JP Delaney has done it again. What an incredibly, gripping psychological thriller. It had me on the edge of my seat and I could not put it down. Fast paced with plenty of twists.

Full of twists and turns this is what I love about a JP Delaney book, the idea of the child you gave up getting in touch could have been a story all on its own but this becomes a brilliant thriller that makes you wonder and guess at the truth.

The characters are easy to follow and you really want to work out whats happened and what people are hiding. I felt invoved in the story!

What an amazing read. Full of manipulative characters and a tense unique plot this author is one of the best at psychological thrillers. Highly recommended read.

4.75⭐️

This is one of my favourite authors as he manages to come up with unique plot lines. So I was excited to read this psychological thriller.

Susie and Gabe have an idyllic lifestyle. Gabe was a successful musician Susie’s musical career is on the rise. Susie gave up a child called Sky for adoption, Gabe’s daughter Leah died from leukaemia. They haven’t been able to have a child together which has left them gutted.
Suddenly Susie is contacted by someone claiming to be the adopted child.

The story is told from Gabe, Susie’s and Anna’s POV.
It grabbed my interest immediately, keeping me totally engrossed throughout which isn’t an easy thing to achieve with psychological thrillers, a lot are slow burns which just isn’t my style.

It’s a totally immersive read, got a great pace, lots going on throughout. I liked Gabe and Susie, both far from perfect, both have flaws.

It’s quite dark, there are quite a few themes sensitively explored through the book which I won’t mention incase readers want to go in blind. It’s very character driven, the characters are all very well developed, feeling very real. One thing that I will say there’s a family dog who doesn’t get harmed, as I feared that was a very real possibility.

This is an excellent book, one I’d highly recommend. If you loved Lucinda Berry’s Perfect Child you’ll love this.

Wow , what an absolutely brilliant book . So tense right from the start. I loved the characters and I could understand the way all of them acted and I did have a lot of sympathy for them . Can’t rave about this book enough , definitely worth reading . 5 stars from me , can’t wait for the next from this brilliant author

This book has one of the most spine chillingly manipulative characters I have ever come across and she is fifteen years old.

The adults aren’t much better either, being musicians they have pasts filled with drug taking and sex with groupies.

After numerous miscarriages Susie is desperate to be a mother and give Gabe a family. So when a fifteen year old girl called Anna contacts her via social media claiming to be Sky, the daughter she gave away years ago, could Susie finally get what she craves? After all she’s claiming her adoptive parents are abusive and she calls him ‘the monster’.

“Careful what you wish for” seems highly appropriate as their well ordered lives are about to be set on fire. Anna is a pathological liar, she is cunning, clever and always ten steps ahead.

Told via multiple narration we are privy to everyone’s thoughts and I have to say being inside Anna/Sky’s head felt dangerously fun. While Susie felt more needy and desperate, making Gabe the only genuine and likeable one among them and he’s accused of sleeping with underage girls so you know how bad the others are.

The real fun was the dread of what Sky would do next and how bad things would become for everyone. My only niggle was I wanted a different ending to the one I got.

This is a fast-paced thriller full of tension. Musician couple Suzie and Gabe find their world rocked when a teenage girl gets in touch claiming to be the daughter Suzie gave up for adoption years before. As they welcome her into their lives, the quickly realise there is more to the story than they initially believed. The narrative is split between the three main characters, giving the reader an insight into their behaviour and motivations. There is a lot of secret-keeping, and often the tension comes from characters making unexpected decisions or failing to be honest with each other. I didn’t find any of the main characters likeable or particularly relatable, but it’s a real page turner.

Yaaaaaas, this was everything I hoped it would be & JP Delaney is fast becoming one of my go to thriller authors!

It’s rare to find a book that you physically can’t put down & this was so moreish! The short chapters & alternating perspectives keep things ridiculously pacy & I ended up powering through the story in one sitting. If you were a fan of “Playing Nice” I think this would be your vibe.

I personally love fiction that is based around motherhood & parent/child dynamics so this book had a head start from the beginning. I did get a little frustrated with the lack of realism around some of the twist & turns but I suspended my disbelief & everything came together in the end. I also think it’s important to note that there is a false sexual assault claim used as a plot device which I think could be quite divisive. I don’t generally like to see this in fiction because I don’t think that particular representation is helpful or needed. That being said, I appreciated the authors note & the clear research into the topics & themes of the book - of which I’m not an expert - so I felt comfortable that there wasn’t any negative intent behind it & that it could have some relevance in this particular narrative.

I’d never heard of the main topic discussed so, as much as I’m a sucker for the “is your child evil?” trope, I think if you’re getting weary of it this could be a fresh take.

3.5 stars

When Susie Jukes is contacted by 15 year old Anna claiming to be the baby she gave up for adoption, she could have no idea how meeting her long lost daughter would affect her life.

This was a fast-paced read told from three different character perspectives- Susie, her husband Gabe and Anna/Sky. This does well to show all sides of the story and gives greater characterisation for each of them, Anna/Sky in particular!

Fertility issues, including some quite graphic descriptions around miscarriage are covered which may be too much for some, but it is generally approached realistically, yet sensitively

This book went from being a simple story of a child reaching out to her biological mother to a dark and twisted tale of what a childhood in the care system can sometimes do to children and how the actions of the child’s birth mother can have a lasting effect.

A really gripping read with some emotive themes including adoption, trauma, abuse, consent and relationships. I loved the way the author brings the factual into the storyline clearly showing the level of research gone into this book, making it more than just a 'story'. Also some of the author's narration of conversations between characters was really well written and thought provoking. I could easily see this storyline becoming a TV series. A great writer and great storyline!

Love this authors book but maybe it was the subject matter but this one didn’t grab me as the others have,I found it to be past unbelievable at times,did finish it as had to see how ended,look forward to the authors next book

I need to start this review with a trigger warning for miscarriage. If anyone is struggling with raw grief for miscarriage, please leave reading this book for a while. As the start of this book talks in depth of miscarriage, at various different stages of pregnancy.

Susie’s music career is looking up, Silverlink are starting to play bigger venues, with hope for more media coverage. Her marriage to Gabe, is extremely happy, but they are suffering multiple miscarriages. Out of the blue, she receives a message from someone claiming to be her 15 year old daughter that she gave up for adoption. Naturally, Susie is nervous and excited, and Gabe wants to support her through this journey into the unknown.

The book has chapters with alternating narration between Susie, Gabe and Sky, which gives a good insight into the emotions and motivations of each of the characters.
The book flows very well, I read through the chapters very quickly, eager to read what was going to happen next.

I found the main three characters so frustrating, for different reasons. There was so much naivety from some characters, that I just wanted to give them a good shake. The fact that the book got under my skin is the sign of good writing, that really drew me in. The psychology element made for very interesting reading too. There are some weighty issues covered in the book, heavy difficult subjects, which are explored well and sensitively. A dark and disturbing 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read.

This book had me gripped from the word go, had me guessing and second guessing what was going to happen and changing my opinions of each of the characters as I went. I loved the short chapters and the multiple pov’s and thought the main characters were really well done and developed…one made me feel so angry! Sadly for me the ending did let it down.

Twist, turns, psychological thrills. This book has everything you would expect from a JP Delaney book.

As someone who has actively chosen not to have children, I find it difficult to gel with stories where parenting in some form or other is a main theme. This book, while obviously covering a lot of parenting ground, was a lot darker and twistier than story about parenting.

Total Good Me, Bad Me by Ali Land vibes, but I enjoyed this one more than GMBM. Maybe because while somewhat psychotic, there were still redeeming characteristics. Or at least a pathway to redemption.

I’m going with 3.5 stars for this one, I’m going through a bit of a meh reading slump and I’m sure that’s why my enjoyment wasn’t higher. It definitely was me, not the story.

Many thanks to JP Delaney, Quercus Books, and NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

JP Delaney does it again with the most suspenseful domestic thriller I have read in a while! A mother who had given her daughter up for adoption begins to wonder if all is well with the family raising her child. Scary and compelling!

I normally love J P Delaney’s books, but unfortunately I’ve had to DNF this book at 27% - I’ve tried but I just can’t keep reading. I think this book is so far-fetched and unrealistic, everything has happened so suddenly and I just can’t imagine it ever happening in real life. I also really don’t like the main characters and they’re all annoying me. When I’m 27% into a book, struggling with the storyline and disliking the characters, I just don’t want to read any more. So unfortunately this is a DNF for me. I will still read future books by J P Delaney, but this one just isn’t for me.

This is a family drama as much as it is a psychological thriller, and as such a tough read at times. By this I mean it's thought-provoking and sad (and yes, a little depressing) rather than say, gory or violent.

It starts when Susie Jones is contacted by 15-yr-old Anna, who she hasn't seen since she gave her up for adoption as a baby. Anna is upset, she hates her current life, she is eager to get to know her birth mum.

How delightful for Susie, or so you'd think. First she's beset with guilt for giving Anna up in the first place, and second she's devastated to find out she's been living in a horrible situation with monstrous adoptive parents... but just how bad are they? And who's telling the truth? What if Anna is really damaged and doesn't care who she hurts...?

We get three perspectives here, Anna, Susie and Susie's husband. It's interesting to see how Anna's interpretation of events is different to everyone else's and it's quite skilfully done. At the same time, the characters don't always make good decisions and that can get frustrating sometimes.

I'd recommend this more to people seeking an intriguing family drama over a psychological suspense thriller.

A quick paced thriller - told from three different perspectives, the story unfolded nicely, however some of the twists were unbelievable. The characters were also frustrating with the decisions they made!

What another fantastic read by this author never disappointed what they write always has me on the edge of my seat highly recommend