When Amelia and Fritz hire photographer, Delta Dawn, to photograph their 13 year old daughters birthday party they had no idea who they were letting into their house. Amelia and Fritz, both architects', have a home Delta could only dream of. Handsome Fritz with beautiful green eyes. Gorgeous Amelia who looks effortlessly beautiful all of the time. Their sweet daughter Natalie whom Delta befriends. This is the lifestyle she has always wanted and she will do anything to be a part of this families life no matter what boundaries need to be crossed.

Delta Dawn is one creepy and pathetic character. Some of her antics were downright cringe worthy but it made for some compelling reading. This is definitely a book in which you will need to suspend disbelief. Especially the ending. The way it all played out was really tough to believe. However, I had a heck of a time reading it. The unbelievability didn't ruin this for me and that says something about Mary Dixie Carters writing skills. 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a DRC.

I found this book a little hard to get into at first, but once I did I could not put it down. A very gripping, evenly paced read. I loved Delta's twisted mind and seeing what she would do next. A very creepy read about obsession with a smart, satisfying ending.

This story is all about a woman named Delta Dawn who is a professional photographer. She does a great job and she is also prone to editing photos when the child in them doesn't want to pose the way she would like them to. After taking a bunch of photos at a young child's birthday party Delta becomes a little to involved and adds herself in the photos instead of the actual mother. While these are just for her it shows the slow obsession that our main character is developing with this family. A few days later the young couple are stuck and ask Delta if she wouldn't mind babysitting their daughter one weekend. Delta quickly agrees and her obsession takes on a whole new life. It isn't long before Delta has come up with a whole new life in her mind. She has completely taken over the Straub's family and believes that she is part of it which is crazy. What I loved so much about this book was not just the fact that the story was incredible and well written, but it was also the fact that it was written through Delta's eyes so you got to see the slow progression of her obsession come
to life and how crazy it became. It was very nice to see it written though the eyes of a woman who thinks
that she did nothing wrong versus a family who is unknowingly become the object of attention. This allows
you to see what starts out as love and affection morph into something darker and you get to see the small
slips. This thriller had me on the edge of my seat the whole time and I couldn't get enough of the characters.
Great read I'm very glad I got the chance to check it out.

Wow! This is an adventure into the mind of an intelligent, but very deceptive individual! Delta is a photographer and is able to cleverly insert herself into the Straub family’s lives. When the Straubs ultimately decide she can help them, will all turn out as planned??? Well, of course not! Loved it!

I was so excited to get this book because the blurb made it sound so good and I like a good psychological thriller. This was not a good psychological thriller.

There was no backstory, just hints. I felt that it escalated very quickly, too quickly for the storyline. The whole storyline was completely unrealistic. I know that it's fiction, but usually there is some believability. This had none of it. Delta was the most annoying character, and extremely unlikeable.

I finished it because I was hoping it would get better, but it didn't.

I received a complimentary copy of The Photographer from NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Great psychological suspense novel! From the perspective of a possibly unreliable narrator, this book was truly one of a kind. I could not wait to see what Delta would set into motion next—with or without the use of her photography! I look forward to future work from Mary Dixie Carter.

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the eARC of The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter.

Here's a snapshot of The Photographer. Delta Dawn is a photographer in New York City and is well known for photographing children's birthdays. Delta finds herself at Natalie's birthday party; the daughter of Fritz and Amelia. Is this a coincidence? Soon, Delta becomes obsessed with both Fritz and Amelia and builds a trusting friendship with both of them. Soon, Delta's boyfriend Ian becomes suspicious and may be on to something. Is Delta a true fried or a master manipulator? And is anything out of the question for Delta in order to prove her loyalty to Fritz and Amelia?

The Photographer is a quick and solid read. If thrillers and suspense are what you crave, you may enjoy this one. I look forward to reading more from Mary Dixie Carter!

The Photographer was extremely hard to put down. Told by Delta Dawn the photographer made it even more crazier because you were in her head and heard it all from her point of view. As a photographer you can look at how people live their lives and how they can present themselves or you can live through peoples lives with some creative editing.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mary Dixie Carter and St Martin's Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I was looking forward to this one and really couldn't wait any longer to dig in! I wasn't at all disappointed; I sat down and read this one cover to cover in one evening. I didn't like any of the characters, but I was really interested in them all and how they were going to act at any given moment. All these characters are so flawed, but so interesting! I found this one fairly quick paced and there were quite a few twists that really just shocked me. I love novels with unreliable narrators that keep you guessing the whole time. Definitely recommend for those who enjoy unreliable narrators and crazy story lines!

The book description sounded interesting and I thought I would like this book more than I did. It is well written with lots of photography details but I found the main characters just a bit too weird for my liking and I didn't feel like reading on. The book is about a photographer who is asked to take pictures of wealthy children at their birthday parties. The main character is intrigued by the architect parents of a girl she takes pictures of and tries to use her photos to connect with this family. Definitely disturbing and I'm sure some readers will love it.

I was so excited to read this book, but sadIy it feel short for me. I honestly don’t like talking negative about books because I don’t like to put down someone’s hard work.

So, to keep it short, I guess I was just expecting something different. I thought it was going to be more of a thriller with some creepy twists but I didn’t really get that from this book.

The book is surrounded by a woman’s obsession and manipulation to be apart of the Straub family.

Thank you so much for the ARC!!

Delta Dawn is a photographer who specializes in birthday parties for wealthy families. She is also incredibly lonely and psychotic, becoming obsessed with the Straubs, one of the families she works for. We follow Delta’s attempts to get closer to this family, though it’s never really clear what it is about them that attracts her. Unreliable narrators aren’t new and this is a pretty common story. I think we’re supposed to delight in Delta’s scheming, but the character was too sad and pathetic to feel anything but sorry for. She has an imaginary son and no friends, family, or characterization outside of the Straubs. We never really get a good backstory or explanation. It’s a fast paced read; you know that this will all end badly and you can’t help but keep reading. But ultimately, I found this book to be forgettable. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Delta Dawn is a popular photographer in NYC. She is known for making her subjects happy even when they are not. She can turn an unhappy family celebration into a joyous occasion by her phenomenal editing talents. Her latest gig is taking pictures of the Straub family while they are celebrating their daughter’s Natalie’s birthday. The Straubs seem to have it all but as we know what we show the world is different than what goes on behind closed doors. Told from Delta’s voice, this book takes you through her obsession with the Straub family and how she will stop at nothing to be in their family.

This book kept me up late at night because I just could not put it down. Delta is such a bold character who was not afraid and she often had me cringing at the things she did and stories she would make up on the spot.

This novel is written in the first person, and usually with a first-person narrator, I feel invited into her life and am seeing things from her point of view. At first, I felt distant because the narrator, Delta Dawn, a photographer, describes her world in a scientific, clinical manner that is not welcoming. Pretty early on I realized why—something is wrong with this chick. For Delta, things like what is truth and who owns what are blurry. She manipulates her situation like she manipulates the pictures she takes. For her wealthy clients, she knows how to show the pictures of their children that make them look happy and content even if they are whiny, unpleasant, spoiled brats. The magic of computers and digital photography also means that once she takes a picture, she can do a whole lot more with it than make the lighting more flattering. She inserts herself into fantasies that seem more pleasant to her than her reality.

I don’t feel strongly about this book to recommend it or not. I’m ambivalent.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES MAY 25, 2021.

Delta Dawn is a photographer who is skilled at taking perfect family shots. Her photos are so perfect, in fact, that she can’t help wanting to be a part of them. This story follows Delta’s obsession with inserting herself into the Straub family after taking photos at daughter Natalie’s birthday party.

This book was hard to put down in the beginning. Delta is creepy, devious, and manipulative, and sometimes I found myself cringing at her audacity. Ultimately however, the book fell a little flat for me. The ending felt predictable, rushed and far too neat to fit with the rest of the story.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Delta, the main character in this book is an amazing child photographer. She has extremely odd habits of creating many different families for herself from the families she photographs.

When she is hired by the Straub family to shoot their daughter's birthday party, the obsession begins. She begins editing photos and placing herself into the pictures with this family and is even hired as a babysitter!

I do not want to give away too much, this book was crazy good! I thought that it was going to be the same old woman who becomes obsessed with someone's husband etc. etc. I was completely wrong! This story shocked me and kept me reading!

This review is somewhat difficult for me to write, because I am not honestly sure how I felt about this one? I was not exactly sure what to expect going into this book. It definitely had enough mystery and pull to keep me reading. I was so confused and enthralled by the main character, but I also felt like it was missing that certain element of excitement and climax. I kind of expected some big bomb to drop, and while there were definitely a few small twists, the build up felt to just kind of fizzle out. The very end did wrap things up well, but I think I was just hoping for more of a jaw dropping last half or so. All in all, I would recommend this book. I would just say go into it realizing it isn't necessarily a heart racing, anxiety ridden story.

Delta Dawn is a sought-after photographer by some of the wealthy families in New York for their children's birthday parties. She has an eye for capturing the moment, and through creates the perfect photos so the families can present the event as a highly memorable one. Delta also has a way of using her client's photos to create her own sought-after life narrative, putting herself in her client's situations to imagine the life that she wants hers to be. Until she is hired by Amelia and Fritz to photographer their daughter Natalie's birthday party, and Delta decides that not only does she want to be a part of their family in her photo creations and in her mind, she is determined to become a part of their family in real life, and begins to insert herself herself more and more into their family by starting to babysit Natalie. You can only imagine how this goes from here, but it is still a wild ride, and one that I was unable to put down!

"The Photographer" was a quick and fast-paced read, and I am looking forward to reading more by Mary Dixie Carter. If you like a good thriller, "The Photographer" is a perfect reading choice!

Thanks to Net Galley and St Martin's Press & Minoutaur Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review. "The Photographer" is scheduled to be released on May 25, 2021.

The Photographer provides a chilling perspective from a family photographer, Delta Dawn, who becomes obsessed with her clients.

This story was told from a unique perspective of the stalker. I enjoyed the novelty of the story and found the second half of the book to come crashing down at break-neck speed.

I had hoped Delta would be more psychotic than she was. She came off as more misunderstood and lonely. She was desperate to become the people she was obsessed with more than she actually wanted them. Though she did very questionable things, Delta was a sympathetic character and I enjoyed her relationship with Natalie. Her clients, the Straubs, weren’t very likable people and it was a little unclear why they were so special to Delta.

The Photographer was short book that I was able to finish quickly. Def recommend for a twisty thriller.

That was a disturbing peek into a young woman’s life and her desire to integrate herself into a family whom she photographed. Her thought process made me upset but also made the story a believable one. The beginning was a bit slow for me but came crashing together over the last few chapters. Nothing is final.