This is a slow burn thriller thst defied logic. I dont enjoy slowburning thrillers but this was very well written.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Photographer.

I was drawn into the story of Delta Dawn, the children photographer extraordinaire who insinuates herself into the fabulous, sophisticated life of architect couple, Amelia and Fritz, and their only child, Natalie.

Delta's background is murky, but she's desperate to fit in, seeking a connection and a sense of belonging (mainly in Amelia and Fritz's lives) that she manipulates the photos she takes to capture a life she imagines for herself.

This wasn't a bad read, though the standard tropes of a domestic thriller are all here; an attractive, duplicitous unreliable narrator befriending the precocious daughter, insinuating herself into their lives and happy home of an equally beautiful couple.

You know you're reading a book when the main cast is incredibly above average looking.

I don't mind reading about unlikable character; sometimes I find myself admiring an unlikable character but Delta doesn't fit the bill.

She obviously has issues, and character development is poor. I wondered what in her childhood caused her to act this way. She spends a lot of time talking about how attractive she is so it's easy for her to attract men.

I wanted to dislike her, but for an interesting reason. She wasn't diabolical or devious; she was just kind of sad and pathetic.

Natalie and her dog were the only characters I liked.

Amelia and Fritz are one dimensional, superficially described and interactions with Delta are typical; moments when Delta are teetering on the edge of seducing him; moments when Delta feel she is bonding with Amelia before the woman treats her like an insubordinate and Delta's hopes are dashed.

There are one too many moments of disbelief suspension, especially the ending, which was abrupt and I saw coming a mile away.

Still, this was an enjoyable popcorn thriller and I look forward to the author's next book.

A quick read with entertaining moments, but may be lacking in logic.

Delta Dawn (yes, that’s her name) is a photographer (hence the title) who is happy behind the camera, snapping pictures at children’s birthday bashes. She also has a gift of appropriately editing them when the child doesn’t want to participate.

When Delta takes on the job of photographing 11-year old Natalie’s birthday party, she can’t help but wish she was a part of this family...as the reliable family friend they can confide in.

She agrees to babysit Natalie when the parents are in a pinch. Things progress as Delta realizes she would do anything for this family, and she proceeds to integrate herself into their lives by any means necessary.

CONS:

-The decisions the characters make are pretty illogical, in my opinion.
-Apparently, nobody has heard of a background check. Suspension of disbelief galore.
-At least one minor plot hole, which probably doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
-As a fan of psychological thrillers, I would’ve enjoyed finding out the “psychological” backgrounds of the characters and how that correlated with their actions.
-The ending didn’t blow me away, even though I thought it might.

PROS (saving the best for the last):

-It’s never boring. A straight up, 3-star popcorn thriller.
-The writing is engaging and appropriately gripping. It’s a page-turner, for sure.
-It’s a quick read. I flew through the pages.
-The interest in finding out motives never dissipates.
-There is a dog and cat.

Overall, I enjoyed the debut of author Mary Dixon Carter, and look forward to her sophomore effort.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is set to be published: 5/24/2021.

Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com

Mary Dixie Carter has given us a creepy diabolical character in a story that truly disturbed me. I felt unsettled by this book. A sign of a good writer.

Thank you to Netgalley and Minatour Books for a gifted copy of The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter. All opinions are my own.

An amazing photographer can take an ordinary image and turn it into something extraordinary. When a photographer uses different angles, adjusts lighting, and has a vision the results can tell a beautiful story. Delta Dawn is one of those photographers. She specializes in family photography and loves creating a beautiful story for the families that invite her into their lives. Her photographs tell the story of the life the family wants to live or, in the very least, the life they want everyone else to think they live. Sometimes Delta is so absorbed into this beautiful story that she even sees herself as a part of it so when Amelia asks her to babysit for her daughter, after a birthday shoot, she jumps at a chance to be near this family. Eventually, she is picking up dry cleaning, watering plants, and on most Fridays she is babysitting Natalie. Is Delta becoming a part of their family? Is she just considered an employee to Amelia?

Delta is a unique main character. Honestly, she is a train wreck and not likable but I could not stop reading to see what she would do next. Delta and the Straub family do not really know each other but almost immediately the relationship is close. Although, I found the relationship odd, it made me think about how many times in our lives we let strangers become friends. You can never truly know a person when you first meet them and sometimes you may never truly know them ever.

I enjoyed this book and would definitely read more from this author.

General Fiction (Adult)
Release Date: May 25, 2021

The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter is a suspenseful, diabolical thriller that kept me unsettled, in the best possible way, throughout. If an unreliable narrator with an unclear agenda is what you seek, this one is for you.

Delta Dawn is a photographer whose past is clearly something she has taken great pains from which to distance herself. While photographing the birthday party of eleven year old Natalie Straub, Delta becomes fixated on the girl's upwardly mobile parents, and unleashes a plan to infiltrate the very core of the family.

This is a tale that keeps the reader feeling unsettled and off balance from the very start, and I was completely under the spell of our manipulative and calculating narrator. Well played. 4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this title to read and review.

This book just got crazier and crazier, but with that said, I also sometimes grew bored with the main character's inner dialogue and explanations. The ending was a bit predictable, but still good.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was creepy and dark and I couldn't put it down, I read it in a few hours!
The narrator was unreliable and dark and was a wolf in sheep's clothing!
The Photographer is a story of obsession and manipulation by a photographer who imagines those in her pictures as her own life.

A must read! Thanks to Netgalley for my advanced ebook copy.

Carter created one of the more twisted narrators I've ever read, and the story was compelling for it's increasing sense of dread and disbelief at the delusional thinking of the protagonist. The story was unpredictable in the best way, and had some satisfying twists & turns. That said, the ending felt rushed after the way the beginning of the story was drawn out, and it left me feeling a bit cheated. A good story for fans of psychological thrillers.

I love this diabolical thriller. If you’re interested in twisty psychological thrillers this is definitely a cup of tea. Fast paced client will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

Very creepy and uncomfortable concepts, so if you are a reader that has a pull for such a genre; this is the book for you.

This is weird, disturbing, obsessive, making your entire body hair stand up kind of freaky slow burn psychological thriller!

It’s definitely psychological because narrator/ heroine Delta Dawn is not only a quite brilliant photographer named after a song ( if that’s her real name? Maybe the author may write a sequel in near future and name her as Barbara Ann or Mustang Sally, who knows?) is truly deeply batshit crazy, obsessive, a female combination of Joe Goldberg meets Jennifer Jason Leigh from Single White Female!

She’s a chameleon! She meets people and learns the intimate details about their life stories, then she wears these details as if they’re her own past! We don’t know who she is, only thing we know her parents are dead and she raised in Disneyland because of her parents’ occupations as janitors.
She has quite exquisite talent for reflecting the inner light of people to show the better parts of them to help them believe in illusions ( she creates magic with her photography but the worst part not only the people are enchanted by the reality she creates but also she truly believes the fake, artificial cocoon she built around herself !)

Delta takes photos of families, editing them according to their demands, best interests, making them believe they are happy families! But she also edits those photos for herself, inserting her own pictures to fill the emptiness of her life.

After her last gig, she truly gets connected with Straub family. A power couple and their young daughter Nathalie ! The mother Amelia is sophisticated, fancy, ambitious architect works with her husband but she’s better at her job, bringing all important customers to the company so she defines herself as real bread winner.
Her husband Fritz is also good looking man, a little resentful because of her wife’s long working hours and their nonstop social life. Poor Nathalie doesn’t get much attention from them and when her parents decided to have a second kid but their plan failed after several miscarriages, she gets affected from their marriage problems.

Delta watches them like a hawk, photographing their intimate moments, slowly intruding their lives by dating with coworker of Fritz, babysitting Nathalie and bonding a unique relationship, rolling around their rug naked ( okay! She just lay down but she was still not wearing clothes! You naughty girl)!
Her last step of the plan to be surrogate mother for their second child to be connected with them forever! Will her plan be accomplished? Go on, read and tell!

It was quick, fast pacing, gripping read! Interestingly I enjoyed the creepy mind of Delta but the character I didn’t like was Amelia: she was true drama queen and I want to throw my full glass of Pinot Grigio on her face several times! But it would be waste of my drink!

Overall: ending was smart, well played and I enjoyed the creepy, obsessive but also entertaining narration! Giving my shiny 4 photographic, illusional , mysterious, darkish stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Minotaur Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

A photographer with the unlikely name of Delta Dawn has clawed and pulled her way out of poverty and made a successful career taking pictures of the children of the wealthiest residents of New York. She’s satisfied with her life until she take photos of Natalie Straub at her 11th birthday party . Delta is consumed with a desire to be on the other side of the lens, part of Natalie’s family. And really, wouldn’t she fit in much better than Natalie’s mother, Amelia? She befriend the family, becoming a trusted friend and confidant, determined that the perfect family becomes hers

Delta dawn will inspire readers to pick up a camera and practice their photography and photo editing- not only because Carter’s
descriptions of this career are so detailed and beautiful, but also because they’ll never want to invite another photographer into their lives again. Delta’s intricate self-descriptions of her trade and talent drew me in to a deep connection with this main character, then her actions genuinely shocked me as she inserted herself into her client’s life. Her obsession brought both her and me to incredibly uncomfortable and suspenseful places, making this book genuinely un-put-downable. Cater masterfully created was such a well developed character - albeit creepy and misguided - and the calculated movements throughout the book really created the perfect puppeteering for the twist and turns. I’d recommend this to any fans of psychological thrillers, family dramas, and photography nuts.