Behind Her Lives by Briana Cole is a gripping psychological thriller that delves into the complexities of family secrets, identity, and the lengths one will go to uncover the truth. The story follows Deven, who is called to identify the body of a woman believed to be her sister, Kennedy. However, Deven quickly realizes that the deceased is not her sister, sparking a desperate search for Kennedy and the truth behind her disappearance. As Deven unravels a web of lies and hidden lives, the novel propels with interesting twist and turns.

Cole masterfully weaves a tale of suspense and intrigue, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. Deven’s journey is not just about finding her sister but also about confronting her own past and the secrets that have shaped her life. Behind Her Lives is a riveting and thought-provoking novel that will keep readers guessing until the very end.

Good easy read! I enjoyed the characters and the mystery! There are many twists and turns and at times it did seem to bounce around a little but it was a fast read for me!

This story was a wild suspenseful ride filled with a couple of good plot twists. There were a lot of twists that tried to deter you and I'll admit I was questioning people that ultimately ended up not being a factor in the end. The writing was very well done.

I have only read one prior book by Briana Cole and I loved it, so I was excited when she reached out and asked if I would like to read and review a copy of her debut psychological thriller. Deven and Kennedy are sisters, and the book starts off with Deven having to go and identify Kennedy’s body, except she knows said body is not Kennedy’s. Confused as to what is happening, this sets her off on her own investigation and she soon realizes Kennedy may not actually be missing, she may not want to be found. And that Deven may not have known who her sister truly was.

My goodness this was twisty, intense, and did not end in any sort of way that I thought it would. It was a one sitting read that I enjoyed so very much. I listened to this via audio and thought it was really good this way.

Thank you to Kensington and NetGalley for the digital copy to review.

Books that make you WANT to read are extra special. Briana Cole knocked this out of the park. She’s quickly establishing herself as the GOAT of urban suspense/thriller. She weaves a who-dunit tale that has you second guessing every character and their motives. I didn’t see the end coming and didn’t even consider that as a possibility until it was almost too late. Expertly written, 5 stars and I’ve literally already added book 2 to my “”wish list” and went back and ordered the quasi-prequel. So excited to indulge more into her works.

I love this cover! It absolutely represents this book - perfection!
Deven is called to identify her sister's body - only to discover the body is not her sister. But there must be some sort of connection. A clue Kennedy wanted Deven to find.
Deven desperately takes apart her sister's live - struggling with the grief of possibly never seeing her again, not being able to to help her or even figure out the mystery.

There has yet to be a book from this author that I have not enjoyed. Not one of her stories are conventional, and every one will shock you and have you looking at people in general a little differently. I finished this story a bit ago, and I'm still at a loss of words. NGL, this book still has me a little messed up, but not in a bad way (at least to me it's not). It took me on such a ride and had my feelings all over the place. I was completely captivated by the story, and it held my attention right until the very end. I was so upset when I had to stop to do life things like sleep and go to work. It was wild and crazy and I can't wait for the author's next book.

I’m not a fan of leaving negative reviews so I tend to sit on them.
Every book has a reader and this book didn’t fit the reader in me.
The plot was very similar to a prior book I recently read and that one was done better.
There were holes in the plot and the timing felt very off.
I didn’t connect with the characters due to the writing.

The book started off great but, by the middle, I wasn’t loving it. Some of the lackluster feel came from some of the grammatical mistakes that I read. But also the characters did things that seemed unrealistic and inauthentic —which made the story less believable and, therefore, me as a reader, less invested .
I didn’t hate it—just didn’t love it. Would like to give this author another try, though. If the end of the book had been as great as the beginning, this could have been 5 stars.

I called the ending. This book was disappointing. I waited so long to read it, and the premise seemed promising, but it just fell short for me. I’m really upset about that.

Deven is told her sister has been found dead in her apartment. So when she is shown the corpse of the woman found in Kennedy’s apartment, why is that not her sister she is looking at? Deven goes on the search for her sister, and finds more than she bargained for.

The characters were one dimensional, with little character development. I found it odd that Deven, as head strong as she seemed, would remain in a relationship with someone who chose to live and work in another state after they had been in a relationship for some time.

The writing was fine, with sprinkles of good descriptions. Told in third person, with a nonlinear timeline, the story was easy to read. I think this book started off very strong with the writing, but it tapered off quickly.

The copy of the book I had was an advanced copy of the e-book. In this particular copy, there were so many syntax and grammatical errors that I ended up becoming distracted by it.

[SPOILERS IN THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH]
Assuming these errors were corrected for final publication, I still think the plot was an issue. There was at least one plot hole that I could not stop thinking about. For example, the miscarriage that Kennedy had that took place before Deven’s miscarriage - but Paul said Kennedy/Amber’s miscarriage was after Deven’s. Assuming that Kennedy had another miscarriage before this, it still wasn’t explained - the timeline was off.

There was one instance where the writing felt insensitive towards Indigenous peoples.

I read an e-arc of this book. Per StoryGraph, this book has 320 pages. I requested this book because the plot seemed very intriguing. After becoming annoyed with all the errors, I lost interest, and only continued to find out what the secret was.

I did not enjoy this book, and I do not recommend this book.

As a rating, I’d say that: I finished the book, but it was a struggle - equating to a 2/5.

Trigger warnings include: mental illness, rape, alcoholism, miscarriage, assault, graphic images of an injured infant, suicide, child neglect.


Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Devin is told her sister Kennedy was found dead from an overdose. She doesn’t believe it because she was suppose to be out of town on vacation. When she goes to identify the body she discovers that it is not her sisters body. Now she is on a mission to find her and find out what happened. Full of twists and she realizes how little she knows her sister. Well written and easy to follow.
Thank you Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a pretty good read. The mystery aspect of the story was not as engaging as I would have liked. I didn’t feel like I HAD to know what was happening. The overall story and how it ended was entertaining but just didn’t knock me off my seat. Still a good one if you’re looking for something a little different.

Behind Her Lives
Briana Cole

Intense
Addictive
Fast Paced

I enjoyed this fast paced page turner that was suspenseful and thrilling. Briana Cole’s writing is so immersive that from the first chapter, I have to know what is happening with Devan as she receives news about her sister’s death and the circumstances surrounding this. As we learn more and get deeper into the story, the craziness of the situation is what pulls me I. To turn the pages as fast as I can.

Overall this is such a fun thriller read. I want to read more of Cole’s books. Her writing is simply enthralling.

For fans of Briana Cole, Behind Her Lives offers her signature character development but with an added layer of danger in a world of secrets and drugs.
It took a little while for me to continue to follow the story as it alternates between past and present but once the mystery presented itself, I was hooked.
There were a lot of moving pieces and little crumbs to follow plus the added flashbacks made this a wild read.
I enjoy her writing and it was awesome to read a book focused on sisters.

There were certainly a lot of twists in this book. I think some landed better than others but an effort was made. I like the premise of "how well do you really know anyone" when applied to sisters. I think there is always an expectation that sisters are either opposites or complete twins but what if you think you are close and then realize that you didn't know the half of what was going on? That was fun. I felt like some of the drama was drama for drama's sake and could have been cut or tightened up. The diary entries were a good way to introduce the sister in drips and drabs and keep the plot going.

Okay, this one was really good! I am learning to love suspense/thrillers. There was on piece I predicted BUT it wasn't anywhere near close to what actually happened so I only half predicted it.
This book is fun and full of twists and turns. I think the ending was a bit abrupt but I would still suggest it.

Behind Her Lives starts out with Deven being visited by the police, who inform her that her younger sister, Kennedy has been found dead of an apparent overdose in her apartment. From the start, Deven wants to believe it isn't true--her sister didn't do drugs and is traveling to the Dominican Republic. Taken to the. police station to identify her, she insists that the body they have is not her sister despite all evidence to the contrary. Is she just in denial? The police certainly think so. Deven takes matters into her own hands and starts trying to find Kennedy, finding out that she may not know her sister as well as she thinks.

Behind Her Lives was a quick read, that drew me in immediately with the premise and the action as Deven investigates and tries to prove the police wrong. Told mostly from Deven's point of view with some of Kennedy's diary entries mixed in, it jumps back-and-forth between present day, to different times before Deven's world is shattered by the police visit. At times this made the book feel disjointed and it got a little confusing. There are lots of twists and turns, some of which I saw coming and some I didn't, and a plethora of secrets and lies are uncovered. Deven is not always likable and makes some questionable choices, but at the end of the day, I wanted to see her succeed and found myself turning the pages quickly to get resolution. If you like psychological thrillers, mysteries, and multicultural books with lots of action, you will likely enjoy this one.

Early one morning, Deven receives disturbing news that her younger sister Kennedy has been found dead. Upon identifying the body, she firmly stayed that it's not her sister. In order to prove the authorities wrong, she begins her own search, and what she finds, will not only leave her troubled, but also in danger.

From page three, this book takes you on an emotional roller coaster…one that you don't want to get off, until you see it to the end! Packed full of secrets, scandal and drama, the touch on mental illness was pure genius. Just when you think you've seen and heard it all…here comes another piece to the puzzle. My favorite character was Paul. He was a genuine friend to Deven, even after discovering that was a pawn in the sick game, whereas my least favorite character was Justin. I was so happy to see him go, because I felt like he had a lot of buried secrets, as well.

This, by far, is the best psychological thriller that I've read this year. It will soon make an appearance on my Best Read of 2022, so stay tuned. Another stellar job by @bcoleauthor!

I love a good family thriller, especially when it involves sisters and this did not disappoint!

Deven does not believe her sister is dead, even when she is shown a picture that looks eerily like Kennedy.

This is a steady paced, dual timeline psychological thriller that kept me entertained, even though some of the backstory was a bit slower paced.

I loved Deven as a character, and could relate to her endless determination to find out what really happened to her sister!

While I did see some of the hints and twists throughout the book, the ending surprised me and I’m still undecided how I feel about it.

This book was too good!

What happens when the police show up to your door claiming your little sister is dead? And you just saw her, just spoke with her? This is Deven's dilemnia. Even when presented with the body, she doesn't believe it...can't believe it, won't. She's thinking sure, this stranger looks somewhat like my sister but yeah no. So to prove the cops wrong, Deven starts her own investigation and this leads her down a unexpected path. Did she really know Kennedy? Perhaps not.

Listen, this story was wild! Briana Cole put her whole foot in Behind her Lives. So many twisty plots and just when you think you as a reader have it all figured out, boom! The family dynamtics here were just nuts. And even though Deven had a lot going on in her life (while trying to find her not dead sister), imo she wasn't as innocent. Because hunny! that last diary entrance. I was like girl "you ain't shit" lmao! And it's not that people don't grow up and grow out of their feelings (sometimes) but Deven was somewhat playing victim and chile. But finding out that the Kennedy she was doing sisterly bonding with....well it wasn't. And the reason behind it all was even more wild. I'm just going to admit that I was a bit "happy" that Deven and her momma got play because what the what!

**the real Kennedy honestly didn't stand a chance with none of them folk, smh.

All and All, behind Her Lives was true Briana Cole style and I loved all of it. Definintely check this one out if you love mystery suspence and family drama.