Fans of Freida McFadden will love this! Psychological thrills at their best. Claire didn’t have the best childhood… it was pretty horrific as we see throughout the book from her memories. She now has a wonderful job and an amazing fiancé. But does she? I don’t want to give any spoilers, but I’ll say read it! I didn’t figure it out. Will you?

A wild ride with twist and turns that made this story irresistible. Callie Kazumi has a long career ahead of her

Claire and her fiancé, Noah, are celebrating their first anniversary. Claire is so happy as they are now planning their wedding.

The next day, her co-worker, Sukhi, accompanies her to drop off lunch for Noah at his office. When she gets there, she is told he hasn’t worked there for months. Shocked, she tries to contact him to no avail. Now, she goes on a quest to find out why he isn’t answering her calls and has not come home. She learns that he is living with another woman and he tells her to stay away. What has happened to their loving relationship?

Claire’s father left her and her mother when she was very young. Her mother is a narcissist who berated and belittled Claire all of her life which caused her serious mental damage. This is what led to the events with Noah and the drastic aftermath of their breakup.

This is a debut novel and I am happy to say that I think the author did an amazing job and even her handling of the trial was terrific. I enjoyed the book very much and hope others will too.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really enjoyed this one. Claire discovers her fiancé doesn’t work where he said he did. Then he never comes home and won’t answer her calls. After discovering a secret Facebook page she reveals his secret life. How is he so cruel? What is going on? The flashbacks with Claire as a child are hard to read. Very sad and traumatizing. This book kept me fully entertained.

Claire, Darling is one wild ride of a book! This was an amazing debut for the author, [author:Callie Kazumi|40101090]. Claire goes to her fiance's work one day and finds that he no longer works there. She starts to realize that he has a double life and many aspects of their relationship have been hidden from her. While she is spiraling about her relationship the novel flashbacks to her life with her mother. My heart broke for Claire when I as I read about what a difficult life Claire has had to deal with. However, I was not a huge fan of how one paragraph I was reading about what was currently going on in Claire's life, and then the next paragraph it flashed back to a memory. Eventually I got used to the writing, but it confused me at first.

Claire, Darling explores themes of identity, gaslighting, and the psychological toll of manipulation with chilling precision. It's a haunting examination of how our past shapes our perception of truth and our vulnerability to deception. The book flowed easily and kept me engaged the entire time. Claire was a dynamic character and I enjoyed reading about her life. The flashbacks really helped to explain why she acted in the way that she did. I look forward to reading more by Callie Kazumi.

Thank you to Random House/Bantam Books, Callie Kazumi, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Callie Kazumi for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Claire, Darling coming out March 11, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I received this book directly from NetGalley. Normally I enjoy a good thriller. I liked the story, but it wasn’t really anything new to me. A lot of the characters were unlikable. I thought the mother was very domineering. I felt bad for Claire. There weren’t any really happy parts to the book. It wasn’t really for me. I would check out other books by this author though.

3.5 stars, rounded up. This is a good debut, and will scratch an itch if you're looking for a psychological thriller in the vein of The Girl on the Train (extra marks for capturing some of the British particularisms that I think worked well in that one, as well). The elements that worked really well for me would be a little bit spoilery to share and come mostly in the back half of the book, and while a lot of this treads very familiar ground, I think it pulls it together in a solid way.

Smitten and giddy, Claire decides to surprise her fiancé at work with a lunch date that only she can do- I mean, what’s a better way to celebrate their one year anniversary? However, Claire’s smile drops as Noah’s work asks “who?” and her whole world comes crashing.

Who Claire is, is obvious from the get go, with the way her conversations go with co workers and her repeatedly mentioning not becoming her mother. It’s obvious she is the problem and I wish it felt a little less so- like sucking the air of mystery out of the mystery. Like maybe genre this romantic thriller instead. With the reader deciding between reality and delusions, I don’t really see this as a twist as more subtly was needed. I do feel like the author showed a lot of sensitivity and empathy for the character, maybe too much from other characters. I enjoyed the back half of the story much better

The Claire dialogue was a rough read, written more like a perspective of a child. It was a smart choice in making it fast paced, as it didn’t leave the reader having to reflect on the not mystery of it all. Although I appreciated the originality with a lot of this story, I was not a fan of the epilogue.

This is a physiological thriller! It's an amazing book about a woman thinks she has a wonderful life after she grew up in a horrible situation with a horrible mother. You learn just how horrible her mother is through her diary posts. Anyway, she goes through her life thinking she is in a happy relationship with her fiance, when one afternoon she decides to bring Noah, her fiance a surprise lunch. Unfortunately for Claire when she gets to Noah's office no one seems to know who he is and they have never heard of him.

This is just the beginning of the crazy things that are in this book! This book will keep you entertained clear through the end!

This is a first time novel for Called Kazumi and it is amazing! I highly recommend reading it!

Happy Reading!!

Claire has been ghosted by her fiancé. He won’t answer her calls, no longer works where she thought he did and has a new woman on his arm. What could have possibly gone wrong? Why is he doing this to her? All she has ever done is love him, but Noah has a completely different life, one Claire was unaware of until he ghosted her. As Claire tries to uncover Noah’s lies a tragedy occurs and now Claire is behind bars. Will Noah’s life of lies come out in court or is Claire forever doomed. While I knew where this was going, it didn’t take away from the book at all. Great read! Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Claire had a rough childhood; a mother who made her feel like no one in the world would love her the way she does even though she was horrible to her. When she meets Noah she cannot believe that she has found someone to share her life with; it seems surreal. So is it really too good to be true? Why is Noah avoiding her and who is the blonde she sees him with in the club? Claire thinks mother must have been right all along but she must get to the bottom of all of this.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC!

Um hi, @callieuntitled are you ok? 😂 this book was traumatizing in the BEST WAY! You get an inside look at Claire’s awful mother through diary entries - and when Claire’s fiancé disappears you don’t know what is actually going on, I was completely SUCKED into this book!

When I wasn’t reading it, I switched to audiobook cause I had to know what was going on (the audiobook is great btw) all that to say, this books conclusion was perfection and I can not recommend this book enough if you are looking for a fantastic debut psychological thriller! PUB DATE: OUT TODAY!

Thank you to the publisher @penguinrandomhouse for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Naturally Disturbing.

Claire, Darling is a disturbing, psychological thriller/mystery. Told from Claire's point of view, Claire, Darling is a mix of past journal entries, flashbacks, present day adventures, and future consequences. Little by little the truth is revealed until reality catches up and bringing Claire the shock of her life.

This book is addictive, twisty, and…disturbing. When the outcome is revealed, it was as expected but no less shocking. I thought about Claire more often than not, falling asleep thinking about all of the possibilities, asking myself if Claire was indeed an unreliable narrator or if Noah, her fiancé, was unfaithful and guilty of ghosting his fiancé for another.

The characters felt real. Their strengths and flaws notable. Each believable when it was their turn to tell their sides to Claire and Noah’s story. This is where “naturally disturbing” comes to play, as that is the best way I can describe the plot. The slow reveal felt natural, as if I was witnessing the unfolding of a developing breaking news segment.

I loved the flashbacks to Claire’s time with her mother. They were heartbreaking and often left me feeling sorry for Claire – which in and of itself was hard to do, all things considered.

If it wasn’t already clear, I loved Claire, Darling. I want this in movie/show form. I want a physical copy. I want a collector’s edition. I want an audiobook with a full cast. I want it all! Kudos to Callie Kazumi on her fantastic debut. Cannot way to read more books from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing a free e-ARC copy of Claire, Darling in exchange for an honest review!

Now I'm not going to say that the story of Callie Kazumi’s debut novel Claire, Darling is completely original, but I still enjoyed the heck out of it. The night after they celebrate their anniversary, Claire arrives at her fiancé’s work with a surprise lunch only to discover that not only does he no longer work there, he hasn’t for quite some time. So where has gone everyday when he claimed to be working, and where is he now because he isn’t answering his phone or responding to her texts. Now Claire with the help of a work friend, Sukhi, set out down one heck of a rabbit hole to discover the truth about Noah. While I’ve read similar stories I have to say great characters and an engaging, well paced story made this an impressive debut. I’d like to thank Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Claire, Darling.

https://www.amazon.com/review/RK2XDD9K7S5V8/ref=pe_123899240_1043597390_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Claire, Darling is a fabulous, well written debut novel. Full of drama and suspense. This story gave me such a rush!
The interactions between the characters were so well written by the author and the characters very developed.
Looking forward to more from Callie.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

This book was exactly how I was hoping it was going to be.

I love an unreliable main character and Claire was about as unreliable as they come!! While I did figure the ending out quickly, it was still enjoyable how it got there. The ending did go by fairly quick and I wish it would have spent more time in the "after". Also, Claire's mom, hate that lady!!! It's so sad that a mother could be like that.

I would recommend this book to friends, with the detail that it is a "solvable" book.

This was a fun read. I enjoyed trying to figure out who was lying between Noah and Claire. The suspense is well done and will keep you turning the pages. The second half plays out in the courtroom and really made the story for me. I loved seeing the trial play out and how different events came to light. The ending really up the ante and made this a stronger read. I listened and read this one and would recommend either format!

I discovered this debut and decided it looked like it would be right up my alley and I was correct. Interesting characters, twists and intrigue. It was an excellent story of a woman who's fiance ghosts her out of the blue and she is left to figure out what happened. I definitely recommend this one for thriller readers!

Thank you netgalley and to the publishers . I really enjoyed this arc copy. It’s a little bit different from what I normally read so it’s nice to read something different for a change , I don’t think I’ve read anything like this one yet? I will be reading more from this author in the future

Claire, Darling is an absolutely gripping psychological thriller! Callie Kazumi's debut into the literary world is a fantastic exploration of obsession and betrayal.

This is full of suspense and intrigue from beginning to end. I had a suspicion about what was really going on, but was still completely entertained, and that epilogue was one of the most surprising I've read in quite some time.

Although the pacing was a bit slow initially, once it gained momentum, I was hooked! The combination of flashbacks, diary entries, and present day kept the plot moving along nicely. All at once, you're finding out more about her past with her abusive mother,
learning about her relationship with Noah and seeing how everything is playing out in the current timeline.

This was one of those books that will totally mess with your mind and have you trusting absolutely no one. The lines between reality and delusion blur, making this a tense read. I definitely recommend this book for psychological thriller fans. It's a bingeworthy unputdownable book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.