About halfway through Cate Holahan’s new thriller, “Her Three Lives,” one of the book’s two principal characters, Greg Hamlin, undergoes a procedure to have a metal plate inserted in his head. The operation is a success, and Greg’s health and thinking processes soon improve considerably. Coincidentally, the book also improves substantially at this point, and what had been a listless, slow-moving character study becomes the type of suspense thriller genre fans enjoy.

Greg needs this operation because he was clunked over the head with a crowbar during a home invasion in the book’s first chapter. Greg is a highly successful, 50-something business executive with a fiancée, Jade, who is two decades younger and pregnant. She miscarried because of the assault, and both later face psychological and physical difficulties. The police suspect that the assault wasn’t a robbery gone wrong, but an attempt on the life of Greg or Jade or both. No matter who the intended victim was, there are plenty of suspects, including Greg’s first wife and adult children, his business rivals, and shadowy figures from Jade’s earlier life.

Novels like “Her Three Lives” seem written for adaptation to the big screen, and this book would likely make an excellent suspense film in the right hands. Unfortunately, the author makes several decisions in framing the story that dilute the book’s effectiveness. The novel is written in the third person, telling the story from both Greg’s and Jade’s points of view in alternating chapters. As a result, readers will form opinions about the two principal characters that simplify the storyline and reduce the book’s overall level of mystery. The first half of the novel also spends a lot of time exploring both Greg’s and Jade’s thought processes. This exercise in psychology slows the story tremendously. The significant plot developments that occur are thus spread out and not all that eventful. In their place, the author adds several soap-operatic moments.

Readers who stick with “Her Three Lives” through that first section are rewarded once Greg gets back on his feet. The author still uses alternating point-of-view chapters, but they are shorter, and the action moves more quickly. Greg understandably becomes wary of a potential second attack and ramps up security measures. He also starts spying on Jade, turning the story into more of an entertaining (for readers) exercise in paranoia. Greg still comes across as someone who is ridiculously easily manipulated, though, changing his theory about what actually happened several times during the book.

Eventually, the author reveals the identity of the assailant and the reason for the attacks on Greg and Jade. The revelation is well done, and the answers to the book’s mysteries were not what I expected. The final few chapters of “Her Three Lives” are pretty suspenseful. As a whodunit, the book proves very effective.

“Her Three Lives” is a worthwhile read for fans of the genre, especially when the pace and suspense pick up in the second half. But it requires considerable determination by readers to stick it out through an often lackluster first half. Later, though, the author builds suspense well and keeps readers off-balance with some carefully chosen red herrings. By the end of the book, the various plot elements are nicely tied together. I prefer thrillers that are more tightly plotted throughout the entire story, but “Her Three Lives” works well enough to recommend.

The publisher graciously gave me a copy of this book. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of the review were entirely my own.

though it kept me invested the whole way through im not happy with the outcome! you accuse me and throw me out of the house with a gun were done idc about ptsd lol I thought i had it figured out but the final twist in culprit wasn't expected.

What a fascinating start to such a great book! It held my attention throughout and I was cringing and gasping constantly! Definitely kept me on my toes!

What begins with a brutal home invasion turns even darker in this deliciously twisted thriller by Cate Holahan. If you enjoy suspenseful reads, twisty endings, and intricate plot lines, this one is for you!

Her Three Lives is a great suspense thriller about a new couple who is attacked in their home in NJ.

This book starts high and stays there the whole time. Greg and his much younger fiancée are in their own home when these thugs attack them. Greg cannot remember anything and Jade is punched in the stomach making her lose their unborn baby.

This makes Greg paranoid about why someone would want to harm them. Jade has a fashion blog that she posts about their life and perhaps that’s how someone found them? He installs a very expensive and extensive home security system and becomes obsessed with tracking movement in and out of the house. At the same time, Jade’s father has been incarcerated for 25 years and is just getting released now. She has been meeting with him secretly away from Greg. Greg’s ex wife and two adult children are also not happy he’s marrying and procreating with a woman 20 years younger than him.

This is a book about how everyone has secrets. There’s a lot going on, but it’s done well with a few points of view. The book has great pacing and covers many issues such as prison time, racial issues, and the loss of a child. The one thing I didn’t understand was that Greg jumps on Jade possibly cheating and turns on her so quickly. They had only been dating 6 months when she gets pregnant so it’s clear there are trust issues and that they don’t really know each other well.

Thank you to @grandcentralpub and @cateholahan for my gifted copy. This was a highly entertaining novel.

It started off great with lots of important issues but as it went on I became less interested. Lots of questions and lots not answered and honestly began to not care about any of it enough. If this is your go to genre it may not work as well for someone who doesn't read these types of books on a regular basis. Things were a tad unbelievable and we're a bit too slow and repetitive for me

This was such a quick thriller! It was so good that I couldn’t put it down for a second and I really enjoyed every single moment of this story.

HER THREE LIVES is the thrilling experiences of Jade Thompson. She is a social media influencer with a very large following. Currently engage to marry Greg, whose divorce from his estranged wife is not final. A terrible home invasion that left Greg incapacitated has Jade questioning her position in his life. Will he chose to reunite with his wife and grown children under the suspicion of the crime. Greg's paranoia following the incident has Jade feeling lost and isolated.

This was a suspenseful read and although I figured out who the culprit was half way through the book, I continued to enjoy the story.

I was really drawn in by the concept/plot of this one, but unfortunately, the book really fell flat for me and was a DNF around 40%.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the eARC.

This is a book that made me less interested in the story and characters as it went on.Jade and Greg were okay but the expected development didn't appear and the ending was a let down.Others might like it but it was just oaky for me.

This book is a lot of fun and a great beach/airplane read.

None of the characters are particularly likeable, but that works in the sense that you as the reader really don’t take sides. After a precipitating event, the paranoia develops like a snowball rolling downhill, at first perfectly reasonable but gradually shaping everything and everyone. It had enough twists and turns to keep it engaging, along with some “I can’t believe they did that” moments.

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review, and I genuinely enjoyed it. I would happily have bought it and will be reading more from this author.

(Amazon link will be added when published)

Her Three Lives revolves around Jade-a successful social media influencer who falls in love with older architect Greg and they are thrilled to be moving into their first home and starting a life together-until a savage home invasion upends everything. Soon neither knows who to trust as Jade feels increasingly threatened and Greg slips into a state of paranoia as their trust in one another begins to erode and they try to figure out who is behind all this. I liked this book but didn't love it. The pace was pretty slow for the first 3/4 of the book and while the pace did ramp up enough towards the end to to keep my interest I wasn't wowed by the ending. I thought the writing was good and I did grow to like Jade but at the same time I kept thinking that it was a scenario where much could have been avoided if people would have communicated with one another. I would tell my suspense reading patrons to give it a try.

“All human beings have three lives: public, private, and secret.”
After Greg and Jade are victims of a home invasion where Jade miscarries the baby she is carrying and Greg is seriously injured their lives seem to unravel. Greg becomes increasingly paranoid and afraid of a repeat visit by their intruders and at the same time loses faith in Jade and begins to doubt her intentions in marrying him. The story moves along slowly but is well developed.

Did not see that ending coming at all! With the way the story was written, I for sure thought that either Jade or Greg had something to do with what had happened. This was a very well written twisty thriller. Thanks to Netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was invested in HER THREE LIVES before I finished reading the first chapter. What starts out with a home invasion that has devastating results for Jade Thompson and her fiancé Greg Hamlin continues with a tale of suspicion and deceit. The maxim 'everyone lies' certainly applies in their lives. It is lies of omission that seem to be the most damaging.

HER THREE LIVES is a domestic thriller where it is family that poses the greatest danger to each individual's psyche. Greg's divorce from his wife Leah is not yet final. Jade is his junior and not that much senior to his two grown children Violet and Paul. Jade's mother Abigay, a Bible spouting, everything happens in accordance with God's will person, adds to Jade's abundant self-doubt. The result of their interactions is paranoia and placing blame with no real evidence.

Jade Thompson is the personification of the twenty-first century up and coming young woman. She portrays a certain confidence in her chosen field, yet she is worried about appearances and her own self-worth. As social media defines all that is good, bad, and ugly these days, the inner turmoil is exacerbated.

This is a book that blends what has come to be known as 'women's fiction' (a moniker I personally abhor) with crime fiction in a way that pushes the limits of both. It is a compelling read that I found hard to put down.

I’m so disappointed with this book. No matter how hard I tried to like it, I was just not into it. I got to 35% and just decided to DNF it. I may try it again at another time. I tried putting it down and reading something else, then coming back but that didn’t work either.
It has such an interesting premise but for whatever reason I couldn’t get into the characters.

Starts off with quite literally a bang (or a thwack!) and the tension keeps building from there. Holahan excells at story telling from multiple POV here such that you don't know if what you are reading is real or a fabrication pieced together by a physically traumatized and deeply paranoid man. I rooted for Jade from page 1, who constantly endures being the subject of suspicion and has her motives cruelly questioned all because she doesn't seem to fit some aesthetic dreamed up by Greg's terrible children.

Social Media Influencer Jade Thompson is engaged to be married to Architect Greg Hamlin. Greg is divorcing his wife and marrying Jade who is carrying his child. While Jade is an up and coming social media star, she isn't in the same class as Greg when it comes to fame, wealth and culture but they declare their love and commit to making it work. Greg is a multi-millionaire and twenty years Jade's senior, raising a lot of eyebrows and throwing up warning signs among Greg's family and friends, especially his resentful daughter Violet who takes every opportunity to feed her dad's anxiety over the age difference. Thus, when a home invasion turns savage, the seeds of doubt previously sown sprout and start to grow. Greg is left home-bound with a traumatic brain injury and a severe case of paranoia from the brutal attack, and Jade loses their baby. In his highly agitated state, Greg begins questioning her motives for staying with him. Devoted daughter Violet continues feeding her dad's doubts and fueling his suspicions until Gregg starts to believe that Jade's only after his money. After having a high price security system installed, Greg spends his days tracking his fiance's every move, growing more paranoid by the hour. Jade stands to inherit a great deal of money upon Greg's death. Did she hire someone to kill him and destroy their child?

Through Jane's narration, readers know she's hiding a big secret about her past, but they don't know what. They do know her intent - her reason for staying with Greg which gives them special insight into the direction this story takes. Jade may be the number one suspect, but the cast of possible villains is convoluted. As reader's soon learn, there're several red herrings with motive and opportunity, and the author does a great job with the development of these players into the story line. While none of the characters are particularly likable, they play their roles to perfection serving to keep readers guessing as to who and why. While the story begins at a slow pace, it soon settles into a steady flow with rising tension that escalates in proportion to Greg's growing paranoia following a twisted plot line that explodes in a dramatic conclusion many won't see coming.

Her Three Lives is an intense, complex domestic suspense story with a multitude of suspects with motive. Solving the mystery became an obsession with me as I studied all the players, motives, and opportunities. Callahan's writing is precise, setting the pace and moving the story forward with expertise. Just when readers are lulled into thinking they know everything, she hits them with an explosive "aha" ending. Her Three Lives is a methodical suspense thriller that fans of the genre will enjoy.

Cate Holahan has crafted a fun suspense novel that does an excellent job of cranking up the tension with the turn of each page. Perhaps the most fascinating part of the novel is how Holahan realistically uses the secrets Jade and Greg keep from one another to push them apart when they need to lean on one another the most. I would definitely recommend this book.

I really liked the setup of this book, which began with an older guy, Greg, and his new young fiancée, Jade, experiencing a home invasion assault with devastating consequences. Some interesting issues were introduced, including cultural and race issues, questions of when Instagrammers might be revealing too much of their lives, and of course, Greg’s midlife crisis. The writing, particularly at the beginning, is suspenseful and page-turning.

Unfortunately as the book went on, I became less interested as the book began to rely on a somewhat far-fetched backstory relating Jade that wasn’t as interesting to me as some other ways the story could have gone. Jade also kept making terrible decisions, and it was hard to continue to identify with her.

Overall, I’d definitely read this interesting author again, but the ultimate direction of this book was a bit too predictable and didn’t keep me riveted. 3.5 stars rounded down.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing, NetGalley, and the author for the ARC!