Hannah Catton's husband Graham was brutally murdered in a robbery gone bad while her six year old daughter Evie and herself were in the house but Hannah received a head injury and has no memory of the horrific event. The detectives believed Hannah played a part in the murder until evidence supposedly proved otherwise and a young man was convicted of the crime.
Ten years later there is a new investigation into Graham's murder due to a podcast devoted to reopening possible wrongful convictions and this is putting tremendous stress on Hannah. Bits and pieces of her memory are coming back but she's unsure if they are real because she also feels Graham's presence and hears his voice whispering messages in her ear at times. An old acquaintance (Darcy) has moved back to the area and has been a great support and friend for Hannah because the pressure and stigma of being an accused murderer is taking over on her life with the press camping outside their home and at the hospital where she works. Hannah's mental and emotional state is becoming more fragile as the stress continues to pile on causing disruptions in her relationships with Evie and her longtime boyfriend Dan who has been wonderfully supportive to her. The podcast seems to be pointing the finger at Hannah for the murder due to uncovering more evidence that will prove the wrong person was arrested for the vicious slaying and Hannah's emotional stability is starting to crack more and more each day wondering if she did kill her husband because she knows she certainly wanted to.
How will this story play out? Did Hannah really murder her husband in cold blood with Evie in the house at the time or is it possible that Hannah is being set up for this murder? As time goes on there are more questions than answers as Hannah's life and mental state quickly spiral out of control.

This was a very good storyline with a lot of puzzles throughout the book unfortunately it didn't really work for me. I wanted to love this story but sadly I couldn't. It was very slow pacing and a little confusing at times with alternating timelines and Hannah was just a big mess. She was a psychiatrist who worked with young people who had eating disorders and I would only hope that any person who needs psychiatric help would never be treated by someone with Hannah's instability (frightening). It also was sad the way she was treating Evie since Eve also suffered a great loss and Hannah is just consumed with her own problems yet wants to control every aspect of Evie's life which in turn just alienates the child. Hannah just wasn't a very likeable character although I still wanted her to be innocent of any intentional evil actions. There is also one particular character who plays a very big part throughout the story and then another huge betrayal but you never find out the outcome that the devasting revelation had on Hannah and how she planned on handling that need bomb dropped on top of her head. The writing was very good but there was just too much thrown in and it became very muddled altogether.
Please remember these are just my thoughts on this book and many other readers really enjoyed the story so I encourage anyone to read the book and base your own feelings about it.

I want to thank the publisher "St. Martin's Press" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel and any thoughts and opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given a rating of 3 Muddled 🌟🌟🌟 Stars!!

Hannah says she doesn't remember what happened when her husband is murdered. But does she really?? Fast forward to the present where the past is being resurrected. Hannah is being forced to relive the past from a reporter that is retrying the murder in the court of public opinion. This was a twist and turn book of who really did it. Just when you think you know exactly what happened, there is another amazing turn of events.

This book started out in such a way that I was extremely excited to dig in, but instead of becoming more intriguing, I was quickly overwhelmed and confused. There's one thing to be said for an unreliable narrator, but the whole book and every character involved was unreliable. In the end, I had a hard time keeping straight what was true and what wasn't. I really wanted to enjoy this one but it missed the mark for me.

4.75 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and St.Martin's Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I red Katie Lowe's first novel The Furies and really enjoyed it so I was excited to get a chance to read her latest book and I really liked this one too. The premise hooked me from the start. This totally read like a true crime novel.

This will totally hook you from the start and you will have a hard time putting it down!

I am a huge fan of true crime podcasts and I thought that I would love this novel. Unfortunately, I could not get interest in the storyline. I tried multiple times to read this novel and it was a DNF for me.

I love this Author. She can write no wrong.. Simply BRILLIANT. I highly recommend this unputdownable book. Run, do not walk, to get your hands on this!!!

I absolutely hate DNF’ing books. Sadly, at 37% I had to. I just could not get into it and the going back and forth between time periods was really jumpy and getting confusing. Even with all that being said, I do see myself picking this up again later on down the road giving it another try!

Possession follows this new trend of books telling stories through podcasts. It's an interesting new trend and I'm trying to decide if I like it. I love podcasts. I particularly like true crime ones. But it's really weird I guess to see them in this type of newish environment.



Our main character's previous husband died years ago. No one really knows what happened, including her. And now a podcast is being made about his death and she's the main contender for a suspect. Of course this is bothersome to her, and to all the people in her life. But it's especially problematic because she's also trying to figure what the hell happened that night.



Lots of twists and turns along the way. Mostly you might figure out the ending, but it's still worth the read. Lowe is a good writer and I'm looking forward to more of her work.



3.5/5 Stars

This story! You don’t know who to believe. There are so many secrets you keep trying to fit each person into the role of murderer.

I really liked the mystery of this book but did not like a single character. It’s strange to say that because usually the two will go hand in hand.

I definitely recommend it! I do have to say though, if this were an actual real life story in this day and age, I really hope the police would have done a bit more in depth searching. One small procedure could have made things a lot better for Hannah.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Possession by Katie Lowe.

Hannah lives with a terrible secret, that she may have brutally murdered her husband. But she can't remember, and now someone else is taking the blame for his death.

After ten years of Heather trying to restart her life, a podcast is released, addressing her husband's death. And now her past is catching up to her. Will her job last, her new relationship? And most importantly, did she do it?

This book had a strong start and an interesting premise, but overall felt long. I think if it was shortened and concentrated, it would have been much more of a page turner. Otherwise, it's an interesting story.

This book is written in alternating chapters. The premise of the book is about a woman who’s husband was murdered years ago, and now a podcast is looking into the crime. Of course, she is nervous and very much on edge. Why? Read the book and find out. Very well written and you can find yourself saying “one more page”, and before you know it, you have read chapters!!! I highly recommend this book. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

Ten years ago, Hannah’s husband was brutally murdered in their home, and she (conveniently) doesn’t remember a thing about that night. But the police charged someone else—a stranger—and put him away for life. And Hannah packed up her six-year-old daughter and left London behind. But now her hard-won countryside peace is threatened. Conviction, a viral true crime podcast known for getting cases reopened and old verdicts overturned, has turned its attention to Hannah’s husband’s murder for its new season. They say police framed the man who was found guilty, and that Hannah has more suspicious secrets than just her memory loss: a history of volatility; citations at the clinic where she worked as a psychiatrist; dependencies on alcohol and pills; and a familicidal grandmother, locked away in a Gothic insane asylum until her death. As Hannah loses the trust of everyone she loves, the only person she feels she can confide in is a former colleague, Darcy, who’s come back into her life—but who may have motives of her own. But Hannah can’t tell even Darcy her deepest secret: that she’s still tormented by the memory of her husband and the crater he carved through her life. This was a slow build up, but the pace picked up. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.

Possession starts out STRONG with a compelling protagonist and a great set-up, but it soon felt like too many darts were being thrown at the board for all of them to land. The writing is great and the concept is excellent, which makes me eager to read whatever Katie Lowe does next—Possession was just a bit too messy and convoluted to work for me.

Hannah is living in the country with her daughter and boyfriend. She is enjoying the peace and quiet in this small village. When a podcast called Convictions, brings up the death of her husband as the next case they will explore, she is upset. Convictions is a podcast known for revisiting old crimes and getting previous convictions overturned. She listens to each episode. Ten years ago when her husband was murdered, she could not remember anything about it. Hannah starts to remember partially. As more episodes are broadcast, Hannah gets threat letters. What will she do? Is she guilty of killing her husband? Will she remember that night her husband was killed?

The author writes so well that I could see the village where Hannah lives.come alive. There is a sinister tone throughout the novel. Some imagery gave me shivers as I read it. I wondered what words were truthful. Who killed her husband? I’m still not sure who killed him at the end of this book.

I tried to get into this book, I really did. It had a very interesting premise and looked like it would be a great read. Unfortunately, it just fell flat for me and was a DNF.

I absolutely loved this book.

Hannah's husband Graham was brutally murdered 10 years ago, the suspect sent to trial and convicted. Hannah and her daughter have finally moved forward but now a true crime podcast is digging into the crime and things aren't adding up. As details of the crime come to light, Hannah questions what she remembers about that night.

The short chapters alternate between then and now, two positives for me. There are many directions this story could have taken and I was worried that the end wasn't going to live up to my expectations but I was highly satisfied with the ending. This was a fast paced addictive story and it pained me when I had to stop reading.

Thank you St Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I loved every minute of it!

Many thanks to Net Galley, St.Martin’s Press and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

This is gonna be complicated. On one hand I loved the creepy, mysterious aspects of the book and the on the other, I am like ‘no way’, this is just not happening.

10 years, it’s been 10 long years but Hannah is still suffering. Her carefully cultivated life with her partner Dan and her daughter is on the verge of exploding as a crime podcast is back with her worst nightmare, that of her husband’s murder. As facts about the night of the death tumbles out of the closet, Hannah whose memory of the night is zero begins to doubt her own culpability.

Unreliable narrators are a sort of norm for psychological thrillers and that ‘unreliability’ is what raises the tension in the novel to pitch high. But having a practicing psychologist for teenagers to be under such duress and unwilling to seek help was a bitter pill to swallow. That point aside, Katie Lowe has written a very ingenious tale and craftily plotted this house of cards. Each dialogue casually mentioned offers a clue and it keeps the reader on tenterhooks throughout. As the podcast reaches its crescendo, Hannah with Graham’s cruel words ringing in her ears, is subjected to bullying and public scrutiny. The investigating police does not seem to see anything beyond what is obvious and to protect her daughter Hannah has to get to the truth herself.

Possession is an exciting and fast-paced read full of red herrings and Hawkood House adds to the gothic frightening feel. There are too many things that go wrong in Hannah’s personal and professional life and honestly, I would have loved that she had a single person to call a friend. I would have, also, loved a more tied in a neat bow ending, coz that is my personal preference, else Possession by Katie Lowe is a compelling and engaging read!

This review is published in my blog https://rainnbooks.com/, Goodreads, Amazon India and Twitter.

Such a slow burn!

The book is about Hannah, who's story starts out with her husband being found dead, and to her own astonishment, her being let go - someone else has been found guilty. Years later, a podcast starts digging around in the case and finding out that maybe the person who is sitting behind the bars might not be guilty at all. Hannah obviously gets the finger pointed at her, and she starts to doubt her own memories. Under pressure from her family, friends, random strangers, she is on a point of breaking down.

There were so many unreliable plot lines going on, that I was doubting everything that I was reading. Is Hannah crazy like her grandmother? Is she being possessed? Is someone haunting her? Is someone real messing with her? So many weird things were going on. But one thing is obvious, there's more to the night in question than what we get to see. I was frustrated at certain points, being lost in the plot, because so many things were just not being made obvious.

What saved this book was the end. That ending! WOW! I really didn't think that that's what was happening. I really liked the ending, and hopefully that epilogue means more to this story.

I'm really loving the Podcast trend! It is my favorite. Even though this time the podcast is in the background more, it still adds an extra layer to the story.

3.5 stars

What is it with endings lately?

Katie Lowe’s psychological thriller, “Possession,” is the second book I’ve recently read with a terribly disappointing ending. And once again, it’s truly disheartening because up until the novel’s final pages, I was totally on board with the direction in which the story was headed.

I’m frustrated. Can you tell?

Hannah’s husband was viciously murdered in their home ten years ago. She and their six-year-old daughter, Evie, were present at the time of the crime, but neither was of any help to the police. Evie was nothing more than a small child, and oddly enough, Hannah had, and still has, no memory of the night’s events. But with the help of a random eyewitness, the police arrested a young man for the murder, subsequently imprisoning him.

Now, life is good again for Hannah and Evie – until the popular true crime podcast, “Conviction,” focuses its new season on the decade-old murder of Hannah’s husband. Over the course of a few episodes, the imprisoned young man’s guilt is challenged, and accusatory fingers are swung at Hannah. Questions regarding her memory loss arise, and a history of mental and emotional instability, work citations, and alcohol dependency are brought to light.

Slowly, Hannah’s sanity begins to unravel. And as she feels both her mind and the trust of her loved ones slipping away, Hannah realizes the time has finally come to face the dark secrets she has long buried within herself.

Okay – back to my frustration.

The reason why I am so irritated with “Possession’s” abysmal ending is because the shocking, appalling weakness of it overshadows all that makes this thriller great. Disappointing ending aside, the story is entertaining, twisty, quickly paced – and in Hannah, it has an intriguing and complex unreliable narrator. The narrative also has fun gothic and paranormal elements, and Lowe does a fantastic job of building tension and depicting Hannah’s mental deterioration.

The novel gets off to a bumpy start, though. The beginning of the narrative is disjointed and choppy, and there are confusing timeline jumps that are tricky for the reader to navigate. But after a short while, Lowe’s writing smooths out nicely, and the novel settles down and becomes easily readable and addictive.

Really, I enjoyed “Possession” so much. And leading up to the finale, I feverishly turned the pages as fast as I could, I was THAT desperate to see how Lowe would conclude Hannah’s story.

But the ending that Lowe gives us is not satisfying. Not even a little. For starters, it’s extremely unbelievable and a bit out of left field. And there are huge, gaping plot holes that cannot be ignored, along with one or two unanswered questions that should have been at least somewhat resolved, even if it was done in an ambiguous manner.

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch. (That’s me scratching my head over it.)

And that’s that. I don’t really know what else there is to say about “Possession,” other than I liked it very much, up until the point I no longer did.

Oh! Wait! One more thing –

I do look forward to seeing what the future holds for Lowe. You can bet I will be one of the first to read her next novel. She is a writer I will most definitely be watching.

I just hope she figures out how to stick an ending.


My sincerest appreciation to Katie Lowe, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

If you like thrillers centered around podcasts and unreliable narrators (my two favorite thriller ingredients) - Possession will keep you hooked! At the beginning of the book you find out the narrator's husband was killed and she may or may not have done it. Flash forward 10 years and a popular podcast decides to reopen the case and explain their case for why they think our narrator was the murderer. It kept me interested and guessing all the way to the end.

There's a lot going on in here, so be ready to keep track of a few different threads but I think it's a great, entertaining way to spend a weekend.