Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC.

Just when I thought I was going to give up on this slippery thriller, it turned and I was enthralled - for a moment. It’s tricky, because I was 30% into it and literally ready to be done, and if I hadn’t read just one more page I would have given up on it. Done right, slow burning thrillers are so worth it. But I hate to think of what I might have missed in this book if I hadn’t read that one page. Even still, I couldn’t quite gain my footing after nearly giving up on it. I liked the dimension the plot turn gave to the narrator. But overall, slippery is the only word I can stick with - isn’t that ironic. I was not a huge fan of the story - but the writing was pretty good. Will definitely try another from the author, but sadly this particular one was not for me.

The Old You by Louise Voss has an intriguing premise. For Lynn Naismith the onset of dementia in her husband Ed is devastating, but there are a few things that confuse her about the situation. Although Lynn puts some worrisome situations out of her mind, she does question certain events. Not too seriously, though.

Unfortunately, I found the pacing slow and uneven until the latter part of the novel, at which point the twists just annoyed me. It was really difficult to sympathize with any of the characters.

Not much of the novel rang true for me, and I really lost patience with the bit about the clinical trial. Lynn's acceptance of all of the trial and all of the discrepancies and inconsistencies was too hard to accept.

NetGalley/Trafalgar Square Publishing
Domestic Noir? 2018 & Jan. 1, 2019. Print length: 300 pages.

Have you ever driven on the famous Lombard Street in San Francisco? This book is the literary version of that street.
(Google it if you're unfamiliar)

This is one clever and twisty story with a refreshingly unique plot.

From the get-go you know something is off and all is not what it seems and Louise Voss doesn't even try to hide it. This choice by the author is what made this story so gripping for me. A sense of dread enveloped me immediately in the first chapter and omg was it ever deliciously unnerving.

Voss scatters so many clues throughout the story that it's dizzying at times. I knew everything I needed to solve this story was right there...just out of reach. I just couldn't seem to fit all of the clues together and it was frustrating and fun and exactly as it should be.

One of my biggest peeves in the mystery/ thriller genre is when writers try to deceive the reader with misleading clues in an attempt to throw them off what is inevitably a predictable ending. Never once does Voss resort to this amateurish tactic. Every clue is relevant in this story, each serving as a piece to the puzzle.

Ultimately, this is a riveting read from beginning to end.

4.5 Stars rounded up because I couldn't put it down.


I was provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Old You
By: Louise Voss
Description
Someone’s mind is playing tricks . . . but whose? Lynn Waites gave up the job she loved when she married Ed, the love of her life, but it was worth it for the happy years they enjoyed together. Now, 10 years on, Ed has been diagnosed with early-onset dementia, and things start to happen; things more sinister than missing keys and lost words. As some memories are forgotten, other, long buried, begin to surface . . . and Lynn’s perfect world begins to crumble. But is it Ed’s mind playing tricks, or hers?
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advance copy.
I wanted to love the book. I just felt some of the wording was off. The wife Lynn was just someone that bothered me being so clueless.
BUT. I am sure will enjoy this book. Give it a try.

"Such appalling judgement when it came to choosing lovers" Epilogue

Ya think?

I was attracted to this book due to the dementia plot line. I thought that could really be an interesting twist for a psychological thriller. That worked until it all just got ridiculous, too many contrivances, the whole thing ended up not working for me.

Probably didn't help that I really disliked all the primary characters, it's nice to have someone to root for, lol!

I received an ARC from NetGalley, publisher Orenda Books, and Author Louise Voss in exchange for my honest opinion.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

This one started out juicy but the protagonist had too strong a case of TSTL- and then we are supposed to believe she was a former cop? Classic example of a woman who gets way too swept up by the D over and over but none of the sociopathic lovers were anything special

When Lynn”s husband is diagnosed with Early Onset Dementia, it’s obviously a horrible time for both Lynn and Ed, and the beginning of this story is filled with the dread and despair that this awful disease causes. I was filled with compassion for Lynn as she struggled to live with Ed’s increasingly erratic behavior. But just hold on to your seats because this book takes a turn I never expected. Yes, I know it was billed as suspense, and I knew something was going to happen, but nothing prepared me for the fireworks Voss sets off in her story. This is one of those books that literally made me gasp