Sorry, not a fan of this book. I thought it was very repetitive throughout. No real thrill factor for me, Thanks, Netgalley, for the opportunity to give my honest review.

From beginning to end this was a wild ride. Delta Dawn is a talented children’s photographer who just wants to find a family of her own. Once she meets the Straubs she will shy away from nothing, not even being their surrogate, to become one of them. This was one of the more twisted and nuanced thrillers I have read in awhile. And although it felt a bit rushed in the end, I would recommend.

The Photographer is the debut novel from Mary Dixie Carter (thank you to @netgalley & @minotaur_books for the ARC) and will be published on 5/25/21. It is noted on multiple lists as a must read debut book to add to your 2021 TBR pile. The story’s narrative explores the protagonist Delta’s, intensifying bizarre adoration of the Straub family. Delta initially encounters the family by being hired as a professional photographer, capturing their daughter, Natalie’s birthday party and then as her baby-sitter.

The Photographer is utterly entertaining and completely mesmerizing. It is brimming with psychological underpinnings and a point-of-view from the protagonist’s mind, which lends to exceptional pacing of the story. In Delta and Amelia, there are two characters whose complexity supports the building climax of the story. The imprudent and somewhat entitled Amelia also has a galvanizing personality and seemingly perfect life, which is captivating to Delta’ s obsessive, neurotic nature. Throughout the narrative, an intensifying loop of obsessive dynamics bring all fantasies and longings to fruition. The Photographer is a tour de force of psychological suspense, tense and ominously dark. I can’t wait to read more from this newcomer ! Link in bio for an inspired playlist from this novel!!

This was a quick and entertaining read. I did expect it to be a little darker and creepier than it turned out to be. I found myself liking Delta and rooting for her even though she is clearly disturbed.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER / Available 5.25⁣
Thank you @minotaur_books for the gifted arc and @macmillan.audio for the alc.⁣
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Delta Dawn (what a name 😆) is determined to get what she wants and is completely coo coo for Cocoa Puffs.⁣
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Appearances can be deceiving...”When perfect images are made of beautiful lies the truth will be exposed.”⁣
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This was a slow burn psychological “thriller”. I used the word thriller loosely because I technically define a thriller as edge of your seat and this isn’t quite that. Instead you’re in the mind of someone quite unsettling. At under 300 pages it’s worth seeing what Delta is up to.⁣

Addictive thriller about a photographer who becomes obsessed with a family she does some work for. With a habit of obsessing about the subjects she photographs, she takes it to a whole new level when she tries to become one of the family. While babysitting and helping with chores are enough for a while, this women takes obsessive stalking to a new level. Creepy, suspenseful and impossible to put down.

Thanks to netgalley for an e-copy of this book. I have not rated it on goodreads, as I could not finish the book, it was just not the book for me..

If you like creepy, bizarre, psychological thrillers, this may be the book for you.

This book dragged on and I almost gave up several times. It lacked all excitement or thrill! Thanks NetGalley for the advance copy.

I was given the chance to read this book for free by NetGalley in return for me honest review.

If you believe in something hard enough, does it make it real? What if you create your own vivid memories, both tangible and in your head?
Delta Dawn is a child photographer for rich, capturing wonderful moments at birthday parties and photoshopping happy memories where there weren't any. She meets the Straubs this way. A seemingly perfect family on the outside, but with their own ugliness. Delta yearns to be not only a part of their world, but the center of their world. She starts to weave herself into their lives while still selling her photoshopped memories. Things start to unravel, but just how far will people go to make their life seem photo perfect?

I wasn't a huge fan of the way the story unraveled. I felt you were thrown in to the Straubs too soon before we really knew Delta, so I struggled trying to get to know everyone right away. However, the story itself, once it started, was just interesting enough to keep me going. I needed to know what else Delta was going to do and what else she would do to keep her life picture perfect. She of course gets caught, and when she does I feel like the book just came to a hault and was wrapped up incredibly quickly. This wasn't a terrible book, but not my favorite either

Be prepared to be appalled by this character’s behavior. Each time she did something crazy, i was cringing and it kept getting worse.
Delta Dawn is a photographer with a gift of being able to capture the perfect moments especially with children. She photographs the children of the elite at birthday parties and for christmas cards or whenever the parent wants their child to be shown as the center of attention. Sometimes the photos need some touching up to turn crying into laughing and to make the perfect photo. This is where Delta truly shines. She can manipulate any photo into what she wants. Delta is a lonely girl who wasn’t really wanted by her family who photoshops herself into the happy scenes that she photographs. But, when she meets the Straubs at their daughter’s birthday party that she is hired as a photographer for, she falls in love with the family and wants to be a part of it in more than just the photos. She ingratiates herself into their lives in any way possible, offering to babysit, running errands and then offering to do something to change their lives!
At times, I was in shock at the things she was doing. It just was not normal behavior. Sometimes the lies couldn’t be separated from the truth. Got thru the book pretty quick but not not super excited with the end. I felt there should have been more. But, maybe you will feel differently and this may be the book for you!
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Advanced copy received through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

When I first started this book I was intrigued and quickly went to what the heck am I reading, what is with this main character, and why is this so creepy, and can we really trust photographs anymore. I struggled with the first half of this book because the things the character did were just so obsessives and out there, but it was like a disaster I could not look away from. The plot of the book really came into play about half way through, but by the end, I felt it was wrapped up too quickly and there were some unanswered questions. I'd recommend this one for fans of thrillers with unreliable narrators and over the top obsessive characters, but for me it was good, just not as great as I was hoping from the blurb. Solid read in a genre with many stand outs.

The Photographer is a quick-read psychological thriller about a young woman pushing herself into a family. I found myself not liking most of the characters, except a minor character, but that dislike develops because of how the characters act in the story. Unfortunately I read a lot of psychological thrillers, and found this one to be a tad cliche as well as not well-developed in some of the plot. But I believe this is the first novel for this author, so I would read another from her.

I was given an ARC of this book to provide an honest opinion.

Delta is a photographer for birthday parties in New York. She latches onto a family to the point of stalking them. They accept her into their home and do not know they're being stalked.
I was mesmerized by Delta's actions and narrative. She is not a character you like, but that doesn't matter! Delta is an expert in photocropping. You keep on reading, wondering what's going to happen next.
I want more books by this author! On a sidenote, while reading the acknowledgments, I realized she is the daughter of Dixie Carter, actress in Designing Women. No wonder her name is familiar.

Let me tell y’all just a little bit about this one. Delta Dawn- yes that’s the main characters name and she is literally batshit crazy. Serious serious serious mental issues going on with this one.

From page one you can tell this story is going to be packed full of craziness and odd characters. This is a story of obsession- but not your typical unstable woman obsessed with married man story. Instead photographer Delta Dawn is obsessed with an entire family- husband, wife and preteen daughter.

The only being in the family she’s not obsessed with is the family dog. And small spoiler here- the dog 100% sensed Deltas craziness from point blank. I mean if a dog doesn’t like you then you should not be trusted 🤷🏻‍♀️

If you like domestic thrillers with tons of obsession, crazy people and twists and turns this one is for you! Delta Dawn is a 10 on the creep factor and her behaviors will make you cringe.

Set yourself a reminder to pick this one up on its release date - May 25th!

Special thanks to @netgalley @marydixiecarter and @minotaur_books for the gifted copy!

Delta Dawn enjoys her job photographing children's birthday parties. She knows angles and lighting and how to manipulate the frame to get the exact photo her clients want. When Delta is hired to shoot eleven-year-old Natalie Straub's birthday party, she discovers a home and a life and a family she knows she wants to be a part of... but how? How can she manipulate this frame?

My husband had to get up super early for work the other day. I had a choice: go back to sleep or turn on the light & finish this book. I chose to finish the book. This was definitely a slow burn, which is something I normally wouldn't love, but here I didn't mind it at all. I actually enjoyed the build up because that's the whole point of the story - the slow building of the relationship between Delta and the Straubs. This book is a debut by the author, and that's pure madness. It reads like it was written by a seasoned pro. I'm ready for whatever the author has up her sleeve next! Once you start this book, prepare to settle in and finish it, because something about it just won't let you put it down.

Strange and creepy but quite entertaining

I liked the writing and the characters were interesting. It’s a slow burn as the crazy builds. Delta is a great character. I’m not sure if the name is supposed to have some symbolism but I found myself annoyed as the Tanya Tucker song played in my head every time I put the book down. There are snippets that indicate Delta had an abusive childhood though it is not clear in what form or extent (though she seems so delusional I wonder if that was also some kind of product of her imagination). One odd thing for me is that she seems to be strapped for cash (her only nice things are gifts from clients that are ridiculous for her apartment/lifestyle). If she truly was a highly sought after NYC photographer then she would be living large, and quite visible. Just a small thing but for me financially she wouldn’t need the luxuries of the Straubs just the emotional connections.

That aside, I loved this ride. Delta was full on from page one and only got more so as her desperation grew. I felt compassion for Fritz and Natalie who grew to have so little value in Amelia’s realm as she sought another baby. Had this family been sound and happy I can’t imagine they would have missed all of the warnings. The twists/surprises are not all that shocking if you are an avid reader of this genre but still fun. The ending was satisfying though it felt a bit rushed in relation to the rest of the pacing.

This was excellent, highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin’s Press for a copy in exchange for a review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

The Photographer is the boldest suspense debut I've read in years. Mary Dixie Carter shakes up the domestic thriller by writing an disturbing, fascinating character story of one woman's attempts to incorporate herself into an upperclass family. Early reviews have compared Carter's story to Patricia Highsmith, but I also saw traces of the dark domestic tales of Ruth Rendel. Carter is a talent to keep an eye on.

THANK YOU for allowing me access to this ARC for review!!

The first few pages of this book really threw me off because the protagonist, a 30-something photographer for wealthy families in NYC, speaks in such a stilted, awkward way, and I wondered — is this book just weirdly written? The answer is “no.” The author brilliantly uses that voice over the course of the book to show us just how dysfunctional (and perhaps psychotic?) our protagonist is. You can do a lot with a character who has no conscience, full knowledge of social norms, and no shame about manipulating every last one of them for her own gain. She uses her photography business as a way to infiltrate these families for her own gratification.

5/5 stars for this domestic noir/psychological thriller.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Photographer was a fasted paced, quick read. Once I started, I didn’t want to put it down so I ended up finishing it in less than a day. This creepy stalker story left me feeling uncomfortable; which I’m certain was the author’s intent. The narration followed Delta’s moods well, become more manic as she became more obsessed with the Straub family. I think this would likely make an excellent audiobook as well. This twisted, psychological thriller left me equally unsettled and Impressed with the writing.

Delta Dawn is a photographer with a special talent for children’s parties and the art of photoshop. When she is hired to work Natalie Straub’s 11th birthday, she becomes interested in the family. Soon she is finding ways to get closer to the family, first by babysitting and later by offering to give the family the baby they want. As her obsession with the family grows stronger, she will let nothing get in her way of what she wants; to be a part of the family. As her secrets and lies begin to be discovered a tragedy will change the coarse of everyone’s lives in a way that they never saw coming. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow was the protagonist of this novel a creep. I immediately had to know how she was going to enter-twine herself into Amelia and Fritz's lives. When the novel progressed and showed her more depraved side with the photoshopping I literally had the chills. It was a very entertaining novel all the way through. This one is about 3.75 stars for me. I would recommend to readers who enjoy psychological thrillers and stalker books.