I really enjoyed this book. It's a short, fast-paced read, but offers a deeper psychological look into the characters. I was never sure in what direction the plot was headed. I found myself rooting for and against different characters. The ambiguous ending was chilling--it made me question Delta's true motives all along. Read it!

This was a quick read. I did quite enjoy the storyline, but I also feel like it fell flat. Delta was not very psychotic at all, which is what I would have expected from the description of the book. She didn't actually do anything that bad at all. Just a little bit sneaky type stuff. And, the other characters, the family, there wasn't much character development so they were hard to connect with.

As a photographer, Delta Dawn observes the seemingly perfect lives of NYC elite: snapping photos of their children’s birthday parties, transforming images of anger/sadness and turning them into beautiful memories.

When Delta is hired to take pictures of Natalie Straubs 11th birthday she wishes she was in the pictures with the Straubs instead of behind the lens.

Delta has a plan. She will befriend their family and work her way in. Soon she’s drinking their wine, bathing in their spectacular tub and eyeing the downstairs apartment. Delta knows she a master of manipulation. Can she manipulate the Straubs and get what she wants?

Well I love me some cuckoo for coco puff stalkers and this one didn’t disappoint. Here are the good things : It’s a solid popcorn read that’s fast paced, page turner with an engaging writing style. I enjoyed the details Mary Dixie Carter used in regards to photography and lighting. Some things I didn’t care for were the pretentious and privileged behavior of some of the characters, how easily people were manipulated in this story ( VERY unbelievable) and the ending wasn’t as 🤯 as I expected. It was entertaining and for a debut novel I thought the writing style was great. I look forward to a sophomore novel!


Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for my advance copy in exchange for my candid review.

Delta is a photographer. She brings photographs to life, especially the ones of children at their birthday parties. She is asked to photograph Natalie for her 11th birthday. Delta is wowed by the beauty of the Straub's house and the elegance of Natalie's parents - she wishes herself into their lives and slowly makes that happen. But how far does she have to go to make her dreams become reality.
This book is fascinating and totally believable. I enjoyed it immensely.
Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an ARC of The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter. This is the second book in a row that I read about a woman who is obsessed with someone else’s seemingly perfect life! (Word of warning, don’t do it, you never know what someone’s life really is.) Delta is obsessed but also somewhat unhinged with a very over-active imagination. It was creepy how she schemed to insinuate her into the family’s life. Many of the things she did were also creepy in a WTH way.
The writing was good and kept me reading and I felt myself getting drawn into Delta’s life. The only character I liked at all was the child, who played a very minor role. I wish either Amelia or Fritz had been a sympathetic character. The story was good, but a basic obsession story, except for a twist that I saw coming a mile away.
I enjoyed the writing and will look forward to more books by this author.

WOW! Delta Dawn is a talented photographer with an unbelievable eye and an uncanny ability to be delusioned.

She's hired by Fritz and Amelia to photograph their daughter's Birthday Party. In this page turner Delta becomes obsessed with this family. She will stop at nothing to be a part of their lives , she comes up with creative and clever ways to make them need her and depend on her.

This book is full of twists and turns . I read this in a day and wanted more. Would make an amazing movie!

This is one book you will not regret reading! It's amazing!

5*****

Delta Dawn (yes like the song) is a gifted photographer who specializes in capturing memories made at children’s birthday parties of her wealthy clients. When those memories do not appear, Delta spends hours tweaking the photos.
While taking photos of her latest client she becomes drawn to them and finds ways to ingratiate herself into their lives. Delta loves the life she has seen through her camera lens and is determined to become part of it.
Whew, this book had me shaking my head at the brazenness of Delta. While her stalking is definitely creepy, there is an air of piteous outsider looking in that the reader will sympathize with.
For fans of “ You” and “ If I Can’t Have You”.
Due for release on May 25,2021, is this one you are looking forward to?
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a really interesting read. What goes through the mind of a photographer. They see more than you think. this one was disturbing, obsessive and wild. she isn't like any other photographer she wants to be in the photo too. in this one it was mind blowing the lengths she would go to. overall definitely a great read and a fast paced one at that!! I highly enjoyed it!

The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur and St. Martins Press for the e-ARC!!

This was an entertaining book in a Lifetime movie kinda way. You know what’s going to happen, but you can’t look away. This was a predictable plot that needed a fair amount of suspension of disbelief in order to get through. Realistic? Not so much. Dramatic? Absolutely.

Character development was seriously lacking. I didn’t feel like I knew any of the characters by the end, so I never rooted for anyone in the novel. The narrator was unreliable and unlikable. Her backstory was hinted at the entire time, but nothing was ever explained. Having that backstory could’ve solidified who the narrator was and why the heck she made some of her choices. All of the other characters could’ve benefited from some depth too.

One thing I really enjoyed was the focus on details. It only makes sense that a photographer would focus on light and shadows and other seemingly unimportant things.

While I wish I would have gotten more in terms of character development, this was an entertaining read. If you like drama and Lifetime movies, this one could provide you an afternoon of amusement. It’ll be out May 25, 2021.

A quick little read, neither remarkable nor offensively silly. Good for a rainy day spent with a snuggly pup.

This book was a quick fun read, as long as you can suspend all belief as to how people actually behave. Ha! I was curious as to how this will all play out, so the pages continued to turn and I plowed through this in just a couple of days. I did feel reality creeping in quite a bit while reading this though. The characters didn't feel altogether real. The couple in the story Amelia and Fritz did not get the least bit suspicious of Delta Dawn when as a Mother, she barely spoke about her "son" or ever seemed to be on the phone with him, or on FaceTime. Only their daughter Natalie seemed to question her parenting and love for her child. Natalie actually seemed to be the realest character in the book and she was only 11! Ian, the long time friend of Amelia and Fritz who begins dating Delta also sees through her, but does little to expose her to his friends. Just odd behavior all around. Bottom line, it is a fun read but don't go into with a realistic outlook.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were to me, very believable. This book is about an excellent photographer who, after photographing one family, becomes abnormally attached to them. My only problem is that it ended too abruptly.

The premise of this book sounds so good, but unfortunately I just could not connect with the writing at all. The main character’s actions seemed unrealistic, even for a psychopath. There were also some pretty big plot holes that I just couldn’t look past. I ended up not finishing the book.
Thanks for the opportunity to read it early though!

This is a crazy wild story of obsession, jealousy, and and sheer envy. Delta Dawn is a photographer and while working an 11 year old's birthday party, she wants to belong with these people. Delta figures out a way to belong to the Straub family. This is a wild one readers! If you like thrillers with crazy twists and turns, this one is for you! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

"The Photographer" is great literary popcorn.

Although there is no logic to any of the characters' decisions, I still enjoyed the fast paced plot and found the main characters very intriguing. I only wish that Mary Dixie Carter had delved a bit deeper into the psychological side of everyone's development (or, in some cases, their devolution).

All in all, "The Photographer" was great escapism and I plan on checking out more of Carter's work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to enjoy this!

I love a good unlikable protagonist, so when I read the summary for The Photographer, I was really looking forward to diving in.

Delta Dawn loves her job as a photographer, but not as much as she loves the Straub family. After being hired to shoot their daughter's birthday party, Delta becomes determined to ingratiate herself into the family--one way or another.

This was an unsettling read.

It took me a minute to get used to Delta's voice. The writing was clear and readable, but there's almost a shield around Delta, where even though it's told in the first person POV, it feels like we're limited in our knowledge--that Delta's hiding the truth from herself, as well as the Straubs. I never had a solid handle on who she was, what her end goal was, or what her motivations could be. Her backstory is limited, vague, or edited. Without flashbacks to rely on, all we can trust it what she tells us.

And that is nothing.

Carter did a wonderful job building her up as an unhinged photographer. She sees details. She's good at what she does. But she is also too observant, filling in the blanks and inserting herself into situations because her job is to create a story.

The line between truth and fiction quickly becomes blurred.

The Straubs were dysfunctional and presumptuous, and pretty much everyone in this story is unlikable in some way, shape, or form. However, the exploration of loneliness, of wanting to feel connected--these themes were layered in every character. How far would you go to make a friend? How would you prove your love? Where is the line between healthy pursuit of relationships and a dangerous obsession?

Overall, The Photographer is a quick, unnerving read that will definitely make you question boundaries. For fans of Kepnes' You, stalker narratives, or Servant, add The Photographer to your TBRs.

Big thanks to Minotaur and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

I had the opportunity to read the first several chapters of this book in a Minotaur Spring/Summer release Sampler. I was so excited to get my hands on a copy that I started reading it the same day! The story starts strongly with Delta Dawn, a photographer that has some "issues" and tries to become a part of the Straub family. What exactly was her past? What in the book was truth? We will never know because it wasn't explained. There was so much that just felt unfinished.

The Photographer is categorized as a thriller. I respectfully disagree - IT IS NOT! Perhaps domestic suspense at best? There were SO many opportunities to make it a thriller. And the ending? I'm not sure what the ending was all about? The end didn't seem to fit the rest of the story at all, so all I can do is shake my head.

This was a quick read and was well written. The references to photography and architecture kept it engaging. It needs a bit more character development and something twisty, dark or exciting to call it a thriller!

The Photographer was a quick, entertaining read. It was easy to just keep turning the pages, and I finished it in just over a day. MDC’s writing is definitely engaging, and I was eager to figure out why the characters acted the way they did.

I love reading about rich people and how the upper half lives, so I totally understood Delta’s desire to fit in with her clients! However, in these types of books (I’m reminded of Heather’s storyline in Too Good To Be True), I always wonder why the rich mom with the perfect life would befriend an employee. Was Amelia lonely? Did Delta remind her of herself? Was she just desperate to get away from her daughter? It’s one thing to hire a photographer for an event in which other adults will be present, but to leave that person alone with your child after meeting them once? I’m not a parent, but I feel like I would at least ask a few questions first.

I really felt for Natalie throughout the book. I hated Amelia--she was a terrible mother to Natalie, and many of her conversations should have taken place outside of Natalie’s earshot.

I expected this book to be a little more twisted going into it. I wasn’t surprised by any of the twists, and although Delta was definitely crazy, I wanted MORE psychosis from her. I wanted to know more about why she so badly needed to feel included. There were hints of a traumatic childhood, but it was never fully explained. I ended up just feeling bad for her and wanting her to get some therapy.

Overall, I enjoyed this quick, entertaining read. I just wanted more background and more crazy!

This had SO MUCH POTENTIAL. The idea of a photographer paired with a couple of architects was very cool. I loved the attention to detail on photography and editing. I also loved the setting in the couple's home. However, the characters did not work for me. Now, I love an unlikable narrator -- however, there was no depth to the main character. We never really learn about her motives and there are several plot holes surrounding her character. I never felt scared, afraid, or like there was a real threat - I did not feel like this was a thriller. A domestic drama, maybe. The couple lacked development too. The only real depth was with the couple's daughter. The ending was abrupt and didn't help the story. I loved the writing, but this was a miss for me.

Delta Dawn is more than a photographer - she's a master manipulator of images and truth. Delta specializes in photographing the children of the elite. But when she meets eleven year old Natalie Straub, she doesn't want their relationship to stop at one photo session. Instead, she ingratiates herself deeper into the Straub family to try to make herself a part of their perfection.

Domestic suspense novels are among my favorite books, so I was very excited to read this one. The photography lens helped differentiate this book from the many suspense novels published each year, and I loved getting the chance to go behind the camera with Delta. Her relationship with the Straubs fell a little flat for me - the family was not all that interesting with the exception of the precocious Natalie. I would recommend this book to those interested in photography, as those sections of the novel were very strong. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.