A good read, but I didn’t like it as much as Berry’s book The perfect child. It was good and had interesting characters. You can definitely tell the author has a background in psychology. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy.

A thriller that is both chilling and disturbing, <i>When She returned</i> was my first time reading a Lucinda Berry book. With a PhD in clinical psychology, specializing in trauma and children, Dr. Berry’s background and experience are very evident in her storytelling. She creates a very believable look at the life of a journalist and mother named Kate Bennett who just disappears one day - apparently abducted by the cult she was researching. <i>When She Returned</i> focuses on Kate’s reappearance years later and its impact on her daughter, her husband, and his second wife.

One of the things that impressed me about Dr. Berry’s writing was her ability to shift between the POV of the main characters as well as the “then” and “now.” Although this device has appeared often in recent fiction, I did not experience any confusion this time around. Berry did an excellent job of identifying and defining the characters as well as smoothly changing between time frames. Likewise, although the pace was slow at times, each layer of the story was peeled away with an unexpected resolution.




FYI - I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

<b>”I’d had dark periods of my soul, but this one wasn’t leaving.”</b>

Lucinda is one of my favorite thriller authors. I don’t have to know what the book’s about to know I’m going to love it. I went into this one blind and couldn’t turn the pages fast enough once I realized what <I>Kate</I> was getting herself in to.

I won’t elaborate more on <I>that</I> no matter how much I want to, because spoilers. Just know, it’s an interesting, controversial topic that I find very fascinating. I, myself, would never want to take part, but maybe that’s why it’s so mesmerizing.

Anyway, this story reads between past and present with three different POVs. I’m not sure I really liked any of the characters but that’s besides the point. In this story, I don’t think anyone is written to be liked.

Scott’s wife goes missing for years and years. He remarried of course, because that’s what you do. You move on.

I wanted to shake Scott. And his current wife for that matter. She put up with a lot, despite what’s happening, and it felt forced for the sake of the story. But if it weren’t for her, I don’t think anyone else would have been okay at the end because no one else could think logically!

And how about that justice at the end? Or the lack thereof. What happens now? Lucinda always ends her stories wam bam thank you mam, and it makes your mind work extra hard. Did X happen? Why did X do that? What happened to X? You get my drift. She uses her psychology degree skills and I eat it up every book she writes!

I’d have liked a little less of this and a little more of that but overall it’s a great page turner that you won’t be able to stop reading once you start because it’s so WTF worthy!

Thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. This is my second novel by Lucinda Berry. While I felt the suspense was lacking a bit in this book, I really like her writing style. It's a quick read.

𝟒 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭-𝐚-𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬!⁣⁣
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This was such a fun thriller to read! I was already on the edge of my seat but the fabulous twists kept me riveted! The multiple perspectives added such an amazing layer to this story. ⁣⁣
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𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱. 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠.⁣⁣
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When She Returned was so much better than I expected. Think you know what’s going on? Guess again. For me, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. Thank you to the publisher for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.⁣⁣

4 stars

Could not put this down! I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll keep this review brief!

Kate has been missing for eleven years when she suddenly appears at a gas station in Montana, dishevelled and with baby in tow. Her reappearance shocks her husband, Scott, and her daughter Abbi, who long ago had her declared deceased and had finally moved on with their lives, with Scott eventually marrying a woman called Meredith.

The story goes between three different viewpoints, with Abbi and Meredith in the present day and with various flashbacks from Kate. I enjoyed the differing viewpoints because I got to see how the family coped with Kate’s return through Abbi and Meredith, but the events surrounding Kate’s disappearance were explained from her own point of view. I found out why Kate disappeared, but also experienced what it was like for a family to suddenly have a missing person, presumed dead, appear after such a long period of time and how that affects the people that were left behind.

I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll say that this was an interesting and engrossing read. The story shows how a person can, over time, simply become a shadow of their former self and how difficult that may be for a family to accept.

Thanks to NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Great book, great story! Lucinda always manages to create a storyline that makes me really think, I always have such strong feelings when reading her books. I was torn between feeling empathetic and really disliking the returned woman...which makes for a unputdownable book. I can’t get enough of her writing! I can’t wait to see what story she creates next and what feelings she will invoke in me.

Thank you NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. To start with all I can say is wow wow wow! This book grabbed me from the first pages and kept me eager to read and learn what was going to happen. What would you do if after 11 years your loved one, who has been missing, returned? This is what happens when Kate returns to the lives Scott (husband) and Abbi (daughter) have built after 11 year. It was a very interesting story line and when I though that I had it figured out, I find I was wrong!! I've read several of this authors books and when I finish one I think no way can she top this one...but she does! Being a traumatic psychologist really shows in the books because she draws you deep into the story. I thought I knew how it was going to end but again, I was wrong! I highly recommend this book, but don't start it in the evening or you will be up until the wee hours reading! Can't wait for her next book!!!

Slow, disturbing and eventually unputdownable.
This book will slowly churn and twist your insides, leaving delicately haunting impressions.

This slow-burning psychological thriller vividly captures the horrors of trauma and how it ripples and challenges family trust. The most bone-chilling part is realising these events occur in real life, and have been well documented (I enthusiastically educated myself afterwards). Which makes this read both parts horrific, and revealing into the vulnerability of the human mind. It's almost as if it could happen to anyone.

This slow-burner takes a while to establish character dynamics, in a seamless 3-point character perspective, across past and present timelines. However, the payoff is really more twisted and unimaginable when it finally gets there.

I give it 3.5 stars because the story was well-written, but parts left me confused or slightly disappointed. One thing I would have liked to have seen amplified is Meredith's distress (even in her own thoughts) at the beginning, as I believe this would have solidified her character believability better. Also perhaps a few scenes in the middle could have been edited out, it dragged on. The ending was also slightly disappointing, I didn't feel there was enough closure or pages devoted to process this sudden reveal.

Other than that, what a chilling spiral into madness that was 'unputdownable' by the end.


Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book wasn’t what I expected it to be, but in a good way.
Scott and Kate had known each other since they were kids, and happily married with a young daughter of their own. Then she suddenly turns up missing. Her family refuses to believe that she isn’t coming back for years, but they finally move on and he remarries. To everyone’s shock, Kate reappears alive with a newborn baby but it’s clear that she’s experienced extreme trauma.
The book explores so many complex emotions from all of the characters, love, grief, and jealousy. I thought the author did an amazing job portraying the dynamics of cult indoctrination, and its effects.
I’d recommend this book to fans of psychological thrillers and will definitely be on the lookout for more books by this author. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance review copy.

What would you do if your spouse suddenly disappeared without a trace.? You moved on and started another life years later only to have them miraculously return. What should you do now? This book is a crazy ride where just that happens. I was riveting as the story unfolded sharing Kates story of her life for the eleven years she was missing.. I also wondered how Scott's daughter and new wife would handle Kates sudden return home after being away so long. As police question Kate, the story unfolds and ends with a surprising twist. This was a great book,!

Wow wow wow wow. Talk about mystery and suspense. I kept thinking things were one way and they were something else entirely. I love books like this. What happened to her? Was she abducted and what secrets is her family hiding? This book was awesome with the twists and turns, thanks NetGalley.

When She Returned by Lucinda Berry
This is my first book by the author. The premise and the cover were inviting and appealing and Lucinda Berry does not disappoint – she creates a riveting thriller.
Kate Bennett suddenly returns after being AWOL for eleven years from the lives of her husband, Scott and her daughter Abbi. She has an infant in her arms and is in distress. Her husband Scott has moved on and married Meredith who finds Kate’s return unsettling. Abbi wants to reconnect with her long lost mother and Scott is pulled in two directions. He does not know whether he should rejoice that the wife he thought was dead has returned or lament because of the negative impact on his current life with Meredith.
Kate on the other hand is in a vulnerable state. Having been under the control of a cult she has been under constant torment but yet she is keen to return to a state of normalcy. But is everything as simple as it seems? What was the extent of the manipulation she underwent? Was the control of the cult and the leader so strong that she was willing to jeopardize her family life? What are the dark secrets she harbors? Does she pose a danger to her family? Why has she returned after all these years?
All these questions and more intrigue the reader’s mind. Being a psychologist herself, Lucinda’s characterization of the traumatized Kate is brilliant. The narrative oscillates between the POVs of Kate, Meredith and Abbi. Each of them is going through an unending turmoil within themselves and this brewing storm brings destruction. The alternating viewpoints add flavor to the suspense. Overall a taut, tense and edgy narrative. My score 4 * / 5

This book instantly had me hooked. You want to know what happened to her and when you find out her story it breaks your heart but makes you realise what cult life is like. A must read. Just one complaint that it seems the ending was a bit rushed.

I absolutely loved this book. The author is a trauma psychologist and it shows with how in depth and brutal her writing is. Abbi’s mother disappeared when she was five leavening her and her father devastated. Over a decade later after her father has declared his wife dead and remarried, Kate (Abbi’s mother) surfaces again extremely distraught with a newborn in tow. Jumping from the perspective of Abbi, Meredith (Abbi’s new step mother), and Kate in the past what has transpired over the years comes to light. I couldn’t put this book down, it keeps the reader locked in and interested from page one. I would go from extremely anxious to tears from the slowly developing bond between mother and child. I highly recommend it.

mixed feelings about this one, the beginning was interesting and then middle part felt like it lagged, and then it rushed with no real reason. we never got to see enough inside the main characters mind after she returned to make her decision make sense, so more exploring of that and her relationship with her husband and child would have improved things, as it was the abrupt ending became less of her story and more of her daughter's story. so for me the emphasis on the past, needed more detail in the present to make it believable rather than a shock ending

Once I started this book I could not put it down. The blurb about Kate disappearing really doesn't allude to all that she got involved in before she is gone, but as I read I understood and saw what actually happened. Kate was drawn into this crazy cult Love International and brainwashed by the leader, Ray, a charismatic man who sees himself as a direct extension of God. Initially Kate is just interviewing him for her newspaper article but the more she talks to Ray, the more she goes back and becomes more and more enveloped in the Love International and the extreme beliefs they adhere too with their immense sacrifices to God. The story is told from three different points of view Kate, her now 16 year old daughter Abby, and Meredith, Kate's husband Scott's new wife and also alternates from the past when Kate disappeared to now when she has reappeared after 11 years since she vanished. I found the writing and alternating between characters/time periods very effective and definitely made the story move along quickly and also made it quite a thriller. I really enjoyed this book and thought it was extremely interesting. Definitely worth reading! Thanks to NG for the ARC!!!

Lucinda Berry has easily become a favorite author of mine. Every book she rights sucks you in from the very beginning, When She Returned entails a story surrounding a cult, which I always find interesting.. She is able to tell a very believable tale that you know in real life there are families who have come face to face with the same issues.

I always highly recommended Lucinda Berry's books and this one is no different.

I read a lot of thrillers and I can say that I loved this book. I did not see the twist coming at the end and I could not put it down.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good mystery/thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

This ARC was courtesy of netgalley - all thoughts and opinions are mine and unbiased
I also post to Amazon, goodreads, Kobo and B&N

Loved the book - I found myself immersed in this very quickly and was so engrossed I didn't see the end coming!!

A wonderful read