This one started off with a bang. You know this one is going to be juicy from the tagline - “15 years ago your daughter died. This child couldn’t be hers…” Bam! This book is full of secret after secret, twist after twist. What’s real and what isn’t? It’s a ride that had me devouring the last chapters in such a speed I’m sure I set a record. And the ending? Jaw dropped.

The opening of the story captivates readers right from the first page, setting a mysterious and intriguing tone. With alternating points of view between Chloe and her mother Clarissa, the narrative unfolds with compelling twists, some of which were unexpected, keeping readers engaged as they piece together the mysteries. The empowering character transformation of Chloe resonates as she navigates through hard truths while staying strong. The side characters M and J add depth to the story, with the author skillfully revealing just enough to keep the plot interesting. While the plot may have felt repetitive at times, it did not diminish the overall interest in the story.

This book follows Clarissa's experience of finding a boy on her doorstep one day. Not only does that seem out of the ordinary, but he claims to be her grandson...but her daughter had disappeared many years earlier? This was a fast-paced read with a really shocking twist at the end that was far beyond any guesses I had! The writing was simple, yet captivating, creating a quick pace that encouraged this book to be completed in only a few sittings. It does cover some heavy topics, but it felt necessary in the plot of the story and written well. Thanks so much for the ARC!

The Child at My Door by Sam Vickery will certainly keep you turning the pages. Bursting with family secrets and a cast of intriguing characters, this one held me captive from beginning to end.

Clarissa is shocked when a young boy is deposited by a taxi driver on her doorstep, a child of whom she has no knowledge. When questioned, the boy, Tommy, tells her that Chloe is his mother and that he has been instructed to call Clarissa Grandma. But Chloe, Clarissa's daughter, disappeared over fifteen years ago and is presumed dead. So who has sent this shy four year old boy to her home and what, exactly, are they playing at?

Told from multiple perspectives, this compelling narrative is as perplexing as it is riveting. I was shocked more than once, and left stunned by the time all was revealed. 4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC.

Thank you to Net Galley and Bookouture for this advanced copy of The Child at My Door by Sam Vickery to be published January 23, 2024.
Clarissa answers her doorbell and there stands a child whom she has never seen before. He looks to be four or five years old and says he’s her grandson. There is no parents in sight since he was dropped off by taxi.
I tell him I’ll help him find his mother if he’ll tell me her name. He first says, Mummy, but then says everyone calls her Chloe, and you’re my grandma.
That can’t be true, though – my daughter died fifteen years ago the same time my son did. Or did she? Or my son?
I was hooked on this book from the Prologue and couldn’t wait to see what happened to Clarissa, Chloe, and little Tommy. The story is told back-and-forth from two perspectives – Clarissa and Chloe from past to present and back.
It also brings in the secretive family across the street and what ties they might have had to Clarissa while her young family was growing up.
It is truly a “page turner” – one you will want to read from start to finish. It was my first book by Sam Vickery, but it certainly won’t be my last!
#netgalley #thechildatmydoor #samvickery #bookouture

Wow! What a page turner! I was sure I had it figured out and the nope! This book has you wondering what is going on from beginning to end! I loved it! Thank you for letting me read this book before it had come out!

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Child At My Door’ written by Sam Vickery in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Clarissa opens her door to find a young boy standing there who’s been sent in a taxi. He says his name is Tommy, his mummy is Chloe and she’s his grandma. Clarissa hasn’t seen her daughter for fifteen years, she thought she was dead, but Chloe needs somewhere safe to leave Tommy while she’s sorting out her life and there isn’t anywhere safer than with her mother.

‘The Child At My Door’ is an intricately woven novel of a family’s secrets and lies as Chloe escapes an abusive relationship by making contact with her mother only to learn that her childhood isn’t what she’d been led to believe. There are times when the plot slows but the further I got into the story the more twists were revealed, the true personalities of each character revealed and the truth emerges. This novel is well-written with topics that touch on domestic violence and mental health that have been handled sensitively. This is an enjoyable story with a final twist that’s not only surprising but also totally unexpected.

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC! Rounded up to 3.5! This was a pretty good thriller! The back and forth of characters and perspectives kept things interesting. It was a bit harder for me to sink my teeth into this one as it started slightly slow, but the half or so really had some amazing twists and turns!

Thank you for the opportunity to preview The Child at My door. This family drama centers on a young woman and her mother. Chloe has been homeless since she was 15 years old. Her mother put her out of the house but she did it for her own good. After all Chloe killed her brother and her mom was saving her from Prison.
Chloe has had a hard life but now she has a son. She loves him but her boyfriend Scott is an abuser and in order to save herself Chloe returns to her mother for help.
But thing are never what they seem and soon Chloe leaves her son because her mother has told her she has nightmares and she’s capable of killing and she could harm her own son.
Chloe is distraught but she knows she’s a good person but sometimes she has memories. Bad ones. And someone knows because she’s getting notes and someone knows she’s a killer. But who and why after 15 years.
No one is safe and Chloe is desperate for the truth. But the truth is a killer.
3.5 stars

The child at my door is a fast paced thriller that deals with the complicated nature of family. It dives into the relationship of nature vs nurture. It took me a little longer than usual to get into the novel but after about 25% I couldn’t put it down. There is the perfect amount of twists and characters. 4 star read!

Book Review 📚

The Child at my Door by Sam Vickery 🚪

I absolutely loved this authors writting style! This mystery had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Just when I thought I knew who the villain finally was there was a plot twist that blew me away! This book contains mental illness and abuse, I found it intriguing to read about the characters stories and trying to find the details of the past. Overall I truly enjoyed reading this suspenseful book and would highly recommend this to anyone wanting to read a thriller!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you @netgalley and @bookouture for giving me this opportunity to read this in advance!

Pub Date: January 23rd 2024 🗓️

This book was as it’s marketed, unputdownable and page turning. 100%. It’s my first 2024 5 star read and I definitely recommend to those that love a gripping thriller. I will be reading more by this author.

Now this is the stabdard of domestic noir that all others aspire to love up to! It starts off a bit slow but uses that time to give a good feel for the characters and set the scene and then everything goes to he'll in a handbasket and I could not out it down! The concept was so original, the characters are so rwlaidtically written and fleshed out into fully functioning people. The twists and turns were just masterful! It's a really easy book to read without too many side plots confusing the issue but in saying g that, a lot does happen and a lot of real world issues are tackled sensitively and honestly. Amazing

Wow! This book cupsize your world and you cannot tell up and down anymore?! It’s terrific and so full of twists you’ll never what will happen on the next page. I enjoyed it very much and I highly recommend it. It made me cry. How can a woman who say she loves her daughter do all the things Clarissa did to Chloe? In a way it is more horrendous than what she did to Rhodri because she hated him.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book! This book was absolutely amazing! It goes between two perspectives with twists and turns in every chapter! Also the characters are so well developed and will make you feel all the feelings. This book is full of secrets and lies and will leave you thinking about it even when you're not reading! Telling too much would give away the plot, but expect a dark, suspenseful domestic triller with disturbing and shocking revelations all the way to the end! I highly recommend The Child at My Door by Sam Vickery!

The book begins with a first-person perspective of someone having something happen to them by someone they did not think was capable before that moment. As the book shifts into the first chapter, we meet Clarissa who opens her front door to find a little boy who says he is her grandson Tommy, but she is confused because she had lost her children years ago, so this could not be possible. In the next chapter, we meet Chloe, who is Clarissa's daughter and Tommy's mother. She had sent Tommy to be safe with her mom because his father, Scott, was abusive to her and she needed to keep her son safe, especially after receiving a letter from someone who knew her secret... I cannot go any further without revealing any spoilers, but I can say that this book held many secrets with twists that I couldn't have imagined!

When I first began this book, I found the first-person perspective a tad confusing but as I read, it was easier to keep the characters straight, and discovered that perspective was important later in the book as secrets are revealed. Sam Vickery did an excellent job revealing those secrets slowly to keep the suspense for the reader. When I read a book, I base my reviews on several factors: overall writing, character development, believability of the events, and whether or not I would recommend this book to others. This one took me by surprise and the first few chapters were a little slow, but I am so glad I pushed through those because the ending to this book was nothing like I could have imagined.

The characters were very well written! I felt connected to them and invested in their lives!
This was a very well written book, the story was not hard to keep up with like some books are.

First I want to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and Sam Vickery for my ARC of The Child At My Door. This was a crazy ride! I was hooked right from the beginning. The book is told through multiple character’s POVs but it definitely flows together. The characters are well developed and the storyline was very interesting. This book definitely had me needing to know what happened next! I couldn’t stop reading! I liked how it kept me guessing while reading. Every chapter made me doubt who I expected was behind everything. If you like you like a good family drama and psychological thriller this book is for you. Sam Vickery is a new author to me but I cannot wait to read more!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this ARC. This was my first book by this author and I was not disappointed!!

The way this story unfolds has you gripped by this story from page 1! The author does such a fantastic job of keeping you hooked. Everything was revealed at just the right time and with a chilling twist at the end that you will not see coming.

Firstly let me say thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book for review purposes. I will always give my true opinion.

This was a great read with so many characters that were sketchy that I didn't really have a clue how it was going to end...just the way I like it!! Dialogue was well written and characters were well developed. I don't want to go into too many details because I feel they would just give the entire plot away! Sam Vickery is a new author for me but this won't be the last of their books that I read by a long shot!!