After an incident at the law firm where she works, Cassie Woodson finds herself temping. She's reviewing correspondence for a fraud case--several tiers removed from her life as a lawyer. While going through the tedious emails, she discovers a series of exchanges between one of the firm partners, Forest Watts, and his wife Annabelle. Cassie can't help but read them, fixating on the way Forest seems to love and adore his wife. But when she finds a way to "accidentally" meet Forest, her fixation with the Watts turns into a full blown obsession.

"He has no idea that I have access to every corner of his life. Even the dusty ones."

This was a perfectly fine thriller, though I found it a little bland. I think it's because I'm so over unreliable alcoholic narrators. For me, that trope is just done. I lose sympathy for the protagonist at that point and just stop caring. Cassie is just an insane train wreck of a character. The whole book felt like watching one, honestly. The premise here is that she's abandoned by her mother at a young age, hence making her unstable and leading to a series of incidents (including the one where she came unglued at her law firm). But I could never quite buy why she became so obsessed with Forest Watts and his wife.

"Eyes aren't the windows to the soul. Emails are."

Most of the book focuses on Cassie's preoccupation with Forest--starting with the emails and then branching out into real life. The girl is committed, I will give you that. She creates a binder on the Watts and everything. If only she was that dedicated to something more productive. There's also a subplot with her temp co-worker, Dalton. Then with about 10 to 15% of the book left, the plot takes a complete turn and things get more exciting. However, nothing that happened previously really seemed to gel with that plot twist, so I found it all a little odd. It was a strange, out of left field turn.

Overall, I found this book interesting enough that I kept reading, so I'm still giving it 3 stars. But it was a strange ride, to say the least. Others liked it more than me, so take my review with a grain of salt.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an e-ARC.

On the bright side, this is an entirely bingeable novel that I read in one sitting. On the other side, you have to suspend a lot of disbelief in order to make it to the end. At one point, there was a scene when Cassie calls AMEX and pretends to be Forest. The customer service representative *somehow* believes that she has a male voice and when Cassie doesn't know the security code to get into the account, the representative helps her out. There are other security measures she'd have to go through!

So much of it was over the top.

Cassie Woodson went from a highly respected lawyer to a expendable temp, forever altering her future. During this new, thankless temp job, she stumbles across Forest Watt's emails. The prestigious partner of the firm and his wife, Annabelle, appear to have the perfect marriage...atleast that's what Cassie has gathered by dissecting every email of theirs that she comes across. The emails aren't enough for Cassie though, she must know more. Thankfully she has Google and access to information noone else has, making run-ins appear completely normal. Slowly, she developes the desire to be apart of this perfect life and perfect marriage. Will she get what she wants? Or will she get caught for who she truly is?
I really enjoyed this story! The further along in the story I got, the more I wanted to know. I was constantly wondering what was going to happen next and there were twists I never saw coming. I recommend this to anyone who loves a mysterious thriller!
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Cassie was FUN!! A whacko stalker, yes, but a fun one! I shook my head at most of her shenanigans, but hey, I was thoroughly entertained throughout! SOMETHING has happened to Cassie's top law firm job and she is now stuck reviewing boring emails for a fraud case. She stumbles upon personal emails from another lawyer to his wife , becomes obsessed with them and Katie, bar the door! This was a new author for me, but I will definitely look for more from her.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Lindsay Cameron and Random House/Ballentine for this ARC!

This was definitely a wild ride! The pacing was fantastic - it's really gripping and fast-paced, and I was immediately drawn in to the story. There were so many twists and layers! I did have suspicions about things that did turn out to be right, so this was a case where I felt pleased that I had guessed correctly. Sometimes with thrillers, I get frustrated if I can guess everything, but I'm happy to report that while I did guess some things, there was enough going on that it still provided some mysteries. There were also some absolutely crazy things that happen, mostly because of what Cassie does.

Speaking of Cassie, she's definitely not stable and has some issues. She's a pretty complex character! On one hand, she's very obsessive to the point where I can't relate to her at all. On the other hand, learning her background actually did make me feel more sympathetic towards her. I think the author did a fantastic job with Cassie's character! I seriously can't believe what all she does - she definitely has stalker tendencies, but I have to admit that she's very good at investigating and finding things.

In terms of some of the other characters, Forest seems great at first glance, but there's more to him than initially appears. I liked getting to learn more about him as the book progressed! Dalton, Cassie's friend and coworker, seems to be the most genuine (which is pretty rare given all the other people around them). Finally, Ricky, Cassie's supervisor, has a bit of an inflated ego but can actually be useful at times. I don't want to say much more about the characters since part of the fun is uncovering secrets about everyone!

Overall, I had a really good time with this book! I would definitely recommend it, especially to those who enjoy reading from the point of view of an unstable character.

My video review can be seen on my booktube channel (around minutes 15:54-18:39 of this video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BicKorpByQ

Just One Look is quite a suspenseful story. Such a fast paced plot line with some turns I didn’t see coming. For a suspense debut it’s pretty fantastic! Cassie is a disgraced lawyer who gets a temp position reviewing a law firms emails. Definitely recommend to suspense fans!

This book is a fast-paced psychological thriller with a character who is absolutely crazy, which of course, makes for an excellent read.

The book was definitely on the psychological side, but also had one twist which blindsided me! This is one of those books that's almost like a car accident, you don't want to look, maybe even you shouldn't look but you totally do!

I would 100% recommend this book to anyone who like psychological thrillers, this is definitely your book!

Thank you to the publisher and that galley for this Arc in exchange for an honest review..

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy.

I have to say this book was not for me. It felt very young adult. Or maybe the characters felt very immature.

This was such a fantastic thriller.

It took me some time to get into and Cassie’s character was so strange and obsessive it seemed super far fetched, but when I got into it I found her to be so intense and damaged which made the story flow so quickly and erratically that I had to reread some parts to make sure I understood it all correctly! There were so many elements to this story and plot twists that I didn’t see coming. It was quite entertaining!

Lindsay Cameron, are you my soulmate? Because your one-of-a-kind document review stalker mystery went straight to this lawyer’s heart.

I will confess that in between my past five careers as a lawyer-actress-writer-lawyer again (more on that in some other review), I had a brief and demoralizing stint as a document review temp at Biglaw. This book is hilariously, TERRIFYINGLY accurate about the perverse and creepy little document review world. I bet you didn’t know there are entire warehouses where mine-numbingly bored attorneys sift through creepy personal emails all day long, having their phones and their bathroom breaks monitored, but it’s all true.

And the mystery! Now really, what better setting for a stalker than a job where you are literally paid to read other people’s emails? This was a unique and fun setup, delivered with pitch perfection by Cameron in a creepy setting very similar to the one I worked in, despised and still have PTSD from, so this book had at least four stars from me right out of the gate.

Cassie is clearly a psycho from the start, but I was instantly rooting for her. Why? Was it because she was so charming and funny? So resourceful and organized with her law-review research style approach to her stalking target? Or was it simply that I know from firsthand experience that document review at Biglaw is a job that can drive any person straight-up bonkers? Well, it was all these things.

Also, I loved the two intertwining mysteries, the apt commentary on the slimy aspects of Biglaw firms and the cases you work on there, and the skewering of the personality types you find there. I was totally entertained by Cassie and her coworkers.

I think this is a mystery that will be fun for everyone, but it’s especially unmissable for attorneys. I would love to meet Lindsay Cameron to shake her hand and tell her how right-on her depictions of this culture are. I also wish I had this story to listen to on audiobook during my document reviews back in the day. Some wicked stalker escapism definitely made the job more fun for Cassie, and listening to her exploits would definitely have passed my mouse-clicking hours much more enjoyably as well.

Read this clever and funny stalker tale! It’s out now. Special thanks to Ballantine Books, NetGalley, and especially Lindsay Cameron for the cackles. I’m not sure I should have laughed this much while reading about a psychopathic document reviewer, but I certainly enjoyed my time with Cassie. Sequel, please? 4.5 stars!

This is in an insidious and captivating story that gripped me from the first chapter and held on to me all the way through. This story sounds like a typical domestic suspense where we think we know the way the story is going to go but Cameron puts just the right amount of twists in to make this story completely unique. This story follows Cassie as she is starting a new temp job at a law firm because she is in desperate need of money after losing her job as a lawyer at a different law firm for some violent, yet unknown reason. Cassie’s job as a temp involves her and the other temps combing through tons of emails looking for things that can help the law firms case. For some reason, one of the partners, Forest’s, emails have been caught up in the keyword search and Cassie finds herself fixating on his seemingly perfect relationship with his wife, Annabelle. Soon just watching from afar is no longer satisfying to Cassie so she figures out a way to meet Forest and from there the story quickly intensifies.

This is a delicious little suspense story because there are a few different elements that keep you engrossed the whole way through. I was not intending to read this book in one day but as soon as I put it down I couldn’t stop thinking about it and had to get back to it as soon as I could. I really enjoyed the unexpected various twists and turns this story took because some of them were completely unexpected which added so many juicy layers to this story. I found Cassie to be an extremely likable protagonist which is impressive since she thinks and does some very questionable stuff. The ending didn’t disappoint and I thought it was the perfect way to end this book.

I really feel like this book is best served if you go in not knowing too much and just letting it all unfold before you. Unfortunately, this book is marketed as a thriller when it is really a domestic suspense story. This story is more like a slice of life about a stalker with a lot of drama added in. If you go in with that frame of mind then I hope you will enjoy this story as much as I did.

Omg omg omg omg this book!!! Soooo good! I highly recommend this book for a thrill ride you won’t want to put down!!!

I love unreliable narrators and Cassie was totally crazy. The stalking elements were amazing. I thought this book was good, but I was definitely left wanting more from it.

Just One Look by Lindsay Cameron is a thriller novel centered around Cassie, a law school graduate who falls from a cushy job as an associate at a law firm to a temp after a physical altercation she has at work that goes viral. As a temp Cassie now is flagging correspondences in a fraud lawsuit, when she comes across an email that hooks her. The email is from Forest, a top lawyer in the firm, who sends loving messages to his wife, Annabelle that sound like a fairy tale. Soon these emails are the only things keeping Cassie going and she quickly becomes obsessive, documenting every banal detail from the email. Cassie then escalates to imitating their life when she "bumps" into Forest and takes her research to a new level. However Forest may not be exactly what she thought his emails made him to be...

The concept for this novel was fantastic and I was hooked from the get-go! It made me consider what a third-party would think of me reading my emails which was an unsettling thought. Cassie was unhinged, making her the most unreliable narrator, pulling you along for a crazy ride. It was fantastic seeing how Cassie was able to put together patterns using banal details and how she created an entire narrative around this couple she has never met.

Two things that were surprising to me about this book was how little the wife Annabelle was involved in the story and how much her coworkers were involved in the story. Originally reading the book I thought it was going to be a single white female story where she tries to steal Annabelle's life or discovers secrets about Annabelle that Forest is trying to hide but it did not go that direction. I also enjoyed her time with her coworkers, particularly Dalton and where his story went. There were many twists and turns that I didn't expect so this made for a compelling read. I also appreciated that this book read so easily that it was easy to burn through in a few hours.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book and recommend it as the perfect thriller beach read! I am definitely looking forward to future books from this author.

Many thanks to the publisher Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Cassie Woodson is an attorney that has had a recent fall from grace after an "incident" caused her to lose her job at a well-respected law firm. After realizing she needed to get a job in order to pay her bills, Cassie accepts a job as a temp for another law firm. Her role is to review documents to determine if they are responsive for a specific case. While reviewing documents, Cassie comes across a private email between one of the partners of the firm, Forest Watts, and his wife, Annabelle. All it takes is just one look and Cassie is hooked on their love story. So begins her obsession and her transition from fantasy to reality.

I love that this book is a bit creepy, but in a good way. 5 stars!

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book.

It’s book review time. I wasn’t really sure what I felt like reading this month, so I just browsed through late July releases until I found something that seemed interesting. That happened to be a mystery/thriller called Just One Look by Lindsay Cameron. It was released on the 27th from Ballantine Books (an imprint of Random House). As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s get to it!

Just One Look follows Cassie Woodson who is trying to find her way back to normal after an epic break up with a coworker gets her fired and forces her from her upward trajectory in a prestigious law firm down into the basements of another firm with all the other temps just trying to scrape by. That’s where she finds the perfect man. Not in person, but via his emails which have mistakenly been included in a high profile case’s discovery files. Her job is to sift through that information for anything relevant to the case, not to snoop through personal emails. But he’s perfect and she’s in love. What could go wrong?

Characters: meh. The only one we really get any insight into is Cassie and she’s super unreliable. Don’t get me wrong. Unreliable narrators can be great as long as we can look back and see where they twist things and where the truth shines through. There is no truth with Cassie. She gets black out drunk just about every night and doesn’t remember doing creepy stalker things. And by the end, she hasn’t changed or evolved at all. The perfect guy ends up being a douchenozzle (who didn’t see that coming a mile away?), though I admit things escalate quickly and beyond what we’re set up for in the story. And the only dude with any potential at being a normal person ends up being the mystery death in this thriller. In other words, there wasn’t enough character development to make me feel one way or the other about any of them.

Plot: about what you’d expect. I haven’t read many stalker stories, but they all seem pretty much the same. Girl falls for perfect dude despite never officially meeting him, finds ways to insert herself in his life, confirms/encourages the exit of any significant others, ignores all warning signs, finds out perfect dude is a douche. And if the story is a thriller, there’s usually some kind of murder or abuse involved. That’s what we have here. It gets boring fast, which is why I don’t read many books like it. But that’s just me.

Pacing: not great. The first two-thirds of this book are a slog. Sure, we get a ton of information, but no real progress. And the information we get doesn’t give any hint to the escalation in the last third of the book. If you don’t automatically assume people are asshats, there’s not really anything on the page to suggest things will go the way they do. It’s annoying. It also makes the last third of the story feel super rushed.

Writing: nothing special. It was fine, but nothing that stood out. The problems with the pacing made it harder to read than anything. If it wasn’t for that, the writing itself could’ve made for a smooth, quick read.

Ultimately, Just One Look was okay, but not something I’ll ever think about again. I’m not mad I wasted time on it, I just wasn’t impressed by it. That’s all.

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. It was fine. People who are into the whole stalker thriller genre will probably enjoy it and should check it out. If that’s not your thing, you aren’t really missing anything.

First of all, the story is told by Cassie Woodson, an unreliable narrator who is a crazy psycho reminiscent of the old Hitchcock characters. She has lost her job at a prestigious law firm and finds a temp position trolling through e-mails for a lawsuit at a new law firm. It pays the bills but doesn’t keep her mind occupied enough. For that, Cassie becomes engrossed in the emails between a partner at the new place and his wife. Forest Watts and his wife exchange emails frequently, discussing dinner parties and their daily lifestyle of the rich and famous. Cassie becomes obsessed with replacing Annabelle Watts in Forest’s life and schemes to do so. The book was pretty slow paced at first, setting the stage for Cassie’s cyber stalking and compulsion. Once Cassie started following the couple’s emails, the pace increased as did the tension, racing to a surprise ending. I would categorize this book as a psychological thriller with an unlikeable narrator, but I must say that I did somewhat sympathize with Cassie’s plight in life. She lost her job as a lawyer, was forced to come way down in the world as a temp, had no real love life and came from a dysfunctional family. So, although it is inexcusable that she was so evil towards Annabelle, conniving to replace her, it was also understandable. The one part that I really had a problem with were the emails themselves. I could not reconcile such private details being shared by a couple on work emails, so that made it hard for me to buy into the whole story. The plot was original but not particularly believable. The theme of the negative effect of social media on lives was prevalent and obvious. Fans of psychological thrillers and books like YOU will enjoy this book as long as you don’t expect a lot of realistic details.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

This is a Thriller/Stalker Story. This is a slow moving thriller, and I found this to be more about a Stalker Story then a thriller. I found the twists to be just ok. Overall, There was parts of this book I liked, but there was also some parts I did not like. I found the characters just weird and hard to like. I just wanted one character I could really like or care about. If you like a Stalker Story this is for you, but I wanted more of a Thriller then a Stalker story. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Ballantine Books) or author (Lindsay Cameron) via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

A creepy but fun read! Obsession stories can be a tricky thing to pull off. In my experience with books and movies, the plot might draw you in but eventually it loses steam. Just One Look held my interest throughout because the author drops some unexpected surprises along the way. The story doesn't quite hit amazing territory but there was enough going on that made it a worthwhile read for me.

Cassie was a lawyer but now she has a temp job reviewing emails for a super big fraud case. As she reads the emails of the employees, she is supposed highlight the ones pertaining to the case and ignore the ones that have nothing nothing to do with it, such as personal, private correspondence. Cassie though becomes fascinated with the email exchanges between a partner at the law firm, Forest Watts, and his wife, Annabelle. And well, she might just go a tad too far in her quest to find out more about this couple. Buckle up kids, it's going to be a crazy ride!

You know early on that something is just off with Cassie. That's not really giving anything away as the publisher synopsis alludes to that as well. As the reader, you have this natural curiosity to find out more about Cassie's past and just what plans she has in store as she develops this obsession. Like what exactly is her endgame? This book was a quick read for me as I was highly interested in seeing where the author was going to take the story. I was pleasantly caught off guard with a few developments late in the story. Endings can be make it or break it time, and I was reasonably satisfied with the conclusion.

A solid weekend or vacation read if you are a fan of psychological thrillers.

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of Just One Look by Lindsay Cameron. This suspenseful novel is about a woman's obsessions and how far the obsession can go, and ruin the lives of her and those around her. This novel is about Cassie. Read it!!