Andy Drake’s life starts to go off the rails when he returns home to take care of his father who is in the early stages of dementia. Suffering from writer’s block, bored and still grieving the death of his younger sister, Andy begins an affair with neighbor and childhood friend Rachel. The first problem is that she’s married. Unhappily married but no one in town knows that. The second problem is that someone in town does know about the affair and sends Andy a threatening note warning him of consequences if he doesn’t immediately end the relationship. The third problem comes when Rachel’s husband is found dead and Rachel and her children are missing. Trying to stay one step ahead of the police who he knows will consider him a suspect, out of desperation Andy starts his own investigation. What he discovers will reveal many long hidden secrets and other deaths.

Or Else is a slow paced, deliberate thriller. It is full of family drama, with interesting characters, especially Andy’s father and sister Keli, and an evocative small town setting with Andy as the main narrator. We see how Andy’s past affects his judgement and relationships and how townspeople seemingly ignore serious problems. This is a 5 star read.

Thank you yo NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Joe Hart for this ARC.

✨ NEIGHBORHOOD THRILLER MEETS FAMILY DRAMA ✨

Author: Joe Hart
Genre: mystery / thriller
Mood: mysterious, dark, tense
Rating: ⭐️⭐️/5
Pub Date: April 1, 2022

#readandsiprecommends to read if you like:
* Lots of mysteries to untangle at once
* A big dose of family drama
* Neighborhood thrillers like Not a Happy Family or Every Last Secret

Review: While it was a fast read with chapter endings that kept me wanting to turn the page, Or Else was in general quite underwhelming. As I do when something doesn’t quite work for me I’ll keep this short.

Starting with some elements I liked:
* Fast page turner with lots going on to keep me interested
* Small town neighborhood vibes where everyone knows everyone’s business
* Unexpected outcome

What didn’t work for me:
* Too much happening that was disconnected and pure coincidence it was at the same time
* Odd changing of POV throughout and sometimes stream of conscious which was hard to follow
* Characters could have been developed more strongly if there weren’t as many and as much going on

Thanks to Netgalley for sharing this e-ARC with me in exchange for my honest thoughts and review.

🚨 TW: mentions of child molestation

I loved this book! I enjoyed the characters, I enjoyed the story, I found it suspenseful and didn’t see the ending coming.

Andy Drake returns to his hometown and reconnects with his old friend Rachel. Andy just suffered the loss of his mother and Rachel is looking for an escape from her abusive husband. Eventually the friendship turns into a full blown affair.

Andy receives a threatening note pinned to his door warning him to end the affair, “or else”. A few weeks later, Rachel’s husband is found shot to death and Rachel and her children are nowhere to be found.

Can Andy put the pieces of what happened together without incriminating himself?

I thought this book was ok. It dragged at parts and I didn’t connect with any of the characters at all.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

…sigh

My first reaction to this story is: why? Why would someone go to lengths like this for someone they barely know? This whole story is incredibly frustrating - no way in the world I would’ve put myself in these situations! Because of this, most of the time I spent reading this book, I was looking for reasons to dislike it. The story isn’t very thrilling (except the chase with Drake’s neighbor through the woods), and while there are a few red herrings thrown in the mix, the plot is pretty predictable.

Character development is lacking - I don’t know much about Andy other than he’s a writer who takes care of his dad and had a “deep” love for Rachel. I’d have to give this one 2.75 stars. Sadly I feel like after a few weeks, it’ll be a pretty forgettable story.

I had a difficult time connecting with the main character who conitnuously found himself in sticky situations while trying to determine what happened to the woman he was having an affair with. The story seemed to want to go in the direction of "what a man would do for love", but I found it incredulous and tough to continue in some areas. I was happy to reach the end and surprised by the final outcome, which actually "saved" the book from being one to skip.

Loved Obscura by Joe Hart. This story did not connect with me, but I appreciate the opportunity to read it for an honest review.

Thank you!

This was an okay read from the author. At times the author made the storyline too convoluted which took away rather than added to the enjoyment of the book. Good with mystery but not much suspense. Not a five-star book but still one that I would recommend to others.

Or Else was a disappointment for me. The writing style really turned me off of just about everything. The writing feels like a clinical letter to someone and the main character is a writer. I failed to develop any connection to the main characters and infidelity for any excuse leaves me disappointed. I know some people would probably enjoy this book but I am not among that crowd. It’s just not my cup of tea but the best of luck to the writer. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

A struggling author, Andy Drake, returns to his hometown to care for his ailing father. He reconnects with his first love, Rachel, resulting in a secret affair they try to keep hidden from her abusive husband...but someone knows. Soon after Andy finds a threatening note Rachel's husband is murdered, Rachel and her children are missing, and Andy is quickly becoming the prime suspect.

Or Else is a new mystery/thriller from author Joe Hart in which an affair turns deadly and the whole town appears to be hiding secrets. I was excited about this new novel, I usually enjoy Hart's novels but I will say this one was a bit of a letdown. The plot was intriguing with several twists and turns but the characters felt really bland. Nothing was particularly bad but nothing really stood out as noteworthy either. The characters felt flat, the narrative was a bit dull, and it took a long time to get to a climatic ending that was rather abrupt. That being said, I didn't dislike the novel it was still a decent mystery with an enjoyable plot I just wasn't as impressed with this one as I was with his other novels.

This was a fun read! Andy moves back home to help take care of his dad who is suffering from dementia. He lives across the street, and soon becomes a regular member of this community. When he is pulled into an affair with Rachel, he soon received a threatening note telling him to stop it, or else! Shortly afterward, Rachel’s home is broken into, her husband murdered and she is missing along with her two kids. Andy now becomes an investigator, trying to solve the question of what happened and where Rachel is. I recommend this book, it keeps your interest right to the very end! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of Or Else!

Great thriller, twisting, exciting, and total surprise at the end. Although there may be those who say it was predictable.

I really liked Andy Drake’s character, a perfect investigative writer, he’s where he needs to be, the air around him is glowing, he’s always on track, we’re not bored with it.

Police action/inaction reinforces the existing stereotype that the goal is not to find and capture the real killer, but to find a sucker with zero work who can be tricked into committing the murder. Not to mention that for a death, the police immediately realize it was an accident or a suicide, despite the facts to the contrary. Unfortunately, this is already common in books. And unfortunately in real life. We were not short of murders, we were moving pretty slowly, tracing the perpetrator.

There’s not a page I’m bored with, the book is almost impossible to put down.

My favorite character was the father, despite his illness, he saw the events most clearly.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read this book.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. . Fast paced, great storyline and would recommend to other readers. Had me hooked right to the end.

This is the first of Joe Hart's books I've read and I'm looking forward reading more from him. I really enjoyed reading Or Else, it was thoroughly engrossing and--mostly--hard to put down!

The pace started fast then got slow in the middle then picked up again near the end. I enjoyed how things were led out then pieced back together at the end. Though I must say that the end is a bit--can't find an appropriate word for it--weird, like that just made me laugh real bad for some reason because like: Huh?!??

Overall, it is an enjoyable, gripping read that I would recommend to all thriller fans!!

Or Else is about a mystery in a quiet neighborhood where on the outside it seems nothing bad happens but as you continue to read you see how that is not necessarily true. There was great twists in this story of who could have done it and some reasons that I wouldn’t have guessed. Well written and keeps the writer engaged throughout the story.

Thank you Netgalley and Author Joe Hart for this ARC.

I loved this novel. Andy is writer who's moved back to the suburb he grew up in to take care of his father who was recently diagnosed with dementia. He's also been having a fling with the married woman down the street. And apparently, someone knows and they don't like it because they leave him a note telling him to put an end to it. A week later the woman and her two sons go missing and her husband is found dead in their house. The mystery deepens and broadens, a rabbit hole of red herrings, dead ends, and more questions.

The ending was a twist I did not see coming and I loved it. It tied everything up nicely. Hart knocked this baby out of the park. A perfect mystery with a lot of suspense and intrigue.

A very interesting way of telling a story. I like the characters and the families and neighborhood seemed real. but the protagonist was so very stupid. I new from the first famers market scene where the boys and mother were. The police were too dismissing.

I really liked this book.

Andy Drake moves back to the street where he grew up to take care of his father who has dementia. He meets up with a former high school classmate, Rachel, and they begin an affair. He gets a note in his door saying to stop seeing her or else.
Andy, a mystery novelist, wants to find out who wrote the note and why. When Rachel's husband is found dead and Rachel and her children go missing, he panics with worry. He decides that he needs to figure this out since the police don't seem to be looking beyond him.

Joe Hill's writing is so accessible. He reminds me of John Grisham and Stephen King in the smoothness of his writing. The pages just fly by. Highly recommended.

Well written characters and interesting story. Thought I figured things out but wasn't correct. Enjoyed this one. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

I haven't read anything by Joe Hart before, but was immediately pulled into this story.

Andy returns home to take care of his father who is suffering from dementia. Also living in town is Rachel his childhood friend with whom he begins an affair... With a murder and lots of twists and turns to follow, this book kept me entertained and guessing until the end. Highly recommended.

There is nothing like having your own real life thriller taking place on your street when you write them for a living. What happens in a small town stays in the small town, even when it is a big deal. Joe delivers a little bit of everything with a great twist.