Don't Let Me In

Don’t let me in by author Phil Kurthausen is a gripping thriller read! Great plot, solid characters. All around a great book!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of Don’t Let Me In in exchange for an honest review.

Sarah used to be a highly respected tv journalist until something bad happened to her almost a year ago,something so terrible that she developed a severe case of agoraphobia. Now she lives her life through social media and broadcasts pod casts from her studio in the basement of her home. Her latest series is about the murder twelve years earlier of teenager Lauren Green who's body was found in her car which was parked in a small car park surrounded by trees on a stretch of country park coastline along the river Dee. Lauren`s Muslim boyfriend Khalil Bakhari was eventually arrested,charged,tried and sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder. Khalil`s brother Mohammed and Sarah are convinced that Khalil is innocent and are working together to uncover the truth.

During the course of her investigation Sarah begins to uncover troubling information about the murder and soon finds herself the centre of unwanted attention,receiving online threats that swiftly become physical. Soon not only Sarah's life is in danger but also her home and her family.

Voiced entirely by Sarah,this is a riveting thriller that had me hooked in from the very first page. Sarah was a complex and I`'ll be honest not very likeable character. Actually I didn't think any of the main characters had any redeemable qualities apart from Sarah's poor six year old son Finn and lil`bitch (what a absolutely wonderful name for a cat). The authors portrayals of Sarah's fear and anxieties when faced with the prospect of having to go outdoors even if it was only out in her back garden were realistic and believable. But were still not enough to cause me to feel any sympathy for her character. Interspersed throughout the book were Sarah's pod casts about Lauren`s murder,the facts about the case,the racial atmosphere and unrest at the time of Khalil`s arrest and trial. How the media and people on the internet judge people and decide they are guilty even before the trial begins. The uncomfortable truths that Sarah uncovers during her investigation. Is khalil innocent and if he is then who really killed Lauren and why? Who is Sarah's mysterious tormentor Frenchie? What happened to Sarah that she is now so terrified that she can even go out into her own back garden?

This is a compelling,well written,twisty thriller that held my attention throughout. Frantically turning the pages and totally gripped as the story unfolded before my eyes. It's keeps the reader guessing from the first page,right through to the heart pounding confrontation and the jaw dropping final chapter. This is the first book that I have read by this author and it most definitely will not be my last. Very highly recommended by little old me.

Phil Kurthausen did an excellent job at keeping the reader on edge. This was a fast paced thriller that didn’t let the reader down at the end. Based on a podcast trying to overturn a mirder conviction, this book is a perfect contemporary thriller.
This was an honest review provided for a preview copy from netgalley.

Sarah suffers from agoraphobia, I can relate to this. I suffered for two years, all better now, sorry I must not digress.
Sarah's home is a fortress, she works in her basement delivering pod casts. Before her illness Sarah used to be a journalist. Her weekly podcast is about a muslin man who has been convicted of killing a white woman. Sarah is convinced that this is a miscarriage of justice and is determined to find the truth.
As her podcasts become even more popular, some one is not happy with all the publicity. First comes the hate mail then the vitriol text messages and finally the death threats.
Then her family is threatened.
I was hooked from the first page. There is so much tension and suspense and it is very well written.
This book is a four and a half star psychological thriller that had me on the edge of my seat. This is a new author for me and I will definitely be looking out for more of his work.
I would like to thank the author Phil Kurthausen, Bloodhound books and Net.galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for giving an honest review.

The story is told from Sarah's point of view as she works from home running a podcast due to her agoraphobia. Her podcast is investigating the murder of a girl years before where she uncovers all sorts of ideas and information, getting herself into trouble and dealing with the online trolls.

You get to know a few characters in the book, none of which are particularly likeable, although I did love the cat - not so much the name for the cat....Lil'Bitch!

The story is well written and allows you to go through the feeling that Sarah experiences which really adds value.

I found it slightly challenging to get in to at first (hence 4 stars) but did enjoy the story, and was particularly gripped to the second half of the book where there are some big twists that I very unexpected......the final chapter is also mind-blowing! I did have slight suspicions but didn't for a second thing I might be right!

Overall a good, enjoyable gripping read!

Really enjoyed reading this book a lot. The story seemed to flow very naturally and the characters were believable.
The story itself had some gripping and tense moments and I was very happy I got the chance to read it.

When I read the blurb for "Don't Let Me In" I was immediately intrigued by the premise of the novel. Something about it just grabbed me, I loved the idea of the podcast having read other novels based on this kind of narrative and the protagonist, Sarah, and the case she was working on all hooked me immediately! Sarah is an investigative journalist with a real interest in miscarriages of justice. She has become embroiled in the case of a murder that took place twelve years earlier and the boy, Khalil, who was charged and imprisoned. Khalil's family have approached her to investigate further and while she never claims to be the saviour who will free him she is more than happy to poke about and unearth evidence that the police may have missed.

Sarah is a complex character and this struck me immediately; her agoraphobia and her level of paranoia hinted at a dark secret in her past and I wanted to know what it was! A journalist who has locked herself away from the outside world she is investigating the death of a young girl twelve years earlier. Was there a miscarriage of justice? And are her investigations going to unlock a nightmare of her own?

Immediately we are confronted with evidence of trolling and some hints that Sarah is hiding from something or someone. The scene where her cat enters the basement with a dead bird in its mouth...the doors are always locked in her house! This totally freaked me out, this tension building was fantastic and I was compelled to read on to find out what was going on!

I loved the topical nature of the novel; that concept of a whole life and persona being created online; those perfect #Insta snaps hiding what is really going on. It really explored the whole notion of people creating a life, a spin to hide the, often very different reality.

As I said, Sarah is a complex character, she is actually quite unlikeable if I am to be brutally honest. But this novel was cleverly plotted and executed that I found myself completely drawn into Sarah's life. She is a sharp character with some real jaggy edges,  but there was something about her that engaged me.  Perhaps it was her idiot of a husband, Henry, who irritated me so much I could have happily punched him. Through Sarah's character we are able to explore mental illness, impact of trauma, the online narrative that is at the centre of modern day life and its nasty side of trolling and abuse. This is definitely a character-driven novel and for me, the plots actually faded somewhat into the background as I became fully immersed in the lives of Sarah and the other characters. Sarah has very few "real life" relationships other than with her husband and son, her boss Cathy and Khalil's brother Mo, she spends most of her life with online "friends" and trolls. Her panic at leaving the house or the outside world making its way into her life is tangible throughout and I actually found myself reading without breathing at times!

Two storylines marry together in perfect harmony; Sarah's investigation into Lauren's death and Khalil's conviction along with Sarah's own secret, just what has happened to her to cause her to shun the outside world? To barricade herself in her own home? Add to the union the topical issue of online trolling and this whole life lived on social media phenomenon then we have a perfect partnership. The exploration of trolling was extremely disturbing and I wish I could say it was exaggerated but I know that it wasn't. It was a real eye-opener into what online living can really lead to.

This novel twisted and turned all the way through, leaving me never quite sure of who to believe. Topical and twisted it had me hooked all the way through!  A real heart-pounding read and one that I would recommend!

review will be on blog as part of blog tour

Billed as a gripping psychological thriller this book lives up to its name particularly in the second half when the tension really ramps up. Sarah ,a once well known broadcaster,now podcasts from home. She has agoraphobia ,online trolls, her husband Henry and a young son, who seems detatched, to deal with whilst trying to prove the innocence of Khalil who was found guilty of murder whilst still at school.. The online trolls ,particulary Frenchie who seems to know Sarah's every move ,add to the tension as does the description af a life lived within four heavily fortified walls. At times you feel yourself going mad with the boredom and horror of living such a life. The people she trusts to help her are not necessarily trustworthy or honest with her and when she accuses someone of the murder it really starts to get creepy. Great story told from Sarahs perspective ,it takes a while for her reason for being agoraphobic to emerge .

Solid 4 stars. Strong start and an ending with a twist! The middle was a little boring and drawn out to me but all in all thriller of a book written like a podcast.

Thank you #NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Don't Let Me In is Phil Kurthausen's first standalone novel and on the whole, it's a compelling read that addresses some important issues, the most prominent of which is the main character Sarah's agoraphobia. Having had a friend who suffered from this debilitating mental illness, I liked that it helps to raise awareness of an often misunderstood health issue but also uses it to weave an interesting story. The tension in the second half of the book was palpable and had me reading faster and faster in order to ascertain what would eventually happen. There is action aplenty but Mr Kurthausen expertly manages each thread of the story so it never becomes confusing or convoluted.

Sarah is a memorable character as not only has she her agoraphobia to deal with but online trolls, a fairly detached and distant husband and her mission to find information to solve cold case murders, all feature heavily in her life. She is a well-developed character who is flawed and you really sympathise with her for what she is having to go through. Due to her inability to leave the house, she produces podcasts at home and her current podcast features her investigation into a girls death where she uncovers some vital information which could lead to the solving of the cold case from 12 years ago. It does take a while for you to warm up to the writing style but once you do it's a fantastic journey. With realistic characters, a gripping plot and the authentic portrayal of agoraphobia, this is certainly a twisty and unpredictable thriller. Oh, and I mustn't forget that ending! Wow! However, if you like your reads clean with no bad or potentially offensive language then this may be a novel to pass on, but I loved it!

Many thanks to Bloodhound Books for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Don’t Let Me In is a gripping psychological thriller and very modern murder mystery.

It starts with a great, stark opening and I immediately warmed to Sarah: her thoughts and fears and anxieties. She is a great – if believably fallible – heroine. The supporting characters are all three-dimensional and the situations described – both in the historical case and the real-life present – are scarily realistic.

The Serial/Making-a-Murderer-esque podcast plot is compelling and runs nicely alongside the development of Sarah, her family and her personal situation. There are some frightening insights here into victims of social media trolling and misogyny.

There’s a good few twists in this story and, although I did predict one, I did not see the main ones coming. The book has both a rollercoaster finale and an additional sting in the tale, like the cherry on top. This is a great psychological mystery thriller and I would be intrigue to read more from Phil Kurthausen.

Thank you to Bloodhound Books and NetGalley for the ARC of Don’t Let Me In.

Oooh this was a good read. Set out brilliantly and well written. It’s bound to keep the reader thinking and on the edge of their seat! I loved how the podcasts were part of the story so that the reader coule be a listener too and decide about the case and facts for themselves.

Poor Sarah is looking into an old murder case but not everyone is happy about that or agrees with her views. Because of this she has put herself into a vulnerable position to hate and harm, which I wouldn’t do. This has turned Sarah into an anxious, scared and lonely woman which is obviously within the first few chapters. I felt sorry for her.

A real page turner that has you searching for answers yourself. Will Sarah uncover new evidence? Get the police to reopen the case and look again? Or will it all get too much and too personal for her? Brilliant.

A well deserved four stars. Highly recommend!

A pretty good read. Better than I was expecting. It kept me keen all the way. Will definitely consider this author again