This book is not for everyone. Although fiction, it covers actions and consequences that are all too real in life lived with an abusive spouse/partner. Catherine Jinks does not pull her punches or soften the theme to widen her audience.

Meg is a survivor. She divorced her abusive husband, tearing apart her relationship with her daughter at the same time. She has settled into an area that affords her the isolation from violence and drama she craves. Knowing the difference a helping hand would have made in her life, she becomes a safe house on the rescue route for victims of domestic violence who need to escape their partner. The young woman and her two young children show obvious signs of trauma. They are scheduled to stay at Meg's home for a month then move to the next safe house. Meg is unable to calm the mother's fears so spends her time and efforts on reassuring the children. This is the back story. What comes next will give readers pause as they try to spot the truth vs the curious acts that spell incoming violence. The clues will lead to questions that seem to have only one answer. The story picks up speed and tension at this point that will have you speed turning pages to keep up. This book was so good, I'm going to have to research Jenks' back library.

A gripping psychological thriller focusing on domestic violence, & the fact that victims never truly feel safe.
Meg has done all she can to rebuild her life & move on from her husband, but when another victim moves into her safe space, her paranoia flares.
Is she truly safe?

Trigger warning: domestic violence.

ing alone on a small country property Meg spends her days with her old beloved dog. Esme. Meg knows only too well what it’s like living with an abusive partner as she has lived that nightmare. So when Nerine and her two daughters are looking for a safe place to hide after escaping from her violent ex, Meg offers them to stay with her. Nerine’s two daughters are quite frightened and seem to be jumping at their own shadows which is understandable. When strange things start to happen, it seems danger is lurking and all are fearing for their lives.

The Shelter by Aussie author Catherine Jinks is traumatising and at times depressing to read and I found it quite hard to read due to the content of it. Although this one wasn’t really for me doesn’t mean others won’t like it, so give it a go and make up your own mind. Recommended.

Dark thriller that had you hooked from the off. The book was very well written. Great plot. Very exciting. Fast paced to get your heart racing. Loved this book

Thank you for providing me a copy of this book.
I run out of time so sorry I wasn't able to finish this.

I honestly didn't care for the characters and I was disappointed with the story. It sounded intriguing but I just couldn't get into it.

I received this as a ‘read now’ and I went into it without knowing anything about the plot. This reminded me of Never Let You Go by Chevy Stevens, a book about domestic abuse and a very scary abusive partner that always makes my heart pound double time

She senses danger closing in, but she doesn't know which direction it is coming from. . .

Meg is all-too-willing to hide Nerine and her two small daughters from Nerine's abusive husband, especially after leaving her own vile ex years before. Meg tries her best to be patient with anxious, neurotic Nerine, as she knows what it's like to battle the constant paranoia that niggles away at someone in that situation. Nerine describes her husband as violent, extremely intelligent, and dangerous. She says he will track her and the girls down no matter the cost, but Meg assures her that they are perfectly safe in her isolated, rural home. When strange happenings begin around the house, Meg finds it hard to keep her own anxious feelings at bay, wondering if her own ex-husband is escalating his incessant harassment. One thing is for sure- someone with insidious intentions is lurking around. Will Meg be able to protect her home and her terrified houseguests?
I had such a difficult time putting this novel down. At many times I found myself on the edge of my seat, wanting, or needing, to know more. I instantly had a theory about something at the very beginning of the book, and was not at all shocked to find that I was dead-on. This is only due to personal experience and certain instincts. I was absolutely consumed by this story and was so far off of my seat near the end, I was practically levitating. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a twisted, psychological thriller, brimming with suspense.

Great book. Highly recommend and will most defiantly read more by this author and suggest to others!

A pretty great story that kept me on the edge of my seat. The bitter-sweer ending tugged on my heart. I only found a few grammar and formatting issues here and there (could be due to reading it on my phone for the formatting), but the writing was superb!

This is the review for the book ' Shelter ' by Catherine Jinks. It is a psychological thriller with themes of family abuse child abuse.

Meg a a survivor of an abusive relationship and provides shelter to women facing similar problems to hers. The story begins with one such woman and her two children who stay with Meg to escape from the violent father. We see how Meg runs her house and her life in such a way that those who seek protection with her are safe. She goes to extreme lengths for this and gets especially attached to the children. At the same time she is tormented by her ex-husband and her daughter is aloof. It is commendable that all her experiences didn't make her bitter but instead she goes out of the way to help the young mother and her children. However, the plot twist occurs and it is nothing that you would expect. Meg fights tooth and nail to the very end to protect the children whom she loves as her own.

It is a pity that in the end she receives the short end of the rope and is derided by her entire hometown. She looses a lot of her close friends but her heart continues to love and care.

I loved this well-crafted novel. The language was perfect. Though some parts dragged a bit providing backstories to the context, the story gets back on track pretty soon. The ending is a nail-biting finish. This is one novel that will linger in my mind for a long-time.

I wish to thank the publishers and net galley for this opportunity to read this book.

I wanted very much to like this book. The premise was interesting to me and I wanted to be able to root for the main character. But I have to say that I ultimately was just not impressed. The twists and turns were enjoyable and the author has a lot of potential, but a number of things fell flat for me.

First, the first half of the novel or so is exhaustively detailed. There are whole chapters of explanation and the author telling us about what our main character has been through and presenting her background, almost like we are reading an inner monologue. It feels more like reading a diary entry than watching her live her life and picking up on her past. It was tedious and exhausting. I wasn't sure why we would need to know so much minutiae about her past, and as it turns out, we didn't.

Second, once the book picked up, it felt like the tone of the book took a hard left. I began being a bit more invested in the story from there and found myself wanting to see what happened next, but it was such a break in tone from the first portion of the book that it felt jarring.

Third, the ending felt pointless. The twists and turns seemed like they should have led to something other than.... that. I'm not sure why our characters went through what they went through for *that end.* I mean, it felt realistic, but I don't read thrillers for realism, I read thrillers for enjoyment and I want an ending that feels a bit more satisfying.

Lastly, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to take away from it. Was there a message or a lesson to be gleaned? Because the end wasn't enjoyable, and usually in that case I would look for some takeaway lesson, but there wasn't even that.

I was really looking forward to this book, and I was bummed that I didn't enjoy it. I would give this author another try though in the future, as I did enjoy the action and the premise.

This book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Trigger Alert: Death, Injury, Physical & Mental Abuse

What an extraordinary, incredible & hair-raising thriller novel! It's a page-turner that had me catch my breath amidst every page. The actors & story are so vivid, it's difficult to simply disregard all the gore stuff & go forward.

I had a great read throughout & really couldn't apart from the account. This novel is clearly not for the faint-hearted as it's harsh, brutal, painful & emotionally exhausting.

Domestic violence times ten….what started as Meg, a survivor of a very abusive marriage, supporting a young mother with two young daughters hiding from an abusive husband, turned into a nightmare. The first half of the book delivered a taut, tension filled scenario that was hard to put down. Unfortunately, the second half was immensely violent, including violence towards pets and people. My heart went out to the two innocent babies, Ana and Collette, caught in this increasingly violent story. The second half was too unrealistic. The potential of the first half will keep readers reading to find out what happens. Many thanks to Catherine Jinks, Text Publishing, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read this psychological thriller.

This was my first official NetGalley book!!! I am a complete newbie to this life, and mistakes were made. I am learning as I go, but in the meantime (and while I wait for my Kindle to arrive) I read this thriller on my phone! The phone experience wasn’t as terrible as I expected it to be, but I am very anxious for my Kindle now!

I read Shelter in less than 24 hours. I was hooked. It reminded me of the movie Enough with J Lo, and I have always been low key obsessed with that movie. It is definitely one of those movies that I watch every single time it is on. I was invested in the narrator’s journey and harrowing experience during this book. It had just the right amount of creepy vibes for me, and had a great suspense buildup. You knew something was bound to happen, you just didn’t know when exactly. I highly recommend Shelter for spooky season!!

Pub Date: October 12, 2021

*DM me for trigger warnings! This one has a couple doozies.

#Bookstagram #AnxiousReader #Thriller #NetGalley #Shelter #CatherineJinks #TextPublishingCompany #SpookyReads #FictionReader

Shelter is a heartbreaking, complex read that takes the reader on an intense and uncomfortable exploration of emotional abuse.

Catherine Jinks pens a novel with well developed characters, however the ending ultimately left me with the unsatisfactory feeling of disbelief.

Outback thriller about secrets and lies

Content warning: family violence, child abuse, animal abuse, emotional abuse

I received a copy of this eBook courtesy of the publisher. I actually read some of this author’s work when I was a teen and particularly enjoyed her biopunk novels, though this one is a significantly different genre.

Image is of a digital book cover of “Shelter” by Catherine Jinks. The cover is of a silhouette of a small house and a dead tree in a paddock at either sunrise or sunset. There are lights turned on and there is fog in the background.

“Shelter” by Catherine Jinks is a thriller novel set outside a small country town in rural Australia. Meg is a middle-aged woman who lives alone in a small property. A survivor of family violence herself, she agrees to take in a young woman called Nerine and her two small children and let them hide out for a while. Despite the secrecy, remoteness and lack of reception, Nerine is adamant that her violent ex while find a way to track them down. As more and more strange things happen, Meg begins to wonder if it is her own ex-husband they should be worried about and how safe her hideaway really is.

This is a tense read and Jinks really demonstrates her prowess at setting pace and a sense of place. Meg is a believable character who is at once capable and independent yet ultimately very vulnerable. The scars left on her psyche by her ex-husband grow more and more evident as the pressure in the book continues, and I felt that Jinks really captured the long-term harm that being in an abusive relationship can have on you and how insidious emotional abuse in particular can be. Throughout this book, Meg second-guesses herself and her hesitation and lack of faith in herself ultimately impacts the way other people treat her and leaves her open to further exploitation. Heartbreakingly, I felt that Jinks wrote about how abusive families can impact children very authentically and the scenes with Ana were particularly compelling and upsetting.

However, this is not a feel good story and ultimately the ending felt very unsatisfactory. I appreciate the point I believe Jinks was trying to make about the justice system and how an emotional abuser can continue to indirectly cause you harm long after the relationship has ended. However, as the climax of the books unfolds and the impact of what happened becomes clear, I found it a little hard to suspend my disbelief. I know that Jinks has likely been inspired by (slight spoiler if you click through) this case, but I think that the Epilogue just felt a bit off to me. As I finished the book, I had a bitter taste in my mouth and I’m not sure Meg got a fair shake of the stick. Perhaps that was Jinks’ intention.

A complex, challenging and deeply uncomfortable novel that explores emotional abuse from a fresh and disturbing perspective.

Shelter by Catherine Jinks is a story that takes a pound of flesh from you whilst reading. Domestic abuse is a very difficult topic to read about and the reason why I kept delaying to start this especially amidst the troubling lockdown and the pandemic. It becomes even more disturbing because physical abuse is visible but being tortured mentally day in and out is the worst kind of ill-treatment. So, when you read something that is going to rip your soul with its harrowing portrayal of women fighting abuse, I believe there should be something at the end to lift the spirits. Sadly, Shelter leaves the reader in a state of dejection.

Meg is an abuse survivor and is still fighting a battle with her ex for the inheritance left by her mother-in-law. When offered a chance to offer shelter to another woman and her 2 children, Meg has no qualms offering her home, Bolt Hole, to do what she can for the abused woman. What should have been a straightforward ‘hide and lying low’ for a couple of weeks turns to the worst nightmare faced by Meg as incidents begin piling up one after another.

Catherine Jink’s The Shepherd is a must-read for fans of thrillers and historical fiction, coz it is a book like no other. The writing was exceptional that for a time I remember reading it by standing up coz I just couldn’t still my pounding heart. In Shelter, the author has switched to a conformist style and until about halfway thru the story, keeps the tension quite mild. But once there, the narrative climbs a steep incline and thus making it gripping and unputdownable. I just wished that ending would have given me a happier feeling rather than sadness.

FAIR WARNING to readers who have issues with animal cruelty.

Many thanks to Net Galley, Text Publishing, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

This review is published in my blog https://rainnbooks.com/, Goodreads, Amazon India, Book Bub, Medium.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

Loved this one! It was a super quick read for me. I wasn't sure I was going to like it at first, one main character's personality was just really irritating, but the plot twists kept me engaged and I'm super glad I finished it! Def recommend.

Shelter by Catherine Jinks is a very intense thriller set in the Australian bush with heavy themes of domestic abuse and gaslighting. Meg, who has escaped a long and abusive marriage, is part of a secretive network offering shelter to other women trying to escape similar horrendous situations. And so Nerine and her two kids enter, bringing a whirlwind of chaos and drama with them, which is totally understandable given their situation, isn't it? As time goes by and strange things keep happening, Meg begins to question exactly what she has got herself into.
I love Meg's character and the kids also, and the setting in a harsh and unforgiving environment really added to the overall tension. But I was disappointed and a little devastated by the ending. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed Shelter, an intriguing exploration of some really dark subject matter.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC for review.