Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. Wow! This was a great book. Suspense was great. The plot was something different and well written. The ending was a shock!

Electra is here to help. You need to know what to expect from the weather? She'll tell you the forecast straight away. Fancy having the lights turned off without getting out of bed? All you need to do is ask. She'll monitor the heating, read to you, and if you supply the smart locks, she'll even open and close the doors for you. Perhaps best of all, you can chat to her if you're lonely. If you wanted, it could be like she's your best friend. Or, your worst nightmare. After all, she controls everything...

Ok, this review will definitely have some spoilers, as it is almost impossible to review without revealing some details of the plot. So don't read on if you've not read it yet!

I have to say, this was a tricky one for me. 'The Assistant' begins with Jo moving into her friends flat, which is littered throughout with smart technology, the most significant of which is Electra - essentially a home assistant very similar to the Amazon echo. Jo is initially unbothered by all the technology, until one night Electra glitches and almost comes alive, breaking out of the prescribed pattern of dialogue and making references to a dark event from Jo's past.

Initially Jo tries to find excuses for why this happened, and what follows is essentially Jo being slowly psychologically tortured by the technology in her home. But, all is not as it seems, as 'The Assistant' actually offers three potential explanations for what Jo is experiencing, the first of which being that the technology has somehow become sentient, and magically knows a huge amount of information about Jo's past, perhaps gained in a psychic manner? Luckily, this possibility is quickly discounted, and we get onto the real heart of the book - is Jo being tortured by someone close to her, using the home assistants to drive her insane, or is she in fact hallucinating the whole thing, as a result of late onset inherited mental illness?

It's a fantastically original plot, and there were definitely some elements that really resonated with me. The whole novel reads like a social commentary on our increasing reliance on technology and AI, and it does definitely make you question how much power we all give to our devices. But something about this just didn't appeal to me. Don't get me wrong, it's an enjoyable book, but there's something about it that felt a little flat. I think part of the issue for me was having so many other people in the book conveniently be tech experts - I get that its due to the type of people being written about, but it would have been far more sinister if Jo hadn't known so much about the tech world and the people in it, as it would have for me at least led to a greater level of suspense. Instead, I found it a bit more flat that I think was intended - it obviously had to be one of the tech experts, it was just a case of wait and see which one was picked.

As for the motive of the individual in question, sadly there were too many hints for this to be a surprise, and I guessed the big reveal about halfway through. It might be because I've read too many books on the topic, but this one just wasn't a surprise. I also personally had two big issues with the ending - firstly and most importantly, it offers a truly appalling representation of mental health issues as a result of sexual abuse, and secondly, it was a clear example of throwing everything at it. Remember that earlier reference to AI becoming sentient? Yeah, that gets dragged back up, in a very poorly formatted ploy at creating a surprising ending.

All in all, this one just wasn't that impressive to me. It was ok, it's definitely a quick read so that's a bonus. It just didn't grab me, and despite a unique plot idea, the shoddy execution just made it a bit of a mess.

What a scary storyline, I found myself reading faster and faster just to find out what had happened and why.
No spoilers here from me.

The Assistant is a terrifying psychological thriller about what happens when virtual assistants take over someone’s life. Jo Ferguson made a pact to never speak about what happened to Jamie Trewin. So how does her virtual assistant, Electra know all about what Jo did? Her life starts to fall apart until she’s on the edge of losing everything. Someone wants to destroy her. But who? Or is history repeating itself, and is Jo losing her sanity?

I was completely gripped by this book and couldn’t put it down. It starts quite slowly, but the tension and suspense builds chapter by chapter until it reaches its shocking twist at the end. This works really well in showing how Jo’s paranoia is increasing and the insidious way in which she loses control of her life and is ‘killed on-line”. I thought it was a clever, original concept with an underlying dark warning about how we may all be sleepwalking into complacency around the use of technology and what it might one day be capable of. Five stars for a book that is everything I look for in a good thriller in this genre.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my personal review.

Good, I've finished so I can breathe again. What a read! Jo is a journalist, divorced and broke. She's living in her rich friend Tabitha's flat. Tabitha is happy to have her there and the flat is beautiful, every mod con including an electronic assistant, Electra. Electra is obviously based on Alexa. I don't have Alexa and after reading this, I will never have an Alexa. Electra starts talking to Jo, not just the banal interactions of a smart assistant but real talk, taunting her about an incident in her past. It escalates until Jo begins to doubt her sanity. And unlike many of the heroines in psychological thrillers she has real reason to fear losing her mind because her father was schizophrenic and killed himself when she was a child.

This was a great read. It's quite similar to another book I read recently, 17 Church Road, but I think this just has the edge. Jo is a sympathetic protagonist. There are times when you are exasperated at what she does and it's true she does make some weird choices but nonetheless you can't help liking her. The story is told mainly from her point of view apart from a couple of chapters so you really get inside her head and feel her terror as everything disintegrates around her.

With references to the poetry of Sylvia Plath throughout it makes you want to go back and read Plath's work as well as biographies. I did read one many years ago and it was terribly poignant.

If you like psychological thrillers you'll love this. One to curl up with one a winter's day with snow falling outside. Just don't turn on your Alexa. Many thanks to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the ARC.

Initially I thought the assistant was a secretary, so I was a bit confused when I started reading...

But dear gods, this was awesome! Random, OTT, slightly outside of the realms of believable but I utterly loved it. Wonderfully twisty turny, this will have you questioning what's real and what's vividly imagined right up to the very last page.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation to review.

If you have an Alexa style device in your home or one like it, well lets just say if you read this book you might well be throwing it in the bin after this!

A novel for our times - what do you do if the machine you talk to and ask things, talk intimately in the same room as it is, share everything that goes on inside your home...and it listens and listens... Then it starts answering back, talking to you, controlling you and wanting to destroy you.

If that doesn't get people talking, thinking and freaking out, I don't know what will.

Not the kind of book I usually read but I was intrigued to read this one!

I read and requested this book on the recommendation of a friend, she said I’ll never look at my Google Mini again the same way… was she right…. YES is the answer… holy f***, this was a real eye opener, yes I know its fiction but that’s not to say it couldn’t happen right? Our lives are completely entwined with technology and more and more so every day… we are so reliant on it….what would you do if you’re “Assistant” turned on you….. this book had the hairs on my arms stand up, an absolute cracker of a book, it messes with your mind as well as the main character Jo…. I literally devoured this book wanting to know what happened, how it happened and why it happened…. What a page turner!

This was scary and really a page turner.
Technology is in our lives and this is a thriller embedding that on an extreme. If you have Alexa, you might be scared even more :) Definitely entertaining.
Thanks a lot to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

3 for neutral. This is a book I tried on many occasions, but could never get into it and finish. I know I’ve enjoyed other works by the author and this has amazing reviews, so could be my mood, since I’m an extremely moody reader. Will definitely update if able to enjoy at a later date. Most love, so don’t let my review deter you!

I really wasn’t sure about this book to start with but the reviews said it was good so I ploughed on. However, at nearly half way through it still didn’t sit right with me and I had to give up. There wasn’t enough to grip me.
Jo is hearing things, through her home assistants. They are reminding her of the terrible tragedy that she was part of many years earlier. They are also messing with her mind, but is it someone controlling it to get back at her or is it inherited paranoia?
Well I guess I’ll never know. There just wasn’t a draw here. Yes the technology in our houses could be listening and I suppose this situation could happen but it was all a bit far fetched for me

I absolutely loved the premise of this book and was super intrigued by the concept.

We all now live in the age of our lives being led by our gadgets and I'm sure the majority of use have some form of 'Home Help' whether it's an Alexa or Google pod, you dont realise once you have one just how reliant we have become on having our questions answered immediately by the good old internet..... so..l the actual storyline was one that really resonated with me.

But, in all honesty I was left feeling bored.. there I've said it! Hands up I think I'm the only one who doesn't actually liie this book!

It was really slow, too far fetched and bored me.

I'm giving 2.5* because the actual premise has some real potential, I just font think it was pulled off this time!

Thank you to netgalley and Harper Collins for the ARC.

This book is scary as hell but an absolute page turner that has you gripped from start to finish. As we live in such a technology dependent age, this book feels very real and relevant.

This was a dark, intriguing thought provoking read that kept me guessing. As the owner of Amazon echo devices it certainly made me think!
I’ll be thinking about this book weeks after reading, and after also enjoying The Fire Child by this author I look forward to reading more books by this talented author.

Jo is newly divorced and living in her best friends spare room almost rent free. The high-tech Camden flat is managed by a home assistant Electra, that takes care of everything, Unexpectedly, Electra tells Jo that she knows what she did and Jo is horrified because it’s true. In her past she did something horrible and unforgivable. Only two other people know Jo’s secret and she is sure they would never tell anyone, would they? Soon, Jo realises that the assistant doesn’t just want to control her, I it wants to destroy her for good.

This was an ok read for me. The first ten percent was very boring but I ploughed on and it got better, however I still felt it was a bit far fetched, especially towards the end.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher HarperCollins for an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

A brilliant story for the digital age. A truly terrifying story and had me suspecting everyone. Loved it x

I loved the premise of this book when I read what it was about. I also loved the previous novels by this author, so I was really excited to start it.

I wasn't disappointed. :) It was a reflection of our modern reliance on technology and how much we rely on and trust in the computers around us to help us live our lives. I'm not long out of a physiological-thriller-slump, where anything in that genre was pretty much just 'meh' to me. But this was really good.

I was gripped throughout and I wanted to know what happened after every page. It was a quick read for me and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I would recommend this book and this author 100%.

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book.

The Assistant starts off slowly and quickly turns into a deliciously dark, thrilling, atmospheric and really creepy read. I was absolutely hooked. It is compelling reading and thoroughly thought provoking. Do we really know the extent to which technology runs our daily lives? Home Assistants, smart phones, smart TV's, smart plugs and lights, etc., who is controlling them, is it us or the other way around...?

As the owner of a "home assistant", it has made me look at the technology in my life in a new and not altogether comfortable way!

All in all, an excellent read with so many twists and turns, it will keep you guessing right to the very end. 5/5* Keep an eye out for this one, published in Ireland and the UK on 2 December next.

I really enjoyed S K Tremayne's previous books and was looking forward to this latest one. I must admit that it's my least favourite. Although (as I come to expect from this author), the story was atmospheric, interesting and sufficiently creepy, it was a little repetitive and too far fetched (especially towards the end) for my liking. A decent thriller but not the one I'd rave about.
Many thanks to Natgalley and HarperCollins publishers for the ARC.

I absolutely loved this book ,it is dark ,creepy ,scary and I think quite thought provoking ,What if ?Jo Ferguson free lance journalist and recently divorced and broke goes to live with her best friend Tabitha in her flat in an expensive part of London .The flat is controlled by Alexa type smart technology ,Tabitha is away a lot so Jo is on her own when suddenly the digital assistants start talking to her about something in her past she would rather forget Things get even more menacing and Jo's life is turned upside down ,is she going mad or is someone doing this to her ?London is having its coldest weather for years and it doesn't stop snowing which adds to the creepy atmosphere .I didn't guess the ending which was quite frightening .10 stars if I could .!!! Many thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and NetGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review .