This is a slow paced domestic thriller until close to the end when it picks up with some good twists. Newsflash: don't let a stranger into your house during a hurricane! This story is about the relationship between two women, Annie and Serena. Annie and her husband live in NY with their son Finn, when an incident happens that causes them to move to Kauai to be closer to her family. You don't find out what the 'incident' is until you're 60% into the book. And you know that Serena is up to no good when she gets invited into Annie's house for shelter. Why does she know so much about Annie? And why does she have some of her things? There are so many obvious clues for Annie that this is a bad situation but she is too consumed with making a new friend and drinking wine that her judgement gets clouded, until it's too late and things escalate to a conclusion where she has to risk her life to save her son. For me, Annie's naivete was really annoying and made her an easy mark. The big twist at the end was similar to 'The Push', if you've read that. This is the first book of this author that I've read and I would just warn you that the pacing is very slow. You could actually skip sections and still understand what's going on. More background on Serena would have been interesting as well.

DNF. Unfortunately, this was a book I started multiple times but could just not get into. I really enjoyed this authors last two books but this one just didn't hook me. I appreciate having the opportunity to read this book, it was just not a good fit for me as a reader. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my gifted review copy.

This book takes place in Hawaii which I thought was so awesome! This book really draws you in from the beginning however the writing is very simplistic and juvenile. The book and the characters were very predictable. I wish the stakes would of been higher. The book is very telling and I would not consider this a thriller. The cover is just gorgeous tho!

**Thank you for Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this for my honest review.

The book had me from the go. It holds your attention from the first page where you want to know what's going on. The setting, storm and a sudden visitor, things disappearing and appearing again and the connection between the 2 protagonists at the backdrop of loss is quite interesting. There are some interesting twists and it keeps you hooked to find out what happens. However felt that ending could have been a little better after the setup in that prior chapters.

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Someone Else's Life was a strange book. The story held my interest, which is the job of a book, but it was off in so many ways.

The main character, Annie, was simple-minded to the point where it wouldn't have been safe for her to venture out to the market. I don't know why her friends and family weren't more worried about her.

A book wouldn't be a book without the characters making questionable decisions but this was something else entirely. It was as if there was something wrong with her executive functioning, perhaps a neurological disorder.

The POV lives inside of her head, and her head was flat. Annie doesn't make interesting connections or have any depth. She lives her life popping pills and drinking wine, one would think her half-drunk thoughts would at least be interesting? No.

The following criticism might be based on my expectations.

I was looking forward to a story set in Kauai. Kauai is atmospheric, the island feels almost haunted. It not like the other islands in the Hawaiian chain, but in the story, it might as well have Oahu, or any island really.

The plot was fun and what Annie lacked, Serena (the bad 'guy') made up for in every way. The book would have been better served from her POV. Serena kept me hooked into the story.

In spite of its flaws, I enjoyed the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for this ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This thriller is about Annie, who recently moved to Hawaii with her son and her husband. Annie agreed on moving to get a fresh start at life after things happened in New York at their dream lake house. Annie meets a woman who is stranded after her car stalls on her street during the start of a dangerous storm. Follow Annie as she struggles to find a balance, friendship, and a new life in paradise after losing it "all".
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What I liked: It was a fast paced read with short chapters. The location is set in Hawaii and I can't help but wish I were there as well. This book touches on mental illness and health including those in a young child which I find to be interesting.

What I didn't like: Very simplistic writing and sometimes I just didn't understand why I felt like I was watching an extended scene in a horror movie. You know the ones where you are yelling, "DON'T GO INTO THE BASEMENT!"? It was basically that but a slightly different setting. I didn't think that the ending came quick enough even though it was a short read. I found myself skimming the last couple of chapters to find out what I already knew. I just felt that it was predictable.

There were frequently times in the book where a mental illness was brought up but it was said, "I don't know which one" and I found it frustrating that the symptoms were not paired with a specific illness. I often find myself looking things up after reading a book just to clarify a certain disease or type of dog or anything, but I didn't feel like there was anything to look up.
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Overall, this was a fast and easy read. This book would be good for someone who needs a quick read.

TW: This book does contain brief mention of suicide, murder, and trauma.

Someone else’s life
— ARC review —

During an huge storm Serena ends up on the doorstep at Annie’s place. Annie, who’s alone at home, should listen to her gut feeling, but let’s the strange woman inside. She can’t let the woman stay outside in this weather, right?

I did like this book. The writing style was quite youngish. As some others had mentioned the characters are in their early 40’s, but it felt like a dialogue between teenagers. It didn’t annoy me though.

Some things did annoy, but that’s more about the decisions from certain characters. Like would you let a complete stranger into your house when you’re home alone during a storm? Where the rental car broke down in a private dead-end street? What was ‘the stranger’ doing there?!

Character-wise I did get the creeps from Serena. I felt really the same like the dog, Marley, which started growling everytime Serena came close.
Annie was a little too naive for me. Only after a few hours already hitting it off so well with Serena. Completely telling her life story. She should listen more to her gut feeling.

But I guess that’s the recipe for an average thriller: creeped out and being annoyed by characters. Yes I liked it. That’s why I give this book 3.75 stars.

Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I received an uncorrected proof for review. I'm not sure what changes between that and publication, but I was under the impression it was copyediting or formatting. Those things were fine. It needed more structural editing, though. When I got to the end, I was happy with how clear the plot was, but there were some hiccups.

Ok, I started reading this book thinking that I was going to find one of the best stories of my year and unfortunately it wasn't. The synopsis, the premise, what they present us with is fabulous, a tremendous thriller and I said I NEED IT. And while it was exciting, not as exciting as I thought.

I think the book is divided into two parts, one part where we delve little by little into the life of our protagonist, a mother who cannot connect with her son, that *something happened* that has left her very marked and that manages to overcome, so they go to Kauaʻi to start from scratch.

And here for one thing or another, Annie (the protagonist) meets a woman who seems to know more than she says and is very suspicious. What happened to me here was that... the woman said something and Annie said "how do you know that?" and she told him "I guessed" or "you told me" (when mmm it wasn't like that) and so on repeatedly, so much so that it was already very repetitive. The connection they say they feel seems a bit strange and forced to me. But I think Annie wasn't in a good place either, in her right mind so I can't judge her too much.

The second part is the most exciting, the one I loved the most. Where everything is uncovered, everything goes flying through the air and one says GIVE ME MORE BECAUSE I NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING. And slowly Lyn Lao Butler tells us what really happened with Annie and this mysterious woman.
This part was my favorite, the one that made me not lose all hope with the book and that I couldn't stop reading.

Super twisted, perverse and even began to formulate one and thousands of theories around what he was reading.

This book will be published in January 2023, I hope people can read it and it will be successful. I would like to read more about Lyn Liao Butler.

Premise— After a tough four years, a depressed (my theory probably postpartum on top of trauma) Annie has moved to Kauai with her husband and son to reset near family. On a dark and stormy night (cliche is cliche) a stranger arrives wrecking her peace even further.


I liked how twisty this was, all stops were pulled out.

I do not believe she was 40, she talked to her friends like I FaceTimed in college. That was messy.

The writing itself was ehhh.. thin. There was a lot of telling and it sometimes felt like a kid was making up what they thought grown ups would say.

Although I liked the ending conversation about mental health, once again wasn’t thrilled with a thriller using mental health genetics as a villain.

Okay . . . this was not, is not a thriller. It's conversations, drama. Nothing happens. They're stuck in a house during a flippin' storm. Ugh. I enjoyed the unique setting and the splashes of culture but otherwise this book sucked as far as the mystery/thriller genre. It's literary fiction, women's fiction, drama. If you're into those then you'll love it.

I really enjoyed this book from Lyn Liao Butler ! I love that the location was set in Hawaii since I am from there. The story it itself kept me interested and wanting to find out the ending. The twists in the story were great and loved the main character Annie.

A heart-pounding thriller with strong Hawaiian vibes, Someone Else's Life is a terrific beach read!

Annie Devlin's life looks picture-perfect, but it doesn't feel that way. Annie loves her husband, son, and dog, Marley, even as she worries that she's disappointing them. She's distracted, misplacing things, and has the odd feeling that she's being watched. Her uneasiness builds to a crescendo just as a hundred-year storm hits Kauai, trapping her alone in her home. But Annie isn't alone for long — a stranded woman bangs on the door and Annie lets her in. It's a decision that will change her life, and her family's life, forever.

hank you to netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

someone else's life follows annie, who moves to hawaii in an attempt to live a normal life after her son, finn, was traumatized by an accident at her family's lake house. when a tropical storm happens and a woman shows up at annie's door, annie gladly opens her home to her and the rest of the book takes place as the two women get to know each other. however, as the storm rages on, annie realizes that this woman might not be the stranger annie thinks she is.

annie herself is a really interesting character. she never tells us exactly what's going on until she absolutely has to and this makes the thriller aspect of the book more exciting. the stakes were also done really well- annie is trapped with a strange woman because of the storm, which makes this book all the more exciting to read.

that being said, this book's writing style was really juvenile. i understand that this is a debut novel, but our two leads were supposed to be in their early forties and talked like teenagers. style-wise, another issue i had was that 75% of the book was told through dialogue between the two main characters and the description was quite lacking. for the most part, the description that did occur got repetitive after a while. also, i wish that there had been one last final twist! the book did get a bit predictable and i would have loved to end the book on a more thrilling note.

overall, this was a quick, exciting read and a promising debut from lyn liao butler (with an absolutely gorgeous cover!)

I hate to be the one with the unpopular opinion here but, I just don't understand the hype with this. The setting in Hawaii was amazing and I enjoyed learning about different cultures, but there's where it ends. To sum it all up, it's two strangers holed up in a house during a storm having conversations the entire time while neither trusts the other. It was just a bit dull for me. The twist towards the end was okay but nothing mind-blowing. Two stars for this because the author was a good writer, I just didn't care for the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for this ARC.

Get ready to lose some sleep. A psychological thriller that has you constantly second guessing yourself.

We meet our MC, Annie after newly relocating to Hawaii with her husband and young son after tragedy strikes them at their former home in New York. In a fragile state, she is desperately trying to hold herself together while constantly feeling like someone is watching her, or finding things in places she doesn’t remember placing there. This tense and thrilling story (that in many ways felt like a play), unravels in a fierce storm. Once it got going I could not put it down. With that said, I do feel that this book could have ended several times before it actually did. Curious to know if anyone else felt that way. It’s not a long book, but perhaps length could have been added in different ways.

Thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend for fans of Alice Feeney and Ruth Ware.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Get ready for the storm and brace yourself! Lyn Liao Butler’s psychological and suspense-building thriller packs a punch with provocative prose, layers of heart-racing conflict, and so many plot twists and turns that this reader read the novel in one sitting. Utterly compelling and addictive, the story unfolds one thunderous roar at a time!

Someone Else's Life by Lyn Liao Butler is a real page turner.

Butler pulls off a tense tale with an ending that's so full of twists and turns they tumble over themselves in the final reveal.
The plot is complex, without being complicated, and the multi-layered story intense and even chilling. The short snappy chapters keep the pace moving seamlessly.
The characters are perfectly executed and they held my attention throughout the story.
Phenomenal writing, which had me wanting more of this addicting story.
With shocking twists throughout, this book does a great job at intriguing you and making you want more. A definite page-turner – something that I can confirm!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Thomas & Mercer,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This was kind of slower read for me even though it’s a thriller. The beginning felt super long to me, however i did enjoy the plot twists and general story. Overall, I could see myself reading this again and future works by this author.

Blow by blow, Annie Lin’s life crumbles. Her dance studio goes bankrupt. Her mother and beloved dog are gone the same year. Then a terrible accident leaves her young son traumatized.
It’s time for a change.
Palm trees, mai tais, peace and quiet Annie should be at ease, safe in her new Kauai home with her husband and son. She hopes proximity to her family can provide them all with a sense of belonging and calm. But soon items from her past start turning up her dog’s collar, a bracelet that disappeared years ago and she has the unnerving sensation she’s being watched. Reality begins to fracture, and Annie’s panic attacks return. When, during a brewing storm, a woman appears on her doorstep looking for shelter, Annie is relieved to have the company and feels an unexplainable bond with her visitor.
As the night progresses, Annie realizes the woman is no stranger. Their lives are inextricably intertwined and Annie might just lose everything.
Really enjoyable read totally recommend
Thank You NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer
I just reviewed Someone Else's Life by Lyn Liao Butler. #SomeoneElsesLife #NetGalley