Unfortunately, I had to DNF this one. I really wanted to get into it, but it just wasn't for me. I can see why some enjoyed it; the writing style was very good. Hoping get next one is more for me!

*Thank you @grandcentralpub for a copy in exchange for an honest review. Review not posted to Amazon/Goodreads because less than 4 stars or DNF.*

THE HEATWAVE by Kate Riordan

Elodie was different.

They said she wasn’t like everyone else. She didn’t think the same. She manipulated people. And when they said all of this, they they said it to Sylvie’s face. The one that looked so much like her.

The question is: Was there ever a chance for her or really for anyone?

I really enjoyed this visit to an eerie family home in the South of France. I thought it had just the right amount of suspense and mysterious elements.

The setting was perfection and I found it be almost its own character. It was interwoven in dialogue and expressed through characterization of both humans and inert objects. The setting was probably my favorite part.

I also found it super interesting to get a fictional take on how a child like this or an experience like this with motherhood might be perceived in a different country.

Thanks to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for the advanced copy!

THE HEATWAVE…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Though THE HEATWAVE shows Riordan's superb writing style, the story just didn't grab me. I wanted to like this novel, but couldn't get into it. However, I can see why other people were speaking so highly of the novel.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

This is my first time reading the work of Kate Riordan and it definitely will not be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed her writing, her characterization, and her eloquent descriptions. The heat was palpable, and the familial relationships unsettling.

In fact, I’d have to say that I felt uncomfortable for most of the book. Wondering just how evil Élodie might turn out to be… It was unnerving and intense.

La Rêverie, the run-down old house in Provence, was almost a character unto itself. In the family for generations, it was difficult to fathom how Sylvie could even consider selling it.

This is a claustrophobic and harrowing tale about a very dysfunctional family. If you like disturbing domestic thrillers with ambiance, then this is the book for you.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I love the main character in this book Sylvie and I found that I was super into this during the first half. Sylvie is returning with her daughter to her family home where she lost her eldest daughter. When the second half of the book begins, I totally lost touch with the characters and the story. It was a bizarre shift.

Thank you Grand Central Publishing, NetGalley and Author for this ebook copy!
I have had my eyes on this book for awhile now so I seriously can't thank y'all enough for giving me a chance to read and review The Heatwave 😘

The Heatwave is a thriller set in France during a heatwave.
Sylvie has to return to her home in the south of France following a small fire, and with the intent of selling the house.
Sylvie has tried to put the past behind her. But her secrets can't stay buried forever! And with memories of Elodie seem to be creeping ever closer.
There's a secret Sylvie has concealed about what happened to Elodie all those summers ago . . .

The story is narrated from the past to the present ,it is fast paced, thrilling, well written!
I absolutely loved this book like I knew I would!

Thank you again for this ebook!
Very much appreciated it!

Fabulous book, great story, filled with drama and intrigue. I cannot wait for more books by this author! I didn’t want the book to end!

Let me start with a little confession. When I saw I had this on my Kindle my brain told me it was <i>The Perfect Guest</i> instead - which, in all honesty, I have not read the blurb for, but I do have my name on the waiting list because the cover is good and I liked <i>The Au Pair</i> okay enough to read another offering by that author. But like I said, this wasn’t that book nor is it by the author of <i>The Au Pair</i>. What can I say? I'm an idiot.

Turns out this one is a story that follows the big resurgence lately of books that have taken a trope from the olde days of yore - that of "The Bad Seed" - and made it new again. I think Zoje Stage might have ruined me for more of these because I liked <i>Baby Teeth</i> so much. Sadly, despite the setting being EV.ER.Y.THANG. I wanted now that it’s not 20 below outside anymore, the actual story was a snoozer.

<i>ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!</i>

There were a lot of things about this book I really liked! I love messy family drama, and I loved the setting in France. I thought the author wrote in a way that built suspense. This would be a fun and engaging beach read this summer!

Missing and dead children are a staple of domestic thrillers, along with the heartsick parents that search for them. In Kate Riordan’s new suspense novel The Heatwave, however, Sylvie Durand’s life has been better ever since she lost her 14-year-old daughter Eloide nine years ago. But now she’s drawn back to the home in southern France where her psychotic daughter terrorized her and tore her marriage apart. The family home was abandoned after Sylvie split with her husband Greg and took her younger daughter Emma back to London; a small fire has forced Sylvie to return to fix up the place for a possible sale. But with memories of Eloide at every turn—and Emma still fascinated by the older sister she can barely remember—Sylvie may be forced to tell Emma the ugly truth about Eloide long before she had planned.

To read the rest of the review, click on the link below:

This book drew me in from the beginning. I love the idea of a book set in idyllic south of France. I didn’t know much about the book going in and I think that definitely worked to my advantage.

This is a slow very twisty thriller. It also has depth and complexity within its characters and their relationships. I love dysfunctional relationships and looking at how they got that way.

I love an atmospheric thriller and this is definitely that! We were transported to the South of France, one of my favorite book settings. If I close my eyes it's like I am on an imaginary vacation. Although it is a slow burn to start it picked up and kept interest.
I wish there were more perspectives than just Sylvie's. Perhaps, Emma or Elodie's perspective would have added a bit more depth but it was still a good read! If you love dark family mysteries this one is for you!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for gifting me a digital ARC for Kate Riordan's new novel - 4.5 stars for a very Gothic-feel mystery.

Sylvie lives in London with her youngest daughter, Emma, but has to make a sudden trip to France and her family home when she receives word that a fire has been set. Sylvie grew up in this home and lived there with her husband, Greg, and older daughter, Elodie, as well as young Emma, but hasn't been back in over 10 years since something happened to Elodie. Sylvie has never told Emma the specifics of what happened to Elodie and she is afraid that being back will trigger memories for Emma. But things start happening that leave all of them shaken.

This book has an eerie, ghost-story type feeling - what happened to Elodie? Why is everything such a secret? Told in alternating chapters in the past (beginning in late 1960s) and present (1993), the book is written from Sylvie's point of view as she is addressing Emma. That took a bit of getting used to but I soon found myself enthralled with this story of a dysfunctional family with bad seed vibes. I was a tad disappointed with the ending but really enjoyed this story.

THE HEATWAVE is a completely absorbing family drama and simmering psychological thriller!

In the summer of 1993, Sylvie and her teenage daughter, Emma, return to their home in the South of France after a ten year absence. After she learns of some vandalism on the property, Sylvie decides it's time to fix up La Reverie and sell it. This is a difficult place to face again, as it's filled with painful memories of the tragedy involving her troubled first child, Elodie. Emma remembers very little about her older sister, and Sylvie's not sure how much longer she can shield her from their disturbing family secrets.

"I would die for her, without hesitation. I am her mother. It's just that, sometimes, I wish I wasn't. I am her mother but I wish I wasn't."

The story is told from Sylvie's point of view in alternating time periods — during the summer of 1993, and then 1968 forward — as we learn about the disturbing mother/daughter relationship between Sylvie and Elodie during her childhood. What does a mother do if her child is evil? How far would she go to protect one daughter from the other? Elodie's character was truly creepy! The tension surrounding what she might do next was unsettling.

THE HEATWAVE is an atmospheric Gothic suspense with an amazing and unique setting. The characters and their conflicts are memorable, the writing and descriptions are gorgeous (I enjoyed the French mixed in), and the reveal at the end was perfect. Highly recommended.

After ten years, Sylvie and her daughter, Emma, return to the family home in the south of France. It’s the middle of an intense heatwave and Sylvie is dreading the memories that she will surely confront. Memories of her older daughter, Elodie, whom Sylvie loved so deeply and yet was also fearful of, still haunt the rooms of the old house. As fires explode around them, Sylvie tries to reconcile her feelings for Elodie, who died when she was only fourteen. And, at the same time, she tries to protect Emma from the truth and about what really happened in the months leading up to Elodie’s death.

The Heatwave is a haunting and unforgettable book that is difficult to put down. The characters are well-developed and the language and descriptions are rich and almost lyrical. The tension that the author creates gives the story an unsettled and unresolved atmosphere. I could almost feel the oppressive heat and smell the smoke of the approaching fires. It is certainly a book that I enjoyed and will remember.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Part 1 of this story was filled with an overwhelming sense of foreboding. Sylvie and her young teen daughter, Emma, have returned to their past family home in the South of France. A home that is filled with haunting memories of the daughter and sister who died at fourteen.

Part 2 felt like a ticking time bomb. I was just holding my breath waiting for everything to explode.

I really enjoyed Riordan's well-developed characters. She created such emotional depth within this dysfunctional family. I also felt as if La Reverie (the house) was a character in itself - claustrophobic and eerie.

This was an incredibly quick read even though the plot was more of slow-burn. I had a really difficult time putting it down one night with only 40 pages left. It was just one of those stories I felt compelled to keep reading.

Unfortunately, the ending felt abrupt and semi underwhelming. I think I was expecting something more dramatic and evocative. Still a great summer read!

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for the gifted copy!

I reviewed this on my blog and on goodreads and will provide the details directly to the publisher during the next stage of this review process.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, what a great, fast-paced mystery! I couldn’t put it down. The description does not give away much at all, so I was pleasantly surprised that this was not your typical mystery plot. Well-written with twists I truly did not see coming. Also, the ex-husband sucks soooo bad. That’s all!

Sylvie and Emma return to the family home in the south of France. Sylvie desperately wants to sell the house and hope that Emma never learns the truth about her older sister who dies many years ago. Written partially in second person and alternating between the past and present became very tiring. In addition there was not a single character that I liked. That being said, I stopped at 50% which I rarely do.