This was a great thriller filled with twists, and several possible culprits...none of whom are likeable! They come from lives of wealth, privilege, and of course, secrets; which some of them will go to great lengths to keep hidden.

Unputdownable with dark + twisty themes. I was engaged throughout. Looking forward to more from this author.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

This book was ultimately not for me. I did not connect with the characters and did not enjoy the storyline.

The Opportunist was a pretty slow paced family drama with a secret surprise ending. I didn't see the ending coming and I'm not sure that it's my favourite because I prefer there to be more hints along the way, especially with something that big. That's just my personal preference though. Some of the other reveals I did see coming and they were a touch on the predicable side so who am I to judge.

This is exactly the type of book everyone needs to read once in awhile in a day while on vacation.

Women working together to take down rich old men who have treated them wrong.

Throw in a remote-ish island, and a complex web of family drama and deceit.

Loved it!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher of an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was good. Quick read, easy to get into. Was fun while it lasted.

✨BOOK REVIEW✨
The Opportunist
By Elyse Friedman

I enjoyed this one! I do read a lot of psychological thrillers, and this one was pretty good as far as the genre goes!

I did find a few spots of this book to be unbelievable, but hey, that’s the fun of fiction right?

The characters were good, and the storyline had me guessing with all the twists and turns, which is exactly what I expect to see in a thriller!

This one is worth the read, and it’s out now so grab yourself a copy!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thanks so much to @harpercollinsca for sending me an e arc of this to review!

QOTD: White Christmas or Green Christmas?
A: Mine is extremely cold and white this year!🥶

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I really enjoyed this twisty domestic thriller. I felt that itbwas well paced and kept you guessing until the very end.

Alanna is a single mother and works at a local womans shelter in Toronto. She haa been estranged from her wealthy family for years but when her stepfather is about to marry a nurse who is more than half his age. Her stepbrothers are quick to get in touch with Alanna to help them hatch a plan to prevent the wedding from happening.

A huge thank you to Harper Collins Canada, the Killer Crime Club and netgalley for an Arc in exchange for an honest review.

“𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈’𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒔𝒉𝒆’𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚.”

When I heard of this novel at a HCC Influencers event, I knew I had to read it. A Canadian set novel with a rich family and a possible gold digger? Sign me up!

Elyse Friedman writes a page turner that has major Talented Mr. Ripley vibes; it was a quick read with despicable characters who are all opportunists in their own way. I loved that the first half of the book builds to the fateful party on the boat, which really then sets the last half of the book on a roller coaster ride. The coast of Vancouver Island setting added to the isolation and feeling of distrust; I always love to read a Canadian set book and seeing a mention of Halifax was so fun. There were a lot of interesting developments and twists. One the of twists is incredibly uncomfortable but also fits within the narrative and motive well (check out trigger warning beforehand though). I did find the writing bounced around some and felt like it was “telling” through dialogue a little more than I would’ve liked, but it didn’t stop my enjoyment of this rich family drama.

The Opportunist is a story of wealth, family secrets, privilege and power. It would adapt well for a TV series, and would make for a great beach read. Thank you to Harper Collins Canada and NetGalley for the ARC!

4.5 STARS - The Opportunist is a hard-to-put-down thriller filled with twists and a gaggle of potential culprits from a dysfunctional family who aren't overly likeable but are oh-so-intriguing. Their lives are filled with wealth, privilege, and secrets which some members will do anything to keep hidden.

Set in a secluded, private island off the coast of Vancouver, the story focuses on Alana, the estranged daughter of the wealthy Shropshire family who has purposely spent decades away from her family. When her brothers enlist her help to put the kibosh on their father's impending wedding to his decades younger former personal nurse, Alana is pulled back into the family and all its emotional baggage and secrets.

This is a story filled with suspicion, secrets, and lies which pile up as the body count climbs and readers are faced with trying to figure out the identity of the murderer. The author pulls the reader into her story and deftly reveals the secrets and deceptions of her characters which kept me second-guessing and ultimately surprised me with the final twist. Well done, Ms. Friedman. Well done!

This is a delightfully dark and twisty story about estrangement, rivalry, power, and greed that was hard to put down, clever, and entertaining. Before beginning this book, I didn't realize Elyse Friedman was Canadian, and a Torontonian t'boot! This was a pleasant surprise to this Canuck who is eager to read more from this new-to-me author.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to MIRA for the advanced digital copy they provided me in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun read! Classic story of an older man marrying a super young woman and his kids aren’t happy about it. Okay, okay, cool. But then the father has a twisted secret. And his sons are scheming. And his daughter who acts separated from it all may not be quite as innocent as she makes herself seem…

It gave off some amazing billionaire murder mystery vibes and I was hooked from the beginning. There were a lot of developments that I didn’t see coming, and it actually got a lot darker than I thought it would (PLEASE check trigger warnings if you’re nervous).

My main complaint is that I wanted more detail and build-up! Big reveals happened and I felt like they were just sort of shoved into the story. The plot was so intense and I think that the author could’ve taken advantage of that.

Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for my gifted copy. This review is posted on my Goodreads and my Bookstagram page.

This book was just ok for me. For some reason I hard a hard time getting into it. I don’t know if I was confused by all the characters or I felt like the characters were a little bland. I struggled. It ended up being an ok book but I do want to say that the writing was good so I’m sure that others will enjoy it! It just wasn’t for me.

A sly and clever mashup of perhaps the most dysfunctional family ever, a stylishly-plotted mystery, and a behind-the-scenes fantastical look at the audacious lifestyles of the fabulously wealthy, all rolled into one addictively-suspenseful package that is sure to keep you reading.

Alana is a thirty-something volunteer at a women’s shelter, a woman struggling to make ends meet, and a conscientious care-taker for her much-loved and health-compromised pre-teen daughter. Alana is also deeply estranged from her strange and troubled family - beginning with her coldly authoritative billionaire father, Ed (a widower), and extending to her two handsome, scheming “Ed-lite” brothers, Teddy and Martin.

When Alana is summoned to the family island off the coast of Vancouver (yes, you heard that right!) after septuagenarian Ed’s stroke, to meet his new fiancé - a petite, twenty-eight year-old, frizzy-haired nurse - who is clearly hiding something (or is she?), it is not at all clear what game is being played and even more confusingly, by whom?

As glimpses into long-held family secrets slowly and tantalizingly materialize, present-day tensions escalate and the backdrop of constant and now out-of-control maneuverings threaten to turn deadly.

Without giving the plot away (no spoilers here), Alana (and the reader) can count themselves in for a wild ride, with twists and turns and a shocker of an ending that for this reader, came out of nowhere.

A wonderful read, loads of fun and completely compelling, this is a book to curl up with on a day when oodles of time presents itself. I guarantee you won’t want to put this one down!

A great big thank-you to @HarperCollinsCA, @Netgalley, and the author for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

*** four and a half stars

Thanks to MIRA and NetGalley for the eARC.

TWs: child abuse, pedophilia, SA, death, eating disorder, fatphobia, murder

***
Succession but it’s CanCon. And the murders are calculated.

I’m not a big mystery or thriller reader, but The Opportunist was a gripping page-turner and I did not see any of the curveballs coming.

A dysfunctional family of billionaires - and the estranged black sheep, Alana - gather to celebrate their sick and aging father’s upcoming nuptials to a woman less than half his age. Labeled a gold-digger by the sons in the family business, there’s a scheme to get rid of the interloper. They’re even willing to bring in their estranged baby sister into the fold to get what they want. But Alana hasn’t forgotten her traumatic childhood on the sprawling familial estate, and she knows exactly what skeletons are in everyone’s closet. The reader is left guessing who Alana is really in it for and whether there’s any allegiance left to her family of origin - or if she simply wants to come out on top herself for once.

Take those TWs seriously, there’s some truly heinous um ~crimes.

There were twists and turns at every corner & I loved it all. This book was so hard to put down.

After a falling out with her dad & brothers, Alana becomes estranged from her rich family and prefers to live life as a hard working single mom who takes care of her daughter and has a meaningful job at a woman's shelter. When Alana's brother shows up at her house, and offers her a large sum of money to help them get rid of their 76 year old dad's gold-digger new wife who could potentially steal the brother's inheritance.

If you enjoy a good psychological thriller, you need to check this one out. This book was written perfectly, where the reader finally makes an assumption about a character only for there to be a reveal that changes your whole perception on them. While this book is written mostly in the main character Alana's POV, we do get some outside POVs as well after a few chapters that reveal more of the mystery. This made the plot very interesting & paced perfectly to keep the reader wanting more.

I am so happy with all the twists and turns & especially the ending. I will for sure be recommending this book to everyone I know. I even want to re-read the book myself just to see if there were any hints to the ending in the early portion of the novel.

The Opportunist is an exciting read. It was exciting, engaging and entertaining. Very few of the characters were likeable and just when you’d figured out who was good from those that weren’t you were thrown yet another surprise.

Alana is the single parent of a girl with a chronic, debilitating disease. She struggles to make ends meet, drives an old van ready to fall apart, and works at a job which makes a difference in the world.

She’s invited to the BC Coast island wedding of her step-father Ed to his much younger nurse-turned-romantic partner Kelly. Ed’s amassed a fortune and Alana’s step-brothers Teddy and Martin are concerned that Kelly is going to inherit Ed’s wealth once they are married. The brothers want Alana to help put a stop to this wedding. She is not close to her step-brothers and Ed, but makes the decision to attend.

And so begins a tale that is well-scripted and cleverly revealed. Memories from Alana’s past are featured throughout and frankly, I just wanted her to leave the island behind. The conclusion left me guessing until the end and was well worth the wait.

There are brief trigger warnings for the assault of children in this book which may be difficult for some. I do recommend this book to those readers who enjoy General Fiction with Thriller elements.

I received a DRC of this book from the publisher, but the thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

Friedman was born and still lives in Toronto. "The Opportunist" is her fourth novel and she has also written short stories, and poetry. This new book is a thriller set mostly on a private island off of Vancouver Island. It features Alana, who is a single mom of a daughter who has muscular dystrophy. She works at a women's shelter and struggles with her finances. She was raised by a stepdad who is extremely wealthy and has two stepbrothers, but she would prefer to have nothing to do with any of them. That becomes harder when her stepdad gets engaged to his decades younger nurse and the stepbrothers demand her help to get rid of her and protect their inheritance. This is a story of schemes and secrets, money and a righting of wrongs and is a wonderful recommendation for fans of the genre.

This was an average thriller read for me. Not a lot of character development and a predictable plot. An easy, pleasant read that could have had more twists and turns.

Thanks to Harper Collins Canada and Netgalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book was fast paced. I could barely put it down. It surprised me that it was absolutely plot driven while addressing social issues such as poverty, domestic abuse, child abuse, disability, and sexism. The combination felt both smart and exciting. The characters were mostly a challenge to like, but that made the story even better. As I read in prior reviews, there were several quick turns and twists in the plot that kept me guessing right until the end.

The netgalley review won't automatically post to Goodreads so I will post my 5 star rating there separately.

Alana gets a call from her brother that her wealthy, elderly father is marrying his 20-something nurse. Soon, everyone is fighting to get their hands on the inheritance. And things are not always as they seem... This book will keep you captivated, make you mad and leave you asking: which one is the real opportunist?

This story starts off the same as when any super rich old guy marries young woman a quarter of his age... with his kids getting pissed off that they may lose their part of the inheritance so they scheme to get rid of the gold-digger. But what happens when said gold-digger just won't leave?

I really liked this psychological thriller and highly recommend if you like dysfunctional families, twists and turns and are looking for a quick read under 300 pages that still packs a punch. It had a real Knives Out mixed with Succession vibe and leaves you wondering which family member is really the worst and most devious.

While it starts out as your straight forward money grabbing scheme, 2/3 into the book the plot turned much more sinister and darker. And that major twist at the end?! I did not see that one coming.

⚠️ TW for child pornography, abuse