About The Book
Dean and Amber’s vacation at a secluded lakeside resort turns tense when Amber grows suspicious of their mysterious neighbors, Sophie and Marc. Obsessed with uncovering the couple’s secrets, Amber digs into their past, threatening to unravel her already fragile marriage. As the lines between truth and deception blur, Amber realizes she can’t trust anyone.
Buy The Book: https://amzn.to/4cHH1mb

My Rating

First off, I want to thank the author and publisher for the ARC of this book. When I heard it was a debut psychological thriller, I was immediately interested. The plot—about a couple going to a secluded cabin for a week to reconnect, only to discover the couple next door might be hiding something—seemed like something I’d enjoy. I love psychological thrillers, although I haven’t come across many set in isolated locations that I’ve really liked.

The story starts off strong, and I liked the pacing. I couldn’t wait to see where it was going. It’s one of those books that grabs you from the first page, and I ended up finishing it in a day because I just couldn’t put it down. The short chapters and overall length also made it a quick read.

That said, I did have a few issues. The plot was interesting, but I wasn’t a fan of the main character, Amber, especially her thoughts about other people’s appearances. While it’s realistic for people to have these kinds of thoughts, some of her comments were off-putting. I’m not into reading about women putting each other down because of insecurities.

“Social media is a disease to society. There’s
nothing real there. The entire thing is contrived and curated to mislead
people.”

Another thing was Amber’s relationship with her husband, Dean. I didn’t like how she treated him for most of the book, and I didn’t really feel a strong connection between them. But I guess that made sense for the story since they were supposed to be having relationship issues, which is probably why Amber was so focused on the couple next door.

The writing was solid, and the author kept me interested the whole time. The last few chapters had me hooked, and there was a twist I didn’t see coming. I love when a thriller surprises me, but I can see how some people might figure out the twist. It didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat, but I enjoyed every second of it, and that’s what counts.

Overall, I’d say this is more of a mystery suspense than a psychological thriller. If you’re into Alice Feeney’s books, especially ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’, I think you’ll really like this one. I’m curious to see what the author writes next. Thanks again to the author and publisher for the chance to read this book early.

Let me know in the comments if this book is on your TBR. And don’t forget to follow the blog if you like book reviews and other bookish content.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny