all too real!
A mother willing to protect her son at every cost even if it may make her look paranoid to the outside world. Georgina is struggling with returning to college while working, dealing with secrets and issues in her marriage all while trying to make sense of her son’s new obsession. How close is Cody to danger? Is it just the imagination of a young child or something more sinister?
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This debut Thriller was a pleasant surprise for me. I was drawn to this book because of the imaginary friend premise, but found myself completely wrapped up in the characters, questioning everyone and everything, which is rare for me. Rachel Ryan did a great job and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publisher and Author for providing me with an ARC copy of this book.

Cleverly plotted. A nice change from most stories in this genre.

With not always likable characters, I felt myself completely enthralled. And even surprised quite often—something rare these days.

I always enjoyed that I had to work harder to get the answers. Everything wasn’t just laid out for the reader.

Brilliant debut. Looking forward to more from this author!

The Woman Outide My Door is a story that starts out letting the reader know there is something very wrong happening with Cody when he comes out of trees at the park with a lollipop in his mouth. When questioned by his Mom he tells her the old lady gave it to him. "She said she was my granny." Georgina checked around the bushes and trees and found nor. She was spooked because her mother had died a year ago and that was the only granny Cody knew.

Rachel Ryan may be a debut author but she certainly got my attention right away. The suspense builds as new characters are added. Be ready for a great ending too.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from Simon and Schuster through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are completely my own.
#TheWomanOutsideMyDoor #NetGalley

It’s hard to believe that this is a debut novel. The author doesn’t stay away from the typical tropes of the genre, but plays with them and subverts them. The plot is so unpredictable that, whenever I thought I saw where it was going, it surprised me. I liked the characters, even when they made bad decisions. Some parts were very creepy: a kid with an imaginary grandma who may or may not be hiding in the bushes? Eeeek! But what made Georgina shine is how relatable she is. I’m not a mother, but my parents are getting older and her whole relationship with her Dad and the unbearable loss of her Mom resonated with me. This book was immensely entertaining and the last part is very, very suspenseful. I can’t wait to read what Rachel Ryan does next.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Gallery Books!

All children have imaginary friends, but Georgina begins to wonder when her seven-year-old son tells her he met a new friend, New Granny, at the park. Is Georgina just overreacting with the death of her mother still so painful? What if his imaginary friend isn't imaginary? A very quick read, Ryan does an excellent job throwing in plenty of red herrings, keeping you on your toes the whole time. If you like unreliable narrators, this January release will be right up your alley.

This was a humdinger of a page turner! It grabbed me on page 1 and didn’t let me breathe until the very end. This was a real winner!

I really enjoyed the suspense and the writing method of the author. I also appreciated the straightforwardness of the time line.

What I did not enjoy were all the lies and secrets. Sooooooooooooooooo … if you’re among those who like lies and secrets, this will be a 5* for you! Also I didn’t like the cardboard personalities of the characters. There was no emotion, no real humanity to the characters – they were just images on paper. Yes, they exhibited what was supposed to be anger, fear, love and anxiety, but as robots would have. They were not warm, vibrant, human personalities.

I do recommend this story and this new author, Rachel Ryan. Congratulations on your first publication. I will certainly look for additional works by her.

This was an ARC I received from NetGalley and the publisher, Simon & Schuster, in exchange for an honest review.

The Woman Outside My Door by Rachel Ryan was a page turner. I read this book in a couple of sittings.. Georgina believes someone is watching her family and her son. She has a mother's intuition that something is just not right and Cody's new Granny is more than his imagination. Her husband, Bren, is not on board and believes this is nothing more than their son missing his newly deceased grandmother and having an imaginary friend.

I don't want to say much about this book because it all builds to the ending. This book could have a little better character development and more of a resolution with at least one of the characters. I am sure the extra people make it a little more difficult to figure out who the woman outside the door is.

This is a psychological thriller that I hope you enjoy. Thank you to #NetGalley and #Simon&Schuster for an advanced copy of #thewomanoutsidemydoor. #RachelRyan

This was mildly creepy, but extremely disappointing. I was curious about who the woman was, enough to keep reading, but the reveal was a let down. It wasn’t creepy at all, and just like the rest of the book, was a very boring ending. Definitely don’t recommend.

First of all thank you so much to Gallery Books and Rachel Ryan for this fabulous debut! I am a sucker for books with woman in the title and this delivered a creepy and heart-pounding tale. This store was about Georgina and her son Cody. One day Cody starts talking about “new granny”, a woman who he met in the park, who gives him candy, and who he sometimes talks with on the phone. Having recently lost his grandmother, Georgina thinks this may be a coping mechanism, but her maternal instinct tells her there may be more to be worried about.

Thoughts: I loved the premise of this book! The concept of a creepy old woman who may or may not be real is terrifying and unique. This book was a quick read and was easy to follow from beginning to end. I did feel that there were some details that weren’t needed, like the fact that Georgina is in school, but the main points of the story were interesting and eerie. I liked that the character of Georgina had a flawed background, and actually all of the characters were flawed in their own way. I always enjoy characters that feel more human and relatable. This story had a satisfying ending and I enjoyed this book! 4-stars for The Woman Outside My Door and a fantastic first book for Rachel Ryan!

This is a unique novel in where the main character struggles with the idea of someone reaching out to her son and she doesn’t know if he’s making her up or not. I couldn’t put the book down and the ending left me a tiny smudge unsatisfied.

The book takes place in winter in Dublin, as we meet Georgina, her husband Bren, and their young son Cody. This domestic story is fast paced and well written. This is the author’s debut novel and I look forward to reading more in the future!

The premise of this book is the best kind of eery. I was really excited to read it, but I admit I struggled a bit. I didn't really connect with any of the characters, especially Cody, the son with the so-called imaginary friend. As a result, most of the pacing felt slow for me, until the end, which felt very out of left field. On one hand, I didn't predict it. On the other, it felt random and a bit of a letdown. Hopefully this book will be a better fit for another reader.

Cleverly Plotted

3.5 stars

The Woman Outside My Door is a psychological thriller about a mother who is concerned about her son’s new imaginary friend, “New Granny.” Is her son in danger, or is she losing her grasp on reality?

When Georgina’s 7-year-old son starts talking about his new imaginary friend, “New Granny,” she begins to worry. While Georgina expresses her concerns and begins to grow fearful for Cody’s safety, those around her question her behavior. Something sinister is going on, and all is not what it seems.

Told from Georgina’s POV, she is an unreliable narrator. This book had me constantly questioning if she was losing her mind or just dumb and gullible. The first half of the book had me constantly rolling my eyes at her. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I was wrong about Georgina’s character; she is actually much smarter than she seems!

This is a quick, easy read. It’s packed with tension and kept me turning the pages. The writing is a bit repetitive, and at times, a little gimmicky. I also thought that everything ends a little too neatly. However, this is a solid debut thriller, and I look forward to reading more by Rachel Ryan in the future.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A fast paced thrilling book! Creepy and suspenseful. Georgina believes her son has an imaginary friend he made up when they're at the park one day. She had just recently lost her mother so when Cody said his new imaginary friends name is new granny she thought nothing of it. Georgina and her husband Bren think it's a phase at first but as the the story progresses they start to wonder who Cody is really communicating with.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy.