I received this one last year from the amazing Thriller Book Lovers: The Pulse and never got around to reviewing it despite enjoying!

Late one night Liss receives a knock at her door from Ashley. Ashley hands her baby Callan over and disappears, never to be heard from again. Liss raises Callan as her own, loving and protecting him as any mother would, all the while wondering what happened to her friend and whether or not Ashley will come back for Callan one day.

Then Ashley’s car is found…in a pond on Liss’ property as a result of Callan and some friends having an accident. A whole new slew of questions arise, the investigation is reopened and old wounds are made fresh as the town wonders if this was a tragic accident or a covered up murder…and if so, who is responsible?

I thought the premise of this was really interesting. Some fresh takes on a plot that we’ve definitely seen variations of over the years. But look, as thriller lovers, we have formulas that we enjoy and all I’m asking for is a good story with characters that I can invest in and root for (or against) and Lori did that successfully.

I’ve really grown to enjoy books that tie a child into the story as I’m a mother myself, and I enjoyed that Callan was a teenager as I feel like often they are elementary aged.

The plot moved at a good pace, no real downtime where I was looking for action and an ending that wrapped up quickly but not in a way that bothered me.

I saw people compare Lori and this book specifically to Megan Miranda’s books and I think that’s a very accurate comparision. If you’ve never read Lori but enjoy Megan, then absolutely give this one a go!

This thriller will have your feeling a ton of different emotions. Heartbreak, worry, confusion, frustration, & terror.

A small town, missing locals, & infidelity is a recipe for disaster in The Death of Us.

When Callan is left in the arms of Liss by his mother Ashley & she never returns-- Liss raises Callan as her own. Now 15 years later it's possible that Ashley's car has surfaced in the quarry on their very own property. Was this an accident? Murder? Who was involved? Well-- I guess you'll have to read to find out!

You can truly feel the love Liss has for Callan in this book. Blood related or not, she is his mother & she will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of what is really going on.

My only complaint is that I feel like this could have been a bit shorter. At almost 400 pages I did start to lose interest at times but keep trucking because it's so good!

Thank you so much NetGalley, William Morror, & Lori Rader-Day for this title in exchange for an honest review!

I love Lori Rader-Day's writing, and I really enjoyed the way she subtly wove the pieces of this book together. It's both an excellent mystery and a beautiful family story, showing the ways mothers, in particular, are made and what they will do for their children.

This book has a little bit of everything! Family drama, suspense, twists, romance, small town secrets and more. I really enjoyed the idea of the book, which started out with a bang, then fizzled into a slow burn, speeding up at the end.

The book goes between past and present and is told from multiple pov’s. I immediately connected with Liss and was routing for her throughout the entire book. Ashley handed her baby, Callan, to Liss 15 years ago and disappeared. 15 years later, they discover Ashley’s car and a body in the bottom of a pond by Liss’ house. Liss is married to Callan’s dad, Key and let me tell you, their relationships are complicated! When Ashley, went missing, Liss stepped in as step-mom to Callan and raised him like her own. When the car and body are discovered the town is kept wondering if the body is Ashley’s and what happened? As the investigation ensues, Liss doesn’t know who to trust?! This book was a great read!

😊 Thank you to Lori Rader-Day, William Morrow, NetGalley, and Thriller Book Lovers Promotions for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

A body found in a pond brings up all sorts of questions and a past that refuses to hide anymore.
At the center is 15 year old Callahan and his mother Liss, who is not his biological mother, and his father Link.
I thought Link was a total Louse and had instant Contempt for him.
I also Liss was wispy washy and it took me a long time to figure her out.
I liked Mercer the most because I thought he was the most genuine.

This was an OK read but felt really slow. It centers on Liss, who is navigating a potentially nasty divorce, raising a teenage son, and dealing with small town drama when an old crime is brought to light that has her questioning events from 15 years ago. The story had a lot of characters to keep straight and I also felt that the reader was just thrown into the story without much character development, hence why it wasn't really my favorite.

I enjoyed the premise of the book but it moved fairly slowly, with much of the action happening towards the end. I could have done without the romance aspect between Mercer and Liss, though I did really like Mercer's character as a whole. As mentioned above, there were a lot of characters in this book and I sometimes had to take myself out of the story to remember how they all fit together. I thought the ending was pretty good- much more action than the rest of the book and a twist that I didn't expect.

Overall, this was a decent read for me but is definitely a slow burn. Would be a good read for those who like a mix of police procedural with mystery and enjoy (as I do) small town drama. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great slow burn that I had such a hard time putting down! The multilayered plot and the well written characters with their messy back stories + drama 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 had me invested from beginning to end! I truly didn’t want it to end!
If you’re looking for a story filled with small town family drama, secrets, lies, betrayal, and even a bit of romance then look no further. I’ll guarantee you that 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐔𝐒 will hook you right in like it did for me! 👌🏼

This was quite the domestic thriller! At first I was overwhelmed by all of the characters because I typically struggle when there’s more than 3 or 4 key players, but as the plot progressed, I was able to keep everyone straight. There are a ton of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming so it really kept me on my toes. It reminded me a lot of work by Megan Miranda and Seraphina Nova Glass, so if you’re a fan of those authors, I’d recommend you check this one out!

My rating: 3.5/5

This was a good read however for me it did start out kind of slow. This small down thriller had twists I wasn’t expecting but I definitely was suspicious of some of the characters. I felt like everyone was living with some sort of secret. Overall this kept my interest throughout and things were well developed.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC, this is a voluntary honest review.

Liss has been raising Callan is whole life as her own son when his mom disappeared 15 years ago. Little did they know then, that her car had been in the btoom of the quarry pond near their home the entire time. Is her entire life about to blow up? Was it an accident or was it murder?

This was definitely a slow burn in the first half of the book and I am SO glad that I stuck it out because it did pick up in the second half. If you enjoy small town, suspense thrillers then this book is for you!!

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow and Thriller Book Lovers Promotions for the #gifted copy of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC! This was full of suspense and kept me hooked from the jump.

The Death Of Us by Lori Rader-Day
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The Death Of Us is a slow-burn mystery. It almost feels like I'm watching a very slow version of CSI or Criminal Minds. However, the book wasn't as intriguing as these shows. The book was a bit police procedural-like but also just had a lack of character depth. I kind of felt thrown into it and had no backstory or understanding of the characters. Because of this, I do feel I started skimming.
I felt the ending was a bit rushed. But I'm not sure if it's because this is literally where EVERYTHING happened.
When it comes down to it- this was an OK book. But not particularly memorable.

Thank you to @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for the galley in return for my honest review.

I enjoyed this one!
It’s a slow burn mystery about a young woman that shows up on the doorstep of her baby daddy’s house and leaves the baby with the baby daddy’s wife. Then she disappears. 👀
It’s a small town of secrets and lies and we find out there is much more to the story.

This is one of the best thrillers I've read this year! The twists are so well done and unexpected that they made me gasp! I HIGHLY recommend this to those who enjoy thrillers! Special Thank You to Lori Rader-Day, William Morrow and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review

I couldn't put this book down. Not only was the mystery and plot very interesting for me, I really enjoyed the way this author told the story. I was hooked the entire time, it was unpredictable, suspenseful, and I really enjoyed how it all played out and ended! I look forward to reading more from Lori Rader-Day!

This book does a great job of offering up several antagonists to each character: if it's not lousy cheating men getting you down, it could also be guilty neighbors, shady coworkers, on/off love interests, degenerative brain diseases, cops, or just like, the weather. Multiple POVs can be a tough sell when they all have secrets to parcel out, but it works really well here. The climax brought a sense of real peril that made this thriller thrill. I enjoyed this!

Thanks NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC!

This one gripped me from the start. Very fast paced and so much suspense.

Liss Kehoe became a mother fifteen years ago when Ashley, her husband's one night standish/baby mama, drops off baby Callan at her home one night and drives away, never to be seen again. Liss loves Callan with her whole heart, but was always holding her breath waiting for Ashley to return and claim him.

One day Callan and some teammates are in an accident on their property, and in the midst of it Ashley’s car is found at the bottom of the quarry pond on Liss’ property. Tongues wag in this small town. Everyone has a theory and there are many suspects.

This one kept me guessing and I couldn't stop reading! I look forward to reading more from this author!

Many thanks to NetGalley, William Morrow Books and Thriller Book Lovers Promotions for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was definitely a fun read with some minor flaws. Overall, very easy to read, never questioned the plot. There were, however, some instances of strange jargon used. I thought it especially strange after learning the author is from Chicago; I'm from Indiana. There was also very little character development. I neither felt happy or sad for any character throughout this book. I had a lot of trouble with the end of the book. Not only was the outcome super predictable, but the reveal/outcome taking several one page chapters made it feel like it was never-ending. Last note, I cannot stand when authors write in third person but include thoughts with no pronouns. Those are the author's thoughts making sure the point has been made clear. If those thoughts have to be included to get the point across you are probably missing something important in your narrative.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishing for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

There's nothing about Lori Ryder Day's The Death of Us that I didn't love. It starts with the discovery of a body, and the suspense of who it is and how they got there kept me flipping pages right to the final reveal. The multiple narrator perspective gives hints of the why's and how's, but only in small snippets. When all the pieces finally fall perfectly into place, everyone's secrets are revealed in a completely satisfying way.

The beginning moved slower than I normally like, but it picked up hella fast in the second half! Nonstop surprises and a crazy twist! All the characters kinda sucked as human beings, but I loved it for this novel! 🤣 I will definitely be recommending it to my friends!