Off the Deep End by Lucinda Berry

📚Honest Review📚

Fists of all, I want to thank @lucindaberryauthor for sending me her new book, I admire you and I really appreciate your gesture.

I have read all Berry’s work and I find her writing fascinating as she turns the complex simple and the inexplicable, part of human nature.

I have to admit that this is what fascinates me about her writing. How deep and well crafted her characters are and above all how relatable their stories turn out to be.

Off the Deep End is no exception and Berry delivers a complex plot beginning to end and very deep conflicts. There is always that touch of madness she knows how to play and also all her psychological knowledge displayed all over the plot.

Reading Between the Wines book review #52/130 for 2024:
Rating: 4 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book: Off the Deep End
Author: Lucinda Berry
Available now!

Sipping thoughts: The title is probably the most fitting of any book I have read. Jules' journey, after her son’s death, is a spiral down into mental illness. I can not imagine how it feels to save a life that results in your own child’s death. This story is full of sadness, grief, tragedy, mistakes and dealing with mental illness. In Berry fashion, this book gripped my heartstrings, and I did not know whether to be angry or feel sad for the characters.

Cheers and thank you to @ThomasAndMercer and @Netgalley for an advanced copy of @OffTheDeepEnd.

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Thank you Thomas Mercer & NetGalley for the opportunity to read this before publication.
I am diehard Lucinda Berry fan, Another heart thumping novel that had me turning pages fast, I didn’t want to put this book down.

Jules life shatters when she crashes her car into a lake. Her son dies, there is one survivor Isaac. Jules feels as though she has nothing to live for until Isaac start visiting her in the hospital.

Isaac disappears and his family is convinced Jules has something to do with it.

The plot is interesting. I needed to know what happened next. At the same time I didn’t want the book to end. I’m reading as fast as I can but also when finished leaving me wanting for more.

Lucinda can write wonderful psychological thriller, this one did not disappoint. Let the king forward to the next one

This book was sad, then too slow, then just downright depressing. With this author's history of being a psychologist, it definitely gives deep insight into how survivor's guilt and bullying can wreak havoc. It's not the best for those who like to kick back and relax while reading. There's tons of triggers. Not one of my favorites by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this eARC.

2.5 stars

Was I shocked by this? Yes. Did I love the direction it took? No.

The first 25-30% of this was so good. I was really invested and the intrigue and atmosphere had really been built well. I found the dual POV of both of the mothers so interesting and I was so invested in how this would ultimately turn out.

Unfortunately, this just took a turn that I wasn't all that interested in. I think she writes very well. I thoroughly enjoy the fact that the author inserts her psychological knowledge throughout her novels, as I feel like we understand the characters/decisions they make more and it in turn makes them better-developed.

While this one didn't work for me, I will without a doubt be picking up more from Lucinda Berry.

Huge fan of this author. This is Very different from her previous writings. I’m not sure how I feel about this one but it’s very very different. Previous writings left me tears and WTF moments mix with WOW I can’t sleep or stop talking about it. It’s a mixed review.

I loved this book, I love all Lucinda Berry books!! Seriously has she ever written anything less than 100 stars?! I don't think so!! This one did not disappoint. 5 big stars!!!!

I thought the author did a good job at painting a picture of what was going on. However, this book just wasn't really for me. I didn't like the characters. I didn't see the twists coming at least!

TW: school shooting, age gap romance with a male minor and older female

It felt like a Criminal Minds episode. It was intriguing at first because it was as if the FMC was playing mind games with the therapist/police. A timely story too because of all the school/mass shootings happening. However, I felt like this subject was not really explored. It was just part of the plot and not delved into. I also felt that something was lacking in the overall story.

Quick read though. Finished it in one day.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

Lucinda Berry did not disappoint again! I really enjoyed this book. I was on the edge of my seat and never saw some twists coming! I would definitely recommend this book!

Jules crashes her car into the lake, losing her son, but another boy survives.
Isaac starts visiting her in the hospital, giving her renewed life, but soon disappears and his family believes it's her fault.
It took me a while to get through this book, I didn't love it but didn't dislike it either. Average read. Thankful for the ARC.

I'm honestly speechless. What an emotional rollercoast this book is. I mean that in a very good way, I couldn't put it down. I never guessed any of the twists or turns. Amazing book!
Thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for the chance to read this advanced copy.

Fast paced, thrilling ride and you will race to the shocking suprise ending. I went on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. The pages turn themselves as you become so absorbed in the story.

Jules lost her son Gabe in a terrible accident when her car went into the lake. She managed to save Isaac, a boy she was giving a ride home but he own son Gabe didn’t survive. After this tragedy Jules and Isaac formed a closeness until Isaac disappears when out walking his dog.

Isaac’s parents are frantic and desperate to find him.

This had a big twist that I didn’t predict and lifted the book, taking in a whole different direction than I expected.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for an unbiased review.

#offthedeepend #lucindaberry #netgalley

What a messed up little story!!
Loved how both Jules and Amber progressed through the book, and I didn’t really see the ending coming. Really great and very quick read.

Dr. Lucinda Berry is an amazing author.
Off the Deep End is a crazy ride. The things you think you figured out are not quite what you thought
A master story teller you won’t want to miss. Can’t wait to read this authors next book.

A quick read, told in 2 POVs that are easy to tell apart. Jules' son died in a car accident, while Amber's son is missing. Neither woman is likable, in fact they both are annoying. Jules seems extremely manipulative. Her conversations with the therapist seem like she is playing a child's game, almost a type of "catch me if you can type" of interactions. Amber is whiny, and repetitive, doing seemingly nothing to help find her son, Isaac. Being a teenager, wouldn't the first place a parent look be their computer and phone? She seems shocked that there would even be any information on them.

It became obvious who and what was going to be involved in Isaac's disappearance, just not the particulars. The ending went off a cliff into a sick and twisted plot. This was not necessary at all and gave no addition to the overall story.

I want to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an eARC of this book.

This was my first book by this very popular author. It definitely has me wanting to read more by her. I thought it was a great story with perfect plot twists.

I liked reading from both Jule’s and Amber’s perspectives. I feel like that really laid out the story in an easy way to follow. I like to getting the background from both characters and that they were both unreliable narrators.

This will definitely not be my last book by this author. I already can’t wait to get my hands on another book by them. She definitely knows how to write a great thriller.

I'm very late on my review for this one.

I haven't read a Lucinda Berry book before, and although this one was not for me, I won't rule her out because my friends really like her.

Off the Deep End was too slow for my taste. It felt more like a domestic drama than a thriller. The focus seemed to be on the interpersonal relationships between family members and the fallout after the accident, rather than the mystery of who took Isaac. I don't have an issue with unlikable characters, but I couldn't bring myself to care at all about what happened to anyone in this book. Everyone annoyed me and their behavior was so bizarre it was hard to find it believable.

I was just really disinterested throughout, and then found the ending to be so odd and cringey.

A twisted tale that will keep you up at night to read! I really enjoyed the different POV from Juliet and Amber, two sides of the story coming together as one. At times it did feel though as things were thrown in just for extra sensationalism. Regardless, a fun ride!