Delta Dawn is a professional photographer capturing pictures of New York's elite and their families. When Delta is taking pictures at Natalie Straub's birthday party, he finds herself wanting to be part of this family's lives. She slowly gets in their inner circle, by babysitting Natalie, becoming the mother's friend, and spending more time with the father. But no matter how close she gets, it never seems to be close enough.

Wow what a creepy book. Fans of the You series will enjoy this one. Delta's obsession with the Straub family is disturbing, but you can't stop reading about it. This is a fast-paced and gripping read, and although it is fairly predictable, the drama keeps you intrigued the whole time. I would have loved to get even deeper in Delta's head and learn more about WHY she is the way she is. She was a fascinating character and I ended the book feeling bad for her. If you are looking for a quick psychological thriller, this is a good one for you!

What a compulsive read, I read this one in under 24 hours. I couldn't put it down! A photographer who interweaves her life with a wealthy family, hoping to become part of them? SIgn me up. Lies, deceit and pretty pictures!

I tried reading this book and listening to the audiobook. I could not get into it and did not finish. This book just wasn’t for me but I’m sure others will love it.

I enjoyed this book so much, mostly because it reminded me of some of the 90s horror movies I loved as a teen. Fear (1996) with Mark Wahlberg acting like crazy stalker and the 1992 film The Hand that Rocks the Cradle with an obsessive Rebecca DeMornay. In The Photographer, Delta is the crazy, obsessive character that becomes obsessed with the Straubs after photographing their daughter Natalie's birthday party.

Delta's character is obviously off from the beginning and the reader instantly begins to question her motives and sanity. It is never fully explained why Delta is the way she is, but it is obvious that she is searching for what she doesn't have and she feels that the Straubs embody that lifestyle.

Delta is a photographer and she is used to creating the narrative she wants through the pictures she takes. There are lots of really insightful passages throughout the story where Delta talks about the role pictures take in our lives and the importance of pictures to support or create memories.
"It's amazing what you can do with visualization. All you need to do is create memories. Memories are images that play in our minds. If I purposefully played certain images in my mind, they would become memories. In fact, if I played them often enough, they might become stronger and more vivid than 'real' memories."

For all of Delta's craziness, she is far from dumb and it is fascinating to watch her plan and manipulate as she insinuates herself into the Straubs' lives. She also presents as a sympathetic character so despite her scheming, I felt emotionally invested in what happened to her. I also like that there was some ambiguity in the story so it left some aspects of the story open to the reader's imagination to fill in. Honestly, I'd love more of Delta. I haven't read You, but I'm guessing the way I feel about Delta is the affinity most people have for Joe.

Overall I just really enjoyed this one. Such a great summer, popcorn read.

I have no clue how I even finished this book - I was so close to DNFing it. Characters who are caricatures and one-dimensional with a main character who is fairly psychotic, there are barely any redeeming qualities to the book. The story was predictable, but the execution made it unbearable to read. Wouldn't recommend, especially if you have read more than 4 psychological thrillers cos this one is a combination of a few oft-repeated tropes.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded intriguing to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have
decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

Thank you to Minotaur for reaching out and sending me a copy of The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter in exchange for a review. This book will be published May 25.

I was very excited for this one when I read a review that compared the main character to Joe Goldberg from the You series and I can kind of see where that idea came from but Delta is a MUCH tamer version. She creates a world in photos much like a child playing house and then she tries her best to make these daydreams into reality, no matter the cost. I was just so disappointed by this book. I had such high hopes but there’s a ton of unnecessary fluff and it’s all just so very predictable.

Delta Dawn carefully creates perfect memories of children's parties even when she has to tweak the images a bit to get the effect she wants. She's worked hard distance herself from her own childhood and to make herself blend in with her clients. After photographing little Natalie Straub's party, Dawn realizes that she wants to become part of their perfect family and starts working to make that happen, first offering to babysit, then gradually making herself indispensable to the family.

A single sentence early on reveals that Delta isn't the nice young woman she presents herself as. She's not particularly likeable, but she's definitely fascinating to read about as she puts her plan in motion.

When I first read the synopsis of this book, I thought I might have to really suspend disbelief, surprisingly, the plot does not seem unrealistic and is fast paced and suspenseful. This is a fairly short novel, not filled with a lot of redundancies and the story is concise and told from one viewpoint. It kept me turning pages and trying to guess where the story-line might be heading and I really enjoyed that.

I find the author's style to be bingeable and easy to read in one sitting. The characters are intriguing and my curiosity kept kept me reading until I was done. It is a well written and entertaining book with a neatly structured plot that surprised me in the end. This was a really good, extremely readable debut thriller and I can see Mary Dixie Carter becoming a household name.

I don’t know if there is a more obsessive fangirl Photographer around. Delta takes her work to a new level and begins to literally insert herself into a family after deciding she deserves to be one of them after photographing the child’s birthday party. It gets weird.

This story was so unsettling & really out there, but entertaining in its own way. I had to know what lengths Delta would go to next to make herself indispensable to her dream family. If you’re a psychological thriller fan, you should experience this ride for yourself

This book is an addicting nightmare but in the best possible way. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down! A for sure page turner....I knew this was going to be an amazing read!
Mary Dixie Carter is a force to be reckon with!

This is a quick and entertaining read! Delta Dawn reminds me so much of Joe Goldberg from You! Delta Dawn is a photographer hired for kid’s parties by high society parents in NYC. After a job, Delta offers to babysit Natalie when she overhears there’s a cancellation. Soon Delta inserts herself into the Straub’s family, particularly obsessed with Amelia. She fantasizes living the lives of her clients & photoshopping herself into pictures, it’s crazy! The theme of the plot is obsession, Delta wanting a different life; Amelia wanting a second child though she doesn’t have a relationship with Natalie. But this is all on the surface there’s not much depth to the characters’ back story. Thank you to Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and the author for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.

I had a hard time with this one. It was to me just not that great. The premise is good and the author did a good job but it was just not a book that I enjoyed.

I could not connect with the main character, Delta Dawn. I think if you are into photography maybe you can connect with her more. She's a horrible person in my opinion. I actually did not like any of the characters. The child, Natalie, was possibly my favorite and that is a stretch. lol

This book was well written. It was very intense. It was truly out there. Delta was one crazy person who will keep you on edge but... It just didn't keep me invested. I put it down and picked it back up way to many times.

I advise you to read it and make your own mind up about it. Just because it was not my kind of book does not mean it won't be yours.

Thank you #NetGalley, #MaryDixieCarter, #StMartinsPress for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

3/5 stars and recommend you read it and decide for yourself. Enjoy!

This debut novel has some good moments, but for a domestic suspense novel I don't feel like it quite goes far enough.
Delta Dawn is a photographer specializing in children's parties of the upper crust of New York. She has a talent for making the best out of every situation and giving the parents the "look" they desire in the photos, even if it requires some careful manipulation of the photos. when Delta photographs eleven-year-old Natalie's party, she finds herself drawn to Natalie's parents and doesn't just want to be a friend of the family, she wants to be a PART of the family.
I alternated between listening to the audio book (narrated by the author) and reading the print copy. I liked the narration because I could feel Delta's aspirations and her delusions radiating from the voice.
Although Delta is pretty delusional, there's a method to her madness that you don't quite get until the very end of the book. I grew to somewhat admire her gutsiness and lies--both the lies she tells to others, but also the lies she tells herself. She has major blind spots when it comes to herself, and that just makes the book more readable.
Unfortunately, the thing that is the major shortcoming of this book is that we don't know WHY Delta is the way she is. There are veiled references to her family and upbringing, but a few well placed flashbacks would have made this book so much better. We know Delta is "off" but we don't know why she is that way.
Overall, this is a decent debut novel and I look forward to seeing what the author comes up with next.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Such an intense, page turner, broke me out of my reading funk lately. I finished this book in one weekend. Delta Dawn (yes, i immediately started humming along to the song "Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on?") who's a children's photographer meets the perfect family, and immediately latches on. She creates false romance, fantasies and relationship with this family, and does everything she could to get just a little bit more closer.

I love stories from the stalker/ obesesser's POV, can't wait to read more from Mary Dixie Carter.

A photographer or a manipulator?

Delta made her living photographing mainly children’s birthday parties.

Delta also worked with wealthy families. One particular family completely caught her attention, and she wanted to be part of their family in every way possible.

Delta also worked at being made an irreplaceable part of this family. She wanted what they had, and she was even working on trying to be a surrogate mother for them.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER was detailed and slow moving, but Delta certainly wasn’t.

She moved quickly to ingratiate herself with the Straubs. She actually was obsessed with them.

This book was well written and had a unique story line, but it was not a favorite. I did not like Delta, and the other characters were unlikable as well.

Photographers and those interested in photography will enjoy this book along with those who enjoy studying people’s motives and personalities. 3/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A fun, page-turning thriller about a woman’s obsession with insinuating herself into another family’s life. Single White Female vibes, but for a whole family.

Our narrator Delta is a children’s photographer for wealthy families. One family she photographs, the Straubs, catches her attention and eventually her obsession. They are so rich, with such impeccable taste, such an interesting child, such a beautiful home.... that Delta begins to imagine herself as part of the family. And so, as she begins to worm her way in to the family’s life, the reader becomes increasingly uncomfortable. But then, the Straubs aren’t exactly sympathetic either. Rich and clueless, with the idea that money can buy them anything they want, including a baby, their treatment of less-wealthy Delta leaves a lot to be desired. Or at least, it does the way Delta explains it to us.

My one complaint would be that I would have liked a bit more character development and backstory. The most interesting character to me was the Straubs’ daughter Natalie. She’s rebellious and observant, and sees that her parents are superficial and domineering. I liked-to-hate our narrator Delta too. But as my friend Michael David pointed out so well in his excellent review of this book (read it!) we really don’t learn much at all about any of the other characters’ psychological backgrounds, or what childhood or other experiences made them the (somewhat psychotic) way they are today. We don’t even really know about Delta’s past. This for me, too, would have deepened the story and the thrills.

Nevertheless, I found the book to be compulsively readable, always entertaining, and page-turning as it hurtled towards either a happy ending or a terribly cringeworthy one (there could be no in-between for our Delta!). I really liked Carter’s writing style. It’s a cut above many of the other thrillers out there - always suspenseful with great narration, cringeworthy obsession, and fun plotting. I didn’t want to put the book down until I finished, which is my favorite quality in a thriller.

A very fun and creepy book. I foresee many more in the future for Mary Dixie Carter. I will definitely be reading!

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Mary Dixie Carter for this fun debut novel from a great new suspense writer.

The photographer which comes out in June 2021, is a real look into the mind of a woman who wants to create her perfect life. I would give this book four stars. A book to read while wondering what that family photographer is thinking

Super twisted and creepy. Definitely a good story, although there are a lot of far fetched things happening, that you need to just shake your head and keep reading. I liked the weirdness of this story all the way from beginning to end. Definitely recommend.

This book was not for me. I did not enjoy the characters or the story. I didn't understand the premise. Who has someone babysit after knowing them for like 1 minute? I wasn't engaged in the story at all.