Holy-Molie! Hunting Annabelle is the absolute definition of a psychological thriller. Narrated by the murderer, Sean Suh is the ultimate antagonist, or is he is the protagonist? Trying to assign a literary term is as complex and confusing as Sean's schizophrenic, heavily medicated mind. And yet I found endearing, reaffirming traits in him that had me feeling sympathetic to his struggle to find redemption.

Can a once-convicted murderer be forgiven? redeemed? rehabilitated? Sean Suh has been a patient at for three years. Convicted of murder as a teenager he is desperately trying to discern fantasy from reality. He often has episodes where he "looses time." Sean avoids personal contact with others. He spends his days alone, drawing the people he sees at a local amusement park. That is until he spots a woman he cannot take his eyes away from. The beautiful, copper-haired Annabelle causes his mind to be flooded with conflicting urges and heart-pounding emotions. He begins talking with her, even meeting her after hours, which is strictly against the rules. But Sean doesn't care, he will do anything to be close to this enchanting woman that seems to understand him so deeply. Then he witnesses her being kidnapped. Or did he? Of course, the police immediately hone in on Sean as the main suspect. Despite his repeated statements to the contrary. The fact he has "lost some time" again certainly doesn't lend credibility to his story.

It is difficult to share my thoughts without ruining what awaits readers. Hunting Annabelle is a fast read. (I read it in just under four hours.) It's ideal for a cozy evening or an extended plane ride. Wendy Heard has delivered a super strong debut. Her writing style is unique and utterly refreshing. In a genre overcrowded with cookie cutter stories, where it is nearly impossible to tell one from the other, Heard has set herself apart. There's nothing to trip you up or distract you from the story Wendy Heard wants you to read. The characters, some demented and utterly detestable are rich and three-dimensional. I both loved and hated Sean. Much like his twisted mind, I too had flip-flop, complex feelings about him throughout the story. I wanted to see him find peace within his convoluted mind and redeem himself with society.

This is a creepy story. . .and when I say creepy I mean creepy. This is a psychological thrill ride inside the mind of a sympathetic, nearly endearing, mentally ill, convicted murderer. Deep, rich, memorable characters live between the covers of this book. Grabbing you from the first chapter all the way to the who-dun-it. My only gripe with Hunting Annabelle was the ending. It felt incomplete and rushed. I wanted more than what reads like the hyping for book number two. Even though I eagerly await another story from Wendy Heard, I wanted the full concentration to be on ending this first book with as much gritty "umph" as was packed into the first 2/3 of the book.

Happy Reading,

Sean lives with his mother after having moved to Austin, TX from California. Sean has a past which slowly unfolds. He has met a girl in a park that he likes to hang out in named Annabelle. It's the first time he has allowed himself to get close to someone. One day, Sean sees Annabelle being abducted. He calls police but no one believes him because of his past. Now he is trying to find evidence to help the police find the real abductor.

First off I have to say this is one of the most twisted books I've ever read. At times, I really felt for Sean and others I didn't like him at all. Wendy Heard has a real way of changing your thoughts for the characters and she kept me guessing until the end. I have a love/hate relationship with Sean and this book will stay with me for a while as I try and figure out which it is in the long run.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book and give an honest review

Hunting Annabelle is a suspenseful on your toes book. It will keep you guessing. Sean is fresh out of a psychiatric unit living with his mom. Sean starts a friendship with a woman named Annabelle who he believes is kidnap.

Done! Hunting Annabelle by Wendy Heard
Five stars!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!!
What a fantastic psychological thriller in every way! Sick and twisted. As she says in her interview at the end, Dexter was recommended for her and I agree. I loved Dexter and get for him and rooted for him, just like I did for Sean! I love Sean! I loved that it was set in the 80’s! It was amazing and I breezed through it. Felt almost no lulls. Fantastic debut, Wendy! So great!!

What to say about this book...this was a gripping story that pulls you in from the first page all the way to last. Sean is a sick mentally ill man who loses track of times and has no social skills at all. While visiting the local them park like everyday of his life he meets Annabelle. After spending the day with Sean Annabelle ask him to meet her again the next day. It's on this second outing that Sean watches as Annabelle is kidnapped. He reports it to the police but of course he is suspect number one. Sean goes on to try and find out what has happened to Annabelle only to learn that he knows even less about her than he original thought. This is a gripping story that will have you second guessing every move and make you look at the darker side of human nature. It's a gripping book that begs to be finished in a day.

I really loved this story, thanks to NetGalley for my book! This book kept me on pins and needles until the ery end, I have never read anything even close to this! I thought the characters were all so well drawn I felt like they were friends, and the suspense was killing me!

Sean spent 3 years in a psychiatric prison. It would have been more years in a regular prison. So, he got off pretty easy. Anyway, how many years is a death worth? Even though Sean is on major medications that make him sleepy, hallucinate, and imagine terrible things. He does have the ability to see people's auras. So now he lives in a rainbow of colors. A ll he really wants is to stifle the urge to kill. If he has these side effects from his meds, it's worth it. Then he meets Annabelle. She is beautiful, fun and exciting to be with. He falls in love with her almost immediately. Before their relationship can go very far, she is kidnapped. Trouble is, no one believes him!
This is good psychological thriller. Very entertaining and has plenty of cliffhanger moments. Definitely worth reading.

What happens when a mentally ill man goes off his meds and becomes obsessed with a young female serial killer? Pages in I realized that I didn’t care what happened and I doubt other readers would care either.

3.5 stars rounded up to four.
This book is very original. For once, not your average psychological thriller, where people seems to be perfectly fine but in the end they are very disturbed and ill, and the reader is left wondering how is it possible for people so messed up in their heads to act as if they're like everyone else around. I usually don't buy it.
What is different here is that the main character is clearly ill, he doesn't act too normal and he's always struggling to be better than he's been in the past. He is a killer, but he doesn't want to be anymore. He has huge mental problems, and he's on a huge amount of medications. I loved the character of Sean Suh. He's clearly bad and still you kind of like him. (At least, I did, but I'm not the only one here). After all, he wants to do better! As if that was enough..
The writing is good, very good for a debut novel. There is plenty to love between the writing and the original plot. But here starts also my doubts. The plot. I figured out whodunit very very early on. I wasn't sure why, and who else could be involved, but still it was too easy to guess. I also thought the mother's behaviour was sometimes unbelievable. Your son is a murderer, possibly a threat for himself or other people, high on medications, and when he doesn't come home one entire night you simply go to sleep? No, I definitely don't buy that. I even thought it could mean something for the plot but it doesn't. If I was in her shoes I would be out of myself with worry!
And then the ending. I won't say anything about it because it would be a huge spoiler, I will just say that some people will love it, while other won't. I was just in between, not the kind of ending I usually prefer but either not something that spoiled the book for me. I'm still trying to process my feelings about it.
I will be trying something else from the author in the future because the ideas were original and refreshing and the writing was good, I'm curious to see what she comes up with next.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for giving me ARC of that book in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely loved reading this book! Sean was a little creepy and I didn't completely trust him either, so when he met Annabelle I was scared for her. Needless to say, the entire book had me angry at Sean and on the same side as his mom and basically everybody else. < Getting me to dislike someone thát quickly, deserves a reward!
The themepark, the small connections with the past and just Sean being Sean had me on the tip of my chair after the first few chapters, there was not one dull moment to be found.

Loved loved loved this book! Sean is such an interesting character. Between his urge to be a good person and his urge to be the beast he was my favorite throughout this book. A lot of good thrillers I can figure out before the end but this one kept me guessing. Who took Annabelle?? Why is her aura so different than other people? Is Sean's mom involved ? Is she the kidnapper? Are they trying to make Sean think he's crazy and he's fine or did he kidnap her and not realize it and kill her. These were all the scenarios playing out in my mind. I had no clue the ending would be so mind blowing. Can't wait to read more from this author!

I found this book absolutely addicting. A page turner. Then....... without giving anything away, it started to become absurd and the implausible outcome was a negative for me. I wished more for Sean. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

What a weird book. There is someone for everyone in this world no matter how strange you or they are . Sean and Annabelle were made for each other . This book is very dark dealing with severe mental illness and the love of killing for the thrill and rush it brings . The book is bizarre and at times the events are utterly ridiculous . One just had to finish it to see how things unfolded .

This is a very dark and twisted book. It's very gory, too, so if that's not your thing, stay away. The author does an amazing job of making you feel sympathy for a convicted murderer, which sounds insanely implausible, but she did it. I knew pretty early on some of the twist. That wasn't the fault of the author, though. It's just that I've read a ton of these types of books and I've gotten pretty good at figuring them out. I didn't see the ending coming, though. VERY creepy and twisted, and one hell of a ride!

Thanks for sharing this ARC on NetGalley. I found this book very hard to get into, but Sean is a very interesting with lots of twists and turns that I sometimes became confused and had to reread a couple of pages to keep it in order. I think as a debut novel it has potential for both YA & Adult readers.

This is a 5 star book for sure. It starts out a little slow but once it gets going you won't be able to put it down. There are twists and turns that will constantly have you rethinking what will happen next. The final chapters will leave you breathless! I highly recommend this book to all lovers of mystery and psychological thrillers!

What did I just read. ? Well This was hard to get into at start but I did finish. I am honestly not sure exactly who was the killer. Anabelle or Sean. You get lost easy in the book as it really makes no since at all. Not sure if I liked this or not. Still processing this .

WOW...A jaw-dropping and twisted debut thriller! This book is unlike any book I’ve read. The more I read, the harder it was to put down.

EXCERPT - “Her scream echoes in my memory. I know what happened. Whether anyone believes me or not, I know.”

Sean is a mentally ill young man living with his mother after being released from a psychiatric prison. He spends his days hanging out at a nearby park and sketching, where he meets Annabelle. Then Annabelle disappears.

Sean is sure she’s been kidnapped—he witnessed her being taken—but the police are convinced that Sean is at the center of this crime.

This ARC was provided by NetGalley and HARLEQUIN - MIRA, in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!

#HuntingAnnabelle #NetGalley #Amazon

I wasn't able to finish this book. I would like to thank Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read an advance copy. I wanted to like it, but I just couldn't get into it.

Wendy Heard has delivered a pacy, wet-your-pants, teeth clenching ripper of a novel with 'Hunting Annabelle". I knew half way through I had the ending pegged-and I was dead (pun) wrong. Reviewing this work and not giving spoilers is a task, but suffice to say the material, although sensitive, is dealt with in an in-your-face manner that gives this story it's edge. I guarantee a cerebral read because just when you think you have the crazy-cat hero (?) of the tale worked out, he will surprise you. He's tough, he's vulnerable, he's insane and he's a killer; and as for Annabelle? Well.......
ps. Wendy is there a sequel in there somewhere?
Many thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin-Mira and Wendy Heard for the ARC.