Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Other Side of Night.

Yes, there is a great twist, and no, I won't give it away because it's worth it to read the novel to get to the end.

I will say I guessed one part of the twist but not who the main character is.

Twist aside, there were a few cons to The Other Side of Night:

Harriett is super annoying.

At times, I forgot she's supposed to be a distinguished detective but her obsession with a guy she meets after three dates is immature and frankly, disturbing.

I get that she's lonely and longs for companionship but her constant thoughts about this guy she had an amazing connection was repetitive, tedious, and unnecessary.

She sounded like a teenybopper mooning after a celebrity crush or the hot jock in her class.

The writing is good, but a slog to get through.

There's plenty of exposition, but it's wordy, almost purple. There are long ruminating paragraphs about truth, and the existential meaning of truth and life experience and time and is it linear.

I also found the poetry parts of the narrative kind of corny, even though I like poetry and poets of great renown.

The twist is a good one, but I wish it didn't take so long to get to the heart of the story.

A hard edit and less heavy handed writing would have made this a more enjoyable read.

Interesting and well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. Just a little slow and unbelievable at some points. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I agree that it’s best to go in blind! This book took an unexpected turn which gained it an extra star from me in the end. Slow to start and with overlapping storylines this book didn’t necessarily grab me for quite some time, However at no point did I consider putting it down! As the book progresses, the author starts putting it altogether in such an incredible yet unexpected way, this is a book that will stick with me for some time.

This was an interesting book, somewhat slow and with multiple overlapping storylines. It is both a mystery, a love story, and a philosophical book. There is a lot to think about as the story unfolds and as per requested by the author, no hints at the plotline

I received and Advanced Copy of The Other Side of Night and it was quite unlike any book I normally read, in the best way.

It was recommended to go into the book completely blind and not reading the synopsis. It was described as a mystery/thriller and that’s all I knew when I started this book. I also would recommend avoiding the synopsis or reviews if you are going to read it. This book takes you on a ride from the very first page. Adam Hendry manages to seamlessly tell a story of murder while also including poetry and love in a way I’ve yet to read. The rest of my review will have more details but as I said, if you can, just pick up this book in September and start reading!

The Other Side of Night starts with Detective Harriet Kealty having a chance encounter with a book that sends her asking questions about a woman’s potentially suspicious death. The first three fourths of this book follows along much like any normal detective story would. However, towards the end it takes a sci-fi twist. I would never pick up a sci-fi book to read but I think this may have changed my mind towards the genre. Adam Hendry managed to work time travel into a mystery thriller in a way that didn’t seem forced or overdone.

I really enjoyed this book! I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to dip their toe into the sci-fi genre.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this advanced copy!

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We start the book with David Asha telling us a story about the day he abandoned his son Elliott.

We then follow Harriet Kealty, a disgraced ex-cop, as she discovers a mysterious inscription left behind in a used book she purchases: Help me, He's trying to kill me. This spurs her into investigating this further. Who is she and who is trying to kill her?

Harri is then led to David Asha, whose wife left that mysterious inscription, and finds out that his wife Beth has recently died of cancer....or did she?

She decides to stop by to ask him a few questions but imagine her surprise when Ben Elmys answers the door. Ben, her one true love, the one that broke her heart into a million pieces. What is he doing here?

Turns out David Asha is also dead. Believed to be suicide from jumping off a cliff in his grief for the loss of Beth and now Ben is guardian to their son, Elliott. However, Ben doesn't seem himself, certainly not the man she had fallen in love with. Now he seems unhinged as if he's about to have a mental breakdown and her concern for Elliott grows. This man should not be caring for a child in this state.

I can say no more. Honestly, I wouldn't know what to say even if I tried. This book is completely bewildering. My mind was constantly spinning wondering how all the connections would come together. While the stories are wildly different my reading experience with this was similar to The Last House on Needless Street. Anyone who has read that will understand what I'm trying to say. I was utterly transfixed in my confusion. I just had to know what was happening.

Then when I found out what was happening it got a little too fantastical for my taste. This is pretty out there and I won't pretend to be intelligent enough to say I understood this. Physics is not my forte by any means. There is a lot of waxing philosophical and poetry both of which really aren't my thing either. Yet I can honestly say I enjoyed this even if I didn't understand all of it. It's an astonishing piece of fiction and it's going to blow the mind of many readers. 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for my complimentary copy.

This was an interesting story about time travel, love, and grief. The book was EXTREMELY slow and didn’t actually pick up until the ending (last 15%). It had a strong beginning that caught my attention. I love reading messages in old books and this one starts off with an eerie message but then it sorta goes down hill from there. I think the story is interesting but could have been executed a little better.

As you can see by the publisher description, readers and reviewers like me have been asked not to summarize The Other Side of Night in our reviews, in order to keep the veil of mystery over this unusual novel. The book is marketed as a mystery/thriller, but is more mystery with SyFy elements, which is the only hint I’ll provide. The book is so unusual, though, I’m willing to bet you won’t be able to guess the plotlines until the story unfolds.

If you’re looking for something different to read in your favorite genre, this novel, set in England, might be for you. I haven’t read earlier works by Adam Hamdy, but liked this novel, since it was so different from my usual fare. I especially liked the female protagonist, Harri, a police detective, fired from her job with her local department, and how that disgrace altered the course of her life.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for offering an ARC of this book to read and review. This review will appear on Bayside Book Reviews at https://BaysideBookReviews.com and its Instagram page on release day. *NetGalley Top Reviewer*

It was a long slog until the twisty surprise manifested in the novel. The varied narrative voices and formats led me to have to reset mentally for each read, not in a good way. I love a twisty story and also time travel, but this one missed the mark a bit for me.

I read that you should go into this book without knowing what it’s about, so I did. I wish I had known this, however- it takes a sci-fi/fantasy turn. I absolutely cannot stand anything science-fiction in the books I read and try to steer clear because it’s a turn-off. I know many people enjoy it so if you are one of them, then by all means read this book! It’s super well written and I was really enjoying it up until it took a bit of a turn.

PLOT:

The Other Side of Night begins with a man named David Asha writing about his biggest regret: his sudden separation from his son, Elliot. In his grief, David tells a story.

Next, we step into the life of Harriet Kealty, a police officer trying to clear her name after a lapse of judgment. She discovers a curious inscription in a secondhand book—a plea: Help me, he’s trying to kill me. Who wrote this note? Who is “he”?

This note leads Harri to David Asha, who was last seen stepping off a cliff. Police suspect he couldn’t cope after his wife’s sudden death. Still, why would this man jump and leave behind his young son? Quickly, Harri’s attention zeroes in on a person she knows all too well.

Ben Elmys: once the love of her life. A surrogate father to Elliot Asha and trusted friend to the Ashas.

Ben may also be a murderer.

I feel like this might become a movie, its got the potential to be a Benjamin Button type of film!

Coming out on September 27.

This one we different than I was expecting. We dig into a family and find many unexpected things.
A little bit mystery, expect the unexpected.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

I am sure that others will absolutely love this book, but it was not my favorite. Told from multiple perspectives, the prominent one is Harri Kealty, a disgraced former police officer who starts an investigation into a former flame and his ward. Ben Elmys is the caretaker for Elliot after his parents die, one from sickness, one from suicide and in rapid succession. But Harri is convinced something is off about the situation and starts digging. Little did she know the secrets she would discover.

What I took at face value to be your classic mystery, was in fact much more. Part mystery, part philosophy and part science fiction, Hamdy has created a unique novel.

The plot and premise of this was very interesting, but I thought the characters and writing were a bit weak. I never quite connected with any of the characters and something about the writing was jarring to me. Still, that might be more of a personal preference so I would probably still recommend it to anyone looking for something out of the box.

This was UNBELIEVABLE!!!!! You will NOT see this coming. You will NOT believe the twists you are slammed with. And you will be a blubbering mess in the end. When I hit that mark of all coming together I was absolutely shook! This is truly a one of a kind thrill mystery with a dash of sci-fi read.

You have to pay attention and the book is a layered onion but so much sweeter. You start peeling away all these layers! You begin thinking this is a police hunt type of story, then you jump into grief and sacrifice and then swerve into something other worldly. Don’t investigate into this one, just read it and be ready for an intellectual, thought provoking, can’t-put-down story.

Thank you Atria Books and netgalley for the outstanding arc in exchange for my honest review.

This one is difficult for me to rate, and it's hard to do a proper review without giving too much of the plot away. I loved Part 1 of the novel, but in Part 2, it goes off in a direction that you would never expect and it didn't really work for me. I wasn't expecting a sci-fi, and when you find out what really happened, it's a thriller anymore.

I liked the way the story was written with the preface from David Asha, and the way court documents and articles are used to help tell the story.

This one will keep you guessing, and you won't ever figure out where it's going. This is both a good and bad thing as I was disappointed by how out there the resolution was. 3.5 stars rounded down.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3⭐️

This book is twisty and I don’t want to spoil anything related to the plot, so my review is mostly going to be about other aspects of the book. However, I can definitely say the twist was GREAT and I did not see it coming!!

My issue with the book was basically everything before the twist. There is a female main character, and it was painfully obvious she was written by a man. She was so one dimensional, and her only motivations during the book were surrounding a man she was in love with after two dates. I was rolling my eyes at the authors descriptions of her thoughts/behaviors. I wish he would have given his own character more credit and written her to be more layered and real. Unfortunately this really tainted my feelings about the book overall.

It was a very quick read which I loved, but I found myself just wanting to kinda fast forward during the middle. It got a bit repetitive.

The preface SUCKED ME IN. What a great hook.

Honestly this had potential to become a new favorite thriller - but the authors depiction of the women in the book really bothered me.


*Thank you to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

My head is spinning after reading this absolutely bloody brilliant book. On the surface it appears to be a crime thriller, but there are so many twists and turns to the plot that keep you can’t stop reading. As others have noted, it’s tough to review a book where the publisher requests that as little info as possible be given, and I agree that not having read blurbs about the novel helped immensely with my enjoyment of the book. Intricately crafted and one of the best books I’ve experienced this year.

Many thanks to Atria Books and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of The Other Side of Night.

I agree with the reviewers who have written: "What the heck did I just read??" I also agree with the reviewers who have written: Go into the book completely blind! Don't even read the synopsis!! That is what I opted to do and I have no regrets. The challenge, however, is how on earth to review The Other Side of Night. I found the book to be intriguing and thought-provoking. There were a few times I found myself too confused to continue reading - but I kept reading reviews that stated the final quarter of the book would leave no twist unexplained ... so I kept reading. Amazing. Just amazing. (My brain still feels a wee bit boggled, though!)

The Other Side of Night has been described as a mystery/thriller but I feel it's every bit science fiction, as well. I recommend it!

The introduction to the summary for this book said NOT to read the summary and just go in blind, and not not tell anyone about the mind-bending twist in the end. Naturally this enthralled me more than any summary could. But unfortunately, I was bored ALL the way through this book. Didn't care about any of the characters or the mystery aspect. I was just reading to find what the big twist was. The promised "twist" I eventually got to was reminiscent of other sci-fi thrillers I've read. I was able to guess the general direction things were going in, and when entirely different genre was introduced in the last quarter of the book, it felt rushed and frankly kind of silly and ridiculous (all those stars covering their bodies when the "thing" happens?).

Wow. I really, really enjoyed this book! I loved how it hooked me from the first chapter and kept me hooked the whole time.