Hunting Annabelle is a book that follows Sean Suh, who is a mentally unstable young adult who lives with his mother. He meets Annabelle at one of his favorite spots and ends up falling for her. After hanging out, Annabelle mysteriously disappears, and Sean wants to get to the bottom of it. This story is full of twists and turns that kept me wanting to read more. I love stories like this where I am continuously trying to figure out how it ends, and my mind keeps changing after each chapter. The ending was definitely unexpected, and I loved it! I would definitely recommend this book.

Wendy Heard’s Hunting Annabelle reminded me of the first time I read a Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, or Caroline Kepnes’ You. Both of which I LOVED.

At the core of Hunting Annabelle you have Sean, a twenty-something boy battling mental illness, a family who doesn’t understand him or doesn’t want to understand him and a twenty-something girl named Annabelle who is just mysterious enough to catch your attention without giving too much away. I was hooked.

Sean meets Annabelle at the beginning of the story and he’s enamored by her beauty. The connect and spend a day together. Then Annabelle is kidnapped and Sean’s world is thrown into upheaval. No once believes that he didn’t do anything do her because of his past and even he starts to question himself because he keeps losing time. Throughout the book you learn a lot about Sean that is disturbing and then you learn about Annabelle and you start to think some very interesting thoughts that I don’t want to share…

I had my guesses about where this was heading fairly early on and I would say about ½ were correct. Normally that would annoy me but not here. I still enjoyed the book and seeing the character growth throughout. You may have noticed I called Sean a boy, he grows up during this story. It’s messy but entertaining, I highly recommend this one to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers.

My version of the book had some editing problems that drove me crazy but even those didn’t make me walk away.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free e-copy of Annabelle by Wendy Heard from NetGalley for my honest opinion.

A creepy, chilling psychological thriller that pulls you in in the first few pages. Sean, who is mentally ill, is a man who loses track of times. Sean, recently out of a mental institution, is living with his mother and is still very unstable. While visiting the local them park he meets, a beautiful girl named Annabelle. Annabelle spends the day with Sean, and then asks him to meet her again the next day. When Sean goes to meet Annabelle the next day, he witnesses Annabelle being kidnapped. He reports it to the police. The police suspect that Sean is behind the kidnapping. A gripping read that will have you second guessing everything.

I received and eARC from Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
5 stars! Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review this early!
The story is so intriguing and hooked me in from the start. You are instantly drawn to Sean and at the same time afraid of what he is capable of. I had no idea which way the story was going to go till it was revealed (I love when that happens!). A dark twisted tale that's well written. I definitely urge everyone to pick this up!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this ARC of Hunting Annabelle.

Sean Suh enjoys spending most of his time at the local amusement park to draw, people he finds interesting in particular. Hiding a dark secret, he mostly tries to keep to himself, avoiding any relationships or close interactions. But everything changes for him when he meets the charismatic and interesting Annabelle, who pushes him out of his shell, and into danger.

Ok, the story itself was interesting, but soooo unbelievable. It left me wanting to ask a lot of questions, particularly about mental illness, and I wonder if the way it was used in this story was disrespectful to people that actually suffer such ailments? I don't know, maybe I missed something, but there was a lot that was tough to swallow.

I was so intrigued on the premise of this book. The book is set in 1980's Austin, Texas. Sean Suh is originally from San Francisco, but after being released from psychiatric prison he moves to Texas with his mother to start fresh. There, he meets beautiful Annabelle (for all of five minutes), because very quickly Sean witnesses Annabelle being kidnapped. However, when Sean reports this to the police, he of course becomes a prime suspect because of his lurid past. However, there is also the fact that he has a psychiatric condition, he is on multiple psycho-tropic drugs and this ultimately questions his overall reliability.

I am left utterly unconvinced. For starters, it took until about the 50% mark before the story really gained any steam; and even then, while the last half was slightly more readable, this book became completely non-sensical. Sure, it has some twists and turns that I didn't see coming, but I just don't buy it. I think some of that could have been fixed if the characterization wasn't so one dimensional. I wanted a hell of a lot more from Sean's past than what I actually got. For example, snippets from his childhood, and more details on his previous crimes and incarceration.

I also did not care at all for the POV being in first person. I get that part of the "attraction" may have been the ability to being in Sean's twisted head with his urges to kill, but I also think it is a major reason why some of the supporting characters (Annabelle and Nancy Suh) are not well fleshed out. It limits access to these characters thoughts and feelings, which ultimately made me feel as if I didn't know those characters at all. I really think this could have been a better book if told with a different POV.

The one theme that was well done is Sean's overall vulnerability as someone who suffers from a psychiatric condition. His vulnerability to his mother, health care providers and law enforcement. Which even though this book is set in the 80's, it still has a very real presence in mental health conversations today.

I really struggled to finish this one, and honestly just wish I hadn't.

Thanks to #NetGalley for my ARC.

This is a rather odd book. I enjoyed reading it, but was very confused about the whole storyline until the very end, when it all suddenly came together and made me go "wow!".

lmao this was SO messed up, love it

basically, a guy called sean killed his girlfriend, was sent to a psychiatric prison, and gets out early. he meets this girl called annabelle and witnesses her getting kidnapped, except of course everyone thinks he did it because he has a History.

there were so many twists and i didn't expect any of them, which was rad, and oh my GOD that ending. i can't really say much more about this book without ruining it, but it was an excellent, atypical psychological thriller and i'd recommend it. especially if you like dark stuff.

Sean Suh hangs around the same place daily, he loves to watch people and draw them. But, is that all he wants to do? Then along comes Annabelle, Sean feels a connection with her and they begin to hang out. After their first date Annabelle is heard screaming for help, Sean does not make it in time, all he sees is her feet in the back of a truck. What should he do!!! he reports it to the police, but, they do not seem to be taking in seriously, Sean decides to try and find her on his own. Now this is where the book takes a twist, you will have to read it to find out the rest though! I loved it, sucked me in and kept me enthralled.

This book was exciting and original! I loved the plot line. It really kept me guessing the whole time!

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

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin - MIRA for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is scheduled for publication on Dec. 18, 2018.

“Hunting Annabelle” is told from the first-person perspective of Sean Suh, the 20-something child of a neurologist, who moved from California to Texas after serving a three-year murder sentence in a psychiatric prison. Sean is said to be schizophrenic, and his mother keeps him highly medicated supposedly to control his hallucinations. Sean spends his days in a park called Four Corners drawing people that he sees, trying to control his urges toward violence, and analyzing their auras, which he can see. At the park, Sean meets and becomes infatuated with Annabelle when she is looking for a place to scatter her grandmother’s ashes, and it appears that Annabelle is equally smitten with Sean.

Sean and Annabelle spend some time together over the course of a few days, and one day, as they’re parting ways for the evening, Sean hears Annabelle screaming for him to help her. As he runs back to where he left her, he sees Annabelle being abducted. When he reports the crime, Sean is faced with the fact that his mother is convinced that Annabelle and her abduction were a hallucination, something she also convinces the police. Sean is determined to find Annabelle, all the while fighting against time because he knows that the police will eventually find out about his past and focus their attention on him as Annabelle’s abductor and, we assume, her killer.

It took me a while to get through this book for a lot of reasons.

One of the biggest issues I had with this was the fact that it is set in the 1980s, long before cell phones and the Internet, so a lot of the crime solving techniques we see today weren’t available. I don’t understand the desire to set a new work of fiction in a time 30+ years ago. I think it complicated the story and won’t really appeal to a younger reader. There’s a scene in the book where Sean describes himself as looking “more like one of David Bowie’s backup singers.” Will a 20- or 30-year-old reader even be able to picture that? Will they be willing to accept the idea that Sean can’t look up phone numbers, addresses, and directions on Mapquest or in a phone app? Will they be able to suspend their disbelief when Sean uses a pay phone to call Information? I’m not saying books should never be set in the past, but typically we see that when there’s a past/present element to the storyline. This is just all set in the ‘80s. It almost feels like someone deciding to build a new computer with a motherboard that’s 10 years old. Why would you do that?

***Some spoilers here***

In terms of the story itself, I did want to find out what happened to Annabelle, but I didn’t find Sean sympathetic enough to be rooting for him. I thought he was going to be suspected of murdering her pretty quickly considering his history. I also thought that his mother was going to have him re-institutionalized, but she’s as unsympathetic as he is, maybe even more so. I cannot imagine a well-known neurologist trying to keep her son overly medicated just to keep him out of an institution, and then he is continually staying out all night and she does nothing about it. I know he’s a legal adult, but considering his past, I would have thought she would do something more.

Then it’s revealed that Annabelle is the descendent of a serial killer and it turns out she’s a vigilante out to get justice for women who have been victimized, but for some reason, her M.O. changes with Sean. In the past, she has drugged her victims, so they are presumed to have overdosed. It would have been so easy with Sean since he just blindly takes the medication his mother leaves for him. She could have swapped out his meds and made him overdose. Why go through the effort of framing him for her abduction?

There’s also a scene when Annabelle is preparing to kill Sean and make it look like he had held her captive but that she had killed him and escaped. However, he overpowers her and stabs her, and she runs away. He cleans up the crime scene, stashes a body, and leaves evidence (Annabelle’s bag, which she left when she ran) indicating that it was Annabelle who orchestrated everything. When he goes home to get what he needs because he plans to escape to Mexico, he finds his mother stitching up Annabelle’s back. It feels like Annabelle and Sean’s mother know each other, so I thought at first that his mother was in on it with Annabelle, but then Annabelle threatens Sean’s mother if he doesn’t tell her where he left the evidence implicating her. And then when they come up with a way to frame someone else, they come together as a couple? WHAT?!

Sean’s mother goes back to California, apparently leaving Sean and Annabelle to continue their twisted murdering ways. There’s never any resolution of how they cleaned up the crime scene before everything was discovered. But all of a sudden, Sean and Annabelle are living together and going to school.

I have read books and seen movies where the bad guys win, and it can be shocking and make for an amazingly dark story, but the characters have to be really charismatic for that to happen. Sean and Annabelle aren’t. It felt like the author was trying to make them a modern-day (in the ‘80s) Bonnie & Clyde, but I just really wanted them to get caught and convicted. I don’t understand the 4- and 5-star reviews. My recommendation would be to skip this one.

I took a short break from NetGalley ARCs to read a few from my endless TBR shelf and Hunting Annabelle was a great “welcome back” to the NetGalley world. Hunting Annabelle is Gone Girl meets Criminal Minds. The novel is well-paced; it is fast enough to prevent boredom but slow enough to build plenty of anticipation, curiosity, and even a little bit of doubt. The perspective is unique, a schizophrenic man with violent tendencies that makes for a great internal struggle. And finally, Hunting Annabelle has an amazing plot twist that’s followed by a roller coaster of action.

Hunting Annabelle is a story of a mentally ill boy Sean looking for a girl he met a few days ago and who was kidnapped in front of his eyes. The problem is that nobody seems to believe Sean's story as he is a schisophrenic and might have just imagined it all. In addition, once the police learn of Sean's violent past they believe it is Sean himself who is behind Annabelle's disappearance. But is he?

This was an unusual read for me. What started as an innocent type of story - 'a boy meets a girl' gradually turned into a dark and violent tale. The story is told by Sean himself which is quite refreshing as he is the villain here with his unpredictable urges to harm others that are hard for him to control. I have to admit thought that about half way through the book I thought the story was dragging on a bit. However, I can totally forgive the author for that as the ending of the book is absolutely genious! So twisted and unexpected, it sent shrills down my spine!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dark, exciting and gripping. This book was so good. The characters and writing style of this book gripped me right off the bat. Set in the 80s, Hunting Annabelle is the story of Sean, a young man who has a very troubled past. Despite the darkness of his past, I really liked Sean. I pulled for him immediately. He has been diagnosed as schizophrenic and experiences life in a haze until he meets Annabelle. She is beautiful....and interested in him! Then she disappears. Did Sean have something to do with it? He doesn't think so, but sometimes the medications make him lose time.

This I couldn't put this book down, I just had to find out what happened to Annabelle. If you don't mind some darkness in your reads, I highly recommend #huntingannabelle.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The story is depressing. The main character cannot persuade the police and his mother that he had been with Annabelle when she was kidnapped. He tried many things, but the story is just depressing. Love

Tout cela, c’est ce qui fait qu’on dévore ce livre alors que l’action se résume à une question: qu’est-il advenu d’Annabelle?

Annabelle, c’est une fille que Sean rencontre et qui attire son attention car elle va d’emblée vers lui. Il n’est pas très populaire au lycée. En fait, il passe tout son temps seul, à dessiner tout ce qu’il voit. Annabelle se fait draguer par les autres mais c’est de Sean qu’elle recherche la compagnie. On ne la verra que le temps de quelques chapitres avant qu’elle ne disparaisse dans de mystérieuses circonstances dont Sean est témoin et personne ne le croit. Une fille se fait kidnapper sous vos yeux et tout le monde croit que vous mentez, c’est dingue, non?

C’est alors logique qu’il mène sa propre enquête pour savoir ce qu’il s’est passé. Nous vivons celle-ci avec une hâte que nous n’attendons pas. Nous ressentons un pic d’adrénaline, oui, mais parce que nous avons peur. Parce que nous voulons savoir et que nous ne comprenons pas où nous allons. C’est une très bonne surprise. L’intrigue est complètement différente de ce que j’ai l’habitude de lire. C’est un mystère complet.

Dans le même temps, en découvrant progressivement le passé de Sean, cela nous permet de nous faire une idée et à chaque instant, je me demandais si ma théorie était la bonne ou bien si j’allais être surprise.

C’est là que j’ai réalisé que comme Sean n’est pas un témoin fiable, je doutais même de ses propres souvenirs. Je ne savais pas du tout quoi croire ni à quoi m’en tenir le concernant. Il inspirait ma sympathie et en même temps, je le craignais. C’est fort!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Sean Suh is trying to start his life over. After three years spent in a psychiatric institution for murder, he is hoping that a new city and a new home will bring about the change he so desperately wants. When he meets and quickly falls in love with Annabelle, he feels that he might finally be on the verge of a brand new life. When Annabelle is kidnapped in front of Sean’s eyes, he quickly begins to investigate her disappearance. The cops aren’t looking for her and in fact, all eyes turn to Sean when his past comes to light. Sean must not only prove his innocence but must find Annabelle, the only woman who sees the man instead of the monster.
“Hunting Annabelle” by Wendy Heard is dark, twisted and dangerously addicting. A novel that hits you right from the start, it quickly becomes one you can’t put down.
Sean is likable (even when you hate yourself for liking him), and the story is well-told with a creative plot and well-developed characters. This is one of those novels where you will speculate over and over as to how it will end- and you will be wrong.
I was surprised with how unexpected the ending of this novel was. The twist in this novel is one you absolutely won’t see coming. I am still not sure how I feel about the end of this novel. It seemed to change the entire direction of the story, so the expectations I had at the beginning completely changed toward the end. I can honestly say “Hunting Annabelle” is unique while still being deeply disturbing and enjoyable.
I am a huge fan of psychological thrillers, and all things psychopath in general. “Hunting Annabelle” definitely checked all of the boxes for me on this one. To know that this novel is the first by Ms. Heard is even more impressive.
Although I am still unsure about how I feel about the ending, this novel has to get a five-star rating. Not just for the psychological aspect of the plot, but also the constant, “pull you in” action and unique plot line. Ms. Heard has found her writing zone- and I look forward to so much more.

Fantastic. The last hour of this book really makes it worthwhile. That one scene towards the end... Jesus. It gets my blood pumping.

Hunting Annabelle is a thrilling, psychological thriller. It has so many twists that it keeps you guessing right up to the end. All I can say is wow! This is a spectacular book. You will never forget Sean and Annabelle. Can’t wait for this author’s next book.

Hunting Annabelle is a debut novel full of suspense, twists and turns, A psychological thriller unlike any I've read in the past.
This book follows Sean suh who is schizophrenic and has been released from spending 3 years in a psychiatric prison.... dealing with severe mental illness I found this a very intense, dark read. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for allowing me to read.