Name of Book: Under Her Care
Author: Lucinda Berry
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Pub Date: July 1, 2022
My Rating: 3.5 Stars

I have only read a few Lucinda Berry novels but they were great and I was excited about starting this one!

Casey Walker is a pediatric psychologist with a specialization in neurodevelopmental disabilities ~ <i>of course, no one knows what that means so is refers to her an expert in autism, </i> is called in to help with the case of Mason Hill a fourteen year young boy who is autistic and describes as nonverbal. Mason was found standing on the riverbank near the body of the wife of the mayor of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Mason has the blood of Annabelle Chapman all over him and the police believe he is a person-of interest in Annabelle’s murder.
When Casey meets Mason’s mother Genevieve; Casey is sure she is hiding something and is going overboard in trying to protect her son.
Later when Casey meets Savannah, Genevieve’s nineteen-year-old daughter; she finds out that Savannah has some disturbing secrets.
I love psychological thriller but this one seems to be all over the place. Mason is describes as nonverbal~ what does that mean? ~ He cannot communicate when questioned? No writing or eye blinking?? Casey an expert does some tests but no attempt to communicate~ I was confused by this.
Story had me curious as well as confused.
I am positive this will make a fantastic ‘book club’ discussion.
I always love reading the author’s acknowledgements and/or Author’s Note. In this case, in her Acknowledgement our amazing author states~ This is her best work ever!
YIKES ~ What am I missing?
Will I read another Lucinda Berry novel ~ You Bet!!!!

Dr. Lucinda Berry is a former clinical psychologist and leading researcher in childhood trauma. She now spends her days writing full-time and uses her clinical experience in writing what turns out to be a fine line between fiction and nonfiction. She enjoys taking us readers on a journey through the dark recesses of the human psyche.
Want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me for my honest opinion.
Publishing Release Date was June 1, 2022

Personally I’d give this book 1,5 stars. It took me over half of the book to actually find it interesting. I love Lucinda’s other books so I was so excited to recieve this ARC but sadly I didn’t like it that much. The story itself would’ve been good but somehow I didn’t seem to like it. I can’t even really tell you why, only that it somehow felt weird and even the plot twists couldn’t really save this book for me.

I recommend other books from Lucinda but sadly couldn’t recommend this one.

This ramped up to something good like a billion times, but, ultimately, fizzled. Also the bits from the perspective of the child were sort of wincey.

Under Her Care was an interesting Thriller. This is my first Lucinda Berry book and she did a great job writing this one.

I had some issues with the autism rep in this book and I feel like in a way the ending helped me understand and come to terms with those issues.
I felt like the MC was kind of dumb in the beginning and the mystery of the story was not very engaging until the 50% mark.
This was a very easy read so the fact that the plot felt like it took 60% to get anywhere did not deter from the rating.

The ending was very thrilling, but it left so many openings for me wanting more than I was slightly disappointed because I wanted more.

Overall pretty good read!

3.5 stars

TW: abuse, autism, substance abuse, psychiatric hospitalization, parental rejection

I received this eGalley for review. Lucinda Berry’s experience as a child psychologist is always apparent in her writing. As a fellow mental health provider, I find her writing to be largely accurate and very informative. Her writing style is clinical and educational while also managing to be entertaining which I can appreciate. I did predict one of the twists from almost the very beginning but that might just be because I work in the field. I did have to suspend my disbelief that the MC who is a mental health professional took so long to figure it out. Regardless, I still enjoyed the plot twists; there are several. This is definitely a page turner. I loved the pacing and found my heart racing at several points in the story. Without spoiling it, , I did take off a star because I did not understand the motivation behind the biggest twist. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and Lucinda Berry’s storytelling.

okay what!!! This is my very first book about autism and for me it felt really well researched! I also like that there was (view spoiler). This book was creepy, interesting and overall 100% not expected which was crazy refreshing. You have psychologists, beauty queens, medical histories, law enforcement, CPS and more all involved and you never get to the point where you know the real answer until the very last sentence.. what a trip! 100% rec this book! (psych thriller)

As usual, don't think you've got this solved until you turn the let people! Another good one from Lucinda Berry! I also appreciate the focus on autism in this one...let's normalize it!

This is my first Lucinda Berry. I’ve been meaning to read her books for a while and I’m so glad I got this opportunity to do so through Netgalley.

This was so good! I liked the writing style. It was simple and to the point, no fillers. It was super fast paced and hooked me from the beginning. I read it in one go.
You get the perspective of Casey who is an autism expert they bring on to the case. Genevieve, the mom of the accused boy. And Mason, the accused boy.
I was so enthralled in the story I didn’t even have time to try and guess what the reveal would be.
The ending got crazy! And had a few twists.
I can’t wait to read more from this author.

I've read other Lucina Berry books and really enjoyed them. This one, however, felt like it was written quickly without much editing or completely thought out. I'm not that familiar with autism, so I don't have a strong opinion on that part of the book. I can see why people who know a lot about autism would have a problem with this book and characters though - the son, Mason; the mom, Genevieve; the sister, Savannah; the psychiatrist, Casey, and even the detective.

I would definitely recommend her other books. This one, not so much.

This book, Under Her Care, follows two southern girls, Casey and Genevieve as they navigate their life after being tangled up in a murder that involves Genevieve’s autistic son, Mason. It’s a psychological thriller story of two mothers and the lengths they would go to for their children and themselves.

This book started strong. I enjoyed getting into it, but as I progressed, I found myself just wanting everything to end. As I continued reading, the story became more and more absurd. I understand that this is a work of fiction and I have to suspend disbelief, but… it’s too much. I honestly, for the life of me, can’t accept that there’s a detective that… naive?

Honestly, the main reason the story set into motion didn’t make sense. Detective whatshisname needed Casey to talk to Mason… and then she proceeds to do everything else except interacting with the kid. We barely even get much of a look at Mason. But I get it, I really do, it just didn’t work for me.

The writing felt all over the place for me. I did appreciate all the information about autism. It’s something I’d love to learn more about, but there were parts where it’s complete information overload. I felt like I was reading a textbook at some point.

However, I do love how the psychological aspect of the book came into play. The manipulation, gaslighting, and confusion were all done well! I enjoyed that part. I wasn’t very shocked to find out that the author is a former clinical psychologist.

Sadly, the ending wasn’t it for me. I appreciate the cliffhanger but it just wasn’t exciting at all. I’m a little disappointed that some holes in the story weren’t patched up, but I guess it’s part of the book’s charm.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher/author for the eARC. I’m leaving this review voluntarily.

This book started off slow but once it got going I couldn’t put it down. Everytime the author revealed any type of clue I would make a bunch of different theories in my head. It was educating on ASD and had a captivating ending. I rated it four stars because I would’ve liked to hear more about what happened to some of the characters at the end but other than that it was a great read.

A solid 3 and a half stars. My first book by this Author and I loved her style and already downloaded two more that sounded great. I can’t wait to continue reading more by her. This book was a bit twisted and took some unexpected turns with a surprise finish. It had me hooked and engaged while trying to be a master detective to find who was the real bad guy in all this… can’t wait to read more.

I thought this book was absolutely amazing. I loved the twists and turns, and the ending was nothing that I would have guessed.

What a twist! Once I started this book I could not put it down. I love Lucinda Berry and this story didn't disappoint. We are taught that our mothers are supposed to love us and protect us but some times... that just isn't how it works out.

wow! I was not disappointed at all by the end of this book! I wasn’t sure when I requested it, how good it would be in terms of twists and keeping me emotionally invested but this pulled the air out of my lungs! I had such back and forth hatred for the main characters and a constant hatred for the detective. Everything was written so well. The characters felt real and in turn made me feel such in depth emotion toward them.. I was taken aback. The story itself, incredible. I loved the plot, the twists and surprises were absolutely fantastic! I don’t think I have a single bad thing to say about this book! Thank you for allowing me to read it!

Under Her Care, by Lucinda Berry
Published:
Rating: 5/5
Berry delivers yet another thriller that keeps you right on the edge of your seat. Genevieve is everything that a mother ought to be – caring, attentive and always putting the needs of her child first. Behind closed doors, however, she is a monster that will stop at nothing to maintain control and her polished public image. I devoured this book in one day, because it really is a page-turner. Genevieve is one of the best villains that I’ve loved to hate. You can really see Berry’s background in psychology when reading her too. She is the type of sociopath that we have nightmares about, and I loved how unpredictable she was. She was practically demonic, whilst never crossing into the domain of the unbelievable. I can only commend Berry for her sensitive handling of autism too. We rarely see characters with autism in fiction, and it’s something we should see more of.
Under her Care is an excellent story, and that twist at the end is brutal (but no spoilers!)

Lucinda Berry draws on her expertise as a child psychologist in Under Her Care.

When the mayor's wife is murdered and nearby is the 14 year old austic son of a well known wealthy woman in town (covered in blood no less). It seems like a slam dunk. The detectives have their hands full however, and call in a local expert in children with autism - Casey Walker. Casey acts as a consultant but she has her suspicions....

If you like complicated family dynamics, thrillers with a dash of psychology, and of course a "who done it?" then Under Her Care is for you #thomasmercer #netgalley #Underhercare

I love Lucinda Berrys books but this one disappointed. It wasn’t a page turner like the others. I felt the characters were underdeveloped and the story wasn’t very interesting. It was easy to see where the story was going and there were few surprises.

This one was just ok for me. I enjoyed the writing style and the discussion about autism. I had some issues with the pacing of the story but overall 3 star read.

This was my first read by Lucinda Berry and while this wasn’t my #1 thriller read of the year, I’ll be happy to try out the Perfect Child sometime soon.

You’ll love this read if you enjoy psychological thrillers!

Former Miss USA Genevieve Hill annoyed the living heck out of me and I suppose that’s a testament to the author’s writing.

There were two things that made me knock off one star:
1. I have people in my life that I love that have autism, but not in my immediate family. I do think the way certain aspects of autism are portrayed could be considered as insensitive or misrepresented by people who have a much more direct experience with autism. I understood where the narrative was going, but the way it is interpreted may feel different for other readers.

2. I wanted a little more from the ending! I needed to know just a little bit more to have closure.

Overall, this book did not disappoint! I’ll be thinking about the truths revealed for days to come.