OH MY GOODNESS!!! This book is CRAZY!!!! Delta is sure an unforgettable character, I couldn't let go of this book, I seriously couldn't put it down. We meet Delta who is a photographer, she gets hired by these rich people to create an illusion and she is perfect at that, I am telling you guys she is the queen of Photoshop, I wish I can contact her myself, so I can get some pointers. But Delta steps it up a notch its crazy how she goes about it.

She is the photographer for the Straub family, its their daughter Natalie's birthday, and Delta wants to make sure that the photos are perfect, she really likes Amelia, and little by little they weasels into the family, and the way she goes about it is CREEPY!!! I am telling you she is skilled with the way she analyzes people. She gets close to the family by their daughter, and like how she creates these amazing photos she also creates her own life.

Delta wants to be so intertwined into this family life that she will do anything for them, which I found obsessive, even when it comes to Amelia. Her family is falling apart and all she cares about is her own selfish needs. Delta wants to save this family from falling apart, she goes above and beyond, and honestly without spoiling everything? Delta is a GENIUS manipulator. This book was awesome!

THE PHOTOGRAPHER starts out with Delta Dawn snapping pictures at 11-year-old Natalie’s birthday party. Delta quickly becomes enamored of the girl’s parents, Amelia and Fritz, creating ways to spend time with them. She’ll do whatever it takes to become a part of their family.

My favorite thing about the book is how the author skillfully manages backstory. Delta makes a fascinating character. The way she twists reality with masterful photo editing mirrors how she carefully curates her own reality. Soon separating truth from fabrication becomes difficult. The deeper she gets the more the lines blur.

I suspect Carter is the type of author who writes extensive character sketches and chronologies. Delta is a complex character with a fascinating backstory. Most authors would be tempted to spill the delicious tea in bucketfuls. Carter, however, shares just enough of Delta’s story to keep things moving while keeping the reader wanting more.

Some reviews mentioned a few issues with logistics and the need to suspend disbelief, and I discovered a couple of leaps of faith myself. But, then I remembered that the book is from Delta’s skewed perspective, making her the most extreme version of unreliable narrator.

I didn’t always understand why Delta did some of the things she did, but I could see how the desperate desire to belong drove her.

This is the kind of book that will keep the reader thinking about it long after the last page is turned.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group for providing an Advance Reader Copy.

Can you say, obsession anyone? The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter is all about a photographer named Delta and her obsession with the Straub family. Delta actually reminded me a little bit of a female Joe (from You), and even though obsession books are pretty hit or miss with me, this one was mostly a hit. Delta is clearly out of her mind, and I still somehow managed to love the girl. She wants to basically be a part of the Straub family, and she loves each and every one of them. This is a debut novel as well which I didn't realize right away, and for the author's first book I thought it was really enjoyable! It hooked me immediately and I sped through the thing in just a couple of sittings.

Delta did start to grate on me a little bit as the book went on, but of course, I had to keep going because by golly I had to know what that crazy girl would do next! The end came as mostly a surprise to me, and there is something alluded to that I really wish I knew for sure. It leaves a little bit of an open-end for one character, but other than that had everything I wanted to know. If Carter turned this into a series I wouldn't even mind, and I could totally see Delta being the next Joe. Overall this was a satisfying and crazy read, and if you like books that center around obsession you should definitely check it out.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I thought that this book was just ok. There was nothing really memorable about it and I’ll probably not remember anything about it in a few months. At first I didn’t know what to make of Delta. I was trying to figure her out. The ending was a bit surprising though.

Mary Dixie Carter has delivered an addictive debut novel. A psychological thriller that explores what happens when you befriend someone and let them into your life without really knowing them.

In this thriller Delta Dawn is a family photographer requested by all the elite Manhattan families. Her photographs capture the “beautiful” side of their privileged lifestyles. By manipulating the photos, she’s able to gloss over children’s tears, teen angst and family fights. But photographs are not all Delta manipulates.

Delta is able to blend in at these family events until she grows tired of being behind the lens and becomes increasingly envious. She longs to be part of the lives of her newest clients, Amelia, Fritz and Natalie Straub. As she schemes to get closer to the family, she entangles herself deeper and deeper into their world.

This creepy domestic thriller is hard to put down. I can’t wait to read more by this new author!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to review this book before the release on May 25.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martins Press for the EARC in return for an honest review.
Delta is a known photographer for the wealthy. She's is especially good with photographing children. What she can't capture behind the lens she can create with photoshopping. A few edits here and there and she can create the perfect picture.
Delta is commissioned to take photos of Natalie, daughter of Amelia and Fritz Straub. Delta begins an unhealthy obsession with the family. Delta wants to be apart of the family.
This book was good!! I loved the twists and turns. It keep me reading page after page.

(3.5 stars)

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books. I received an advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a bit of a slow burn, emphasis on slow. I spent most of this book waiting for something to happen. I enjoyed reading the book from Delta's point of view, but I just wanted something to happen. Finally, during the last bit of the book, things started happening. I felt like the ending was a bit rushed and left me saying, "Wait, what?" I would have liked to read more about the things that happened at the end and have a bit more of a closing.

I did enjoy the characters, and I thought Mary Dixie Carter did a fantastic job of writing Delta as someone I was both creeped out by and felt empathy for. There were points in the book where I was saying "No... oh god, no," and felt genuinely creeped out, and that was thanks to Carter's great writing of these interesting characters.

Photographer as voyeur, that’s how I saw this story. A photographer uses her craft to transform the ordinary into drool worthy. Constantly using her lens to capture and in some ways seduce her subjects or their parents. She ascends into a world of wealth and status. Charmed by the access she falls prey to their excesses and makes a serious misstep

Amelia and Fritz hire Delta to photograph their daughter’s birthday party. Delta immediately latches on to this family and weaves her way in to become essential to the family. You now get introduced to the crazy. Delta is obsessed with this family. Photoshopping herself into pictures she took. Delta is so determined to be a part of this family she will go to any lengths to get it.

This was slow starting for me and I’m not sure if I was crazy about the ending....I thought it would have been a bit more explosive...... I never did understand why Delta was the way she was and that leaves me scratching my head. There were a lot of unanswered questions...... I did enjoy the read though.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy. 🌟🌟🌟.5/5

Oh my. Where to start?

This one just wasn’t good.

I don’t love giving negative reviews, but I live for honest ones and that’s what you will always get here.

The blurb for The Photographer sounded amazing and totally up my street. However, the novel itself didn’t deliver.

The characters were unlikable, unbelievable, and underdeveloped. We got no backstory which made everything feel unstable. So much of it was just illogical and unbelievable. There were sub-plots that were started and abandoned and pretty important characters that just fucking disappeared with no real explanation.

Things I did enjoy: some of the build-up (which, unfortunately never built up to anything) and the potential of the plot. I honestly felt like something amazing was going to happen at the end, so I was willing to overlook some of the messiness of earlier chapters, but the ending was, frankly, atrocious and kind of silly.

I feel like 2 ✨ is generous.

Manipulating photos is an easy task for Delta Dawn, as she is a professional photographer, but how easy can she manipulate the people around her?
Delta Dawn gets hired to photograph Natalie's eleventh birthday by high profile parents, Amelia and Fritz Straub. Delta immediately feels a strong connection to this family, wanting to insert herself in their lives however she can. She starts with babysitting Natalie, befriends Amelia, and cherishes moments alone with Fritz. She has concocted the perfect plan to become a part of their family for good but will she succeed?
This idea of this story intrigued me. I found it very interesting and enjoyed it overall. I did find it to be more of a general fiction rather than a psychological thriller, which was a little disappointing. I enjoyed Mary Dixie Carter's debut novel and would absolutely read another story written by her.
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

I received a digital advance reader’s copy of The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter through NetGalley. The Photographer is scheduled for release on May 25, 2021.

Delta is a photographer, paid to look through the lens at other people’s lives and capturing them at their most ideal. Sometimes, she has to help the images along to show her clients the lives they want to see.

Delta is hired to take pictures of a girl’s birthday party. Through the lens, Delta sees not only this perfect family, but begins to see herself as part of it. Delta can’t resist the pull, and takes steps to join the family.

The Photographer is part Single White Female, part Fatal Attraction. We see the story through Delta, in her voice. Immediately, we can tell that something is off with Delta, with the mystery of the story being what exactly is Delta doing. From the first page, I didn’t trust her as a narrator.

The Photographer is described as a thriller or suspense novel. For me, it didn’t quite deliver on this. While I didn’t trust Delta, and it was very uncomfortable being in her head for the story, I was never unsure about her motivations or what she was doing. Very quickly into the story, I knew what Delta was after, and had a pretty good idea of what she had done before. While she did withhold information from herself, and therefore from the reader, nothing that was revealed during the novel came as a surprise to me.

As a character, Delta was hard to relate to, and even harder to root for. In the end, Delta was the same at the end of the story as she was in the beginning, so we did not even get to see her change as a result of the events she orchestrates. The family she interacts with is not much better than Delta. The parents are not likeable, particularly the wife, who engages in racist behavior that goes unquestioned by the narrative. The only character you can have sympathy or concern for is the couples daughter.

Overall, The Photographer was an uncomfortable read that lacked a payoff in the end. This story had the potential to be a suspenseful thriller, but was lacking the character depth and change to have the impact it hoped to have.

This was a terrific read. Kept me going from the beginning to the end. So Delta Dawn is a photographer, sought after for pictures she takes of at many children's parties, etc. But when she is hired by the Straub family to take pictures of their daughter Natalie she begins a relationship that truly borders on extremely unhealthy. It also makes this reader question the family that takes her in, no background check, etc. On the plus side, this book is never boring and a very quick read. The pages just soar to the ending. The Straubs, especially the mother Amelia wants another child desperately but keeps miscarrying. Without giving away spoilers, Delta has become part of the family and offers to help them achieve their goals. She is a pathological liar about everything including photoshopping pictures to achieve her goal. I enjoyed this book very much and will be looking for more books from this author. Bravo to this author on her debut book. Want to thank net galley and the publisher for the ARC I received for an honest review.

Question do you remember Helen Reddy’s ~ Delta Dawn what’s that flower you have on?
Well our Delta Dawn in this story was named after Tanya Tucker!!!

This Delta Dawn has been a family photographer for almost a decade started out as an assistant for weddings but her talent for capturing children has brought her fame!
(Her fame is that AFTER she takes family pictures she and edits them according to the family’s desires or demands and creates a beautiful happy family.)
Story starts with Delta’s most recent job with a New York power couple ~ Fritz and Amelia Straub and their eleven-year old daughter Natalie.
Delta follows them around snapping picture after picture.
We find out that she likes to alters or edit so that ‘she’ is in the picture. ~ Hmmm.

In this situation she works her way into being part of the family; she babysits Natalie ~ first as a favor and now somewhat on a regular basis .Additionally is dating one of Fritz’s coworkers.

This story kept me curious but it wasn’t my typical twist n turns psychological thriller.

The end was soo Delta Dawn!!
⭐⭐⭐.5 Stars ~ Rounded up
Want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press ~ Minotaur for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for professional review purposes only.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 25, 2021

I absolutely loved this book ! I drank it in like a dog in hot whether!
Im not a reviewer for clout . Nor am I good with words (which is why I am not an author -lol) but let me tell you ! This book was immaculate! It should be made into a movie!

I couldnt put it down, didn't want to put it down . And It was suddenly over in 2 days . Her deltas obsession is immaculately described! Its was eerie .

Definitely the best this year so far

Looking through the lens of her camera, Delta can observe the nuances of seemingly happy families. Their wealth, beautiful homes, sophistication and sense of belonging are all the things she desires.
As Delta becomes indispensable to a family she envies, her manipulation and envy swiftly becomes an obsession. This is a suspenseful, twisted read of a dangerous protagonist with an obsession that has no end. Thank you Netgalley and Minotaur for an early copy of this novel. The comments and review are my honest opinion.

She can create a beautiful story with her camera, but she wants a central role...

Delta Dawn is a skilled photographer whose largest client base is made up of wealthy families. She captures birthday parties, newborns, events, and more. Her favourite part of her job is manipulating lighting, angles, and moments to create memories for her clients, even if the photos do not reflect the true nature of the moment. When Delta is hired to take photos of Natalie Straub's birthday party, she feels a strong connection to the young girl and her parents. Delta longs to be a part of their life, and she will not rest until she gets her picture-perfect happily ever after...
I enjoyed this book a lot, and read it almost in one sitting. This novel was not quite what I expected, but I did find the storyline interesting and could not put the book down as I needed to know what would happen next. I also found myself deeply disturbed by Delta's inner monologue, actions, and sly nature. I would recommend this novel to anyone who is looking for a slow-burn, psychological drama.

This book was amazing! I could not stop reading it once I started. This storyline keeps you guessing! You never know what to expect! There are lots of thrills and chills and twists and turns! I did not see the ending coming!

The Photographer, by Mary Dixie Carter

Short Take: How can I love something this much, when it makes me so uncomfortable??

(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)

Hello duckies!! You’ll all be glad to know that I survived the recent late-spring snowstorm with my usual grace and tact, which means that I swore like a sailor from underneath a pile of blankets, drank too much, and devoured as many books as I could in between grumbles.

Thankfully, one of those books was The Photographer. With its slim page count and deeply flawed protagonist (Delta Dawn, the titular photographer), this one is easy to race through, and oh my sweet nerdlings, my eyes FLEW over the pages.

Specializing in pictures of children, Delta is THE photographer of choice for the affluent families of New York City who want the perfect shots of their child’s birthday party or other special occasion. She’s a whiz at getting just the right expression at just the right time, and if it doesn’t happen naturally, well, there’s always photoshop.

But Delta is always an outsider, the hired help looking in on a world she doesn’t belong to. Until she takes photos for the Straubs, a brilliant, successful pair of architects and their preteen daughter Natalie. Delta offers to babysit Natalie when Amanda & Fritz are in a bind, and before long, she’s a valued member of the family.

Or at least, that’s what she plans to become. And if there’s one thing Delta’s life has taught her, it’s that she can make her reality look any way she wants it to, if she just believes hard enough in the images she creates.

The Photographer is, on one hand, a very easy read. The pace is great, the characters are richly drawn, and there are no wasted words. But on the other hand, Ms. Carter is kind of a sadist. The entire book is from Delta’s point of view, and Delta is… problematic. Her mind is a jungle of obsession, boundary issues, and a complicated relationship with reality. It’s very hard to read this book without a deep feeling of dread, sensing the monsters in the shadows and being unable to protect this poor, unsuspecting family from the horrors about to descend on them.

And as more and more of Delta is revealed, that terrible feeling just gets heavier and heavier. The worst was when I realized how close to the end I was, knowing that [spoiler] was happening RIGHT AT THE VERY END. Thankfully, I wasn’t left with a cliffhanger but the final chapter is going to keep me pondering for a while.

The Nerd’s Rating: FOUR HAPPY NEURONS (and an eight-dollar bottle of wine, because I don’t want to forget my roots.)

The Photographer was truly one of the most disturbing books I have read in a long long time, but in a good way! It was not scary, but it was creepy to know that some individuals truly think like the main character. In short, because of this novel, Mary Dixie Carter seriously had me rethinking the babysitters and photographers that I had planned to hire in the future.

Delta Dawn is a children's photographer who is hired to photograph birthdays. While photographing the birthday party of Natalie Straub, Delta quickly finds herself wishing to be closer and even a part of the family. Delta begins babysitting Natalie, befriending her mom, and eventually ends as the surrogate for the Straud's baby.

This book was written well, it was smooth, and there weren't any major plot holes that I noticed. I didn't "enjoy" reading the book because it was such a disturbing subject, but I also didn't want to put it down so in a sense, I really really did enjoy it. I wanted to keep reading to see just how crazy Delta would get!

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC in return for an honest review.