When a mother cannot accept that her son's death was a suicide, she decides to go to his apartment and his college to understand what happened. She is tenacious and learns a whole lot more than the police did. She also learns more about herself and her ex-husband.

I thought this book was longer than it needed to be, but it was an interesting read. I listened to the audio version and the narrator was great.

I’m not entirely sure what I was supposed to get out of reading this. Quite dull for a thriller, even after adjusting my own expectations to lean more towards domestic drama. I’m often fine with a slow pace but there wasn’t ever anything that happened that made me actually interested in where this was going.

It relied on one of my least favorite things that a thriller or mystery can do, which is an immense amount of exposition in the third act. The final twist should not have to have entire chapters to explain why it makes sense.

I had higher expectations for this one but ultimately it was not for me.

I would not categorize this book as a thriller, but more of a domestic drama. I read a ton of books in the thriller genre and just found this book to be ok. I did not really like the characters or feel connected to them or the plot of the story. It had the potential to be a powerful story about a mother’s grief, but this aspect unfortunately fell flat.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This was a pleasant surprise! i wasn't sure what to expect about this book and it was a really great read for sure

When Kate's son Jake commits suicide she is so desperate to find out what could have driven him that she decides to dive deep down into his life. Going back to his college she manages to follow her son's footsteps and even lives parts of his campus-routine. This helps her to get to know the people her son surrounded himself with towards the end.
Well, this story did turn quite dark and I was totally engrossed in it. In my opinion the description as a combination of dark academia and domestic fiction hits home exactly!
The book is perfectly narrated by Lauren Fortgang
Thank you ##NetGalley #Blackstone Publishing for this audiobook

This one came THROUGH with the craziest plot twist ! 😧 I def did not see the ending coming. The story was great and the narration was perfect. 😊 recommend if you’re looking for your next thriller !

For a book touted as a psychological thriller, I wasn't very thrilled. This was an ok read, but I was expecting more from it. There was a secret twist but even still, I wasn't blown away.

This will also be a very tough read for any parent who has ever lost a child and I would tell them to steer clear of this one.

I’m not sure where to begin.

I had some high hopes, I really wanted to love it. The synopsis dragged me in but I found myself bored and not wanting to continue the book. I feel like it was seriously lacking in suspense. As a mother, I felt bad for Kate, and I wanted her to find justice for her son, Jake. But I felt that ever character she met was dull, lacking development. I will however say that it all came together, rather quickly in the end, but did come together. I don’t know, I’ve got adhd and if I had physically read this instead of listening, I probably would have DNF’d this book. It just didn’t have that “suck me in” moment.

But, that’s just me! This book is for someone, just not me. Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC audiobook of The Wayside.

TW: Self Harm.This was a hard read. Kate Cleary’s son takes his own life and Kate travels to his college town and takes residence in his apartment to sit in her grief and get to the truth of what really happened. This book gives you lots of dark academia vibes and even though I could see the ending as it unfolded, it was chaotic and twisty. I was left though wanting one final twist.

i enjoyed the first half of the book. it pulled at my heart strings but then it got messy. there really wasn't any OMG revelation like I was hoping. It wasn't bad....I'd read more by Wolf though.

I really wanted to like this book, it sounded intriguing, but the glacially slow pace and the author’s tendency to throw in words that are pedantic and many times not cohesive. I didn’t finish, I got to 85% and honestly didn’t care what the big reveal was

I thought I would like this one but I just didn't. It was a little dull, it fell flat. I felt the relationships were weird and didn't really have a place there. It was really slow and lacked to keep my attention.

I have a son who is 19 and I cannot even imagine the pain of losing him. I have a friend who lost her son at this age and she is not the same. She likely won't ever be. This book was so painful for me. I couldn't stop listening once it started.
I wanted to help Kate but I also wanted her to stop. This book does a fantastic job of illustrating her pain and her process.
The twists were unreal and so unexpected!