A pregnant young woman becomes obsessed with the disappearance of her lover’s wife, only to discover that she may be headed for the same fate. This book starts out as a slow tale of love and deception, but when new perspectives are introduced the story really gains steam. Be prepared for major twists!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballentine Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

There is a big twist that I didn't see coming at the end for sure although much of the story went as I predicted from early on. The characters are interesting enough to keep my attention although the detectives were stereotypes that fell flat. The main one, Shaw, was given some backstory to make him at least human but his partner was a caricature of the cop who only cared about his ambition. It cheapened the story.

I did feel sympathy for the main character whose life has been a tough one but at times it was hard to watch her accept situations that were not healthy in order to strive for happiness. It was a good hook. I also believed her love and trust of the husband enough that I was on her side in fighting for him.

The twist was good but I hated the exposition of it. It was all telling and no showing in the very end. It angered me enough to feel cheated. Considering this book was fairly short, I can't figure out why we weren't given the experience of the big twist. The attempt at being clever was a gimmick in this one but overall it was a quick read that held my attention.

Miller writes exceptionally taut suspense, this one filled with lies, deception, cheating spouses, and one nasty little murder. The plot is fast paced with juicy new developments surfacing in every chapter. Suspicion bounces from character to character until there’s virtually no one left to trust. This is one of those stories you’ll want to read again just to spot the cues you missed the first time through. Crazy good.

Michael Harris, head of Harris Financial, is in a quandary. Joanna, his wife of five years, has left him, texting that she’s moving back to Los Angeles. How cold is that? And although he can’t quite bring himself to file for divorce, he probably should. His personal secretary, Colleen Roper, is pregnant with his child. When complications arise with the pregnancy, Michael insists Colleen stop working and move into his mansion, where she’s totally out of her depth, living in Joanna’s shadow.

A very captivating thriller. Loved the characters in this book. Very fast paced and kept me guessing throughout. Many different possible suspects.

My favorite book is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. This book is a thinly veiled rehash of Rebecca with the exception of the main character’s pregnancy.. The estate, the mystery of the beautiful ,perfect wife, the animosity of the housekeeper are all directly from Rebecca. I don’t know if the author was, in her way, paying homage to du Maurier or subliminally following a Rebecca ‘s storyline....but I resented it.

Review#10 IN HER SHADOW by Kristin Miller and reviewing for Netgalley.
Collen finds the perfect man but discovers that she has some major shoes to fill to match up to his former wife. A fantastic who done it with several suspicious characters. I had this one figured out though. 🌟🌟🌟🌟Four stars.

This book seems like concoction of Rebecca meets Dial M for Murder and I Confess with one pump honey and just a little milk (don’t ask me why I added last two things to the recipe, just read and learn)

But unfortunately the author’s Hitchcockian deadly recipe failed at some parts. Especially too many POVED narration (why the hell we need to read detectives’ narration, too. That’s creepy husband and girlfriend story. I was so afraid of meeting with new POVs as I resumed my reading like asshole cook’s or sneaky maid’s or sexy, six packed gardener’s narrations- Sh*t there is no gardener in this story, I just dreamed him, I shouldn’t take naps during my readings-.) disturbed and confused the hell of me.

And of course at the each narration, one of the characters defines the other one differently. So the characters’ images and traits change like chameleon in your head and you ask yourself: WTH and why are these characters so unlikeable and more punch-able or slap-able?

The summary of the plot is a pregnant young woman’s obsession about disappearance of her lover’s wife. But when you read more, you’re gonna understand that is not true.

The story starts Colleen (the young pregnant woman and ex-secretary) and her lover’s (Michael, workaholic, charismatic and secretive, giving us doubtful, unfaithful vibes and we start the hate the guts of him as soon as we see his acts around Colleen and their future child!) house named Ravenwood. Poor Colleen lives in shoebox kind of apartment and there are only four months to go for her due date. So Colleen takes her maternal leave and Michael brings her to the house where his wife and he were living together till she sent a message to live with her sister in California when she was expecting their baby.

Colleen finds herself this mysterious place and the locked doors Michael insists there is nothing in them to pick her interest but he seems so shady and we know there are so many closets filled with skeletons at those rooms (not literally or could it be? No clue!) So he leaves his girlfriend alone with mean stuff members including aggressive cook and irritating maid who truly worship Joanna (the wife who left Michael or did she really leave?) and disturbing neighbor who also knows so much better about her new house and the past of Michael and Joanna.

And we see Colleen gets manipulated by the maid by applying Joanna’s perfume and wearing her robe which irritates Michael (We are sorry for Colleen from the beginning but isn’t she way too much naïve? Cannot she see the maid truly hates her and she may do whatever it takes to get rid of her!)
Then everything changes when they find the corpse of Joanna, wearing a sacred necklace (interesting, because she is not a religious type!) so we start to think could Michael kill his wife and will he do it the same thing to Colleen because we get some clues from the chapter titles, a dark fate awaits Colleen! There are also many other suspects we’re introduced and all of them seem irritably shady, too.

And we also learn more about Joanna and we find out she is femme fatale and despicable character. (Yes, we added another shameless one to our list)
The ending twist was good, but I didn’t like the way of revelation the author presented us. But I have to admit I didn’t foresee it and it is really well played.

I could give easily 4 stars for this reading but I didn’t like to live in so many characters’ brains and those fast changing confusing POVS are unnecessary and exhausting experience. And there was so much irritating, hate-worthy characters really annoyed me during my reading. No, I’m correcting my statement: there was no like-able character of this story so the hate that I give would be the title of my review.

That’s why I’m giving 3.25 stars. That was not a bad reading. Final twist and mysterious pacing, Hitchcock references were still good and enjoyable and I still want to read more books of the author. ( I think she mostly writes romance but as far as I see the most romance writers start to write thrillers and in my opinion they’re achieving great job so I’m still open for this author’s upcoming thriller books.)

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for sharing this riveting ARC in exchange my honest review.

I'm a sucker for these kinds of thrillers and I love when authors tease you with one red herring after another. Kristin Miller does not disappoint in that regard: I convinced myself who the murderer was 4 different times! And I was not right once, of course, which is great. The characters of Colleen, the new girlfriend, and Rachael, the victim's former friend, are wonderful and strong women, even if each appears to be weak at first. Love that!

Definitely recommend for readers of psychological thrillers and those who enjoy a good page-turner! Especially fun to read on a rainy night. Thanks to Netgalley for the arc to review.

The book was interesting and a page Turner the only thing that I didn't like that I saw the ending coming. Wife is missing a new girlfriend and infidelity made it a page Turner . I would recommend this book. I was giving this book by #Netgalley for an honest review.

This is a really good psychological thriller. Collen falls in love with Michael, her boss, and soon becomes pregnant. It is a dream come true for her, but things begin to change when Michael moves her to his opulent home as it still has so.much left behind from his previous missing wife Joanna. Michael seems to harbor many secrets and Colleen is disturbed that she is forbidden to enter certain locked rooms in the house. Dean the chef still remains in the home as does the housekeeper. Both still hold on to the love they had for Joanna and that makes Colleen feel like a stranger in her new home. Michael seems distant and then bones are discovered not far from their home and the detectives are honing in on Michael. Colleen is desperate to clear Michael's name and begins searching for answers herself. What she finds is not what she expected.
I thank the publishers, and author for allowing me an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Oh my, In Her Shadow, is a book you can't put down. There are many twists, aha moments as the plot thickens and thickens. Great thriller! Thank you #NetGalley#BallantineBooks#InHerShadow

A twisted tale that will keep you guessing! I would classify this as a mystery or domestic thriller. Everyone is a suspect and I didn't figure it out until near the end. Colleen is pregnant and is taken by her boyfriend Michael to his home, Ravenwood as a peaceful, no-stress place for her pregnancy. Michael's wife, Joanna, had left him a little before Colleen got a job in Michael's office and they fell in love.

When they arrive at Ravenwood, things are not exactly what Colleen expected. The staff and the neighbors all loved Joanna and reminders of Joanna are constantly showing up. Then a body is found nearby and the mystery and investigation begins.

There were some twists and surprises here which I enjoyed and the plot was well done. There wasn't a lot of character development, so I never felt close to any of the characters.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine through Netgalley for ad advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am a big fan of the book "Rebecca" but this book is over the top. With the cast of characters it had you guessing till the very end. I always say never judge a book by its cover.

Good book, but not great. I almost stopped reading halfway through, but changed my mind as it got better. Characters were awkward and inconsistent, however. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes nasty. Couldn't get a real hold on anyone.

In Her Shadow by Kristin Miller is one of those books that are difficult to put down. Ms Miller keeps the reader guessing until very near the end of the story. Looking forward to reading more by this author. I want to thank Net Galley and Ballantine Books for an early copy of this book to review.

Interesting read with a unique plot line and wonderful writing.
Highly enjoyable and hard to put down. Must read!

A pregnant Colleen moves into her boyfriend Michael’s mansion on the California coast. Reminiscent of Daphne duMaurier’s Rebecca, this story is told through several perspectives. No spoilers -. the book kept me guessing throughout. This is a very good, suspenseful book, with twists and turns until the end. Recommended!

“ In Her Shadow” is a who done it novel that left me guessing until the last pages. A well written book that had me turning pages and unable to put it down, I finished it in less than 24 hours! Can’t wait for her next book in 2021.

I was interested in learning who the murderer was, but this book was so full of red herrings that I lost interest in it. I felt the story plodded along and there were parts added that simply were not necessary. NetGalley provided me with this eARC in exchange for my fair and honest review.

I loved the gothic feel of this novel as it's compared to Rebecca! Newly pregnant Colleen moves into her boyfriend's Ravenwood mansion after his wife has left him. Soon it is discovered that his wife, Joanna has been brutally murdered and there appear to be many suspects as husband Michael was often abusive and Joanna may have been unfaithful. I also love a book told from multiple perspectives, flawed characters, secrets. lies, deceptions, and red herrings--all of which occur in this novel. Miller explores the darker aspects of obsession, marriage, relationships, and appearances; and the ending may shock you senseless!