Hannah McLelland is a psychologist living in a small town, going along with her life somewhat happily. Until a hit true crime podcast called <i>Conviction</i> returns for its newest season, targeting Hannah's past life as its topic, and pointing the crosshairs right at Hannah.

Ten years ago, Hannah's husband Graham was murdered in his bed in their London flat, with Hannah unconscious in the bathroom and their infant daughter asleep upstairs. Hannah doesn't remember anything from that night, despite being in the house. The police gathered some evidence and a jury put away a young man named Mike Phillips, who's now been in prison for ten years. But Conviction intends to show that the prosecution's case against Mike was full of holes, and they really should have gone after someone else instead: Hannah.

The premise of this book was intriguing - I'm a fan of the trend of integrating podcasts into domestic thrillers, sort of like [book:The Night Swim|51169341]. Whereas The Night Swim was told from the podcaster's perspective, Possession is told from the victim/target's perspective - and it's certainly an unreliable one. Hannah is an extremely unreliable and rather unlikeable main character. This is probably how she's meant to be portrayed, and sometimes this choice makes for an interesting, twisty read, but I just ended up hating Hannah by the end of it all.

As other reviewers have said, this book also tries to do A LOT. There are a ton of storylines floating around: her interest/obsession with Hawkwood House, leaning more Gothic/Ruth Ware-y; her frenemyship with her boss, Sarah; her somewhat fraught relationships with her daughter Evie and boyfriend Dan; the tragic history with one of her patients; the current work she's doing with another patient; the weird kind of haunting of her dead husband; flashbacks to her husband when he was alive; and the podcast. Whew! It's a lot to keep track of, and not everything ties up nicely at the end. I think it could have moved a bit faster and leaner without some of these excess plots weighing down the main story.

Overall, this was not a bad read, and I sped through the last 25% or so in the way that good thrillers make you want to do. But the execution probably could have been a tad bit stronger. Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley!

You know those books that you can't put down and leave you a really good book hangover? This is one of those books. I only read the beginning of the description so I wasn't sure if this was going to end up having supernatural elements or not. And the not knowing made my reading of it that much more enjoyable. Throughout the book you never knew who to trust, what was real or not real.

I’m feeling kind of eh about this one. The first chapter was a great introduction, but sadly, it is downhill from here.  I had to fight myself to read this to completion. I wanted to DNF, but also I wanted to know what REALLY happened to Graham.

Hannah’s unraveling is gradual and well-done. She is solid as an unreliable narrator. Several times I found myself shaking my head and rolling my eyes in regards to her decisions/actions.

Overall there was a lot going on in the book, that half the time I was confused as to what was going on. I mean there is a podcast, mental illness, eating disorders, domestic violence, distorted family history, and of course Graham’s murder, so yeah. It was interesting how everything played out in the end. However, the ending felt a bit rushed and left me feeling like I had missed something.

I love a good psychological thriller, but this one was a miss for me. I wanted to get really into this story, but found it didn't quite live up to the pre-publication hype.

The unreliable narrator bouncing between timelines and stories and podcasts was just far too much. There have been a handful of True Crime podcast-centric books lately, and I can't say that genre-within-a-genre is one I really enjoy.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Huh. I admittedly should've have written my review immediately after reading this rather than let it wait, nevertheless...This was one of those books where so much is wrong, yet the story remains oddly intriguing. The story is jumbled, muddled, & all over the map, which may at least be partially attributed to the fact that so too, is the protagonist. Given that, it remains oddly intriguing in its own way. I certainly wanted to know what the heck was going on and how it would all play out. It's far from a 'must read' when there are so many psychological thrillers to choose from, but I've certainly read that are just so bad - this isn't one of those. Three stars.

Possession is a tense and highly charged thriller. When the novel opens after the initial flashback mystery "start" set in London, Hannah, a psychiatrist, is living in the English countryside with her daughter, Evie, and boyfriend, Dan. Life is steady, if a littlr dull, for Hannah, but then a podcast about the death of her husband, teased in the opening, starts, and upends Hannah's life.

Hannah is the very definition of an unreliable narrator, and as the podcast's popularity increases, Hannah begins to unravel. By the end, there's no real justice for anyone, a harsh yet truthful reminder of what can happen when calls for "justice" can turn into an online or real life mob braying for blood.

I like how the story unfolds in Possession, with the murder opening the book to Hannah's story beginning at the end. It hooked me immediately. The pace of the book remains a steady slow burn throughout but definitely enough spice to hold a readers interest. Then embedded in the podcast is courtroom drama. Add in the dash of domestic thriller and this is the perfect mystery. It does go back and forth between time periods but the timeline is easy to follow in my opinion.

Hannah's character although intriguing is not very likeable. All of her internal dialogue explains a lot about her actions but also makes you want to throw the book in frustration at her treatment of Dan. I loved the parallel between Hannah and Margot. Overall this is a very successful mystery. I hope Book of the Month will consider it for a monthly pick. I think their readers would snap it up. Thank you so much for allowing me to review it. I'll be sharing my 4 star review on my Bookstagram (AprilsBookishLife), Goodreads, Twitter and on Amazon as soon as it's published. I'll update this review with links as they're posted.

This was very well done! This used the currently very popular "true crime podcast" trope, but I thought the way the podcast was used in this one was incorporated into the story well. There were a lot of bits to this story that I was able to guess, but I didn't predict the way everything would piece together for this story. While I found it interesting throughout, the last 1/4 of the book is absolutely propulsive.

Holy crap. This was a twisted, convoluted, no holds barred story, and I loved every minute of it. I had no idea who did what and so was completely shocked by the ending. I really liked Hannah and Evie, and their relationship. All in all 4 stars!

Possession by Katie Lowe is a thriller about the latest case being covered by the Conviction Podcast. Hannah's husband was murdered ten years ago, and she doesn't remember anything about that night. The podcast claims that she could have murdered her husband, but she really hopes that isn't true. Her new husband and her daughter even start doubting her innocence. This book was really hard to read at times because there were flashbacks included about how Hannah's former husband would constantly control and gaslight her. Also, her current friends and family weren't even there for her, and so she couldn't even trust herself. Possession was well-written; it just left me feeling angry and frustrated at the characters. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this eARC of Posession by Katie Lowe publication date is February 9 2021

I really couldn't get into this one, I hate to say. After just a few pages I found myself skimming, it just went downhill right away. I was bored and a bit confused. I was fighting to keep rereading and eventually I was sick of going back cause I skimmed and I gave up. I have so many other reads and I've decided to set this aside.

The main character bothered me and the way she seemed like a broken record not that I can exactly blame her considering the situation--her husband's brutal murder and her memory loss, but I don't know. I didn't enjoy the pacing.

I was excited to read about Hannah's spiraling (some many reviews about it and it being well done) and read about an unreliable narrator. I almost always love those!

Overall, it just become confusing but there wasn't quite enough to keep me invested and wanting to figure out what the hell was going on and why.

I guess I dont have a rating since I didn't get too far and disliked more of it than I enjoyed.

Review taken from my instagram @fortheloveofcrime

I read and enjoyed Lowe;s first novel so I was curious to see what her second novel would entail. And it's a rare second novel in that I actually enjoyed it more than her debut! The book follows two timelines - Hannah's husband was found murdered in their bedroom. And now, ten years later, a popular true crime podcast looks at the case again - to overturn the conviction of the young man jailed for the crime - and to cast fresh suspicion on Hannah.

A psychologist herself, Hannah finds the new focus deeply unsettling and makes her doubt her own memory of that time. She looks back at her marriage - and what it really was, not just what it looked like from the outside. Though Hannah comes off as a bit unreliable, she remains sympathetic throughout. The plot definitely holds some real surprises! It's an engaging read with more likable characters who feel real. I just wish that there had been a bit more to the ending - it just wasn't as satisfying as I had hoped.

I really enjoyed the podcast angle - though I've seen that work in other books, it definitely works very well here. I am sure that this would be an equally addicting audiobook. I enjoyed this quite a bit and am definitely looking forward to seeing what her third book will be about!

Possession was a windy tale that fell flat toward the end.

Told with alternating past and present scenes, Katie Lowe sows seeds of manipulation as unreliable narrator Hannah is forced to relive the night of her husband's horrific murder. With a podcast shining a light on irregularities during the case and new evidence appearing, Hannah must face her family and herself and she struggled to piece together the pieces from that night.

Possession is intriguing and will keep readers on their toes, but eventually the mystery becomes too drawn out with a final reveal that feels unbelievable.

What a crazy story! There is a lot to unpack with this one! If you're familiar with Truth Be Told by Kathleen Barber, Possession is like that book but much crazier.

The book is about a woman named Hannah, who's husband was brutally murdered ten years prior. She has a vague recollection of that night and a stranger was found to be guilty and is put away for life. After the case is over, and wanting to start anew, she and her 6 year old daughter leave London and move to her rural hometown. She is happy, as she found a new long-term boyfriend and her career as a psychiatrist is flourishing. Her daughter is doing well, too.

But alas, Conviction, a true crime podcast show gets wind of her husband's murder case - they received an anonymous tip that the man locked up, is not the real killer - he was framed. The murder case then reopens and Hannah is put front in center and reliving all of the trauma from ten years ago. The worst part is, she is now the top suspect in her husband's murder. As the case has garnered more attention, Hannah is trying her hardest to remember the events of that night - the more she remembers, the more convinced that she was the one that murdered her husband. Hannah becomes paranoid and delusional - she doesn't know who she can trust, even her own daughter.

The plot starts off slow (I was bored at first) but mid-way it picks up and you're like "woah." The story is told in two different timelines (10 years prior and also present day) but I did not find it hard to understand. I think the plot is really really interesting, but it could've been executed a little better. The ending did not tie up as smoothly as it could've been. I think this is due to having too many characters and sub-plots - there were a lot of holes. Still a good read and I would recommend it.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (4 stars rounded up).

CW / TW: Domestic / Partner Abuse, Mental Illness, Eating Disorder.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Katie Lowe for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This novel seems to have been a fill-in-the-blanks attempt complete with unreliable narrator, back and forth timelines, and the requisite, if extremely predictable, twist. There was nothing fresh or original about this story and even the true-crime podcast angle, which could have been an interesting method, was underutilized and boring. Not worth the time, in my humble opinion.

Hannah is trying to rebuild her life years after the brutal murder of her husband. She has only vague memories of what happened the night he was murdered but those memories were enough to convict his murderer. Now, a decade after the crime, a new podcast is drawing attention back to that dreadful night and evoking serious doubt as to the murderer's guilt and Hannah's own role in the crime. With Hannah's mental health hanging by a thread, she's forced to confront her past and her future as they collide. Is she going mad, or is someone out to ruin her?

The story itself is well written and Lowe builds suspense masterfully. The "twist" is a bit unbelievable but overall, the book was definitely an enjoyable read.

I made it to chapter 16 and I just couldn’t finish. Too much back and forth from different periods and was confusing. I think this could have been a good book if written just a bit better and a little more organization. I absolutely hate giving up on a book and hate giving bad reviews but this one just didn’t cut it for me.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy!!

Oh my goodness how I love the way this book ends! I’m starting there because it’s the kind of ending that makes you look back and really think. I’m not giving anything away by saying that because I had a zillion theories and thought I had it figured out from the beginning but I was deliciously wrong and I couldn’t love it more! I love the first person perspective. I love being in Hannah’s head. The truth unravels like a sweater string being pulled and it’s fascinating! I can’t wait to read more from Katie Lowe! 5 massive stars from me!!!

Huge thanks to St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of reading Possession in advance!

This story was very fascinating! I kept finding myself saying, “Just one more chapter, one more chapter.” The past mixing with the present, the podcast, the questionable characters—I loved it all. I devoured this one and it was brilliant!

I think fans of crime shows and podcasts will love this book.

This is going to be a quick hitter.

I read this months and months ago. I remember the main storyline and the twists. But what I remember more was guessing the antagonist and twist. Which I was easily able to do in this story. Furthermore, Lowe wrote a novel that was a little too busy. You could tell the author went in with some great intentions but she kind of over did it.

I remember the story being interesting enough to keep my attention easily. Also, I enjoyed the angle of the unreliable narrator.

Overall, this was an average thriller. It had some good and fun elements. But I doubt it is going to be one readers remember in 2021.