This is the first book I’ve read by Catherine Jinks and wasn’t sure what to expect. The book was quite different from what I thought it would be but still i enjoyed it.
The story developed very well and Ms. Jinks really brought the characters to life for me.
Very well written.

This is a intense domestic thriller which also takes on serious topics.
Meg was once in a abusive marriage which she has since gotten out off so when Nerine and her two daughters come into her life she takes them into her house to help her escape her abusive husband. Meg has made a home on the outskirts of town so when weird things start happening. Meg begins to wonder if someone is behind what is going on. Could it be one of their husbands has found them?.
Find out what’s behind all the things happening and if it is one of their husband is coming back into their lives.

Shelter

The book as a whole was reasonably good, but personally I didn't really like it.

I think both Meg and Nerrine can relate to each other as they both have gone through an abusive marriage. I thought this was a nice element to it.
However, most of the time I found them over the top. Meg is this paternal parent who seemed to be wishy-washy with a lot of things, and Nerine has anxiety, thinking her ex husband would find her and the two girls constantly. She was also saying and doing things that were a bit out there.

This was a let down for me, as it was backwards and forwards between the two. I couldn't connect or feel like the situation was real enough.

My highlight was that the farm was secluded from other people. Which gave a spookiness to the book. Not knowing who could possibly be out there.

Wooow! What did I just read! This is one crazy psychological thriller

Meg is helping Nerine and her two little girls escape a violent ex. Meg is part of a group of women who help other woman in these situations. Meg being with a Narcissistic husband (now ex husband) knows all too well how it is to flee from an ex.

What Meg did not expect was to see the level of trauma Nerine is showing and feels the negative talk she is constantly speaking of can affect Nerine’s two daughters. Both little girls already look traumatized and scared.

You kind of start to wonder is Nerine sane? does she have PTSD? what in the world? So, in conclusion, I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you @netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my review. This book is out now

3.5 stars rounded down! Shelter by Catherine Jinks is an intense thriller set in rural Australia. Meg lives alone on a small property outside of town with her dog Esme. She is dealing with a messy divorce settlement with her emotionally abusive husband and her daughter moved to England to get away from both her parents. Everything is all good until Nerine comes along. Nerine is on the run from her physically abusive husband with her two young children. Meg takes them in for shelter and, soon, everything goes terribly wrong.

For the first 80%, I was totally engrossed. Nerine's increasing paranoia that her horrible husband will find her puts Meg on edge and she starts to become suspicious of everything and everyone. Who's messing with the windchimes at night? Who left the gate open? Whose footprints are those outside the bedroom window? Is it Meg's husband Keith harassing her like usual? Is it the old neighbor with dementia? Or has Nerine's vicious husband actually found them? There were some suspenseful moments that honestly had me biting my nails. However the ending left me less than satisfied. I didn't mind the big reveal, although I guessed it early on since there were little clues, but it could have been executed better. I just didn't find it very believable. Also, the character development was a bit flat for me and I often found the characters to be pretty irritating.

Nonetheless, this is a fun, fast read that kept me on the edge of my seat. It may be too intense for some sensitive readers though. TW: Domestic abuse, child abuse, animal abuse, rape.

Thank you to Netgalley and Text Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger Warning: Domestic abuse, animal abuse, child abuse, rape.

An intense dramatic read that takes you on Meg's journey to survival and recovery from an abusive husband. When she becomes part of an underground shelter to help abused women, she takes into her home Nerine and her two daughters.... then it becomes weird.

As Nerine enhances her paranoia that her husband has found them, Meg's past haunts her. What appeared as a safe venue from violence, lies become a web of manipulation, strange events occur, annoying hang up calls, misplaced items, and unfortunately, animal cruelty.... turning Meg's safe haven into an endangered area for all.

Is it Meg's ex or Nerine's ex taunting them into utter fear?
Could it be she has welcomed it into her hidden desolate home?

This is a psychological thriller that fixates on the ineffectiveness of the laws in protecting women and children from toxic relationships.
Some my find it hard to read with the inevitable cycle of abuse. I found it difficult and apprehensive in who to believe.
Thank you NetGalley for ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Meg lives alone in the bush when she decides to help Nerine escape an abusive relationship with her two young daughters. Med understands some of what Nerine is going through as she was in a toxic relationship herself in the past and is still dealing with her ex Keith. Weird things start to happen soon after the girls move in like the wind chimes on the front porch playing twinkle twinkle little star, boot prints are found under the bedroom window and someone lets the chickens out of the coop one night. Has Duncan Nerine's husband found them or is it Keith messing around? I enjoyed the book and even stayed up after bedtime to finish it but I didn't love the ending. Other than that I would recommend reading it if you enjoy this kind of storyline.

This a tense, dark, traumatic and ultimately depressing read. The main character, Meg is a survivor of an abusive relationship. She’s part of a network that helps women and their children hide after court orders insist their children spend time with the father. Nerine and her two daughters are delivered to Megs house in the bush and then the chaos starts. The plot is held tight early but becomes crazier as the book goes on. The actual motivations for Nerine’s behaviour I’m not sure are really covered. Mostly I felt sorry for the two children and the dog. Meg’s ex husband is a horrible man so her predicament is unfortunate and she just can’t seem to win.
I guess why I found this story depressing is that it suggests truth doesn’t win, that people can manipulate the law and children aren’t protected from abuse(physical or psychological). Not a cheery read but a thriller nonetheless.

At first, I was a bit disconnected with following the characters but the main character drew me in and I couldn’t stop reading this story. Meg takes you into her world to make you wonder how she’s chosen to live in such a way. The tension builds and the suspicion creeps in. The twist hits at the right time. It’s a suspenseful good read to the end!

As soon as I finished the first chapter I got a burst of adrenaline thinking this was going to be a five star book. The slow build was well-done and the atmosphere of someone lurking around was so creepy it made me feel on edge the whole time. The little girls broke my heart - I just wanted to hug them and save them. The adults were all sorts of crazy and I had a hard time keeping up with the crazy 😂. The plot was so good but there were some big holes I couldn’t get past and since the beginning was so awesome the end couldn’t live up to the high expectations set from the start. I can’t say too much about the story because *spoilers* but it was a solid thriller.

Dark, twisty, and has you experiencing all sorts of emotions!
I think m going to see this book come up heaps as a recommendation in my book clubs

Wow! What a fast paced read. I couldn't put it down.
I really liked Meg and how she worked at a Women's organization.. She'd had a hard life up until now.. Because of that & having a caring heart, she agrees to shelter Nerine, who ends up having a lot of demons. Her life quickly becomes chaotic and unpredictable as things start to go very wrong. I also enjoyed all the interesting details about life and nature in Australia
The ending was unexpected & not my favorite but still good.

Meg takes in Nerine and her two girls as they are escaping from an abusive situation. Meg understands the need to escape because her ex was also abusive to her. Meg is making an effort to help and bring some normalcy to Nerine and her girls, but Nerine is jumpy and on edge and constantly pushing Meg for a gun.

This story was dark. It shares details about Meg's abuse, and the things Nerine and the girls experienced as well. I appreciated the fact that Jinks chose to share about abuse that wasn't physical, because not all abuse is physical. But this wasn't a story you read to get any feel-good emotions. The story itself felt slightly stilted throughout. The end escalates quickly. Some situations felt forced into the story rather than happening naturally.

This isn't a story that's going to stick with me, nor do I think I can recommend it either. The premise is interesting, but the story telling leaves much to be desired.

Nail biting, tension filled, edge of your seat psychological thriller. I found the book difficult to put down. I couldn't wait to find out what happened. I couldn't guess. I will definitely be looking for more books by this author. Thank you Netgalley for providing advance copy of this book

As a warning, this story may be triggering for anyone who has experienced abuse.

This book had me hooked me from the first page. It is a well written, tense, twisty psychological thriller. The tension builds through out the novel, and the remote setting assists in building the same. While the subject matter of domestic violence made the story hard to read at times, I couldn’t put the book down, as I wanted to see what happened next. I definitely did not see the twist at the ending!

Thanks to NetGalley, Text Publishing and Catherine Jinks for the opportunity to review this ARC. This review and all opinions are my own.

This book was brilliant!
It had me on the edge of my seat from the very beginning. The descriptions of abuse were difficult to read in parts but they’re there for a reason and it helps readers understand why the characters are the way they are.
I found this book so well written and fast paced, a quick read with great twists that had me gripped throughout. I didn’t want to put it down.
Would highly recommend!
Thank you to NetGalley and Text Publishing for allowing me to read a copy of this in exchange for my honest review.

Meg is going through a messy divorce settlement from an emotionally abusive husband, but is otherwise content living in her remote farmhouse with her dog.
Nerine and her two children are fleeing from a violent relationship and just a need a place where they can feel safe. When Nerine and her girls are placed with Meg, it seems like the perfect solution for everyone.
Nerine is constantly on edge as every sound outside is attributed to the menace of her ex. Meg is also nervous of her ex and the neighbours, anyone that might threaten the security and safety of their tenuous situation.
The tension in the book builds throughout the novel, helped along by the remote setting, and the main characters own insecurities. The reader really does feel anxious with them, as small events, even those common on farms, occur with increasing regularity.
The novel also does a great job at making you doubt the motivations of all the characters, and constantly second guessing at what might be about to happen. The main characters, and their constant insecurities, poor decision making and wildly shifting emotional states, while obviously realistic, made this story very unsettling as a reader.
Yet, this is a thriller and as such, does a fine job at keeping the reader on edge for the entire read.
Thanks to Text Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Read this in one uncomfortable day. If you have had domestic violence in your life it's going to push all your buttons. It's good though. Really good. Highly recommend.

I volunteered to receive an advanced reader's copy of this book after the description peeked at my interest. Meg is a survivor of domestic abuse who decides to join an underground circuit of women helping current domestic abuse victims escape from their circumstances when the legal system fails to do so.

Initially Meg views Nerine as a ball of nervous energy that can't sit still due to all of her prior trauma. She is trying to find ways to help Nerine and her two daughters feel safe and secure in her home. Each time Meg thinks she's making headway with Nerine, a new eerie incident occurs that puts them both on edge. A disturbed flyscreen, a tune played on the windchimes at night, or random phone calls with no one willing to speak on the other line. Meg begins to wonder if Nerine's ex really can track her down anywhere, or if her own ex is trying to torment her over an inheritance he's currently suing her for.

There is a moment in the book when Nerine's behavior starts falling out of alignment with the victim behavior Meg expects from her. Meg begins to question Nerine's mental stability and whether her trauma is too severe for Meg, or anyone in the network, to help her with. She reached out to her contact for advice and more details on Nerine's ex-husband. Initiating an investigation into the whereabouts of Nerine's ex-husband.

It is at this turning point that gaslighting starts to become more prevalent and your empathy towards Nerine's plight begins to wane. You begin to question Nerine's authenticity in her victimization. Personally I thought this book was going to twist into a novel about a obsessed or drug addicted mother who ran away with her kids under the ruse of being an abuse victim to avoid losing custody of them. I could not have been farther from the actual truth. Just when I thought I had the plot figured out things once again took a wild turn as Meg came home to find Nerine had changed her appearance to look exactly like Meg's daughter Emily. Another hair-raising incident while Meg was at work drove Nerine so far over the edge with fear she felt compelled to take on Emily's identity to avoid discovery on Meg's property.

This becomes the highpoint of the story and everything after takes off like the wildest roller coaster drop of your life. If you were about to call it a night when you reached this point in the novel you were not only mistaken, but are almost guaranteed to need an extra strong coffee in the morning. You will not be able to close this book until the last page.

Catherine Jinks' writing talents proved exemplary in this novel. She paints a very vivid picture of the depths in which verbal and emotional abuse can shatter the human psyche. Domestic and parental. My favorite part was the strength and courage Anna finds within herself thanks to Meg's love. Allowing young Anna to confront her abuser when there is nowhere left to run, and no one else to protect them.

I really enjoyed this book. Character development was good. The plot was very interesting. Not a lot of typos.