This was a very difficult read. Sadly I’m not able to say much that is good. I’m just going to list things because to detail would involve some tricky wording to avoid spoilers.

1. The general plot had potential but fell short of its goal. Has her husband come back? Was he ever dead? The creepy factor was there and I wanted to keep reading but overall the story was muted by bizarre behavior from ALL of the characters.

2. The relationship between Jane and Morgan is just weird. Why do these two women even talk to each other? There doesn’t seem to be ANY love between them. Their conversations are stilted and lack any kind of sisterhood that would come from decades of being friends.

3. Characters were one dimensional. I didn’t connect with any of them, I didn’t particularly even like any of them.

4. The protagonist, Morgan, doesn’t inspire any sympathy. Jane is sketchy. Ben runs hot and cold. David... why would any woman be stupid enough to even date him much less marry?

5. Much of the book is so fictional you have to really stretch your imagine it happening. I can’t say much detail here because it involves spoilers. Let’s just the law enforcement sections were laughable. I can’t see them solving a crime even if they witnessed it.

6. The Ending: Seriously?! The who and why was unbelievably weird. The discussion between protagonist and villain is... I lack words to convey what I was thinking while reading. Why is David dead? Also unbelievable. I’ll never understand why Ben had so much attitude toward Morgan, she wasn’t acting alone. Typical arse. The letter... really?!

I think this author has real potential but this book did not meet my expectations. I’m not likely to read another by Wilkinson.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this advance copy.

A cleverly-written psychological thriller. Morgan is attending a ceremony and everything flows normally, until she a friend of hers sends her a picture from the party.

Morgan in convinced the man in the background is her ex-husband David, but this can't be real because his dead and she knows it because she is the one who killed him.

The narrative is pacey and builds the tension through alternating chapters between the past and the present to unravel the mystery of this situation.

The ending is surprising and not expected at all, although I did feel that the ending and certain elements of the novel were a bit far fetched.

3.5**** rounded up to 4 as the story held my attention to the end.
Thanks Netgalley, Bookouture, and Kerry Wilkinson for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Net Galley for providing me with a copy of Kerry Wilkenson’s latest book Close To You !!
I found this book took a bit to get into. I enjoyed the story .... kept my interest and I felt the ending was good. Wasn’t my favourite book by Kerry but I enjoyed it!!!

ARC provided by Net Gallery in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

If you are into Psychological Thrillers, then you will enjoy Close to You. It was hard to put down and held my attention from start to a finish I was not expecting. I will definitely read more from Kerry Wilkinson.

I enjoy reading Kerry Wilkinson's books but this one really pulled me in from the write up. The main character Morgan is attending an awards dinner with her friend Jane and everything is fine. Until Jane sends a photo to Morgan of the night and she is immediately drawn to a man sitting in the background. Be enlarging the screen Morgan is convinced she is looking at her ex husband David. Only she knows he is dead because she’s the one who killed him.
This is one of those books when you are trying to race through the pages to learn more and need to keep re-assessing what is going to happen etc. Good book and an exciting read.
I would like to thank Net Galley and Bookouture for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Morgan’s husband disappeared three years ago, but recently she has noticed indications he may have returned. She knows this is not possible, so what is going on? The story flips between the now, and the past events to unravel this story.
I really liked the premise of this story and the synopsis had me intrigued. I did like the ease of reading. The writing was good and felt honest. The flow of the book was great and I did want to keep reading to find out the conclusion.
However, I had a hard time believing a character like Morgan would have taken the actions she did. It just didn’t seem realistic to me and unfortunately neither did the ending.
In summary, I enjoyed it but is wasn’t fantastic. I would recommend it as a quick thriller read.

Close To You is a story written in the first person that alternates between past and present.

The blurb for this book jumped out at me. Knowing that the main character had killed her ex husband and got away with it, well I had to know more. Morgan isn’t the most likable protagonist, yet there was something about her that I kind of admired.

With the story flicking back and forth, we get to see the relationship between Morgan and her ex David as well as the build up of tension as Morgan’s world is in turmoil with strange things happening. Morgan is a woman who likes to be in control and it was intriguing to see how she handles this new situation she finds herself in.

Close To You is a story that will send you racing through the pages. The anticipation of how things were going to end both thrilled and excited me. I was certainly kept guessing as to who was behind it all. The ending was not what I had been expecting but it suited the rest of the story and was actually a great way to end it. A novel that will keep the reader on their toes.

I'd have to say this is not my favourite by this author, whose books I generally love. I felt the tone was too light-hearted for a psychological thriller and it jarred with what was happening - probably just me, but I couldn't really get invested in any of the characters. A clever storyline, though!

I enjoyed this book. Not a five star read, but nevertheless a very good story with an interesting storyline and believable characters. Very easy to read.

Unfortunately this is a book I couldn’t finish. I didn’t relate to the characters. I found it difficult because even the main characters own mother didn’t like her. Really disappointed because I had high hopes for this book. ⭐️

Another twisty psychological thriller from Kerry Wilkinson! Very interesting premise where secrets and twists unfold throughout. racing to the final stunning end.

Kerry Wilkinson has done it again
Written a story which keeps you completely gripped
With twists, turns & suspense
I didn’t see the end coming

Thank you netgalley, bookouture and Kerry Wilkinson for allowing me to read and review this book.

A bit twisted and full of tension. I didn't expect the ending at all. This isn't my favorite by the author. I felt indifferent to the characters. The plot was intriguing but fell a bit flat at the end. It's a good psychological thriller as it keeps the tension and suspense high. I just didn't feel invested in the characters or outcome.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of Close to You. I was attracted to the book because this psychological thriller had a great original premise. The narrator is a woman, Morgan, who thinks her husband who disappeared is stalking and tormenting her. However, she is confused about how this can be happening. She knows she killed him and disposed of his body and all his belongings two years before. She has seen his picture in the background of a recent photo taken at an awards ceremony, and her best friend claims she may have caught a glimpse of him lately.

Although I admired the plot, I became indifferent to the various flawed characters, and their motivations seemed unreasonable. I did not feel connected emotionally to any as I read and found them mostly unsympathetic. A lot of wrong choices were made by most of the cast, with many secrets and lies involved. I was not feeling the suspense because of my dislike of the characters. At the conclusion, Morgan seems quite proud of herself and comes off as a sociopath.
I did not anticipate the revelations at the ending, which was a plus, and explained much of the mystery, but not why the participants chose such disturbing behaviour. I feel this book will be popular among most readers of psychological suspense, and should not be dissuaded by my misgivings.

WOW ! Once again Kerry Wilkinson has written a terrific standalone psychological thriller that had me gripped from the first page.Morgan meets and marries David in the matter of a few months but when things go wrong she kills him and disposes of his body.Thinking she has escaped justice for her crime she moves on with her life,but a few years later she thinks she see's David in a photo that was taken only the same day, but it can't be him because he's dead isn't he ?? As other strange things start to occur in Morgan's life she really starts to ask herself if she did kill David or not.The story is told in the past and present and had me turning the pages well into the night until the finale which was a little surprising ! This really is a completely gripping psychological thriller as it says on the cover. A superb 5 star read.

One of my favorite reads of the year, Close to You is so addictive that it was hard to put down. Morgan wins an award as a trainer of the year. In the background of her celebratory picture she sees a familiar face, that of her ex-husband. Awkward but no big deal, right? Well, not exactly. Morgan killed her ex-husband so she knows he can't be there and yet, photos don't lie so what's going on? One after another, creepy incidents keep happening. They can all have a reasonable explanation but they could also be a sign that Morgan's dead ex-husband is, somehow, back. I had no idea what was going on and the final explanation was unexpected but it also made so much sense that I can't believe I hadn't foreseen it. Morgan is not a likable character but I still wanted to know more about her. She's complicated, independent and at times, very funny. She can also be quite scary. Anyone who enjoys well-written mysteries with gripping plots should read this excellent novel.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Bookouture!

My body tenses. It can’t be him. It’s not my ex-husband. It’s not David.
I know that better than anyone because he didn’t walk out on me.
He didn’t disappear two years ago and he’s not a missing person.
I know that for a fact because I’m the one who killed him.

This is what initially grabbed my attention and I had to read it. Kerry Wilkinson spun an interesting story and for the most part I really enjoyed it. But somewhere along the way I became some what indifferent 🤷‍♀️. Perhaps a combination of the characters as well as the ending just left me unimpressed. Would definitely try more of his books in the future and I can see why his books have good ratings, this one unfortunately was just ok for me. 3.5 ⭐️

Having recently discovered Kerry books this year, I've thoroughly enjoyed his stand-alone books and so when I heard a new one was coming out I knew I had to read this promptly.

So this latest book Close to you has been an enjoyable read but it was also a fairly easy going / light read. I liked the storyline as it was different, not something that comes up in other books. The ending was very cleverly done, as it answered all of the unanswered questions that cropped up within the story.

One of the things I struggled with was the characters, they didn't feel real or believable, I can't put my finger on it but I just felt there was something missing. Despite this, it was still an enjoyable read and I'd still recommend it to other likeminded readers.

I'm looking forward to Kerry next standalone book already however, I have yet to read his series but they are very much on my to be read list.

You know how you start a book and some you just get lost in and don’t want to put down? That’s what happened with this book! I started reading it yesterday morning and it’s 24 hours later and I’m done and writing a review. It’s THAT good. One night during an awards banquet, fitness instructor Morgan thinks she sees her husband in a photo taken that evening. But she knows it can’t be him. Because she killed him. But then why are strange things happening? Her car is stolen. Someone is sending her anonymous texts. Is her husband really dead? I thought I had this figured out until almost the very end when my jaw dropped. I loved how the story was told in alternate times between now and what happened that led her to killing him. I loved this book so much! Definitely one of my favorites of the year! Run don’t walk when this is released!

Kerry Wilkinson is quickly making his way to the top of my favorite author list! Close to You is fast-moving and twisty, just the way I like a good suspenseful thriller!
Morgan, a fitness instructor, is at an awards dinner when her friend Jane snaps a photo. On closer inspection, Morgan is sure she sees David, her missing ex-husband who she knows is dead because she’s the one who killed him. This synopsis is the premise for the book and it’s an attention getter that did not disappoint!
The story is told alternating between the past and present, exploring Morgan’s relationship with David and her current beau, Andy. Jane, her child hood best friend is a strong secondary character. As usual for Mr. Wilkinson, the characters are edgy, well-developed, and flawed. Morgan was not a likable gal yet I got a sense that I knew her and could connect with her. This, to me, is a sign of a really well written character.
Close to You is a thrilling delight for any fan of the genre. Highly recommend this!
A big thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this book!