This book was such a page turner! A mystery/thriller set in Ireland, it was full of red herrings and left the reader wondering right up to the last few pages. Loved it!

Review coming soon. Thanks to Kevin Lynch, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC; the opinions are mine.

Pub Date 4.11.21

This was a quick read. I enjoyed the plot all the way to the end. A family attacked by someone or something unknown is a frightening premise. All the way through you root for this family.

The only thing that bothered me was the ending, we as readers try and guess the endgame but there wasn't anything that lead us to that end. There were other characters that were developed to give you that ah hah feeling but not the true bad guy.

A suspenseful and enjoyable read. I enjoyed this author's writing style and how well the plot ties up for a satisfying conclusion. A good read.

I found this book was quite an interesting read, but whether I read to my psychological thrillers and know what to clues to look out for in a story but I'd guessed the most of the storylines before they happened. Having said that I liked the way that Kevin Lynch had written the book, especially the "Voices in his head" chapters - creepy but intriguing :)

This took me a bit to get into, but I was never as engaged as I'd hoped or expected based on the summary. The opening was interesting, but it never lived up to its potential. There were a few creepy things, but not as I'd imagined based on the summary. Characters weren't as developed as I'm used to. This is the author's debut, so hopefully future books will improve. I did have things figured out before the end, sadly. A bit too much predictability if you're used to reading this genre.

Ben and Deborah and their 2 children move from Dublin out to the country to have a more quiet lifestyle. They open their own health food shop but weird stuff keeps happening.
This is very suspenseful and keeps you wanting more. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes a good mystery.

This was a really good book.
Very normal, likable family whom try to start a new life in a new town and find they don't seem liked or welcome.
The pace of the chapters and what goes on throughout this families experiences in acclimating themselves into this new life makes for a thrilling read.
A great whodunit that may or may not leave you guessing.
Thank you to Netgalley, Inkubator Books and the Author, Kevin Lynch for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"There's something wrong with this house."

A quote like that usually implies something thrilling is about to happen, even something supernatural. Sadly, nothing of the sort happened. An interesting opening slowly dissolved into nothing but a few jump scares, creepy neighbours with unintelligible accents and a bizarre love triangle to boot. The story started with such promise that I had to keep going but I was disappointed at every turn. And that ending, really.
This was a debut so I'll cut the author some slack. The characters were okay, if slightly underdeveloped. It was hard to feel sympathy for them when it was the Ben show and the others were just fillers. Better luck next time.

**Thanks to Netgalley and Inkubator Books for my ARC.

Overall not a bad read. It took me a bit to get into it. There were a couple moments where I didn’t buy the reactive behavior of the family but the suspense of kept me going!

Somebody out there was super creepy. This was a fast paced book that i couldn’t put down. I don’t think I’d be able to go to sleep tonight until I finished

This book was pretty good. A little slow in some spots, but it definitely kept me reading after the halfway point. Honestly, it did not pkaybout anywhere near the way I thought it would, which is a good thing. I had my mind set on who it was through the whole book, and it wasn't.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC.

Somebody Out There has the elements of a good thriller. It was suspenseful and it created a sense of real unease for the family. The author's narration includes good detail and unpredictable plot twists, but the dialogue fell flat for me at times. Overall, however, it was an enjoyable book and I found it to be an entertaining novel.

Ben and Deborah move to the country with their 2 children to escape their troubled city life. It seems their idyllic life isn’t what it should be, somebody doesn’t want them there and is doing everything they can to get them out. Mysterious packages and stalking photographs appear, along with some gruesome goings on. I found the story went at a steady pace but it didn’t have me racing on through the pages. I didn’t like Bens thoughts being described, it seemed a bit un-necessary and didn’t give me credit as a reader for knowing what he would be thinking. I’d guessed who the culprit was early on, too many clues and too many cliches. This was a good idea for a story but it was a bit too predictable.

I enjoyed this book and found it to be a good, solid mystery with one thing after another happening to the family, the suspense really built. There were plenty of unfriendly locals who didn't welcome the family to their new home, so plenty of suspects to choose from. There were twists and turns and I didn't see the end coming. Well written, would recommend if you enjoy a good thriller and I'd be interested to read more by Kevin Lynch.

Synopsis:


Ben and Molly move from the city to escape the dangers that may be near if they stay. They take their children to a small little town where their arrival is not met with the hospitality they were hoping it would.



The danger they thought they were running shows up at their door. Who, where, and why are all these things happening and why are the local authorities blowing them off. Can they figure out what’s really going on before it’s to late?



Review:

This had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I was not able to figure it out until almost the end. There was a suspense that stayed with me throughout the whole book which I really loved. The townspeople really add to the creepy vibe.

I just kept thinking, “Why would you do that, Ben?” He is not the smartest at times and if he would just talk to his wife maybe things would have played out differently. Instead, he ends up making himself look bad.

This deals with bullying, attempted murder, a stalker, animal cruelty and so much more. I do not recommend if you have a weak stomach. One scene in particular is pretty gruesome with their dog.

If you enjoy mystery/ thriller/ suspense and you don’t mind some twisted elements in your books then I definitely advise you to check this out!

This book was given in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley

When Ben and Deborah decide to uproot their family from the city to the country, the townspeople didn't exactly welcome them with open arms. If anything they seem annoyed and bothered with their arrival. When they start receiving mysterious notes and hearing noises outside of their home at night, it seems like their escape to a new life is threatened and they have no clue as to what's happening. As ominous events escalate putting their son in danger, Ben has no choice but to figure out who is behind this in order to keep his family safe. But Ben's suspicions lead him to something - or rather someone - unexpected.

I thought this was a good thriller and kept me up all night trying to figure out who was behind everything. Many characters from the town were introduced, most shady and weird, which had me thinking it could be anyone. From people in Deborah's past to the creepy townsfolk not very receptive to their arrival, Ben does everything possible to find out who it could be. I like how it was set in Ireland but I'm not used to the dialogue from some of the characters. I had to reread some to figure out what they were saying. Overall a good read and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you Netgalley and Inkubator Books for the opportunity to read this book.

The Higgins family moves out of the city, and into the country, evading threats from a local gang due to Deborah’s job as a crime reporter. Once they move into their desolate new home, the family already is made to feel like interlopers. The family receives candid pictures of themselves, with an ominous welcome note. And then horrible events start happening to the family.

There was a good amount of suspense to this book. I was interested in finding out who was threatening the family, and why. I was surprised with the ending.

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC in return for an honest review!

‘Somebody Out There’ is the first book by Kevin that I have had the pleasure of reading and reviewing. The synopsis was enough to grab my attention and the story sounded like just my kind of read. So without further ado, I grabbed my Kindle, grabbed a cup of tea and settled down for an interesting afternoon of reading. I really enjoyed reading ‘Somebody Out There’ but more about that in a bit.
I was drawn into this story from the very start. I can’t say that I warmed to any of the characters. I might have read too much crime fiction because I ‘assume nothing, believe nobody and check everything’. The main characters didn’t exactly endear themselves to me but that’s ok because it meant that I could remain neutral. I read this book in bursts rather than in one long reading binge. At times I would become so wrapped up in the story that I lost all track of time and just how quickly I was getting through the story. The storylines intrigued me and I had to keep reading to see if my suspicions were to be proved correct. All too quickly I reached the end of the story. I found ‘Somebody Out There’ to be an interesting and gripping read, which certainly kept me guessing and kept me entertained.
‘Somebody Out There’ is well written. The author certainly knows how to grab your attention from the start and draw you into what proves to be a compelling read with many twists and turns along the way. For me, ‘Somebody Out There’ is perfectly paced in that the story starts off as a slow burn but like a snowball rolling down a hill, the plot gathers momentum and leads to a tense and dramatic conclusion. I felt as though I was part of the story and that’s thanks to Kevin’s very vivid and realistic storytelling.
In short, I really enjoyed reading ‘Somebody Out There’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will be reading more of Kevin’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Inkubator Books for an advance copy of Somebody out there, a stand-alone thriller set in the West Coast of Ireland.

Ben and Deborah Higgins decide to slow down their busy Dublin life and uproot themselves and their children to a small town on the West Coast to open a health food shop, but it seems that somebody doesn’t want them there and organises an escalating series of events to scare them off.

I couldn’t get into Somebody out there and it didn’t hold my attention. I kept putting it down in favour of something else and didn’t hear the siren call luring me back. It has all the necessary ingredients for a thriller with creepy locals and a well imagined series of aggressions but, for me, it lacked the necessary tension and oomph for attention grabbing and immersion. Perhaps because the family are so normal and yet don’t pack up and go, like anyone sensible would or perhaps because it is told mostly from Ben’s point of view and Deborah is the little woman, when he’s an accountant and she’s an award winning crime reporter. Gender stereotyping?

Somebody out there is a solid read, just not for me.