Pip is such a wonderful author who has mastered the art of suspense. You could cut the tension in this book with a knife.
I enjoy a slow burn, but this one did feel a tad too slow for my liking. However the ending totally made up for it. I found the ending to be SO creative and unique and I absolutely loved the twist!

Super twisty book about a woman who starts dating a celebrity. Chaos ensues and she’s suddenly scared for her life. The first half was a little shallow but the second half shot into hyper speed and twist after twist kept coming.

This was a slog. It crawled until around the 75% mark. It's filled with purple prose and overly detailed description which I started to skip over. In the end, the action wasn't worth the slow build in which nothing happened.

I had a really tough time with this book, because I just couldn't get into it. The beginning was slow to pick up and then in the middle, I started to think for sure this was all a psychotic break and we would learn that the MC was in an institution (or similar) because it was just getting progressively more far fetched (but not in a fun thriller way, in an overly detailed way). Eventually, around the 80% mark, the payoff starts to happen and honestly... it just didn't warrant the build we did to get there. There were four or five interconnected plot points all converging, but it felt like it could've been a more dramatic if any one of those was the main point.

The weaving in of articles and social media threads lended itself well to the story and I did enjoy one particular reveal at the end (that they actually did kill her!!! I was shocked!), but overall, this wasn't my favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The Close Up was not what I thought it would be, with twists hidden in the mystery that were unexpected but I’m not sure paid off. Focusing on author and florist Zoe and her past and now present paramour Zach (who in the present has become a big action star), the story had me at first thinking Zoe may be a bit unhinged in her obsession, much like her first book’s main character. What comes to pass just isn’t as shocking as I thought it might be. I loved the writing and the interspersed peeks into what commenters were saying about her public romance and her. I also enjoyed the very last part where we see the wrap up, this piece was well done and thrilling.

I believe this is a thriller many will enjoy, and uniquely written. For me I thought the build up was leading to something a bit bigger to explain why the main mystery was in play, but the suspense is strong.

This was a wild ride and I kept thinking I knew what was going to happen and then it would go in a different direction. I also jumped a couple of times because of the suspense. Zoe really had no idea what she was getting into at the beginning of this book and thought she had control. That is all I can say.

Pip Drysdale is an auto-request for me, and her Misery-esque look behind the fourth wall does not disappoint. Refreshing and fun summer reading.