Most thrillers get me from the jump and I’m invested. I want to take the ride with the author and normally get really excited about the twists and turns. This book was okay. The story was easy to follow, but the characters were confusing and sometimes I had to remind myself who’s who. The characters were all very bland for me, which is what made most of them feel the same. I didn’t hate this book. I finished this book. It just is not something I want to read again or would suggest for someone looking for a great thriller. It was just okay. Thank you to Bookoutoure for a copy of this ARC from Netgalley.

Wow, I did not see that coming. I thought within the first few chapters I had the murderer figured out. This was not the case. This was a gripping winding tale about deceptions and revenge. I was thoroughly entertained. I appreciate the advanced copy received from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #Bookouture and Lesley Sanderson for the opportunity to read an advance copy of HER PERFECT REVENGE, to be published 18 October 2023. 4/5 Stars for this suspenseful psychological thriller “Who done it.” It was intriguing in that there were multiple potential murderers but it wavered back and forth on the most suspicious characters until the culprit was finally revealed. The novel was well written and the only reason I didn’t give 5 stars was because it seemed repetitious in some aspects. It was an excellent read and highly recommended for psychological enthusiasts.. #NetGalley, #Bookouture #LeslieAnderson #The Perfect Revenge.

Just six hours ago, Alex and I were married. It was a beautiful wedding by the sea, on the beach we’ve always loved. Our guests crowded outside our beach hut to raise a toast before our first midnight swim together as man and wife. And then, suddenly, he was gone, drowning in the water that meant so much to us.
But instead of being able to mourn in peace, to get to grips with my awful new reality, the police are here. It seems they don’t think Alex’s death was an accident.

I quite enjoyed this book and this was another new author for me. The story is told by different POV's which I always enjoy. Alex lost his first wife and then he meets Felicity and this relationship has changed his life for the better, he is happy once again. Alex proposes and he and Felicity are now married. On their wedding night Alex has organised for a late night swim and some of the guests are up for it as well, Felicity on the other hand has her hesitations, it is pitch dark, the water looks like ink and you can hardly see a foot in front of you. Alex and Felicity hold hands and dive in but after 15 minutes Felicity is frozen to the bone and gets out, she then looks for Alex in front of her but is unable to see him - the only thing I did find annoying was how many times we are told that Alex is a strong swimmer - I understand that this is relevant but the constant mentions of it was a bit over the top. Alex is now classed as missing and Felicity is now a murder suspect. Twists and turns take place that move the story along at a relatively fast pace and you need to keep your wits about you for clues that may mean nothing early in the book, but will greatly affect the outcome.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Great cover, good title for this book by Lesley Sanderson.

I didn't want to know what this book was about initially, but I loved the twisted relationships and the shocking ups and downs in this psychological thriller. I was guessing the end but got it sooooo wrong. It was good twist at the end though. Worth reading and recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookoutre

Read this if you like:
little coastal towns
2 timelines
double faced MCs
swimming
don’t know who to trust
revenge & jealousy

This book seemed like it would be full of secrets and deception but unfortunately I figured it all out real quick after a few chapters how everything would play out throughout the story…
So for me this wasn’t a challenging read as I guessed most of the plot twists in advance.

I found the many characters and the fact that the story is largely presented from an omniscient person's perspective very difficult to follow and to empathize with. I had to make a list at the beginning with all the characters their names and main trades so I wouldn’t mix them up. As the title refers to “HER” perfect revenge, it’s quite obvious that the perpetrator is a woman and this spoils the fun a bit.

But despite everything I enjoyed the diverse cast of characters, the setting and the dual timelines.
Due to the chapters that take place in the past the story still retains some tension and mystery which keeps you intrigued and questioning who to trust.

This is a real slow burn, set in a little coastal town which gives you a bit of cosy crime vibes.
A perfect read if you don’t like too much action and atrocities or if you’re new into thriller reading.

Thank you @netgalley & @bookouture for this ARC.

For the majority of us, acting vengefully rarely gets past the fantasy scenario in our mind’s eye. Our brain kicks into gear and the rational part of our grey matter jump-starts our moral compass and our drive to seek revenge loses steam … like a deflating balloon.

Not so for one character in this story. S/he didn’t settle for buying a voodoo doll to stick pins in. S/he stewed and stewed in the dilemma until s/he hatched an elaborate plan. (insert evil cackle)

“Nobody sees the swimmer disappear. Only the one person knew it was going to happen.”

A new-to-me author, Lesley Sanderson held my attention while she explored how far someone would go to expose a dark secret. I loved the unique plot and plotting, the vengeful character(s), the swim team, the academic focus and thought the gaslighting and manipulation by a scheming character were portrayed masterfully. I do love a good police procedural, but often lose focus if it’s not done well. Sanderson has just enough police investigation to keep readers interested and tops it up nicely with mystery, a tidy inheritance, and a wide selection of possible suspects.

“Sometimes a lie is the only way out.”

I loved the twist.

I was gifted this copy by Bookouture and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Thank you to Bookouture & NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow this was such a satisfying thriller, and was executed flawlessly! The plot was also so different from any other suspenseful story I’ve read.

Felicity and Alex have just gotten married, surrounded by all their friends and are now headed out for a midnight celebration swim. But the happiest day of their lives turns into a nightmare, when Alex never comes back ashore from their swim. By the next morning the police have found his lifeless body floating in the sea, and the investigation begins. What seems a routine drowning at first, ends up being a full blown murder investigation because Alex was poisoned. What makes Alex’s drowning even more suspicious is his previous fiancé also passed away on a swim with this group, years before

The story is told in alternating timelines of Alex and his dead fiancé Beth, and their group of friends. And bridges it together with current times of Alex and Felicity together, with the same group of friends.

The ending of this story set my whole body into goose bumps because it was just THAT good. If you’re looking for a thrilling read, I would definitely pick this one up. I can’t wait to read more from this author because I really enjoyed her writing style.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for access to this Arc in exchange for my honest review.

The title says it all ! I absolutely loved how it turned out. I suspected someone until near the end but I was so wrong!! I enjoyed the writing style, the plot, the twists, the ending. This is the first I read from this author but not the last !

This book was ok. It kept my attention, and I never considered not finishing it. I felt it was similar to Freida McFadden and Daniel Hurst in that it was a quick read without a lot of fluff. Sometimes no fluff is good. I felt the swimming group was unusual which was a nice change of pace. Overall, I’d recommend for a quick read and prob would read another by this author in the future.

Her Perfect Revenge is a murder-mystery/thriller that I struggled to put down, even while traveling to Scandinavia from the U.S. I loved it!

Felicity and Alex are due to be married, but on the night of their wedding after the ceremony, Alex drowns during a celebratory group swim. This is incredibly strange since Alex, Felicity, and all of their friends are accomplished swimmers who are part of the same swimming group. Felicity is a heartbroken widow after only being married for a few short hours. A few years before Alex's death, his fiancee, Beth, drowned in a similar fashion. Felicity, Alex's co-worker at the time, helped him work through his grief, which led to the start of their romantic relationship together. As the police investigation unfolds and authorities delve into the mystery of how a well-trained swimmer drowned on his wedding night, new information emerges about a mistress, a battered wife, and the woman who knows most of Alex's secrets.

Things I loved:

1. Her Perfect Revenge was paced perfectly. It was fast right from the start!
2. The cast of characters with perspectives shifting from past to present, with an anonymous character every now and then to ramp up the mystery was awesome.
3. Alex's character has that ominous aura that every woman has seen in a man at least once in her life. We know it because it is scary, and my heart was pounding through many of his scenes throughout the book.
4. All of the twists and turns near the end were *chef's kiss*!
5. I love it when a book isn't necessarily a police procedural, but we get to be part of the investigation through the lens of the authority figures conducting it.
6. The fact that technically this could all happen in real life really kept me engaged. I think the best thrillers are the ones that tap into realistic potentials.
7. I appreciated how Felicity's character kept me guessing right up until the very end.
8. The interrogation scenes were really good and helped me stay afloat in terms of what was going on. Sometimes thrillers can derail if twists aren't properly structured, but this was not an issue at all.

What I didn't like:

I didn't like the fact that this book made me angry whenever someone tried to interrupt me while I was reading it haha! I have no complaints. Her Perfect Revenge has everything I want to experience while reading a thriller!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Bookouture for sending me an e-ARC to read. I really appreciate receiving this so close to the publishing date. Since this book had me on the edge of my seat, it was easy to get my review back in on time! In the future, I will be sure to request books by Lesley Sanderson, because I am addicted!

I love this authors books always an addictive read. it's the day of Felicity and Alex wedding. All there swimming friends are there .at midnight. they all are going for a swim. but Alex does not come out of the water. they find his body the next day. And treating it as murder, before Alex was with Felicity. He moved there with his partner Beth. And she died drowned. But is Alex all he seems? You will have to read it to find out the twist and turns are so good so recommend these authors books

This just blow me away, it was so good and so addictive. There were so many twists and turns - halfway through I thought I knew then there was a sentence and had to rethink everything. What a great book so recommend. This author just gets better and better with each read.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and Bookoutre but the review is entirely my own.

HER PERFECT REVENGE is centered mainly around Beth and Alex who were once a couple. When Beth dies, Alex marries his coworker, Felicity. On their wedding night, Alex wants to have a night swim in the sea with their guests as husband and wife, but Alex never comes back. When he is found the next day washed up on the beach, the police suspect foul play. An investigation begins and Felicity becomes a prime suspect.

The story is fast-paced and entertaining. I enjoyed the past and present POV's. I was unsure about the night swimming after the wedding ceremony, but in the end it all came together and made for one interesting story!

Many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for my gifted ARC.

This review will be shared to my Instagram account (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

Alex and Felicity got married a few hours ago. Alex had planned a swim for the festivities, but he never came back from it. Was his drowning an accident? Through the investigation, secrets are unveiled, about both Felicity and Alex.
This one is a psychological thriller told in a dual timeline last/present/anonymous, and I've seen it compared to Daniel Hurst and Freida McFadden. It was a good read, but it wasn't stellar. Th changes in POV are muddy and hard to figure out. I predicted the twists when I was about 10% in, but someone who is not as well versed in psychology thrillers as I am will probably be very surprised.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

It was definitely a solid thriller. The plot is pretty straight-forward and does not need a big and complex narrative. I liked the different timelines added to the story: a then and a now. The flashbacks chapters were slightly more interesting to me because they brought all the background that I wanted for the present chapters.

The characters are not the most engaging part of the story for me. The main guy was despicable and it felt a little predictable — mainly because I was weary from the start. (I do not trust men in thrillers.) The women are a bit more interesting to follow, especially in their relationship dynamics. One relationship in particular caught my attention from the beginning to the end.

I had a theory for the ending and it was exactly what happened, so I was very glad about that. Women getting revenge on men is always something that I like to read about. I don’t know if other books by Lesley Sanderson are about women’s revenge, but I will definitely take a lot at the previous titles.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

WOW!!!! What a fantastic book. Twists and turns all the way through. The ending was just so unexpected, took me a day to read this book - i could not put it down. Highly recommend this book for anyone that loves plot twists, psychological thrillers and revenge!

What a brilliant read this is as all books from this author are, I was gripped from the beginning until the very last page and loved the different timescales and all the characters were so well written.

Very different being related to a swimming club, I never felt warm whilst I was reading this though but it has to be one of my top ten reads this year, just brilliant.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC which I can thoroughly recommend.

Alex and Felicity just got married in a sea-side ceremony. At midnight, guests gather by the sea to toast Alex and Felicity for their midnight swim. However, despite his impressive swimming abilities, Alex does not make it out of the ocean, succumbing to the waves. Felicity is now the primary suspect.

The story alternates between the past and present. In the past, Alex and his then fiancee, Beth, just moved to the area. They join a swimming club, where they meet Felicity and other local swimmers. During one of their swims, Beth tragically downs.

The author does an excellent job alternating between the two timelines. As the story goes on, we learn secrets about Alex's relationships with both Beth and Felicity. The twists and turns are cleverly executed. I definitely was shocked by most of them! The identity of "whodunit" took me completely by surprise. A unique thriller for any fans of the genre!

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've always been a fan of Lesley Sanderson and this was SUCH a fast read! Felicity and Alex have finally planned an amazing wedding in the sea-side town they live in. Avid swimmers, they decide to do a midnight swim with all their guests. However, things do not go according to plan and Alex drowns. Questions immediately rise- was it an accident or something more sinister? Told in alternating POV and timelines this book definitely pulled me in and kept me guessing. I did not see the ending coming at all and really enjoyed it.