WOWWWW what an incredible thriller!!! This was SO well written and I loved every single page!! The characters were fantastic and I felt so connected to them. The plot was fun and super twisty, I audibly gasped at so many moments of this! The villain is super hateable and I love-hated the tweets and quotes from him at the beginning of each chapter. I started reading faster and got physically closer to my book as I was reading as if I could take it in more that way 🤣 I LOVED this book!!!!!

The saving grace of the book was the tweets and podcast transcripts excerpts used in the beginning of every chapter.
As appalling and ridiculous they were, they were too realistic and I'm sure you can think of real people who have the same warped mentality.
The problem was, the dialogues of the villain were really underwhelming, one reviewer described his character as cartoon-ish and they nailed it. He was described as indestructible and having high connections everywhere, but there was no backstory, no explanation whatsoever.
Ten years ago he was a normal man owning a real estate agency, and in the present, he is the big brother of the county. Even the period in between was extremely vague. The timeline started with Angie and ended with Piper, no recollection of the time between.
Moving on to the characters, they were really bland, apart from the times they frustrated the heck out of me. There was a scene where a part of a corpse was found by Madelyn's dog, you know what was her reaction? I'll gladly tell you. After a few minutes of shock and panic, the woman was hinting at being intimate with Alex. I didn't know whether to laugh or cringe.
It also didn't help that the characters lacked depth, they felt as if they were actors just reciting their lines, there was a sense of detachment from what was going on around them, almost like they were faking their reactions.
The ending was commercial-movie one, it was on the same bar with the rest of the book so I wasn't shocked by that time.
I think it's the kind of book that would go viral on social media because the author focused so much on social media, trends and representation, like writing Syzygy as nonbinary, which took me a lot of time to figure out the pronouns in the narrative. It was a book wrote to appease and sell.
*I received an ARC of this book through netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

"You Shouldn't Be Here" is the follow-up novel to Lauren Thoman's debut "I'll Stop the World". Like her debut, YSBH is a mash-up of genres - mystery, thriller, paranormal, romance, with some whimsy thrown in.

The story features two narratives around mysterious missing person cases. The two main characters, Madelyn and Alex both have missing people in their life and they soon discover their stories are intertwined more than they imagined. Layered on top is the villainous Doug Raymond, a megalomaniac real estate tycoon that looms a powerful shadow of secrets over the town of East Henderson, Pennsylvania - where our main characters live. Layered throughout is this is a string of paranormal experiences that helps string together the missing pieces of the missing person cases.

This was a 3-star read for me. I enjoyed Thoman's genre mash-up style as displayed in her debut, this showing fell a bit flat. It didn't have the heart that her debut novel captured with nostalgia and charm as interconnected thread. Instead, Thoman uses a paranormal thread that was well-done and very light - not gimmicky or cliche ghost type stuff. The whole story felt mysterious and moody until the back half of the novel, where it began to feel disjointed. I am even struggling to synopsize the book because it felt a bit all over the place (and trying to avoid anything that could be a spoiler). What I enjoyed: the slow burn mystery, the small town dynamics, and the dual narratives. What I didn't enjoy: the "twist" that connected the two narratives at the end landed with a dud, the pandering romance storyline and the chaotic ending. The novel left me interested enough to finish it but really didn't execute the delivery. There were too many things going on to find the heart in this story.

I enjoyed the story line; however I did struggle at the beginning to feel connected to the plot. After the first half I was invested. A lot of twists occurred which helped the pace of the book. The first half I felt like I was “world building” and I didn’t know where it was going, after that I was interested and couldn’t put it down.

I recommend reading but don’t let the first half be the judge, the second is where you get your answers!!

Murders mixed with evil corporate town miser? Suspicious noises in a closet. Ghosts or time travel?! Teachers in love?! Best friends potentially reunited?

The layers in this book were so fun and kept me on my toes.

Thanks, NetGalley for the chance to read!

Thank you Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC.

Madelyn is a teacher who moves into a house owned by Doug Raymond in East Henderson to investigate the disappearance of her cousin Piper, who was an accountant for Raymond Realty.

Angie is a high school student who lives with her father and hears the voice of a woman in her house, whom no one else can hear. Bas is Angie’s best friend who thinks Angie needs professional help for being obsessed over this supposed ghost in her house. Soon after, Angie and her father disappear from East Henderson with no trace.

Madelyn meets Alex, who is a Spanish teacher at the school she works at. They form a friendship that becomes romantic and discover a connection that causes them to work together to solve the disappearances of both Piper and Angie.

Then, she meets Nat, an unknown woman she meets in a coffee shop and they become friends over a borrowed shirt.

I was able to predict some of the twists and connections, but I was still engaged. It was action packed, mysterious, and creepy. I think the story line deviated a bit as initially it was about Madelyn finding out about the disappearance of Piper, but then shifted to focus on Angie. The ending wrapped up all of the unknown questions about the characters and the Raymond Realty. There are many theories about the supernatural world, so the ending leaves the reader to draw their own conclusion abut the connection between Madelyn and Angie. Overall, I enjoyed the thrill of the book. It was well written and easy to follow.

Wow!! Mystery, suspense, romance…what more could anyone want? I loved every second of this. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This was definitely different than other books I’ve read. I throughly enjoyed it. I look forward to reading more books by this author

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

Thank you Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC and offer my unbiased review!

You Shouldn't Be Here is a unique read if you enjoy thrillers and whodunits. It follows two women on their path to solve their own, individual mysteries. Angie, a high school student, tries to investigate a ghost haunting her house, while Madelyn, a middle school choir teacher, takes a job in the very same town of East Henderson to find out what happened to her missing cousin. Neither are aware their fates are very much linked!

With time skips and a melding of the past and present, this book offers a lot of unexpected turns that I didn't see coming, and the joy was really in the relationships and journey. The romance doesn't overwhelm the plot, and though some things might stand out as obvious, the intrigue is rooted in how it all happens and the thrill of an action-packed resolution.

Overall, this is a fast paced read that anyone could get through start to finish in one sitting!

Oh, I loved this!

It’s mysterious. It’s suspenseful. It’s got the sweetest romance, fabulous friendships, diversity, thrills and a villain who is just the villainy-ist villain to ever villain.

The writing is clever and one reveal had my jaw dropping. I definitely didn’t see it coming.

I was all in on our main characters, but also loved the side characters – and I didn’t want the book to end.

I would happily read the author again!

• ARC via Publisher

Following the two strangers is very exciting especially as you find out more about them and the connections between them.

Two strangers in very different life circumstances begin to investigate a set of unexplained events in the town of East Henderson, Pennsylvania. What they are not aware of yet is the manner in which their interests are about to collide...

While teenager Angie Stewart is a hometown girl, longing for some excitement and delighted at the prospect of finding out whether or not it is a ghost whose voice she hears, teacher Madeline Zhao has secretly come to East Henderson to root out answers related to the unexplained disappearance of her cousin in this town.

Thoman has delivered an intriguing story full of twists and turns. Events move at a fine pace and the reader remains engaged throughout, fully invested in finding out what lies behind the mystery(ies). Worth a read.

You Shouldn't Be Here was a page turner! You start off by following 2 characters that you keep wondering how they are connected. And once you find out, the story gets better and better.

I was going to knock a star off for all the Wawa references (I'm a Sheetz girl) but decided the authors taste in gas station food wasn't THAT big of a deal. 🤣😂

You Shouldn't Be Here by L. Thoman, published by Thomas & Mercer, is a full length, stand alone thriller.
A story full of unexpected twists and turns, that had me guessing til the last page. Action packed and unputdownable.
Blurb:
Two strangers search for the truth behind bizarre occurrences no one else dares to discuss—only to discover that they’re connected by secrets that could destroy them both. A thrilling and twisty novel by the acclaimed author of the Mindy’s Book Studio pick I’ll Stop the World.

When sixteen-year-old Angie Stewart starts hearing a mysterious voice in her house, she’s thrilled at the possibility of a ghost. Finally, something interesting is happening in her boring hometown of East Henderson, Pennsylvania. But why is she the only one who can hear it? And what does it want from her?

Meanwhile, first-year teacher Madelyn Zhao just got the keys to her new home, which is located close to her job, within walking distance of a dog park—and, most importantly, in the town where her cousin went missing several years ago. No one in East Henderson wants to talk about what happened, but Madelyn is determined to find answers.

As the two strangers search for clues, their investigations begin to point toward the same dark place. But by the time they realize that the truth could be deadly, it’s too late to turn back. And someone out there will stop at nothing to make sure their secrets stay buried.

Teenager Angie is investigating a ghost in her house. Madelyn is searching for her missing cousin. Both are strangers to one another, but through the course of this twisty and tense story their worlds become inextricably linked.

I loved this book, it’s an easy five stars, as I devoured it in a single setting. The characters were endearing and interesting, and I really enjoyed the unique premise. I thought it was really clever the way the author built the character of Raymond through brief chapter intros, leaving the reader to rely on his reputation when learning of his character.

The pacing of the first half was a little drawn out, but the tension was built masterfully. The second half was faced paced and exciting, and the payoff was well worth it. I’m looking forward to picking up the authors first book now.

Thank you Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

I really, really enjoyed You Shouldn't Be Here. It has a unique premise and is one of the rare examples where a dual perspective pays off.

I do think there are some things that could be smoothed out. It feels a bit like YA, probably because one narrator is in high school and the other feels very childish at times (sorry, Madelyn). Parts of the story really dragged out, which I think is a combination of the length and a lot of filler to the narrative. If it was about 25% shorter, the pacing might be more suspenseful and the plot more focused.

Overall, it was a book I was excited to come back to, and I'll be watching for whatever Lauren Thoman writes next.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I’d never read this author before, but I really enjoyed her writing style, and the plot kept me intrigued. While the main arc didn’t have as many plot twists or surprises as one might expect, there were a lot of little reveals that were surprising and shocking. I felt connected to the characters, and even though I’m not into paranormal type books, this book included it in a way that didn’t feel over the top.

Well this was quite the read and not in a bday way. I was fully immersed into the story I couldn’t tell reality for fiction apart. What a masterful writing. It was throughly engaging and had me curling my toes. Would 100% recommend to anyone who loves thrillers and mysteries.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

When you think you have the plot figured out, you get absolutely back handed. There were time jumps but it all played a critical role in the plot. Beautifully written and foreshadowed with exquisite perfection. It gives off “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal” with the idea of money can buy you anything, everything and effectively sweep crime under the rug. Instead of Alex Murdaugh, it’s Douglas Raymond.

this was written simply in the sense of the plot was very easy to follow and keep up with. there was suspense, a little slow burn and some comedic relief.

I cannot wait to have a physical copy of this.