Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

This book sadly fell short for me and it was not gripping to me like everyone else was describing I felt bored

Dr Gretchen White is not only a psychologist but a sociopath and a good one at that. She often helps the police on a case by case basis and now Detective Shaughnessy has a new high profile case that he believes is open and shut and Dr White is not so sure that the young lady Viola Kent, is the one who is guilty. Viola has had a bad run of luck when it comes to the law and abuse when it came to her mother but could she really pull off a murder? Well, the ending is going to be explosive and it will make you question everything you read from page one.


5 out of 5 stars



Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

A Familiar Sight is my second book by Brianna Labuskes and I was not disappointed at all. This is the first book in the Dr. Gretchen White series, which if book one was any indicator, is going to be an excellent series!!

Can there be such a thing as a nonviolent sociopath...or a sociopath that can actually resist his or her evil urges? What about your thoughts on a child sociopath? It is an interesting concept that this book takes and runs with and proves to be quite successful with! I thought I knew which way the book was going at least three different times, and each time I was wrong, which is a good thing! Who doesn't want to read a book that you can't guess the ending? That's exactly what you'll get with A Familiar Sight.

There are quite a few characters to follow in this book and even though some of them aren't the most...friendly (I really can't think of what word I want to use there), they all work together to create an excellent book. Pair that with a sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat thriller, and you can't go wrong with this book! What's not to like about it? Brace yourself to keep up!

Overall, I am super excited to have found another series that I think I am going to absolutely adore and can't wait to see what book two brings in the Dr. Gretchen White series.

I would like to offer a HUGE THANK YOU to Brianna Labuskes, Thomas & Mercer, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of A Familiar Sight which has allowed me to contribute this honest and unbiased review.

It's taken me a while, but I am finally reading the Dr. Gretchen White series now that book 3 is out. A Familiar Sight is book 1 of the series and a great introduction to the character that is Gretchen White. I love that Brianna Labuskes chose to have a sociopath as her main character, and even given that information, it is hard not to like Gretchen. She is like a female Dexter without the serial killer, and I love how intelligent and bad assy she is. The storyline is very detailed and complex, and there are a bunch of twists and turns along the way. The biggest was very logical although not all that hard to guess, but there were other minor twists that I didn't see coming at all. Even though Gretchen is a psychologist and criminologist, she still helps the police and that gave the story a very procedural feel even without her being a cop.

The audiobook for A Familiar Sight is very good as well and I loved both Kate Marcin and Chris Andrew Ciulla as the voices of Gretchen and Reed. They did an excellent job with narration for these characters, and I especially loved Marcin, so hopefully she will stay the narrator for Gretchen. While there are only two viewpoints, there are quite a few characters to keep track of as well as time jumps, and I was really impressed with the way Labuskes was able to tell the story in a way that didn't cause a bunch of confusion for the reader. I was able to keep up with everything that was going on and it all made sense to me. The pacing is quite punchy, and it would be easy to finish this in just one sitting especially considering how engaging and bingeable it was as well. The end left me wanting more in a good way, and I immediately moved on to book 2!

A Familiar Sight is the first book I have read by this author. A very interesting main character - Dr. Gretchen White - who is a psychologist AND a sociopath who helps the police in some cases as a consultant. When a teenage girl is accused of murdering her own mother, Dr. White does not believe she did it. Now the only question is is who did???

I do love a good sociopath story! This is book one in a 3 part series, the last installment releasing later this month and all available on KU. Gretchen White is a psychologist and works closely with the police department to solve cases. She is also an admitted sociopath who was accused and not found guilty of killing her aunt when she was 8 years old. Marconi is the detective assigned to the case they are working, a violent murder of Claire, a wife and mother of 3. The accused is her 13 year old daughter who is a text book case of a violent psychopath. Gretchen and Marconi take a journey together to figure out who killed Claire and it just might knock your socks off! I thought this story was good, I’ll be checking out the second in the series from Kindle Unlimited. Thank you Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book is available to read now!

I would rate this book 3.75 out of 5 stars.

This was a really enjoyable thriller. Very engaging and I particularly enjoyed the main character.

The book starts with the ending of sorts with Reed Kent knowing his life could be over in a flash, but all he cares about are his sons Sebastian and Milo. The book then jumps back and lawyer Lena Brooks is dead. Lena was one of the few friends that Gretchen had and she turned up to discover not only a dead body but also a cop she has a love/hate admiration for Detective Shaughnessy and his new partner Detective Marconi. Lena was representing Reed's daughter Viola on a murder charge. Viola has been convicted of stabbing her mother 13 times, the thing though is Gretchen knows she may be a psychopath and capable of murder, but she didn't kill her mother. Someone is setting her up to be the fall girl. The book then jumps back between the past/present and we learn that twenty years ago Tess Murphy vanished without a trace and her brother Declan thinks that Tess's boyfriend at the time - Reed Kent killed her. Of course, there isn't any evidence. This book follows several storylines including Tess's and Claire's. I have to admit at first I felt sorry for Claire but then after realizing what a beep she was, all cards were off the table. I am glad she died, I just feel a little sorry that Viola is taking the fall for the murder. During this book too, we read as Marconi starts to bond with Gretchen and I feel that this will be the start of a friendship between these two, and hope to see her in the later books of this series. We also catch a glimpse into a childhood incident of Gretchen's where she was a suspect in her Aunt Rowan's murder and I hope we get a book about this or more clues about where the "killer" whomever it may be is finally caught and convicted. It could also be because of the name and also the relationship with the Detective but this book reminded me of the series Gretchen Lowell by Chelsea Cain except of course that Gretchen killed someone whereas this one is up in the air. Overall, A Familiar Sight was a good past/present read and I look forward to reading further Dr. Gretchen White's adventures as she continues to consult with the good detectives of the city.

A Familiar Sight is one of those books that once you start reading you do not want to stop! It has a great plot, it's fast-paced, well-written, and kept me guessing if they did murder someone or not! It's also the first book that I read by Brianna Labuskes, an author who I will be looking for other titles to read.
Thank you to the author, her publisher, and NetGalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I kept guessing and changing, guessing and changing until I finally decided on a character. Then I started on trying to figure out why.

I enjoyed the story and suspense it created. Dr Gretchen White is a very likable character. She snarky, quick witted, and usually right.

If you want a story that will keep you intrigued and still makes you chuckle while you try to find the murderer(s), this is the story for you.

Absolutely loved this book. It sucked me in from the getgo and had me guessing all the way to the end. Did not want it to end at all.

I enjoyed this read it had a uniqueness to it using a diagnosed sociopath also psychologist that helps the Boston PD with police investigations. This particular case circles around a woman murdered and her teenage daughter Viola is the prime suspect in the case. Dr. Gretchen White is given the task of finding out if Viola really is a sociopath that murdered her own mother or if she is a misunderstood teen being used as the scapegoat to get away with murder! I like how creative and different this book was just by having such a unique character in Gretchen! I will definitely be reading more of Gretchen White and see how her story unfolds working with Detective Shaughnessy! Thank you NetGalley for the copy to read and review with my opinions about the book.

Thank you to Thomas &Mercer, Brianna Labuskes, and Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed A Familiar Sight. It's a fun, fast-paced psychological thriller that kept me up all night reading. The book has such a unique and interesting premise that I was completely engaged from the beginning. It's well written with a lot of twists and turns and fully fleshed out characters. I can't wait for the next one!

Recommended for fans of: psychological thrillers, suspense, women's fiction, general fiction, mystery

An unique detective for solving the case - or the best possible choice of one?
Dr. Gretchen White is a diagnosed sociopath. She works as a psychologist and criminologist who does consulting work for the local police department.

When Gretchen's friend Lena is found dead, Gretchen White starts to look up into the case - and there is a connection to young sociopathic girl Violet who is accused of killing her own mother. But Gretchen's experienced eye sees more in the case...

While I did not care about the actual solving of the murder case (not one sympathetic character amongst the people who might be involved), I find the idea of the sociopathic consultant a very intrigue one. Of course, I am a big fan of Sherlock Holmes:) But Gretchen is nothing like that British gentleman. She very well knows who and what she is, of what she is (very much) capable (namely: killing) and she behaves accordingly, using her own (moral) code and reasoning. Her unique skill set is fascinating and I will follow the novels featuring her!

Books about therapists with a dark past are interesting to me, as well as books that study antisocial personality disorder. I thought this was an average thriller.

What a page turner. My first book by this author but definitely won’t be the last.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book was definitely interesting. It took so long to read it due to work deadlines. But every time I picked it up, I didn’t want to put it down. The story was woven so well. There were things that I didn’t even see coming. I enjoy multiple timelines and points of view. This book has both. I was a bit aggravated at the timeline changes. Present to 2 weeks ago to 5 years ago to 6 months ago, etc. But upon finishing this book, I realized that it really built the story up and seemed to have given it a little bit more depth. I loved reading Dr. Gretchen White’s perspective. I will definitely pick up the next book in this series.
One note to the author: I would LOVE a prequel! I am so intrigued by the Dr’s background. I need to know more!!

4.5 Stars

Wow! What an excellent psychological thriller. This was a very interesting premise with an intriguing main character. Shaughnessy and Marconi played off Gretchen well and they all had such great chemistry. This was a book that I didn’t want to put down and couldn’t wait to find out what exactly was going on. I’m so happy that this is just a first book in a new series. I look forward to reading about what comes next for Dr. Gretchen White. I hope we get to see a little more of Shaughnessy in book 2.

The only problem I had with this book is the timeline. I am not usually a fan of dual timelines to begin with because it tends to put me out of the story. This novel jumped all over the place in the timeline and it made things confusing and hard to keep the order of events straight.

Thank you Net Galley and Thomas & Mercer for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

#NetGalley #InPlainSight

Thank you Netgalley & Thomas and Mercer for a an e-copy of A Familiar Sight. This was my first by this author and I look forward to reading more by her.

The premise of this book is really interesting to me as I have a lot of interest in sociopaths and the reasoning behind why people are the way they are. That being said, I expected a little more from the ending and book as a whole but it was enjoyable and well written.