This is not a bad book. For the most part I did like it. I just wished it was not as subtle in the movement of the storyline but a little more in your face with moments that had me saying "wow, what did I just read".

The story is told mainly from Sean's point of view. He suffers from schizophrenia, so he struggles with reality. Thus the reason he is so fixated on Annabelle's disappearance. He does not believe he has anything to do with her disappearance but at the same time he can't be one hundred percent confident. Thus the hunt for Annabelle begins.

As I stated, the pacing of the story is a very slow burn that at times I lost interest and zoned out. The ending does make up for this. It is a shocker. If nothing else, you will want to stick with this book until the ending.

Hunting Annabelle... what a fascinating premise.
Sean is battling his on demons with his mental illness. He has just been released from a mental institution for his previous horrible crimes and is trying to live a "normal life".

Sean meets Annabelle at the park one day and instantly falls for her. They decide to go on a date and Sean swears that he sees someone kindnap Annabelle in a white truck on their first date. What follows is a twisty, dark, and creepy journey trying to find out what happened to Annabelle.

It became a bit stale for me in this journey to find Annabelle... felt like it went on a tad bit too long. I was curious to see what happened to Annabelle of course. BUT, once the story was finally revealed behind Annabelle's disappearance I think I fell over in my chair with eye rolling. I found it so implausible.. and over the top.

Overall, this wasn't a bad mystery but wish the reveal was a lot better.

3 stars for Hunting Annabelle.

Huge thank you to Harlequin/Mira for the arc in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Publication date: 12/18/18
Published to GR: 11/15/18

This was a super dark story- about a young man released from an institution for committing horrible acts, and how he is trying to live a "normal" life in the world. He meets a mysterious, beautiful girl named Annabelle while he is sketching at his favourite park, and he falls for her instantly. One night during what is to be their first official date, Annabelle is picked up by a white truck and kidnapped. What ensues in a twisted, dark mystery of trying to find the missing girl of his dreams.

One word: CHILLS. Wow. This was... terrifying, to say the least. It was CREEPY being in his mind and almost empathizing with him even though that's the last thing you want. Wow.

Never seen this ending coming! This book is definitely dark, twisted, and messed up! If you love psychological thrillers that totally mess with your mind, then this book is for you! Creepy!

HUNTING ANNABELLE is Wendy Heard’s debut mystery/psychological thriller novel. It will be published on December 25th 2018 by MIRA Books.

Twenty-something year old Sean Suh is a deeply disturbed man. He suffers from schizophrenia and hallucinations, he murdered his teenage girlfriend years ago, and he has recently been released from a stint in a psychiatric prison. As far as Sean is concerned, he’s done with killing. He’s also mostly done with people. Sean spends his days at the Four Corners amusement park in Austin, Texas, where he observes and sketches people, but does not interact. Then he meets Annabelle… Annabelle may be the one person who can see past the monster to the man. But then Sean witnesses Annabelle being kidnapped. Thanks to his mental illness and past homicide conviction, Sean soon becomes the number one suspect in Annabelle’s disappearance. Sean is the only person who knows he didn’t do anything to Annabelle… Or did he do something, but can’t remember? The closer Sean gets to finding Annabelle, the more of his inner demons he has to confront and release.

HUNTING ANNABELLE is deeply disturbing, creepy, and chilling novel. Heard’s story is very original, and the ending threw me for a loop. There are plenty of twists and turns throughout the novel. The narrative is told from Sean’s first person perspective, and it is written in the present tense. Sean is an extremely unreliable narrator, and this makes the first person, present tense even more compelling. The reader gets to witness the events as they play out and experiences everything right along with Sean. The thing is, with Sean being so unreliable, is that the reader can never know if Sean’s narrative is the truth or just his version of it. Either way, Sean takes the reader on a very wild ride through the mid-1980s in Austin, Texas. Sean starts out as the bad guy – he’s a murderer. But he’s also a sympathetic character, and he becomes more so as the story progresses. Yes, Sean is a villain. But he’s not necessarily THE villain.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

OMG THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!!!!!
I cannot believe what I have just read. I was hooked from the first page and had to read it in one sitting.
This book is creepy, disturbing and a compulsive read. This is a rollercoaster of a psychological thriller. My advice to you when you read this book is to put everything else on hold. I can assure you that you are in for a he'll of a read. This is a must read and highly recommended.
I would like to thank the author Wendy Heard, Harlequin- MIRA and Net.galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for giving an honest review.

Suspenseful and twisty story. I loved the characters but would have liked more from Sean’s past. The writing is great, concise and direct. Sean is heavily medicated and his thoughts and actions cast doubts on his reliability. Because of this the story kept me on edge.

The ending... looks like it’s a split decision for/against on the reviews I’ve read. I have to say that I liked it! It’s dark! And it’s completely unexpected! Yes it’s crazy, but that’s what made this one so fun!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Harlequin-Mira (U.S. and Canada) for a copy in exchange for a review.

Thank you NetGalley, Wendy Heard and Harlequin – Mira for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

After serving three years in a psychiatric prison, Sean is sure he is done killing. He won’t go back there no matter what. But he meets Annabelle and is unable to stay away from the temptation of her beauty. Then after their first date, Annabelle is kidnapped and Sean witnessed it. But his illness and many medications have been making him lose time throughout the day and this makes him look like he is the criminal responsible for her kidnapping. The police won’t tell him anything because he is their prime suspect, so he starts an investigation of his own.

I was immediately drawn into this novel and Sean’s story because it is so different from what I’m used to reading. I love novels that bring in different mental health issues and allow you to see how their affect people’s lives. I also loved the way that Sean is portrayed and how he has to fight the demons inside him to be able to spend time with Annabelle without hurting her. I also enjoyed that a killer is out looking for the kidnappers of the woman he has fallen for. I thought I would start to get bored of Sean looking for Annabelle, but every chapter brought a new surprise and with it my suspicion grew!

I did start to suspect I knew what was going on and what was going to happen in the end, but I was only partially right! I really enjoyed all the little twists and turns that lead to the ending and how different everyone really is compared to how we view them in the beginning. I loved the ending and how different it is from the usual ending and how it ended up being a happy ending, if not a little strange! It didn’t ruin the ending at all that I had a good idea about what was going on because it changes again before the very end and gave me such a shock! I would definitely recommend this novel!

Out December 18th!

A fascinating concept! What is real? What is imagined? See full review here. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2480676674

Shawn Suh meets a girl named Annabelle, with whom has a particularly unique and special connection. When he sees Annabelle being kidnapped and reports it to the police, he becomes the primary suspect. His violent past does not help matters.

This was a dark and twisted novel but it never really captured my interest. I did not care much one way or the other for Shawn and did not become invested in his well-being or the outcome of the novel. It was clearly a well-researched and well-written story, but just wasn’t for me.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Mira and Wendy Heard for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Hunting Annabelle is a story about a young man who spent his youth in a psychiatric prison for murder. After his release, he is in treatment and medicated to move beyond his past. He meets Annabelle at an amusement park and witnesses her kidnapping on their first date.

The writing is clunky and the pace too fast. I skipped most of the book just to get to the end to find out what happened. The ending is pretty ridiculous and doesn't make much sense. Many questions are left unanswered and it was a bit of a let down.

Creepy. I loved it tho. Very entertaining. Its a must read




Thank you to Netgalley for this book in exchange for my honest opinion

A very good read although a bit disturbing at times but overall it was a good psychological thriller which is an excellent page turner.

Can recommend this book if you are looking for something a bit different.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Mira for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This was an enjoyable read.This book covers many disturbing aspects but the characters are relateable.

Hunting Annabelle ARC was to me by the author Wendy Heard and Net galley for an honest review.
A book a throughly enjoyed that got my attention from the first few pages, and kept my interest throughout with a crazy surprise ending I didn't see coming.
A true psychological thriller , that keeps you wondering. iSean who was released from a psychiatric institution for murdering his first true love is recieving outpatient therapy and is under the strict supervision of his mother who is a renowned Doctor.
Sean meets Annabelle and falls in love immediately. Annabelle has a lot of problems as well as Sean and struggles like Sean with her inner demons. Will they make it, Is Annable even real? !
A must read for fans of psychological thrillers!

A gritty, gripping edge of your seat read with an unreliable narrator and unexpected twists, Hunting Annabelle by Wendy Heard is perfect for fans of You by Caroline Kepnes. What happens when a recently released psychiatric prison patient befriends a girl who then ends up missing. Strap in because the ride is twisted.   Full review will appear first at Caffeinated Reviewer on December 18th.

I’d say this is a solid four star unputdownable debut! What a wildly creepy, chilling story. Sean kills women he’s attracted to in the heat of the moment (yikes) and after being institutionalized for several years, he’s released for outpatient therapy. When he meets Annabelle, he is completely captivated by her. Obsessed even? So when Annabelle disappears, he will stop at nothing to find her, even if it means incriminating himself in the process. I don’t want to say too much else for fear of giving things away, but this plot is wildly creepy and twisted and at times quite graphic. Hunting Annabelle is a rather original story in a genre that has a tendency to be formulaic and predictable.

Hunting Annabelle is definitely a psychological thriller. Your ensconced in the mind of a 23 year old mentally ill psychopath for the length of the book.

Where I will applauded the author for giving us two protagonist under the age of 23 with mental issues and one being of Asian descent (how often do you see that in a thriller) it's also those same things I have issue with. Not the ethnicity but the age. I struggled knowing that the two protagonist were so young with how dark this book was. If they would have been older I don't think I would have had an issue but that is my problem not the authors.

The ending is a huge dark twist, which again I will give the author praise for, but here again I struggle with the ages for the subject matter. I think this book was definitely a case of its me not you on liking it. If you looking for a psychological thriller with a surprise twisted ending then definitely give this book a try.

It's a twisty, crazy, scary, spooky tale of killing, meds, psychotic chaos. Its fast paced and kept me on my edge. I almost went mad with the twists and at times I so so unbearable to go on reading. Its real creepy!

It would have been 5* if not for the twisty hard to believe ending.