Member Reviews
Utterly compelling & suspenseful! Looking forward to reading more books by this author! Would highly recommend reading this!
*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review*
Not my cup of tea - depressing in my opinion - almost like a movie of the week.
When grief has taken over her life and the two people she trusts the most have deceived her in the worst way imaginable. She has to escape this nightmare. And she will do just about anything
OMG...new fear unlocked
Prepare yourself for a mind bending, chaotic experience. Oram takes you for one heck of a ride with this addictive domestic psychological thriller.
The fast pacing and intrigue to find out how our MC will come out of this messed up scenario her kids have gotten her into will have you tearing through these pages rushing to find out how everything plays out
Following an inner monologue writing style about characters you will love, loathe and sympathize for. While searching for reasoning but questioning everyone's behaviors all at the same time
I just enjoyed it so much. And if your in the search for a quick, unique, blood pressure inducing read. I highly recommend giving this one a try
Thank you to @netgalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for my honost thoughts and opinions
Struggling to cope after the death of her husband Jacklyn is sent to Shore Lodge by her family under the pretence it will give her a break for a few days. She is shocked to find out her family have admitted her and she is unable to leave. She will do whatever it takes to escape.
Jacklyn’s son Dusty acts like a money grabber who blames his mother for his failures in life. What sort of son doesn’t want their mother to hurt themselves in case they need to go to hospital and escape from the mental health facility he put them in!
Some things seemed a bit far fetched eg being able to remove screws to escape out a window but it certainly didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book. I took a two hour lunch break cause I couldn’t put it down.
This sentence from the book has stayed with me for its truth and a certain sadness - people are slow to gawk at a car crash, but no one wants to rubberneck at grief. Also be sure before appointing someone with power of attorney over your affairs.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of the book in return for an honest review.
It was a quick, fun, and easy read, but I was also hoping for something that contained a bit more depth to it. Definitely not a bad book, I think a ton of people could read this and enjoy it, but it's also not something I'm going to find myself thinking about in the future.
What a fantastic read! It was an edge of the seat thriller. I couldn't stop reading it.in fact I read it in one day it was that fabulous.
Great job Susan!!! Loved it.
Jacklyn Stone knows she's struggling with grief after her husband passes away unexpectedly. That's normal, though. So when her kids suggest she spend a few days at Shore Lodge, a grief retreat, she doesn't think it's necessary; she has her business and her dog to keep her going. Still, her kids persist and ultimately convince her the quiet time on the isolated island will be good for her, she goes. She doesn't realize that she won't be leaving anytime soon.
I absolutely could not put this book down. For almost the entire book you are completely unsure if this is a gaslighting situation, or an unreliable narrator. It is masterfully done. I legitimately don't understand how this book isn't on the best seller list.
The only thing i found a little confusing is the voice of the main character was sometimes serious and older (kids are considering putting her in assisted living) and then sometimes fit and mischievous (steals tools, climbs things, messes with security cameras). Sometimes she seems like a strong independent young widow (she owns a garden store and does some manual labor, her kids are young adults still trying to establish themselves) and other times she seems a bit like a fuddy-duddy (The neighbor makes her sound like a little old lady, her friends seem older) so I had a hard time picturing her. I would *love* to see this adopted into a Netflix movie, with someone who could make the character both the grieving older widow *and* the feisty independent woman. I picture Jamie Lynn Curtis and the director of Haunting of Hill House making this a super tense thriller, but I'd be curious to know if the writer had a lighter tone in her head or who she pictured playing Jacklyn.
Jacklyn is struggling after the death of her husband. Life as she knows it, has been turned upside down. Aside from her grief over the death of her life partner, she has also recently discovered that her husband has been giving their life savings away to their son without her knowledge. The usually competent senior starts forgetting a lot of things and has recently figured in an accident. Her son, Dusty, uses this as a reason to admit her into a facility known as Shore Lodge. Her son and daughter lure her there in the pretense that she could a few days to get away from her responsibilities and recharge, but she is horrified to find out that once she checks in, she can never check out alive.
I immensely enjoyed this book, and I'm happy to find out that this is a series. Can't wait to read more about Jacklyn's adventures. Told from different POVs, this gives you a good understanding of each of the characters and I hate Dusty's gut so much.
Fantastic read. Really fast paced and exciting. I literally couldn’t put it down once I started it. It was a great plot to get your teeth into. A real psychological thriller to enjoy
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I didn’t really consider this a thriller or mystery at all. It more made me angry at Jacklyns kids were so awful to her.
Some rather unlikable characters are evened out by the likable ones.
Not a bad book but not what I expected from the description either.
This is a medium paced book with several viewpoints. The main character, Jacklyn, was well fleshed out and I sympathized with her so much. There are a few twists and turns, but not an edge of your seat story. However, the pacing was just enough to keep me engaged,.
Jacklyn's husband passed away around eight months ago. She has been struggling to run her day-t0-day life without him. Jackyln's daughter and son propose a restful vacation. To Jackyln's surprise, it is actually a psychiatric facility. And she cannot get out. Jackyln is determined to get out of Shore Lodge at whatever cost it takes.
This is a super fast-paced novel, it did not take me long to finish at all. An easy and enjoyable read! The main character, Jackyln, is very likeable. I was rooting for her the entire novel! There were parts that were difficult to read at times, but that's only because they were tackling tough issues. The author did an excellent job exploring these issues. This is not your traditional thriller in the sense where you are wondering who did what or why this is happening to the main character. Regarding, it is still thrilling in many other ways!
Thank you NetGalley, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, and SOS Communications for the copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Jacklyn lives alone with her dog after losing her husband. When her children offer her a stay at, what she believes, is a retreat for 2 days, she soon finds out that there's some things her children haven't been telling her.
The start of this book opened a little slowly in my opinion but once I'd made it through the first third, I found myself gripped dying to find out it all ends. It ramped up in pace and I found myself rooting for Jacklyn.
The story was well written and the story was ended as a well executed novel.
Definitely worth a read and will be recommending this to my friends!
A good premise and a good plot but far too cluttered with unnecessary characters and details.
A good choice for someone who doesn’t want an easy read
My heart raced for most of this book. I was absolutely transfixed by the writing and felt so much emotion towards the characters. Masterpiece!
After Jacklyn's husband passes unexpectedly, she has a difficult time coping with her new situation. Her children (mainly manipulative son, Dusty) convince her that she should go on a retreat for a few days at Shore Lodge, a nearby facility. What they don't tell her is that this will become her permanent residence.
Jacklyn begins to feel things aren't as they seem at Shore Lodge, but she is unable to leave. What will she do now?
Holy crap! This was so intense. I was captivated and totally invested; couldn't put this down. A great suspenseful thriller.
This book pulled me in so fast because it’s something that could happen and I’m sure does happen. I feel like I felt every thing Jacklyn was hit with and really freaked out at how low someone could possibly go for money. I highly recommend this read it’s was just so good I couldn’t stop reading it and was sad when it ended.
I really tried to get into this story but the various viewpoints made it extremely difficult. The storyline feels disjointed and it was rather difficult to enjoy reading it. I think the ending left too much unanswered although that could be for a potential sequel.
After the death of Jackie‘s husband her kids start to worry about her her son a little more than her daughter but he convinces his sister for their mom‘s best interest they should put her away but to Jackie they tell her she should go away to rest and relax for a little while, but what looks like a sketchy resort turned out to be a mental hospital that they tell Jackie she cannot leave, Jackie has other ideas. Prude Jackie’s entire adult life it was up to her when she got her haircut and so when they violently insist on cutting her hair a few hours after arriving at the shore Lodge Jackie knows her most important mission is going to be to leave this place her kids have put her in. When she finds out her son has sold her business her urge to leave the show or large ole intensifies and after a fail the Tim Jackie almost loses hope but not completely. That was a very entertaining sometimes hilarious but altogether interesting book and I am so glad I read it this is not my first book by this author and definitely will not be my last . Over the past month I have come to really enjoy her books and can’t wait to read more if you love a great thriller with a little comic relief the new definitely love the shore lodge by Susan Speck Dorham I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.
Even though it did feel a little bit predictable, I liked this book and the character development. I wouldn't classify this as a psychological thriller as the whole point is that the main character is of sound mind. But overall, I liked it and it was a easy read. Great for sitting next to a campfire in the winter and enjoying.