A pacey and riveting read, this dark tale of deception and intrigue will keep you turning the pages. The characters are beautifully developed and uttery loathsome and the plot unfolds beautifully. The tension mounts well throughout the book with plenty of misdirection to keep you guessing. An excellent read in a beautiful setting.

With both their marriage and writing career on the rocks, husband and wife novelist duo Felix and Emma Larson escape to France for the summer to repair both.

Bogged down by Felix’s drinking and affairs and Emma’s controlling nature, things aren’t better in France. Although their 9th novel is finally under way, controversy back home catches up with them. Then Emma disappears in the middle of the night.

This was too much of a slow burn for me and had few likeable characters. The ending is clever but not something the reader could have figured out. Generally would have benefitted from more of a breadcrumb trail.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Publication Date: 8 May 2025

A diabolical and tense psychological thriller, The Cliffhanger follows Emma and Felix, a husband-and-wife writing team (publishing under the pen name Morgan Savage), as they retreat to a villa in the south of France to fix both their next book – and their fractured relationship.

From the opening pages, something is clearly off. Intrigue and uncertainty dominate the first few chapters as the power dynamics between Emma and Felix are slowly revealed. There’s an undercurrent of resentment, control, and emotional manipulation that keeps the reader uneasy. While it’s a slow burn, the second half delivers the twists and suspense thriller fans will be hoping for.

Reminiscent of Gone Girl, this novel plays with the blurred lines between fiction and reality, writing and truth. It’s unsettling in the best way. A great choice for holiday reading – though maybe skip it if you’re staying in a remote French villa with your partner…

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The relationship between a husband and wife writing duo spirals as the line between fiction and reality blurs in this twisty and dark thriller from Emma Freud.

Freud builds a strong sense of tension as the story builds with a slow, suspenseful and discomforting air. I found myself constantly second guessing if the dynamic between Felix and Emma was just unhealthy, or truly insidious. The premise of a story within a story was cleverly executed, and kept me on the hook to the very end. The isolated French manor on the edge of a cliff is a wonderfully atmospheric setting for this twisty thriller.

Just like the dark thrillers they pen, Emma and Felix’s story is full of red herrings, and shock reveals. The ending was satisfyingly unexpected, and has me looking forward to picking up more of Freud’s work.

Thank you Quercus Books for an advance copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

I enjoyed the concept of this book and seeing the writing process develop as part of the plot was really fascinating. The different perspectives made for an interesting opportunity to think about who was the most reliable narrator and this helped progress the plot as the book advanced. A little uneven in pace, but other than that a strong mystery.

Hard to review, for the majority of the book I felt it torturously slow. I found Emma and Felix frustratating, and I really only felt committed once the villain was revealed.

I think had the pace been slightly faster this would have been possible to be the perfect beach read.

Many thanks to netgalley, the author and the publisher for approving my request to read this book.

Dark, atmospheric, intriguing and with twists that I didn't see coming I loved this book! The plot is really fast paced and left me furiously turning the pages-the ending is superb. If you enjoyed Gone Girl then this ones for you.

Highly recommended-5 stars from me!

Intrigue and uncertainty dominate in the first few chapters of this read. Emma and Felix are husband and wife, writing partners under the pen name Morgan Savage and they’ve retreated to a villa in France to get their next book done. There’s something going on between them, but it’s unclear what, a darkness lingers. There’s an animosity and a power dynamic between them which makes the reader uneasy. It’s a slow burn but the action and twists come through in the second half.

I had my suspicions about a certain character but overall really didn’t see the second half of this coming! This left me with a few questions. The ending was unexpected and I enjoyed the reveal of a villain. The tense and heavy atmosphere was very well done but some readers might not appreciate the slow pace in the first half.

I really enjoyed reading Felix and Emma’s chapters, it was very cool to see a book within a book. The chapters also had a lot of parallels to their reality.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @quercusbooks for the gifted arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book was incredibly slow for me, although I appreciate that some people enjoy a slow burn. I wasn’t really invested in this until around the 60% mark. If you haven’t read or watched Gone Girl then this probably has a good twist, but it felt very similar. I have only read one other book by this author which I absolutely adored so although this didn’t hit the mark for me, I’ll definitely read others

I felt this book was a Little slow. I didn’t think it was all that interesting, but the ending was a shock!

I enjoyed this book but didn't love it.

Felix and Emma have a marriage that isn;t perfect and as they also have a working relationship writng novels they rarely have time apart.

This is a twisty read and reminded me a little of gone girl. It is pacy and well written and although a touch to far fetched I really enjoyed my reading time.. I have a few friends who will love it so I am happy to recommend..

This book had a great premise and I totally believed in the characters and the settings - the relationship between co- authors is one that would fascinate any reader. However I felt the 'memory blanks' were a little too convenient at times and I found the last third of the book rushed and stylistically inconsistent.