Cover Image: Closer

Closer

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Member Reviews

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Closer is told from several points of view. Emma is the main character and the story is about her. She and her husband have separated but have decided to live together because of their daughter Maisie.

While everyone thinks that it's a strange arrangement it works for them, until Shaun declares that he is in love with Emma's boss Joanne. The relationship is hardest on Maisie who is bullied and turns into a shell of herself. The bubbly girl who loved dancing is no more. Joanne's daughter Piper is a spoiled brat who Emma despises but now is forced to be around.

This book is an interesting look at mother-daughter relationships, communication, the break-up of a marriage. The shocking twist part of the book comes at the very end.

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Wow what a fantastic book. I have read a few of this authors other books and loved them all and this one was just as brilliant. It had had me hooked from the start and I read it in two sittings. What a cracking ending as well. Would definitely recommend

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After splitting up with her husband Emma starts to notice changes in the appearance and personality of her young daughter. Her daughter Maisie is spending time with her dads new girlfriend Joanne and her daughter Piper. Emma feels something isn’t right but no one else seems to believe her .

I have to start by saying at first I found this book a bit slow moving but at the same time I didn’t want to put it down . Then all of a sudden it totally upped the ante and I couldn’t get through it quick enough . Oh my goodness an absolutely brilliant psychological thriller filled with suspense and drama until the final word . I loved it

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Fast read story, with a lot of secrets, intense and with a twist in the end I didn't see coming.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture!

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This book was riveting and enjoyment for me .
Emma and Maisie lived on her own .
Shaun is Maisie father but they don’t live with them .
I had an ARC copy

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A fast read, I finished it in I’ve day. I didn’t guess the ending which is always a positive! Definitely worth a read.

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Thank you for allowing me to review this book.
Firstly, WOW! What a great read this book is. Having read a few other books by KL Slater I was very keen to get started on this new book.
I was not disappointed.
The book starts off with a relatively normal family, parents decide to split, father meets someone new and the repercussions from the new relationship. Full of twists and turns throughout, this book keeps you guessing right the way through and just when you think you have pieced everything together you are hit with a huge shock!!!!
I literally couldn’t put this book down towards the end I was completely gripped.
You do find yourself throughout the book wanting to shake and shout at certain characters, but in my opinion this is the sign of a good book.
Wouk highly recommend this book and really hope there is a follow up :)

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This is another amazing read from K L Slater, that grips you from the start. Sean and Emma’s marriage is on the rocks but they agree to still live together for the sake of their 10 year old daughter Maisie. But Emma never thought that her world would come crashing down when Sean falls in love with her boss and widow Joanne, who also has a 10 year old daughter Piper. Maisie and Piper attend the same dance classes but do not like each other. The problems begin when Sean moves in withJoanne and Piper. Maisie then changes, her friends shun her, she stays in her bedroom and stops eating. Emma realises something is wrong especially when she has been with her father and his new family but Sean says it is Maisie who is being awkward and nasty to Piper. Emma must discover what Maisie is hiding before something terrible happens.
This is an addictive read which really had me feeling so sorry for Maisie. Everyone has secrets and when they are revealed at the end it was totally different to what I had anticipated. A highly recommended read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

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Another fab read from one of my favourite authors. I've loved all of her previous books and this latest one, Closer certainly didn't disappoint.
KL Slater does my favourite type of genre so well, what goes on behind closed doors in suburbia, the dark side of family life. Once again this story was darker than the description had me believe but that just added to the enjoyment.

KL Slater's books are so consistently brilliant and the plots are always very clever and intriguing with well written characters and unexpected twists. Don't miss this book!

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I'm a huge K.L. Slater fan and I wasn't about to miss her newest book. This one is clever and has a heart pounding ending that gave me pause.

It is a slow building domestic tale that has some really unlikable characters that made me cringe more than once.  This author has a way of keeping the reader guessing until the very end and this one was no different.

This one seemed a bit different from the others I've read and I was missing the faster pace, but still plenty of good twists to enjoy and yes, that end.

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One of the things I love most about psychological thrillers is the feeling of unease that runs through the book as you read and this book hits that nail on the head. At the start of this book, you’re gently pulled into this story that seems safe and secure but slowly things start to unravel. What I loved most was how sinister it felt. You could tell something wasn’t quite right without really working out what it was. A feeling that occurred because the author only gave you small amounts of information at a time. All of which was seamlessly threaded throughout the narrative.

As the book progressed, that feeling just grew stronger. I soon found myself wanting to read quicker so that I could find out what was really going on. K. L. Slater has done a brilliant job of weaving the narrative between the different characters – showing not only how we all perceive the world differently – but also adding in an additional layer of mistrust. With different opinions and thoughts flowing throughout it’s hard to determine the truth of the situation.

It is incredibly important in this kind of book to have strong characters, especially when you’re trying to set in a feeling of unease and distrust, and K. L. Slater has done a brilliant job of that in this book. I felt for Emma from the offset, felt like I understood Maisie well, and felt distrustful of Joanne and Sean. Feelings that gravitated into my brain because the characters were believable, three-dimensional, and ultimately human. They truly made this story that much more.

Lastly, I have to admit that I did not see the ending coming. I had my guesses and thoughts but I was very wrong. I thought it was very well done and loved that it managed to surprise me. All in all the book is one that I very much enjoyed and would highly recommend! It’s full of that eerie, sinister feel with strong characters that will take you on one hell of a journey!

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I've read all of this author's books and loved them but I just couldn't get into this one, so sorry not for me I'm afraid.
Would still look out for others though.

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These characters were hard to like and believe in. Through every page of this book they each did or said something that had me questioning the motive and the realness behind them. This was another great and intensely fascinating book by KL Slater and I am so ready to read more. The parents need to think of their daughter and focus on what is happening with her and not worry about themselves as much.

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3 Stars - I didn’t like any of the characters. And the story itself couldn’t hold my interest completely so I skipped and skimmed a lot but still the ending was unpredictable. My other issue was I didn’t know what to believe in the end, That bothers me, a lot! Told in multiple POV, both in 1st and 3rd person at a slow pace. It’s a standalone novel. It was my second read by this author and unfortunately, I don’t think her works are for me. Still, I have to say it was me and not the book, as you can see all the good reviews! The only things that I liked were the short chapters and the cover! Hope you enjoy it more than me.
Thanks to K.L. Slater, Netgalley and Bookouture for the advanced digital copy in exchange an honest review.

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In “Closer” by K.L. Slater we meet Emma, her daughter Maisie and her husband, Shaun. We quickly see that Emma and Shaun’s marriage is over as he moves on with Emma’s boss Joanne. But all is not as it seems when it comes to Joanne and her daughter and Maisie begins to lose all of her who she is and begins to withdraw. Emma is determined to find out what the problem is and begins a mission to save her daughter. But as she draws closer to the truth those she relied on turn out to not be who them seemed.

I received this book through Net Galley and this is my honest review.

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I will say that Closer starts off pretty slow paced. It gains momentum and towards the end left me on tender hooks. The characters are well thought out and described very well. Closer is a good sit by the fire on a Sunday evening kind of book, once you get past halfway you might not want to put it own.

So now I’ve told you the pace of the book, here is a little about the plot. I won’t tell you any spoilers though!

Emma and Shaun are separated but still live in the same house to bring up their 10 year old daughter Maisie. When Shaun starts up a relationship with Emma’s boss Joanne things start to go wrong. He moves in with Joanne and her daughter Paige who happens to be the same age as Maisie. But the girls don’t get on. Piper is a spoilt brat who bullies Maisie out of ear shot of Shaun.

What’s upsetting to me is that Maisie becomes withdrawn and stops eating. Shaun can’t see anything wrong and thinks Emma is seeing too much into the situation. But when things start happening to Emma, clearly something is amiss.

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I have been a fan of K.. L. Slater’s for a fair while now. I have read, loved and reviewed every book that she has released so far. I eagerly and impatiently wait for each new book that she releases. Her latest book called ‘Closer’ was released on 24th October 2018 and I absolutely love it but more about that in a bit.
I have to be honest and say that there was not one adult character in ‘Closer’ that I trusted one hundred per cent. I don’t mean that in a negative way- far from it. I just got the impression that each adult was keeping secrets or not being totally honest. There were certain characters that had me wanting to slap them silly with a wet fish or to shake by the shoulders. I did feel for the children though, who had to endure some pretty hostile behaviour.
‘Closer’ is very well written and the chapters are written from the perspectives of the main characters. This way of telling the story works really well, the chapters interlink and the story flows seamlessly as a result. The author’s writing style is such that you can’t fail to be drawn into the story and before you realise what is happening, you are hooked on the story. Then much like a fisherman, the author reels you in and doesn’t let you go until the moment that you close the back page so to speak. It’s almost as if she has you under her spell. I became addicted to this book and I was always in need of my next fix. If I had to put the book down for whatever reason ,then I would count down the time until I could pick the book up again to get my next fix. I am a huge fan of psychological thrillers and I particularly like the sorts of books that mess with my head and ‘Closer’ certainly messed with my head somewhat. I wasn’t sure who or what to believe and in the end decided to believe nobody and suspect everybody as that was the easiest option! Reading ‘Closer’ was much like being on a rather scary and very unpredictable rollercoaster ride with twists and turns aplenty. In fact there were more twists and turns to this book than you would find on a Snakes & Ladders board. There were also moments that almost had me reading through my fingers as I feared what was going to happen next. Stupid me though then realised that if I wanted to know how the story ended then of course I had to read on.
In short I did enjoy reading ‘Closer’ and I would recommend it to other readers. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

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Emma and Shaun's marriage is over but they've agreed to live separately in the same house for their daughter Maisie's sake. Shaun suddenly finds new love and things start falling apart. Shaun's girlfriend is Emma's new boss, Joanne and there's something off about her. Plus Piper, Joanne's daughter is spoiled, a bully and torments Maisie. Add a few more twists, turns and characters and what a tangled web. Shaun was clueless and very irritating. I felt sorry for Emma. Sometimes the story was confusing and I really didn't like the ending. Readers that like psychological thrillers will enjoy this book!

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My full review appears on Weekend Notes. Thanks for sharing this one. I didn't like it quite as much as the last book I read by the author (The Mistake) but it was still an exciting read.

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This book is typical K.L. Slater, you cannot put it down! I read this in one sitting because I had to know how it ended and it was a shock! This author never disappoints and is definitely one of my favorites.

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