Jessica Huntley's novels are always my favourites for when I need a thrill and this one was no different, immediately I felt immersed into the growing danger and intensity and it kept me hooked.

5/5 stars


Read this book on Netgalley. Thank you to them and Inkubator books for the ARC.


A truly compulsive read, I think Inkubator books is now my favourite publisher! One great reads after another!

This was a crazy book, I finished it in two days. At the start it gave me anxiety seeing how much Natasha was struggling with life, having two jobs and a teenage son all on her own.

The dread over her life was intense. And then the letter arrived and the book just switched gears.


And bam she moves far away and yet attracts trouble in her home. The crazy man who tries to take over her life.

The premise of this book was great - a single mother and her son run into trouble with some drug dealers and suddenly inherit a house in the country which should be an answer to their problems. Only it gets worse!

The house seems almost unlivable but Natasha and Max don't have any other options. They ignore the black mold, cold shower, sketchy electricity, and dust, and immediately find jobs, and someone to fix up their house. I love the introduction of the slimy builder and you just know that will be a plot point. But I couldn't resolve the fact that someone on long-term anxiety meds could suddenly go cold turkey. Although the author made a big deal out of Natasha being wary of symptoms of withdrawal, nothing ever came of that.

The end reveal came too suddenly and out of the blue. So overall, I think the story had potential but had some issues with pacing, believability and attention to detail. It was still an entertaining read and managed to hold my attention until the end.

Thanks to NetGalley, Inkubator Book,s and Booksprout for an advance reader's copy.

We follow the story of Single mom Natasha and her 17 year old son Max. Things get messy when Natasha learns that Max has been hanging around the wrong crowd. In order to get away from this trouble, they are able to uproot and move into a newly inherited house after the passing of a relative that Natasha was not aware of. However the conditions of the home are less than desirable, and extensive repairs are needed. She invites a stranger into her home to help fix it up, and then of course things begin to spiral and aren’t at all what they seem. The stranger Henry, becomes too involved in their life and she soon discovers he is hiding a dark secret of his own, that puts her and her son in danger. Henry offers to help keep the secret, but at a cost... and this “new beginning” becomes a nightmare. Natasha, she will go to any length to protect her son. This book was great, it was suspenseful, with a great and unexpected twist to the end I didn’t see coming, The MC made me mad with awful choices, and I loved seeing the son change and grow throughout the story.

⭐️⭐️✨
An interesting premise, but the execution fell short.

The setup for Under Her Skin had so much potential—an inherited house with dark secrets, a mysterious and increasingly creepy builder, and a mother’s desperate attempt to protect her son. I was intrigued by the premise and ready for a chilling psychological thriller.

Unfortunately, the story didn’t quite deliver for me. The pacing felt uneven, with long stretches of slow build-up that didn’t always lead to satisfying payoffs. Natasha’s character, while sympathetic, made some frustratingly repetitive decisions, which made it hard to stay fully invested in her journey. The twists, while surprising at times, felt predictable in other places, and some of the tension fizzled out before it could really land.

While there were moments of genuine suspense and a creepy atmosphere, the story didn’t keep me on edge as I’d hoped. It might work better for readers who enjoy a slower burn and don’t mind some familiar thriller tropes.

Under Her Skin by Jessica Huntley is a recommended psychological thriller.

Natasha has been struggling to make ends meet since she left home and had her son Max. Now Max, seventeen, has gotten into trouble, the kind of trouble they need to run away from. Their escape is an unexpected inheritance from an aunt she never knew. She has been left a house in the country and a small amount of money. When they arrive at the house, it needs a lot of work, but hopefully she and her son will be safe here. They both find jobs in town and she hires Henry, a local builder who offers his services at a reduced rate.

There is no doubt that Under Her Skin held my complete attention. The narrative is divided into three parts and the plot moves at a fast pace. Not all developments in the plot are explained as well as they could be, but once started, I kept reading right to the end.

At first I was focused on the annoying characters and bad parenting. Max had an attitude and acted like a spoiled teen. Natasha's reaction to him was to cuddle him, excusing and enabling his bad behavior. Once they were away from the city, Natasha continued to make poor choices. She is also off her anxiety meds, cold turkey, and I kept mentally telling her to go to a doctor and get her prescription.

Once Henry started helping and a secret was found during renovations suddenly terrible secrets to keep, threatening behavior, and intimidation comes into play. At this point I had to set disbelief aside as the plot veers way off into a totally different direction. Max seemed to control himself a bit better, while Natasha's personality changes drastically. Thanks to Inkubator Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Amazon.

Natasha inherit's a house from an aunt that she never knew, which comes at the right time to help her son who's in trouble with drug dealers. This is a good twisty thriller with good characters and some that your not sure of. A good entertaining read for these cold night. Thanks to Inkubator books and Netgalley for this review ARC

I was just as anxious as Natasha while reading this book. I thought it started out kinda slow, but man, the second half of the book was a little nerve racking. I could feel the tension building up inside Natasha and had no idea what she was going to do. The ending was abrupt though. I think that is just because the mystery was solved in about two paragraphs. It was a good read and I recommend it.

Thanks for letting me review it.

A twisty and suspenseful page turner!
I found this one slightly frustrating in places, things I could tell were going to happen, or were over explained, but all in all this kept you wanting to read on and it did bring a great atmosphere to the story!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC

Henry Is so scary and I was terrified for Catherine at first then came Adrain and I was like ohhhh shoot!!
Twisted as fudge!!!!

Under Her Skin
When single mom, Natasha Moore, inherits a house in the country, it seems to be a blessing. Her teenage son, Max, is in trouble from hanging out with the wrong crowd. They need a fresh start.
When local builder, Henry, offers to work on her crumbling new home, she accepts.
However, Henry brings with him, a sense of danger & deadly secrets!
I recommend this heart-racing twisted thriller!

Under Her Skin von Jessica Huntley ist ein faszinierender Thriller, der auf psychologischer Ebene genauso fesselt wie auf der Ebene der Spannung. Die Autorin entführt den Leser in eine Welt voller Geheimnisse, Verwicklungen und überraschender Wendungen, die den Puls in die Höhe treiben und die Frage aufwerfen, wie gut wir die Menschen um uns wirklich kennen.

Im Mittelpunkt des Romans steht die Protagonistin, die mit einem dunklen Geheimnis belastet ist, das sie vor der Welt verbirgt. Als sich das Geschehen um sie herum immer weiter zuspitzt, muss sie sich mit der Frage auseinandersetzen, wie weit sie bereit ist zu gehen, um ihre Vergangenheit hinter sich zu lassen. Doch je mehr sie versucht, ihre Spuren zu verwischen, desto tiefer wird sie in eine Spirale aus Lügen und Manipulationen hineingezogen.

Jessica Huntley gelingt es meisterhaft, die Geschichte spannend und atmosphärisch dicht zu gestalten. Der Thriller lebt von seiner psychologischen Tiefe und den komplexen Charakteren, deren wahre Absichten lange verborgen bleiben. Die Autorin spielt geschickt mit den Erwartungen des Lesers, indem sie falsche Fährten legt und die Wahrheit nur in kleinen, schockierenden Häppchen preisgibt. Jede Seite sorgt für neue Enthüllungen und hält den Leser in ständiger Ungewissheit darüber, was als Nächstes passieren wird.

Die Hauptfigur ist vielschichtig und spannend, mit einem inneren Konflikt, der sich im Laufe der Geschichte immer weiter entfaltet. Ihr psychologisches Drama ist genauso faszinierend wie die äußeren Konflikte, mit denen sie konfrontiert ist. Die Charaktere sind so gut ausgearbeitet, dass man ihre Handlungen nachvollziehen kann, auch wenn man nicht immer mit ihnen sympathisiert. Die zunehmende Dunkelheit der Geschichte wird von Huntley auf eine Weise vermittelt, die den Leser sowohl mitreißt als auch aufwühlt.

Der Schreibstil von Jessica Huntley ist packend und flüssig, mit einer Atmosphäre, die den Leser in die düstere Welt der Protagonistin zieht. Der Roman wird durch die geschickt eingesetzten Wendungen und die sich zuspitzende Spannung zu einem echten Pageturner. Dabei gelingt es der Autorin, das psychologische Element der Geschichte mit einer klaren, präzisen Erzählweise zu verbinden.

Fazit: Under Her Skin ist ein packender psychologischer Thriller, der nicht nur mit einer fesselnden Handlung, sondern auch mit einer tiefgehenden Charakterstudie überzeugt. Jessica Huntley schafft es, den Leser bis zur letzten Seite in Atem zu halten und mit jeder neuen Wendung zu überraschen. Wer Thriller mit komplexen Charakteren und überraschenden Plot-Twists liebt, wird von diesem Buch begeistert sein.

Under her skin was a fast-paced, entertaining read.
I’d say that it at times, was a bit slow, but the twists and turns made up for it.
A quick read for a cold day.

Thanks to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Another great read by Jessica Huntley. This was a fast paced thriller with lots of twist and turns. I really enjoyed this one!

i had higher hopes for this book. the first 50% was intriguing and had that psychological thriller feel to it, but the last 50% just fell flat for me. the plot twist wasn’t super crazy. it just kind of… happened but it wasn’t in a very exciting way. jessica’s writing was GREAT!! i love her writing style. i think it was just this book in particular that didn’t do it for me.

First of all, thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book.

"Under her skin" is a fast, popcornish kind of read that is more action driven than character building, although characters were described and introduced quite well.

The twists were good and interesting just the ending felt very underwhelming. Like totally uncharacteristic to all the other story but not like ruining the book, just different and a little out of place.

I would suggest this book for readers who like a faster pace and constant action.

It was interesting and kept my attention.

Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator books for the copy.
The story follows Natasha Moore, a single mother raising her teenage son, Max. Natasha juggles two jobs while dealing with anxiety, and things take a dark turn when Max falls in with the wrong crowd. Just as she's running out of options, Natasha unexpectedly inherits a house from her late aunt. With nowhere else to turn, she decides to move into this rural property, despite its desperate need for renovation—a decision that sets the story in motion.

When Henry, a local builder, offers to work on the house at a low rate, Natasha agrees. But as Henry becomes more involved, Natasha senses something unsettling about him. He brings with him dark secrets that amplify her anxiety, and it quickly becomes clear that he expects something in return.

The chapters are on the longer side, but overall, it’s an engaging, fast-paced read that keeps you turning the pages. I didn’t want to put it down—I just wanted to keep reading to see what would happen next. At times, I could truly put myself in Natasha's shoes, feeling the tension and uncertainty in her new surroundings. While Natasha makes a few questionable decisions, her character is well-developed and relatable. It's a binge-worthy story, though I do wish it had a bit more depth.

Overall a decent book. Not a hard read but also not exciting or nail biting.
The characters are pretty decently described, but you can easily see where they lie to Nat. I had a good hunch about what was going on and saw right away things didn’t add up for Nat’s first few days at the house.

I would definitely recommend as an easy weekend or beach read.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for this copy of "Under Her Skin."

I couldn't stop reading this page-turner and finished it in 24 hours.

Natasha's teenage son Max gets in serious trouble and she's afraid for their lives.

But she unexpectedly inherits a house from an aunt she didn't know existed. And it's the perfect solution to get them away from their current messy situation.

Except for the contractor who offers to help with renovations at half-rate and invites himself to dinner. What does he really want?

I was definitely rooting for Natasha and Max and hoping they could find a way to fix all their problems.

There were lots of fun plot twists but the ending felt too abrupt and I wanted a little more that tied up some of the details. If you read it, let me know what you think.

Agree with others who've said this was at times frustrating. I loved the Prologue and the premise it laid out. I found the first chapter a bit of an info-dump, really long explanation about her anxiety and how she takes sertraline for it, and then still needed to say things like, 'i took my sertraline, which I have for anxiety.'
Otherwise it was fine for a thriller