Oh my days what a read. Great plot that twists and turns with a huge twist I'd never have guessed
Proper physiological thriller. So well written you can "feel" the desperation of the main character as she thinks everyone is against her. Will it come right in the end- depends on your opinion of right
Cracking good read

A brilliant epilogue is the perfect ending to another enjoyable read from Louise Jensen. 4/5 stars.

This will be a short review to avoid spoilers!

Regular readers of my reviews will know I have an up-and-down relationships with book branded “psychological thrillers” or “dark thrillers”. However, having enjoyed Louise Jensen’s previous two books – The Sister and The Gift – I went into The Surrogate with high hopes, which thankfully weren’t disappointed.

From the blurb and the first couple of chapters, I came to expect something along the lines of The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, but I was pleased to discover that the author gives us something else entirely!

As you’ll expect if you’ve read Jensen’s previous books, the various threads of the story are handled expertly to keep us in the dark and continue delivering surprise after surprise. The characters’ back stories are scattered between the present day chapters, but this is never confusing and does very little to slow the current action down.

I didn’t find the central heroine – Kat – quite as sympathetic as the main female characters in The Sister and The Gift, but she was still well drawn and believable. That said, it was nice to get an occasional break from being inside her increasingly paranoid head space as we dipped into Nick’s point of view.

I must confess, as we got to the end I felt slightly disappointed that things were wrapped up a little to neatly. BUT THEN… the Epilogue happened. This final chapter is a proper punch in the guts. I won’t give anything away, but it contains two fantastic shocks and a revelation about a streak of genuinely disturbing darkness in one of the characters which had only been hinted at previously. It was brilliant, and I wouldn’t have minded more of that darkness earlier on in the story (and I say that as a bit of “thriller wimp”!).

Overall: Yet another page-turner from Louise Jensen. Fans of The Sister and The Gift will be delighted. I predict another huge success!

Wow, that was a page-turner, from the first page to the last. I wish I could give this review 6 stars.

An extraordinary mysterious story. Did not expect that kind of ending. After I finished the book - I kept thinking, how different characters' lives would be if at least one person started to tell the truth from the beginning. But of course, we would not have this story and a book.

Don't want to give any spoilers, just an advice - DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ. I jumped to so many conclusions, at some point I thought that Kat had simply imagined everything. The ending is mind-blowing.

...And I just purchased two more of Louise Jansen's books.

The story is told in the present day, but flashbacks from Kat and Nick are thrown into the mix.
We learn about Kat’s past with her first love Jake. And her old schoolfriend/best friend Lisa.
In the present day we follow Kat and Nick’s relationship, and their quest to become parents.
Kat was sure she saw a shadow. Was someone watching her? Was it her imagination? She is feeling a bit paranoid at the moment.
Through a series of flashbacks we learn that someone has been trapped. Who was it, who was the one locking the door? You will have to find out for yourselves.
It was a suspenseful read, very twisty-turny. Lots of really shocking scenes too. There were a lot of secrets and lies. I was suspicious of everyone, wondering if they would be the missing link. As the conclusion was reached I was gobsmacked, I never guessed at all.
Again I loved the cover, complementing The Sister and The Gift perfectly.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for my review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved both The Sister and The Gift, also by this author when I read them so I was quite excited to get my hands on this, her newest book. As always, when I am excited by a new book, I am also quite nervous as my expectations are invariably higher than usual and, with it, the potential to disappoint. Very early on in this book, those fears evaporated as I got completely sucked in to this brilliantly plotted, quite emotional story.
Kat and Nick are desperate for a child. But they want a baby and the chances of adopting on in the UK legitimately are not good so, along with Nick's friend, lawyer Richard, they try to adopt from abroad. When the second such endeavour fails, Kat is devastated and thinks the game is over. Then she bumps into old school friend Lisa in a cafe. Once best friends, they fell out spectacularly over something from their shared past. Wary of rekindling the relationship, the two meet up and, surprisingly, things go well, especially for Kat when Lisa tells her that she has been a surrogate. Lisa agrees to meet Nick with a view to maybe repeating this for Kat. Agreements are made, the wheels are set in motion. But then, those wheels slowly start to come off Kat's wagon as her life starts to unravel. Spinning around, suspecting everyone and everything, can Kat regain her balance in time, and will she ever get the baby she really craves?
Boy this book took me round the block and back again. Along with Kat, I had no idea who to trust, who had the secrets, who was lying. Although there were a lot of suspicions in this book, if you really think about it, if you ever hyper-analysed your own life to the degree that Kat started to, you'd probably see cracks where there aren't any, so the volume of these things didn't put me off at all. As I got towards the end of the book, when things really started coming together, my jaw literally dropped and I think I forgot to breathe at some points, so gobsmacked I was at what I was reading. As I turned the last page I literally applauded the author for a job well done.
I have to mention the characters. Obviously, due to some of their duplicitous natures, I won't go into too much detail as I don't want to include spoilers but I do have to say that the majority did take me a while to connect with. Again, that's probably due to their nature and part in the story but I did get there with the right ones eventually. Although I do prefer to connect with characters early, in this case, the storyline was enough to keep me going until that connection was eventually formed.
Pacing was excellent. There was quite a slower buildup compared to the frenetic ending but there was so much bubbling under the surface that this just added to the atmosphere and intrigue level, also keeping me going throughout. The absolute ending will probably split people and, to be honest, I'm still on the fence about it. But then, I can't really think of a more favourable (to me) outcome so I'll just let it be.
All in all, another winner to add to the author's already impressive back catalogue. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Oh, baby, what a wild ride! Not that it wasn't expected; after all, I've read and thoroughly enjoyed both of the author's previous books - "The Gift" and "The Sister" - so I figured it was a given that this would be a winner as well. As it turns out, this may well be the best of the lot.

My "baby" reference wasn't an accident, either; at the center of the story is a couple - Kat and Nick - who are beyond eager to have a child. Unable to conceive, they've tried, with help from Nick's friend Richard, to adopt infants from other countries. But those fell through at the last minute, leaving Kat despondent and ready to try anything. Enter Lisa, Kat's best friend back in their school days. The two had a major falling out just before their graduation, so Kat is surprised and not altogether happy to see her. But when Lisa drops the bombshell that she served as a surrogate mother for another woman, Kat sees the possibility that she could become a mother after all.

Lisa agrees to help her friend, and Nick puts up little resistance (not nearly as much as I'd have expected coming from your average husband, but then he seems to want a baby almost as much as Kat does). Successfully impregnating Lisa isn't the real problem, though - as readers learn from the chapters that switch between "then" and "now." Clearly, both Lisa and Kat have serious issues - secrets from their past that led to going their separate ways and staying apart for the past decade. And before too long, it becomes clear that Nick may have a few things in his background that he's been reluctant to share as well.

The action is almost nonstop, although it got a little bit bogged down when Kat's paranoia kicks into high gear (but then, you know the old saying - "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you"). The last few chapters bring one twist after another - none of which I guessed ahead of time, BTW - eliciting an out-loud "Whew!" from me at the bottom of the final page.

As I proclaimed early on, this one's a winner, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys psychological thrills. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is my third book I've read by Louise Jensen, and now I do believe third time is a charm! I really liked her other novels, but this one packed a ton more punch! Kat and Nick have had heartbreak when two adoptions fail to follow thru. Kat's desire to be a mother is so intense that when her old best friend returns to the scene and offers to be a surrogate for the couple, they don't bat an eye. This seems like a pretty cut and dry plot synopsis and it's easy for readers to think Lisa has come back for ulterior motives. But things aren't always that simple.

Why does Nick's best friend seem to hate Kat? Why don't Kat's parents talk to her anymore? Why does Nick seem to be hiding something? Why did Lisa and Kat fall out in the first place? And of course....how willing is Kat to be a mother?

As someone who is going through fertility issues, this book did make me sad a little at times, but was also an awesome page turner! We alternate between past and present in the couple's lives and this made very a great build up...because seriously...I suspected everyone! Read it!!!!!!! NOW!

Wow! The last 50 pages literally took my breath away!
The book moves at a steady pace and you're constantly asking yourself what's going to happen next but I didn't predict the outcome - at all!
I had a few theories in my mind but I was wrong about all of them.
Well done Louise Jensen for writing a tightly woven psychological thriller.
I can't say too much about the story as I don't want to spoil it for you but if you love a good psychological thriller, then this is for you.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for sending me an advance copy to read and review.

Oh my. What a book. As soon as I started reading this book I was suckered in and it was only grudgingly that I walked away to do normal 'life' tasks. You know those stupid things like eating, sleeping, going to work, that always seem to get in the way of a darned good read.

Kat White and her husband Nick have the seemingly perfect life. He is running a booming property business and she works for the charity which he had set up in honour of his best friend Richard's grandmother. Kat didn't want for anything. Anything other than their own child, something that Kat is unable to attain. When Kat's best friend from her childhood, Lisa, reappears in her life, she offers Kat the chance of a lifetime - to act as a surrogate for Kat and Nick. But the offer comes with it's own problems, least of which are the legal aspects of acting as a surrogate in the UK. Because Kat has a secret and knows that Lisa has every reason to hate her once best friend.

Twisted, and with more than a little menace, this book really did make me think and had me second guessing nearly everyone and everything that happened. It is very clear from the off that Kat has a secret, one which is potentially very dark or at the very least very murky, one which drove her and her friend Lisa apart many years before and one which has kept her away from her former life. It was very cleverly hidden and slowly revealed to the reader, and while I could and did guess the what, I could never have guessed the how and why. There are sequences of flashback and references to traumatic events in Kat's past which allude to some of the reasons for her fears and paranoia but nothing prepared me for the truth of what occurred, something which is unthinkable and so startlingly revealed that it really was a sit back in the seat and go wow moment. Hat's off to Ms Jensen for that one.

Now because of the clear secrets being kept by our central protagonist Kat, this really is a case of the unreliable narrator and this works really well in this book, building the creeping sense of paranoia which permeates throughout the story. You are never once sure of Lisa's motives in acting as surrogate but then it is hard to tell how much of this is all in Kat's mind. The lines are really blurred between fact and fiction and the more you learn, the harder it is to know who to believe. Discoveries made throughout the book as we finally learn what happened to Kat's first love Jake all those years ago serve to inform the story but also distract. But are they a red herring, the key to Kat's current misfortune, or just another tragic event during Kat's life? Read the book and you'll find out.

This was a strangely engrossing read in as much as I didn't truly trust anyone in the story. Even Kat's husband was hiding something but you couldn't be quite sure what. Was he agreeing to the surrogacy to humour his wife even though he really didn't want kids, or was something far more sinister at play. His friend Richard was a disagreeable guy who clearly didn't approve of Kat but nothing was clear as to why.

Kat was nervous, paranoid, secretive, but so very obsessed with having a child that she was willing to trust blindly. As naive as she appeared to be, the more I learned about her, the more I understood the obsession with being a mother and the more I sympathised with her plight. When she starts receiving secret notes which point a finger towards her path, when she knows the house has been broken into even though there is no outright evidence, even when she finds a very threatening and ominous gift left on her doorstep - well anyone would be forgiven for being afraid. And the more she learns, the easier it is to reach the understanding that someone wants to hurt her, but who and why?

And then Lisa. Wow. From the minute she reappeared in Kat's life she began to take over. She appeared to be overbearing and yet at times secretive and reticent. She dominated and then she disappeared. How genuine she actually was, was so hard to gauge, barbed or loaded comments often dropped into conversation which heightened the distrust I felt towards her. And yet... Wow. Yep - you need to read the book to understand but believe me the discovery Kat makes will leave you reeling. It certainly did me. Didn't see that coming at all, I was so blindsided by everything else that was going on. Brilliant.

And that ending. Oh my. At what point does fixation become obsession and obsession become criminal? Well... You can certainly understand how people can be pushed to their limits, and how far people are prepared to go in the name of love, but is justice served? I can't quite say. I can also see that the final chapter may irritate some and yet intrigue and satisfy others. The central story is concluded, the ending of this in no way ambiguous but that last paragraph. Arghhhh. I wish I could say more. Perhaps when you've read the book we can have a chat about it?

Ominous, threatening, secretive and totally twisted, with an ending which will shock and yet also satisfy. This is a story of the power of love, the bond of friendship, of family and of sacrifice. It is also one which makes you appreciate honesty and the need for foregiveness. And one hell of a cracking tale. Highly recommended.

I had heard wonderful things about this book and after reading The Gift , I eagerly waited for its arrival.

The Surrogate did not disappoint. From the start I was lured in to the story of Kat, who is desperate to have a child and Lisa, who offers to act as a surrogate when they meet by chance. The two women share an old but troubled friendship though it is clear from the start, secrets are also shared and hidden. There are loops and turns throughout the book that lead you to question everything but unlike many psychological thrillers I have read recently, the ending is a complete surprise.

After reading The Gift  and The Surrogate I have concluded Louise Jensen creates books which are designed for days or evenings when  you can escape reality and indulge in reading a book in one sitting. They are page turners and you do not want to do anything but read.

This is the third Louise Jensen book I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The book starts with a crime scene and works from that to the heart pounding ending. It is a well written, compelling psychological thriller that had so many twists and turns I almost put my back out!!!
It kept me guessing all the way through to the end and I still didn't get it right!
If you are looking for a clever, Can't put it Down thriller then look no further.
5 big fat shiny stars!

This review is written with thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for my copy of The Surrogate.
Kat wants nothing more than a baby of her own. After several attempts to adopt fall through, she bumps into her childhood friend, Lisa, who offers to be their surrogate. But Kat and Lisa have a history. Can they confront their past so that Kat's dreams can come true?
My favourite aspect of this novel is the sense of foreboding that Jensen creates from the very beginning. When a potential adoption match is found for Kat and her husband, Nick, I just knew that something would go wrong, and when Lisa agrees to be a surrogate, I knew it would not be straightforward. This makes the atmosphere within the novel very tense, which in turn, made it difficult for me to work out what had really happened between Kat and Lisa, and it means that no-one is above suspicion. As such, I was gripped, wanting to know more. There are some parts of The Surrogate that were easy to predict, but as the novel reaches its conclusion, Jensen throws the reader a few curve balls, which once again, put me on edge and left me reeling.
The Surrogate is split into "then" and "now" chapters, which allow Jensen to give the reader insight into Kat, Lisa and Nick's past, and how this shaped their relationships in the present day. As I am a similar age to the main characters, I appreciated the references to music and television programmes that they used to enjoy as teenagers, and this helped me to relate to them better. The references to the past also increase the tension, as the events that are mentioned, and the consequences of them, are clearly still affecting the characters a decade later, and I was interested to know what happened and why the events were significant.
Overall, I found The Surrogate to be a gripping novel that addresses an interesting subject matter that is relevant to modern society.

Kat and her husband Nick have been trying to start a family for several years now with no luck. When it was found that Kat couldn’t conceive they had turned their attention to adoption thinking they would be able to begin the family they both wanted that way. After a couple of failed attempts when the child goes to someone else at the last minute Kat is devastated and losing hope.

While out one day Kat runs into her childhood friend Lisa with whom she hadn’t spoken to in years and didn’t think would want to speak to her after having left each other on bad terms. However Lisa welcomes the encounter with open arms and is actually quite excited to see Kat again. With the two reconnecting Kat’s dilemma is brought up and Lisa gives Kat a glimmer of hope that she will become a mother that is unless their shared past come back to haunt them.

The Surrogate by Louise Jensen is one of those nicely paced psychological thrillers that kept me guessing from the get go on where the author would take this story. I did start off reading this one thinking I was going to get to the end and find that I just knew it all but boy oh boy was I in for a few surprises. The book was pleasantly full of twists and turns that when I would think I was in the know on where the story headed I would find myself having to guess yet again.

I would say though that for me this was one of those books that the characters are not ones that I immediately connected with and rooted for and perhaps even more disliked while reading. That however was not a bad thing as the story was quite intriguing and instead of falling in love with the characters I more became suspicious of each and every one at one point or another and just had to wait until that final shoe to drop to find out all the details and boy what an ending. I think most psychological thriller fans should enjoy this one as it was certainly not what I had expected in the end.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Kat and her husband Nick have tried everything to have a baby. As a second attempt to adopt a Chinese baby falls through at the last minute Kat is becoming increasingly desperate.
A chance meeting with Lisa, an old childhood friend, in a coffee shop suddenly means that there is hope for Kat. Lisa has already acted as a surrogate for someone else and is prepared to discuss having a baby for Kat and Nick.
All through the book there are threads of secrets and deceptions. These alternate from present day and a fateful day when Kat was a teenager and her school sweetheart Jake is killed in a car crash. The guilt and anger associated with these events lead to further questions and Kat begins to unravel as the story progresses.
A complex tale of interwoven grief, pain and abuse The Surrogate isn’t always the easiest book to read but the ending will blow you away. I thought that I had figured out what was actually happening but managed to be wrong on both counts. Another great thriller from Jensen that will keep you on your toes and looking over your shoulder.
Supplied by Net Galley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review.
UK Publication Date: Sept 27 2017. 345 pages.

Loved this book from start to finish!!! Kept me guessing and hooked the whole way through!!!! Can't wait to read more of her books!!!!

The surrogate by Louise Jenson was a story full of secrets and lies. Kat is desperate to become a mother and when her adoption of a child from another country falls through she enters into an agreement with an old friend Lisa who offers to become a surrogate. I enjoyed this book and the story kept me intrigued as there was so many twist and turns. I would like to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book will keep you up at night.

I found myself lost in the pages of this book right away, literally within the first few pages. I loved the writing style as it made me feel close to the story and like I was experiencing everything the characters experienced.

From the beginning I felt bad for the main character, wanting her to make her dream of becoming a mother a reality, but not knowing what the future held. All the struggles she and her husband faced made me empathetic to her situation and feel like she was someone I could trust--until later in the story when I wasn't sure who to believe.

I love stories where you aren't sure if the main character is really experiencing something out of the ordinary or if they are simply losing their grip on reality. This was a very well written and compelling book with the perfect amount of suspense to keep me right at the edge of my seat. If you enjoy books where the past comes calling, this is one that you won't want to miss out on.

I really liked the way the author ended this book--with as many questions as there were answers. I definitely recommend this book as being one of the best of 2017.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for a copy of this book. This is the first Louise Jensen novel I have read. I have the previous but not read them yet. So I curious to know what this one was about.
Kat and Nick are just about to give up. After 2 failed adoptions, they were just going to resign from trying to be parents. But Kat’s old Friend Lisa turns up and agrees to be a surrogate. Nick’s friend and lawyer Richard doesn’t think it’s such a good idea. And tries to change their mind. But, Kat is so desperate for a child. As she cannot have one of her own. After an accident that happened years ago. Kat also questions it. Is Lisa really doing a good deed or getting revenge after the accident that happened years ago.
As the surrogacy goes ahead and it comes up to the first scan of the baby Lisa starts making excuses that the scan date has been changed when Kat questions her and asks if she can attend the scan with her. Kat starts to doubt her and doesn’t believe that Lisa is actually pregnant. Also, Nick her husband has gone away for weekends and Kat accidently saw Nick bank statements. With her paranoia about Lisa, Kat thinks that Nick is having an affair and the business is in trouble.
I enjoyed this very much. This story kept my attention and gripped me throughout. With the story going from past and present, it kept me guessing what actually happened that fateful night and what Kat cannot tell. I was just slightly disappointed in the ending. I didn’t see that coming.

Thank you Bookouture giving me a copy for a honest review.

Nick and Kat are mourning the two failed adoptions they had attempted, when in walks Lisa, a childhood friend of Kat's, providing the solution to their parenting problems by offering to become their surrogate.

This had the ingredients of so many 'surrogate gone wrong' stories, that I admittedly questioned whether I should give this one a try or not. I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the same-old surrogate story I had assumed it to be.

Although this tale started off slowly, it soon had me guessing with its many unforeseeable twists and it's red herrings (even though I felt some were unnecessary).
I love it when I get things wrong, the rewarding fruits of an unpredictable read.It had me I'm it's grip right up until the end.

That ending had my head spinning, but, disappointingly, not in a good way. It left me feeling rather befuddled with its mind-boggling conclusion. I honestly could've done without the over the top shock factor of that last page.

All in all, apart from the final page, a good read. I enjoyed discovering the hidden secrets and lies, the surprise twists and turns and how incredibly wrong I was in thinking I had this one figured out.

I would like to thank the author, Netgalley and Bookouture for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Reeled right in and hooked throughout . This book will keep you on the edge of your seat trying to join the dots .. another excellent book from Louise and an easy 5 stars. Thanks to bookouture and netgalley for my copy