This book was very enjoyable.. I love books with crazy unreliable narrators. It was a little slow and all of a sudden went super fast at about 70% of the way through. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

Thank you @minotaur_books for sending a copy of The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter to review as well as a Viewfinder so I could blow my child’s mind when I told him this was our screen time when I was his age. The Photographer is in bookshops on May 25.

The Photographer was good for an obsession drama, which is unfortunately not the dark twisty thriller I was hoping it would be. I find obsession stories to get a little repetitive but if you like them, this one should definitely be at the top of your list. This lady went all in.

Delta is a photographer who is hired for a lot of children’s birthday parties. When she’s hired by the Straubs for Natalie’s birthday party, she wishes she was part of the family of her dreams. Soon she is babysitting for them, and let’s just say it quickly goes downhill from there, I would hate to spoil anything.

CW for drinking and infertility issues as a main plot point.

This will be a devisive book. It won't be for everyone. This isn't a typical thriller beach read. And don't get me wrong. This isn't me judging anyone. I love those. I'm trash for them. This book?

There is some thinking involved. Your moral compass will be tested, maybe permantly shifted. Told from the first person narrative- from Delta- the "antaganonist." But good luck liking any of the characters. Morally gray characters? Try morally gray book. Delta's a mess but no one is innocent. Except Natalie.

It is easy to describe her as the villain, peg her as dangerous and the single white female type. And I'm not arguing the typecast. BUT to just stop there and not delve deeper on the sacrificed she makes for the Straubs, and how they used her? Mistake.

What she does with her photography is creepy, sure. But it is harmless in reality. When she inserts herself into the family's life? Look. Ok. Her intent for them is good, truly. But yeah it benefits her and her needs, of courde. But there is no getting around how they use her, too. They're all guilty.

If you like thrillers where everyone has a motive and noone is good or bad but seriously unlikable. One where you have to think through the morality of everyone's actions and self reflect because... shit I don't even know... you will love this book.

It is completely unique. Completely different and refreshing. I loved it. But it isn't for everyone.

"I'd like to have some choices,"<Natalie> said.

"You'll create your own choices " <Delta> said, "like I do.

Delta is passionate about photography and good at it. She captures families in New York during their special moments. Delta is also lonely and craving connection, so when she is hired by the Straub family and starts being included in their lives, she feels hopeful. Delta becomes infatuated and obsessed with them and soon you will question just how far she will go to belong.

I was quite interested in this book because of my love of photography. It definitely drew me in and turned sinister quickly, with Delta seriously crossing boundaries. The Photographer shows how obsession and envy can take an ugly turn. While I didn't find it overly suspenseful, it was disturbing and dark. Overall it was enjoyable, but it didn't blow me away.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

I liked this book, but didn't love it. The premise was intriguing and the author did a good job at really creeping me out at times. Delta's thoughts and actions were truly unsettling.

However, I felt like I had to suspend belief a little too much. The Straub family are very successful and very rich. As a parent, I don't believe that they would have a person that they met once, for a short time, babysit their child. Given that they have so much money at their disposal they could definitely use an agency. The speed with which she became a part of their family was also too much - again, they just met and now they are giving her the key to their house to water their plants while they are away? It's not like she was from an agency that vets their employees. The ending was also, unfortunately, predictable.

I would recommend this if you don't mind ignoring things that just wouldn't happen in real life.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

What did I just read??!!
This book is full of so many forms of dishonesty, deceit, and all around sick-to-my-stomach actions that it took me a day to process what I just read.
Delta Dawn is the main character that has a sick and demented way of living her life. She becomes too obsessed with her clients, lives in her imagination and pretends it’s a reality, and suffers from a ridiculous amount of manipulation she casts on others.
I have to give this book 3 stars simply does how much I hated the main character.

The Straubs are a couple with a child who want another one. They lack depth and Amelia, the mom, is such a lost character that her personality was toxic and a terrible influence on her daughter.

Not a fan of this book.

After taking photographs in the home of wealthy parents, Delta becomes so obsessed with them that she inserts herself into their lives and goes to shocking lengths to become a part of their family.

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This is less of a typical domestic thriller and more of a psychological thriller mixed with a character study of a disturbed individual, and it has a similar feel to the work of Shirley Jackson or Patricia Highsmith. In fact, Delta is quite a bit like Tom Ripley of THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY. Or Bruno and the way he became obsessed with Guy in STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. There is an emptiness inside of her, so she fills that vacuum with the identities of those who happen to become the object of her obsession, desperately trying to adopt the lives of those she views as special and privileged. Perhaps those who, unlike her, she believes, are worthy of love.

Delta is an unreliable narrator and a fascinating puzzle. As a reader, you’re not sure what to believe about her and just how much is distorted while looking through her ‘lens.’ And I found it impossible not to try and figure her out.

Her work as a photographer, mainly for parents and families, adds another interesting layer. Delta will manipulate photos for her clients so that their lives will appear picture perfect. This dovetails nicely with Delta’s need to bend the reality of her own life for the benefit of others.

I was riveted throughout while reading this, apprehensively awaiting the actions Delta was going to take, cringing at the lies she told, yet somehow hoping she wouldn’t be found out. And with this family she became obsessed with, it became unclear just who was using and manipulating whom.

This book isn’t aiming for pulse-pounding action. Instead, what it offers is simmering tension and a sort of Hitchcockian sense of unease that something, at some point, is going to go terribly, horribly wrong.

This is a debut, and I will eagerly pick up whatever this author writes next!

This comes out May 25!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books for the ARC!

#ThePhotographer#NetGalley

After reading the synopsis, I was a little disappointed in this book. I really didn’t like the characters, and found the plot unreliable. It would be worth you reading, especially if you are a photographer or. buff. I did enjoy some of then twists and turns.
Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for the ARC of The Photographer.

The Photographer (Mary Dixie Carter) is a story about someone that will often have you head shaking in disbelief. Delta is certainly not someone you would choose to be friends with...... if you really knew her. But Miss Dawn makes for some interesting reading! I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy to review.

The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter was pure fun to read! Delta Dawn (yes, like the song) lives in New York and is a photographer for hire for birthday parties, pregnancy photos, etc. When she is hired by a wealthy couple, Amelia and Fritz, to take photos of their daughter Natalie's birthday party she becomes obsessed with their family. Think a female version of Joe from You. It seems Delta doesn't really have a family anymore and wants to become part of their family. I don't want to give too much more away of the plot, but this book gets creepier and weirder as it goes along. I loved it! The character of Delta was so normal but abnormal at the same time. She is definitely an unreliable narrator. I look forward to reading more books by Carter in the future. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

“it was obvious to me that you need to immerse yourself in the lifestyle if you want to fit in, if you want people to.”

Delta is a well known family photographer among the rich communities in her city. She gets all the perfect shots for the best memory keepsakes for the families she works for. But she sometimes get a bit to close to her clients. This time she gets herself more then one invitation back into the home of a client and her involvement doesn’t seem to be as sweet and innocent as she intends because things spiral fast.

This book was a WILD ride. I’m not sure how many times I whispered “what the ****” as I was reading it. It is a slow build mystery thriller that keeps you hooked to know how it’s going to end. Although the ending wasn’t at all what I thought it’d be it also didn’t give me that “omg” moment so that’s why I gave a 4 star rating. The ending just wasn’t what I was wanting. Still good just expected more with how the rest of the book was. If your a thriller fan I highly recommend this book!

A zippy thriller! Delta Dawn is a sought after children's photographer because of her ability to smooth the edges and make everything look happy. She goes off the rails when she meets the Straub's after being hired to shoot Natalie's 11th birthday party. For some unknown and inexplicable reason, the Straubs - Amelia and Fitz- hire her to babysit when their arrangements fall through. That gives Delta the chance to begin to photoshop herself into their lives. It gets creepy. The only ones who see what's happening are Natalie and, well, the pets. Amelia and Fitz are blind to the obsession until they aren't. Delta (I really hate her name because the song kept echoing in my brain) is a well constructed character with a back story that is suggested rather than explained. The storytelling is good. There is a plot hole, to be fair, but that didn't keep me from turning the pages. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This should make parents think twice.

Enjoyable story, decent characters!


Thank you Net Galley for the advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review!

The Photographer is a creepy read that drew me in to its unique premise! It tells the story of Delta Dawn, who photographs New York's elite families and then edits the images to match the image of perfection each family wants to project. Delta becomes infatuated with a particular family she photographs a birthday for, and the lengths she goes to to insert herself into their lives are chilling. I enjoyed this psychological thriller and unraveling all the complicated aspects of Delta's life that propel her into making the dark decisions she does!

I absolutely love Macmillian’s psychological thrillers. They really have a knack for finding fabulous authors. When I saw The Photographer I immediately added it to my TBR. This book is a quick and satisfying read that leaves you wanting more.

Be careful who you let into your life. Delta Dawn is a highly sought after family photographer. She takes the time to research her families and edits the captured scenes to make a better imprinted memory. Sad and miserable are expertly photo shopped into happy and loving family portraits. She even attempts to create an alternate life with one family for herself. Can you say creepy?

This was a great debut novel by Mary Dixie Carter. I am anxiously awaiting her next release … which I hope is the follow up to this gem.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER is an unexpected psychological thriller. The book is told entirely from the perspective of Delta Dawn, a woman who works as a photographer for children's birthday parties and events of wealthy people. She has learned to blend in and has many rules for the way she interacts with them. When she photographs the birthday party of a young girl, Natalie Straub, she is intrigued by the family and wants to find her way into their lives.

When their babysitter is unavailable, Delta sees her way in. As she begins babysitting and working her way into their lives, she invents backstories about her family and transforms herself into the person she needs to be to reach her goals. Her obsession with the family will lead to some major consequences.

This was definitely a page-turning read with the perspective of an unreliable narrator that keeps the reader guessing. Her obsession comes through each page, and it was difficult to turn away. Without having any other perspectives, the reader is immersed in Delta's unrepentant thoughts and actions. The inevitable end took it to another level and added to the atmosphere of obsession, manipulation, and unsettling behaviors.

Delta is a character that readers can enjoy disliking, and I would have loved even more about her history to understand more about her character. It is still a deliciously creepy read that definitely fits the psychological thriller vibe.

Overall, THE PHOTOGRAPHER was an enthralling and unsettling psychological thriller. Would recommend for fans of B.A. Paris and D.J. Palmer. Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Delta Dawn is an event photographer who somehow manages to become a babysitter for a family she's obsessed with. It's a great premise. Unfortunately, Delta is extremely narcissistic and wholly unlikeable. Her judgmental views of others and her bragging nature completely turned me off to her as a character entirely. Additionally, as I am a photographer myself, her casual discussion of her easy work in Photoshop to create these alternate photo stories was completely unbelievable. I didn't find the story very compelling at all. The only person I cared about in the entire book was Natalie, the disregarded daughter of Amelia and Fritz. There are other characters that seemed relevant that we never heard from again. Some storylines fizzled and were never followed up on. Delta has some serious mental health issues, but there is no resolution to her mental health in the book. This was not my favorite, but others might not be as nitpicky as I was about the details in the story.

I had a really hard time getting into this book. The logic of the story just did not work for me. (Was there even any logic to it?)

Delta Dawn, the photographer, is a psycho. A major manipulator. That is obvious early on. She uses 11-year-old Natalie Straub to get close to Natalie’s parents, a wealthy power couple. I was shocked by the immediate “trust” the parents had in Delta. I did not like any of the characters - well, maybe Natalie.

Delta edits the photos of families, inserting herself into these two-dimensional lives, building a fantasy world for herself. There was lots of potential for a crazy good psychological thriller, but it fizzled.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur for this advance copy. Delta Dawn is a successful family photographer in the NYC area. She’s hired by wealthy parents to photograph their children’s birthdays. She is talented at appropriately editing and photoshopping those when the child doesn’t create that special moment the parents expect to see in the finished photos. She is hired by wealthy architects Amelia and Fitz Straub to record their eleven-year-old daughter Natalie’s birthday party.

Soon Delta begins to identify, envy, and admire the couple. She looks at their stunning Brooklyn house with envy and admiration, bordering on worship. When the Straub’s sitter cancels she offers to substitute so they can attend a business dinner. She manipulates herself into their lives, making herself indispensable.

This book is very good, but with a dark undertone. From Delta’s narration, we see that some scenes are not as they seem. The author did a great job of capturing the mind of an obsessive, manipulative sociopath. Delta is chilling in how she is about to maneuver the entire Straub family into accepting her into their lives. The ending had me questioning what was real or not. I felt she left me room in my mind to create possible future events in Delta’s life.