The Couple on the Train – ARC Book Review

Title:- The Couple on the Train

Author:- Claire Cooper

Date published:- 23rd August 2023

No. of pages:- 356 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 3/5

Writing:- 3/5

Overall rating:- 3/5

I look at where the woman was sitting. There’s a scrap of paper tucked into the gap between the seats. With shaking hands, I pick it up. The note Help me.

At first glance, the couple on the train look normal. She’s dressed smartly, a floral patterned bag on her lap. But her hands are clenched, her fingers white. The man with her has his arm looped through hers, but not in a comforting way. He’s holding her too tightly.

She catches my eye and I see desperation there. I’m opening my mouth to speak when the train grinds to a halt and the man stands, hauling her away. She looks at me again, then at the seat behind her, her face pale.

I find the message she left behind. Help me .

When I call the police, there’s no sign of the couple on CCTV. The kind detective gently suggests that it’s not surprising, with my history, that I am imagining things. Wanting to save someone.

I know what I saw. If no one will believe me, I’ll find her myself.

But as I search, what I find seems personal. Little things that remind me of what happened ten years ago. And I think I’m being followed, that someone broke into my flat.

The hunt for the woman on the train is leading me somewhere I should never go. Can I save her, or will I be next?

Laura sees a couple in the train– they look like typical couple. However the woman looked anxious and frightened and before leaving she slips a note to Laura with only one sentence- Help me. However when Laura goes to the police the couple was nowhere to be seen and no one believes Laura. Laura must prove that she wasn’t imagining before it is too late.

This was a slow burn thriller and Laura is a typical unreliable narrator. The story started out slow not much of twists and turns and a but boring to begin with. However the ending got little interesting and this made me gice the book a three star rating.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Good Bad Girl – Book Review

Title:- Good Bad Girl

Author:- Alice Feeney

Date published:- August 29th 2023

No. of pages:- 311 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

Sometimes bad things happen to good people, so good people have to do bad things. Alice Feeney, returns with another thrilling mystery filled with drama and her trademark surprises.

Twenty years after a baby is stolen from a stroller, a woman is murdered in a care home. The two crimes are somehow linked, and a good bad girl may be the key to discovering the truth.

Edith may have been tricked into a nursing home, but at eighty-years-young, she’s planning her escape. Patience works there, cleaning messes and bonding with Edith, a kindred spirit. But Patience is lying to Edith about almost everything.

Edith’s own daughter, Clio, won’t speak to her. And someone new is about to knock on Clio’s door…and their intentions aren’t good.

With every reason to distrust each other, the women must solve a mystery with three suspects, two murders, and one victim. If they do, they might just find out what happened to the baby who disappeared, the mother who lost her, and the connections that bind them.

In the style of Daisy Darker and Rock Paper Scissors, Good Bad Girl is a thriller in which nobody can be trusted and the twists come fast and furious.

This is the third Alice Feeney book I have read–my favorite so far being Rock, Paper and Scissors, which I couldn’t put the book down. Good Bad Girl follows the story of three women named Clio, Patience (which is not really her real name) and Frannie who all got embroiled in each other’s lives and got involved in murders–three suspects, two murders and one victim. It also follows about an incident that happened twenty years ago when a six-month old baby was abducted during the mother’s day.

The story is told in the POV’s of Clio, Patience, Frannie and Edith. They are nearly all unreliable characters with history. Edith is a resident at a care house, Patience works at the care house and is known as Ladybug by Edith, Clio is the daughter of Edith and Frannie is the mother of Patience, whose name is Nellie. There is some sort of connection between the four women and the whole story begins when a care manager at the care home was murdered. The story is a little bit slow paced but towards the middle of the book, it got fast paced. Not many twists or turns but this book is actually a page turner. However, in my opinion, this book wasn’t great as her previous books Rock, Paper and Scissors, His and Hers, which I simply couldn’t put the book down. However, I feel this was actually an OK thriller and not really her best.

Overall, this book worth 4 stars in my opinion.

Alice Feeney is a New York Times million-copy bestselling author. Her books have been translated into over thirty languages, and have been optioned for major screen adaptations. Including Rock Paper Scissors, which is being made into a TV series by the producer of The Crown. Alice was a BBC journalist for fifteen years, and now lives in Devon with her family. Good Bad Girl is her sixth novel.

You can follow Alice on Instagram or Twitter: @alicewriterland

For the latest book and TV news, and to sign up for Alice’s free newsletter, please visit her website: www.alicefeeney.com

The Second Mrs. Strom – Book Blog Tour

Title:- The Second Mrs. Strom

Author:- Kaira Rouda

Date published:- 16th August 2024

No. of pages:- 284 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating;-

Plot:- 5/5

Writing:- 5/5

Overall rating:- 5/5

I don’t want the perfect marriage. I want revenge…

If you had met me a year ago, you wouldn’t have noticed me. A beautiful woman, but a struggling nobody in a tiny apartment, invisible…

Meeting Paul changed that.

And now here I am in Paris, after a whirlwind courtship and a stunning beach proposal. I smile at my handsome husband, my eyes shining in the candlelight, my huge diamond ring sparkling on the starched white tablecloth. Other women look at me in envy. They see a couple completely in love.

They’re wrong.

Despite this incredible luxury vacation, my husband and I can’t escape our problems. I can’t get over what he did with that woman just after our wedding, and my bright smile can’t hide the hardness in my heart.

I wonder if Paul knows the truth. That our first meeting, when we fell in love, wasn’t the coincidence he thinks it was. That what I want from him has nothing to do with his money.

And now that he’s wronged me, I’ll stop at nothing to get it…

This is an intense psychological thriller that is unputdownable and a page turner.

Paul and Cecelia are celebrating their first year wedding anniversary in Paris. Paul suspect that Cecelia is having an affair while Cecelia is having something in her mind. Both are gold diggers and both would do anything to get the inheritance of a lady who had passed away recently, even if it involves murdering one of them.

I didn’t know this was a sequel but then I read this book as a standalone. Paul and Cecelia are typical gold-diggers each greedy with their own agenda. The writing was great, intense and the atmosphere created by the author in the book is also very intense. This was a page turning thriller, unputdownable full of twists and turns and some drama involved in the story. Overall, reading this whole story will make you feel like you are watching an action paced thriller movie.

This book is a five star read for me.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. Thank you Bookouture for making me a part of the blog tour. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Kaira Rouda is an award–winning, USA Today and Amazon Charts bestselling author of contemporary fiction that explores what goes on beneath the surface of seemingly perfect lives. Her novels of domestic suspense include The Widow, Somebody’s Home, The Next Wife, The Favorite Daughter, Best Day Ever, All the Difference, Beneath the Surface – optioned for a feature film – and Under the Palms. Her next novel, The Second Mrs. Strom, is out in August 2024, and Only the Nanny in November 2024. To date, Kaira’s work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. Three of her novels have been named Amazon Editor’s Picks for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense. The Next Wife was named a Suspense Magazine’s Best Book of 2021 Award, and a 2022 Silver Falchion for Best Suspense Novel and a 2022 Silver Falchion first runner-up for Best Book of the Year.

She lives in Southern California with her family and is working on her next novel. Please sign up for her newsletter to learn about new releases and exclusive content on her website, and follow her on social media.

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Everyone Here is Lying – Book Review

Title:- Everyone Here is Lying

Author:- Shari Lapena

Date published:- July 25th 2023

No. of pages:- 336 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Plot;-4/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

Welcome to Stanhope – a safe neighbourhood. A place for families.

William Wooler is a family man, on the surface. But he’s been having an affair, an affair that ended horribly this afternoon at a motel up the road. So when he returns to his house, devastated and angry, to find his difficult nine-year-old daughter Avery unexpectedly home from school, William loses his temper.

Hours later, Avery’s family declare her missing.

Suddenly Stanhope doesn’t feel so safe. And William isn’t the only one on his street who’s hiding a lie. As witnesses come forward with information that may or may not be true, Avery’s neighbours become increasingly unhinged.

Who took Avery Wooler?

Nothing will prepare you for the truth.

I always make a point of reading all of Shari Lapena’s books and this book is no exception.

Everybody Here Is Lying involves people living in the neighborhood of Stanhope, a quiet safe neighborhood. William Wooler is a successful doctor with a family–but he has a secret. He was having an affair and when his lover, Nora Blanchard wanted to end the things, he went back home. He was hoping for alone time but he finds his nine-year-old daughter Avery had returned home from choir practice. She has been kicked out of the practice and has walked home alone. An argument happens between Avery and William with William ending up hitting Avery. William instantly regrets of hitting Avery and he left the house. And then he receives a frantic call from his wife–Avery is missing.

Each of these characters have a secret–and quiet unreliable characters, except in my opinion, Erin who seemed to be the only reliable character. The story is intense, where everyone is a suspect and everyone is hiding a secret. It was fast paced and also quiet unputdownable as the main question was–what really happened to Avery? Did she run away or was she kidnapped by a random stranger? I was literally hooked into the story, wondering what is going to happen next. The ending in my opinion was unexpected and twisted with a small cliffhanger in the end.

I always love Shari Lapena’s books and this was no exception–worth four stars.

Only if You are Lucky – Book Review

Title:- Only If You’re Lucky

Author:- Stacy Willingham

Date published:- January 16th 2024

No. of pages:- 384 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 3/5

Writing:- 3/5

Overall rating:- 3/5

Lucy Sharpe is larger than life. Magnetic, addictive. Bold and dangerous. Especially for Margot, who meets Lucy at the end of their freshman year at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Margot is the shy one, the careful one, always the sidekick and never the center of attention. But when Lucy singles her out at the end of the year, a year Margot spent studying and playing it safe, and asks her to room together, something in Margot can’t say no—something daring, or starved, or maybe even envious.

And so Margot finds herself living in an off-campus house with three other girls, Lucy, the ringleader; Sloane, the sarcastic one; and Nicole, the nice one, the three of them opposites but also deeply intertwined. It’s a year that finds Margot finally coming out of the shell she’s been in since the end of high school, when her best friend Eliza died three weeks after graduation. Margot and Lucy have become the closest of friends, but by the middle of their sophomore year, one of the fraternity boys from the house next door has been brutally murdered… and Lucy Sharpe is missing without a trace.

A tantalizing thriller about the nature of friendship and belonging, about loyalty, envy, and betrayal—another gripping novel from an author quickly becoming the gold standard in psychological suspense.

I actually had high expectations for this book, as I read two previous books by the same author and which I enjoyed most. But this book didn’t live up to my expectations although it wasn’t bad as per-se

Margot is still trying to overcome the death of her best friend Eliza and attends Rutledge the college that she was planning to go with Eliza. While at the college, she meets Lucy Sharpe, whose personality reminded Margot of Eliza. So when Lucy who notices Margot asks her to be roommates with her and two other girls, Sloane and Nicole, Margot couldn’t really believe her luck. Their house is adjacent to the fraternity house. While at the party, Margot meets Levi, who was the last person to see Eliza alive. Margot hated Levi and then one night, while on the island, Levi was found dead. Lucy was last seen with Levi but then a few days later, Lucy also mysteriously disappeared.

Unlike her two previous books, this was actually slow burn and it was actually a bit boring to me at first. The audience for this book was also different, aimed towards college students. However, towards the end of the book, things started getting interesting and unputdownable which made me increase my rating from two stars to a three stars. We know that each of the characters are carrying a secret and Lucy Sharpe doesn’t seem to be who she is. The twist at the end was quiet unexpected.

Although I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I did with her two previous books, nevertheless, I cannot wait to read her fourth novel. Worth three stars.

Stacy Willingham is the New York Times, USA Today and internationally bestselling author of A Flicker in the Dark, All the Dangerous Things and Only If You’re Lucky.

Her debut, A Flicker in the Dark, was a 2022 finalist for the Book of the Month’s Book of the Year award, Goodreads Choice Best Debut award, Goodreads Choice Best Mystery & Thriller award, and ITW’s Best First Novel award. Her work has been translated in more than thirty languages.

Before turning to fiction, she was a copywriter and brand strategist for various marketing agencies. She earned her B.A. in magazine journalism from the University of Georgia and M.F.A. in writing from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

She currently lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with her husband, Britt, and Labradoodle, Mako.

The Lantern of Lost Memories – ARC Book Review

Title:- The Lantern of Lost Memories

Author:- Sanaka Hiiragi

Translated by Jesse Kirkwood Iragi

Date published:- will be publihed on 22nd August 2024

No. of pages:- 208 pages

Genre:- Japanese Fiction

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

From acclaimed Japanese author Sanaka Hiigari comes a heartwarming, life-affirming novel about a magical photo studio, where people go after they die to view key moments from their life—and relive one precious memory before they pass into the afterlife.

The hands and pendulum of the old wooden clock on the wall were motionless. Hirasaka cocked his head to listen, but the silence inside the photo studio was almost deafening. His leather shoes sank softly into the aging red carpet as he strode over to the arrangement of flowers on the counter and carefully adjusted the angle of the petals…

This is the story of the peculiar and magical photo studio owned by Mr. Hirasaki, a collector of antique cameras. In the dimly lit interior, a paper background is pulled down in front of a wall, and in front of it stands a single, luxurious chair with an armrest on one side. On a stand is a large bellows camera. On the left is the main studio; photos can also be taken in the courtyard.

Beyond its straightforward interior, however, is a secret. The studio is, in fact, the door to the afterlife, the place between life and death where those who have departed have a chance—one last time—to see their entire life flash before their eyes via Mr. Hirasaki’s “spinning lantern of memories.”

We meet Hatsue, a ninety-two year old woman who worked as a nursery teacher, the rowdy Waniguchi, a yakuza overseer in his life who is also capable of great compassion, and finally Mitsuru, a young girl who has died tragically young at the hands of abusive parents. 

Sorting through the many photos of their lives, Mr. Hirasaki also offers guests one guests a second a chance to travel back in time to take a photo of one particular moment in their lives that they wish to cherish in a special way.

Full of charm and whimsy, The Lantern of Lost Memories will sweep you away to a world of nostalgia, laughter, and love.

This is a short and quick to read, and heartwarming, heartbreaking and emotional story.

Mr. Hirasaki owns a peculiar photo studio–the studio is a different one and serves as a place between life and death and a door to afterlife. The studio will help the people, who have already died to recount their stories by flashing pictures of their lives, during their lifetime. We meet an eighty year old woman named Hatsue who worked as a nursery teacher, Wanaguichi who is a rowdy yakuza overseer and a young girl named Mitsuri who tragically died at the hands of abusive parents.

This is an unusual concept and plot of the story. You die and before you enter into he afterlife, you get final glimpses of your own life before heading off to afterlife. It’s emotional and kind of sad as well. I am particularly sad at Mitsuri’s life story, as she died so young compared to the other two characters. The story itself if very unique and the writing was also engaging as well. You get glimpses of what these three character’s lives were, their experiences, their life overall, before they died.

Overall, I actually enjoyed reading this book and I am looking forward to read more from this author. Worth four stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and PanMacmillan for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Sanaka Hiiragi (JP: 柊サナカ) is a writer, novelist, born in Kagawa, raised in Hyogo, and lives in Tokyo. In 2013, she debuted as the secret winner of the “KONOMYS Award”. A series of short stories set in a long-established classic camera store in Yanaka, and a camera mystery novel, “Yanaka retoro kamera ten no nazo biyori (Mystery Days at Yanaka Retro Camera Shop” in three volumes (Takarajima-sha), led to her writing for photography and camera magazines. She has also written “Jinsei shashinkan no kiseki (Miracles in the Photo Studio After Life” (Takarajima-sha), a story about a special photo studio that takes running lantern photos. On February 17, 2022, “Tengoku kara no takkyubin (Home Delivery from Heaven)” (Futabasha) was released. There is an episode about a photography club and cameras in chapter 4 of the novel. A humorous mystery novel about three girls at a photography school and a large format camera is scheduled to be released around July. Photo & Culture, Tokyo PCT “Sanaka Hiiragi no kamera numa (Hiiragi Sanaka’s Cameras No Way Out)” is being published weekly

When in Rome – Book Review

Title:- When in Rome

Author:- Sarah Adams

Date published:- September 20th 2022

No. of pages:- 320 pages

Genre:- Romance

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

Opposites certainly attract for the stranded pop star and small-town baker in this charming slice of romance from the author of the TikTok sensationThe Cheat Sheet.

Amelia Rose, known as Rae Rose to her adoring fans, is burned-out from years of maintaining her “princess of pop” image. Inspired by her favorite Audrey Hepburn film, Roman Holiday, she drives off in the middle of the night for a break in Rome . . . Rome, Kentucky, that is.

When Noah Walker finds Amelia on his front lawn in her broken-down car, he makes it clear he doesn’t have the time or patience for celebrity problems. He’s too busy running the pie shop his grandmother left him and reminding his nosy but lovable neighbors to mind their own damn business. Despite his better judgment, he lets her stay in his guest room—but only until her car is fixed—then she’s on her own.

Then Noah starts to see a different side of Rae Rose—she’s Amelia: kindhearted and goofy, yet lonely from years in the public eye. He can’t help but get close to her. Soon she’ll have to return to her glamorous life on tour, but until then, Noah will show Amelia all the charming small-town experiences she’s been missing, and she’ll help him open his heart to more.

Amelia can’t resist falling for the cozy town and her grumpy tour guide, but even Audrey had to leave Rome eventually.

At first, when I saw the title, When in Rome, I thought the story was based in Rome, Italy. Little did I know that the story is based in Rome, Kentucky.

Amelia is a famous singer, known around the world as Rae. Amelia wanted to get away from the life and being a fan of Audrey Hepburn, and trying to reenact the movie Roman Holiday, she drives to Rome Kentucky. She ended up stopping in front of Noah’s house. Noah is a pie shop owner. While her car is in repair, Noah has no choice but to allow Amelia stay in his house. The two start getting to know each other and start to fall in love. But both of them know that falling in love with each other is the worst thing they could ever do.

I actually loved the story. I loved the chemistry between Amelia and Noah. The story is well written and is engaging. The story is told in the POVs of Amelia and Noah. Of course the ending was predictable, but nonetheless, I actually enjoyed reading this romance book. I love how Noah is the grumpy sunshine and how he actually takes care of Amelia whenever she is in need. The story also talks a lot about Amelia’s fame, how her fame actually strained her relationship with her mother. I also like the close friendship between Noah’s sisters and Amelia.

This is the first book of the When in Rome series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Overall worth 4 stars.

My Daughter’s Revenge – ARC Book Review

Title:- My daughter’s revenge

Author:- Natali Simmons

Date published:- 14th August 2024

No. of pages:- 368 pages

Publisher:- Bookouture

Genre:-Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

My first mistake was raising my daughter to be just like me…

His death is reported on the morning news. The man my daughter’s been dating. Dead. Gone…

I blink slowly – once, twice, three times. The hair on the back of my neck rises as I grip my coffee harder. My breath comes in short bursts.

I didn’t even know he existed until recently. Leah doesn’t tell me anything anymore. But I found the letters she hid. I know she fell head over heels for him. That he broke her heart.

And that he’s dead now.

I wish more than anything that the news is only shocking because of who it is, and what’s happened to him.

But I know my daughter too well for that.

My first mistake was raising my daughter to be just like me.

My second mistake might be what I do to protect her…

This was actually an intense psychological thriller book that will make you think about life choices…a lot.

Leah and Jules are mother and daughter and they both seemed to be having strained relationship. Leah goes to a music festival and meets a man named Dylan with who she has rendezvous. Little did she know soon that the man she slept with was actually her art teacher in school. Dylan has no interest in pursuing a relationship with Leah but Leah starts getting obsessed with Dylan…meanwhile Jules believes that her husband Adam is cheating behind her back and start chatting to a mysterious stranger online.

The story mainly talks about lies, cheating and deceit within the family. Jules and Leah doesn’t seem to be having a good mother-daughter relationship and Leah’s obsession towards her own art teacher makes the whole story interesting. The story was fast paced and as you read further in the book, you realize how both the main characters can be disturbing and unreliable. The writing was great and the author did a good job of getting the reader into the story. The ending was completely unexpected and twisted. The story is told in the perspective of both Jules and Leah so as a reader you will get to know what they really think of each other. Leah is portrayed as a disturbed teenager in the book while Jules was portrayed as a wife who doesn’t seem to be satisfied with the marriage.

The story was brilliantly written and is unputdownable and fast paced thriller–worth 4 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

The Mystery Guest – Book Review

Title:- The Mystery Guest

Author:- Nita Prose

Date published:- November 28th 2023

No. of pages:- 293 pages

Genre:- Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 3/5

Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 3.5/5

When an acclaimed author dies at the Regency Grand Hotel, it’s up to a fastidious maid to uncover the truth, no matter how dirty—in a standalone novel featuring Molly Gray, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid, a Good Morning America Book Club Pick.

Molly Gray is not like anyone else. With her flair for cleaning and proper etiquette, she has risen through the ranks of the glorious five-star Regency Grand Hotel to become the esteemed Head Maid. But just as her life reaches a pinnacle state of perfection, her world is turned upside down when J.D. Grimthorpe, the world-renowned mystery author, drops dead—very dead—on the hotel’s tea room floor.

When Detective Stark, Molly’s old foe, investigates the author’s unexpected demise, it becomes clear that this death was murder most foul. Suspects abound, and everyone wants to know who killed J.D. Grimthorpe? Was it Lily, the new Maid-in-Training? Or was it Serena, the author’s secretary? Could Mr. Preston, the hotel’s beloved doorman, be hiding something? And is Molly really as innocent as she seems?

As the case threatens the hotel’s pristine reputation, Molly knows she alone holds the key to unlocking the killer’s identity. But that key is buried deep in her past—because long ago, she knew J.D. Grimthorpe. Molly begins to comb her memory for clues, revisiting her childhood and the mysterious Grimthorpe mansion where she and her dearly departed Gran once worked side by side. With the entire hotel under investigation, Molly must solve the mystery post-haste. If there’s one thing Molly knows for sure, it’s that dirty secrets don’t stay buried forever…

If you haven’t read the Maid yet, which is the first book of the Molly the maid series, read the first book before reading the next one. Although, you can read this book as a standalone, in my opinion, the Maid was better than the Mystery Guest.

With that ado, let’s begin my review.

Molly is now the Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. The hotel is hosting an event of a very famous author named JM Grimthorpe who wrote dozens of bestselling novels. Molly and the new maid Lily is in charge of tea and food at the event. While the event is going on, Grimthorpe tells the audience that he has a secret that he wanted to share with the audience. But he never got to share with the audience as he falls dead on the stage. When investigated, Grimthorpe died from poisoning. How, he drank tea arranged by Lily, making her the possible suspect.

The story divides between past and present, though told in Molly’s POV. In the past, Molly was a ten year old girl whose grandmother was working at the Grimthorpe mansion at the time. We get snippets of what working with Grimthorpes was like and at the same time Molly getting to know most of the characters. The story was funny in someway but at the same time, this was slightly fast paced and entertaining. Molly is a likable and entertaining character and in the end you will realize how the past events have some sort of connection with the murder of Grimthorpes.

This book wasn’t great as the first but one Molly is as I said a likable character that will make you enjoy the story more. I am not sure if there is going to be a third book in the maid series but this second book in the series was OK. Overall worth 3.5 stars.

NITA PROSE is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Mystery Guest and The Maid, which has sold more than two million copies worldwide. A Good Morning America Book Club pick, The Maid won the Ned Kelly Award for International Crime Fiction, the Fingerprint Award for Debut Book of the Year, the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, and the Barry Award for Best First Mystery. The Maid was also an Edgar Award finalist for Best Novel. Visit Nita at nitaprose.com or on Instagram and X @NitaProse.

The Assistant – ARC Book Review

Title:- The Assistant

Author:- Nicole Trope

Date published:- will be published on 12th August 2024

No. of pages:- 334 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5

Writing:- 5/5

Overall rating:- 4.5/5

She knows everything about you… but can you trust her?

I walk in to my interview with Ava Green and carefully hand over my application. It’s all made up, of course, but Ava doesn’t have to know that.

There is so much worry in her blue eyes. Her phone pings with constant messages and a small stain marks her crisp shirt. Breakfast with her two little girls before heading out to this high-flying job every morning can’t be easy.

Ava needs me, I think. More than anything.

The interview goes perfectly, because I have made myself into the perfect assistant. Now I just hope Ava never finds out why I’m really here. Not before she lets me into her home, and I meet her charming husband, and get to babysit her children.

Because I have plans for Ava. She just has to trust me…

A completely addictive psychological thriller that will have you gasping at the final twist. Fans of Shari Lapena, Lisa Jewell and The Perfect Marriage will be reading late into the night.

I love reading Nicole Trope’s books and this book is no exception–one of the best psychological thrillers I have read.

Ava Green interviews and hires Grace as her assistant. What Ava didn’t know is that the Grace’s resume was fake. Grace on the other hand as plans for Ava and soon she gets into Ava’s life to the point of meeting Ava’s husband and children. Grace would do anything for Ava although Ava didn’t know that Grace was doing all these things for Ava.

This was an intense page turning psychological thriller. The story shifts into a past, then divides the POVs between Grace and Ava. The story is also quiet unpredictable which makes this book overall a good thriller. There was tension in the book, the ending was quiet unpredictable particularly the epilogue of the book. The writing was great overall and the author manage to get the reader into the story. There were some twists and turns in the whole story, many of them are quiet unexpected.

The Assistant is a unputdownable psychological thriller that will keep you up all night–worth 4.5 stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.