This book is actually close to a 3 1/2 for me. I don’t always enjoy a male POV, but this was such a different kind of story that I got pulled in pretty quick.

Dream Girl is a psychological thriller that centers around bed-bound author Gerry who starts getting calls from a mysterious person claiming to be the main character in one of his fiction books. I found this book difference from Laura Lippman's previous books. It took a while to get into, but I ultimately liked it. Definitely has a few twists.

dnf @30%
was intrigued by the premise, and i know this is a very well known author in the thriller sphere, but sadly i was not invested in this at all. would try another from lippman though

I've liked/loved some of Laura Lippman's previous books, so I was very excited to get this one to read. The description of the book seemed good, and I was really on board to read this book.

This book was NOTHING like I expected, and was VERY different from previous books I have read from this author. And this is definitely NOT a good thing, in this case.

Gerry is a curmudgeon, and someone I really did not like. He was oblivious to his sexist and racist views and thoughts, and expects to have everything given to him. This book was basically about this old, white man, and not really (AT ALL) about the titular Dream Girl.

This book was nothing like I expected, and it was in the worst possible way. The only reason I finished this was because I just kept waiting for it to get better, or become more of a match for what the cover description was. It never got better, and I have never been so relieved to finish a book.

Dream Girl by Laura Lippman is a suspenseful thriller that keeps the reader hooked until the end. The main character, Gerry Anderson, is a successful novelist who is confined to his bed after a freak accident. He starts receiving phone calls from a woman who claims to be the real-life inspiration for his best-selling novel, Dream Girl. But Gerry has never met her, and she is supposed to be dead. As he tries to unravel the mystery, he becomes entangled in a web of lies, secrets and danger. Lippman delivers a twisty plot, a complex cast of characters and a dark humour that makes this book a gripping read.

When you are stuck in bed with your choice of pain induced fog or drug induced fog, fog it is. With no one to hear you or see you, your only visitors are the nurse and the assistant who are being paid to be there but still manage to spend as little time as possible in or near your hospital bed turned jail. You've been living in your head so it's no surprise when you start seeing and hearing things, but you invented DREAM GIRL when you wrote your best seller, so you know she's not real.....right? Shades of Stephen King's Misery but is the abuse all in your head? Laura Lippman manages to infect this writer's head with a fictional character turned real.

I had to push myself to finish this book. I found I didnt enjoy the characters and the pacing was an issue for me. I would still read other books by this author.

This was a slow burn of a novel. Gerry is a writer with a medical condition keeping him housebound, in bed, with a couple sketchy caregivers. Things happen that may or may not be real. I had a hard time staying engaged enough to care but I did finish and it's a good plot and well written. Just not for me.

I have been gripped by Laura lippmans writing since picking up a copy of Sunburn. This is so much better than that was. I loved Sunburn but this had a new take a darker and more twisted plot. It was Glorious. If you’re looking for your next thriller with a brilliant cast of characters, you need to pick up Dream Girl

Special thanks to Netgalley and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I absolutely LOVED this book from Laura Lippman! The story was incredibly creepy and reminiscent of the noir horror pieces which I really enjoy! Plus the aspect of Misery/Gaslight vibes and I was all in!
It is a twisty tale told in this noir style with incredibly unlikable characters, unpredictably and an awesome ending.
One of the best I’ve read so far this year!

Another nice book from Laura Lippman. I’ve read other books by this author this one was just as good as those. I really enjoyed the story and the characters were well thought out.

Gerry Andersen is a one-hit-wonder novelist. His only successful novel, Dream Girl, continues to provide him with the income he needs to maintain his lavish lifestyle, even after three divorces. After a freak accident, Gerry finds himself confined to a hospital bed in his beautiful 25th-floor apartment.

While trying to recover and write a new novel Gerry starts receiving disturbing phone calls from “Aubrey”, the main character in Dream Girl. Aubrey is supposedly a completely fictional character made up only from his imagination, yet somehow she seems to be stalking him. Is it real, or is it all a painkiller/Ambien-induced nightmare? His assistant and his night nurse seem to have his best interests in mind... but do they?

The timeline jumps back and forth between what I believed to be three different stages of Gerry's life, but I can't be entirely sure. It was a bit confusing and unnecessary. I didn't feel invested in any of the characters and there was no character growth that I could speak to.

This novel seems to be HEAVILY influenced by Misery, and it doesn't quite hit the mark for me.


Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a chilling thriller. I enjoyed the writing and characters. You can feel the way it is inspired by Stephen Kings Misery. It is a slow burn, something I struggle with, but I couldn't put it down.

Crazy train plot with Misery vibes! This was an intriguing story to read but a bit of a slow burn. Gerry, the main character, is confined to his bed and completely dependent on his nurse and assistant. He begins to receive strange phone calls and he is convinced it is the main character from his novel, Dream Girl. But is Gerry losing his mind or is something more sinister afoot? This story is dark and suspenseful and being in Gerry’s brain was both funny and vile at the same time. Thank you Netgalley, Faber and Faber Ltd, Harper Collins Publishing and the author. I received this book as both an eARC and Goodreads Giveaway physical copy in exchange for my honest review. Available now

A slow burn, psychological thriller about how a famous author believes their character thinks the character from his book is out for revenge. Sound a bit odd? Yeah, it is—but, this novel was an easy read. I think people were hyped up for this one, after Lippman’s last successful nov, but unfortunately, this sort of just was on par.

Intrigued by the blurb and read with interest.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This was a hard read. I feel like it had a lot of elements that could have been great but they were never quite pulled off. The intrigue, the suspense, came together with an anticlimactic end. I didn't love it.

I was having high hopes about that novel, but unfortunately, they were crashed by the fact that this is not (not only) the mystery novel. This is a try to write the next great American novel (literally, too, as the main character is a well-known author and the big literary names are thrown around regularly) with a side dish of mystery, peppered with the most famous motive of them all (pre-covid and pre-Ukraine) - toxic masculinity. It is also a very boring novel where you very soon stop to care about the misadventures of the unreliable narrator, his misogynistic views and the women around him.

Laura Lippman killed it, as always. Her thrillers are always fresh and interesting and keep me turning the pages even though I don't read many thrillers these days!

Reading a Lippman novel is always a treat! I became a fan after reading her 'Lady on the Lake'.

Thank you NetGalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for giving me the opportunity to read this!