I was not sure what to expect from this book when I read the synopsis, since I'm not really into reading this genre. This doesn't mean I've never read any thrillers and mysteries, but it really has to be good plot, for me not to figure it out right from the start and actually enjoy it. A Familiar Sight has such a good story and characters, and I was hooked because I was sure things are not that simple as they looked at the beginning. And surprise, surprise they were not! This was really nice read, recommendation for sure!

First, the thing with constantly reading thrillers and mysteries is you automatically think you've read them all. You think to yourself, what ever could they possibly write about that others haven't written before!

Then some books just come along, to wipe that arrogant smirk off of your face and prove you wrong.

This book is one of those books.

I wasn't fascinated by the whodunnit aspect, rather I admired the way that this story was crafted. Psychological thrillers are generally easy to follow, 40% into the book and you've already solved the puzzle.

This book? Nope.

It literally started with the beginning of the end and then went back to what happened 3 days earlier. It's clever and crafty in that the author just gives enough information for you to wonder and then she'll shift back to an older time. She leaves clues but not in such a way that would ruin the mystique. Honestly, I can't put together the recollections, it just uses way too much brain energy that I just long resigned myself to just read and stop guessing.

However, I did have an inkling of what had happened and I was right. BUT. If the truth is this whole book, then I only got two sentences right. Haha! I truly thought it was going to be typical and dramatic. I didn't expect it to be that brutal, dark, angry and tragic.

I also find it worthy to note that while I expected it to be dramatic, oddly enough I can't seem to connect with the characters. Is it because of how it's written or because of Gretchen's thoughts and her detached personality? Possibly both?

The circumstances in the story made me think about my own moral compass, my relationship with humanity and life in general. See, the case was "solved" but precious lives have been wasted, relationships broken and yet for me, justice was never served. Death was way too easy an escape for that person who started all this brutal nonsense. Funnier, still, is that person ensured that even in death they not be forgotten. Funny yet it left me angry and wronged.

A bunch of thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this free ARC. This review is of my own accord, with no monetary compensation whatsoever from those mentioned above and/or the rightful owners of this ARC.

Brianna Labuskes’ A Familiar Sight at first had me a bit frustrated, the way the story jumps around in time, but I should have had more faith in this author’s gift in weaving her story, building a reality and slowly breaking it down to the cold, hard truth. Excellently written.

HOLY. CRAP. This book blew me away. If I am being completely honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first read the synopsis of it, but I figured…why not give it a chance?! It sounded interesting, and different than most of the thrillers I’ve read before. And I am extremely glad that I did. I absolutely LOVED Dr. Gretchen White, and her unique character and overall development. She is a literal sociopath, as well as a psychologist and criminologist, who consults the local police department on various cases, even though her main contact, Patrick Shaughnessy, is the one who once believed she was the main suspect of a murder many years ago. Yes…she may have urges, but Gretchen has enough self-control to stop herself from acting out on her sociopathic nature (or does she..?). 

I loved how this book alternates between two POVs—one being Gretchen’s, the other being a man named Reed Kent. Reed is the father of Viola Kent, the teenage girl who is accused of murdering her mother, and the case which Shaughnessy is in charge of. 

This is an extremely fascinating novel, and I couldn’t wait to find out how everything came together, and finally get the answers to all the questions piling up in my head!! It was such a quick read and if you like anything remotely thrilling or mysterious, then THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! It’s five stars from me!!

Synopsis:
	 When Claire Kent is violently stabbed to death in her bed, all eyes are pointed towards her thirteen-year-old daughter Viola. With the murder weapon found in her dresser, psychologists who have noted her psychopathic tendencies and a confession in her own words, the case is iron-clad. Or is it? Regular Boston P.D consultant and self-admitted sociopath, Dr Gretchen White, is determined to find out the truth as she can’t help but find similarities between herself and the incarcerated teenager. 
Plot:
	I found the plot of this book particularly intriguing.  I admit, I do have a slight obsession with psychopaths and how their emotional-range and moral compass is seen as so abnormal in our society. I find the intricacies of their psyche both so fascinating and terrifying as they are so unpredictable. Throughout the book, it is extremely clear that the author dedicated a lot of time into research as all of the characters are complicated, layered and problematic, yet terrifyingly plausible. Every action, decision and thought process is explained and justified in a way that may not be normal to ‘empaths’ but feels believable for the characters. 
	
	I did not see the twist coming! There were many avenues that this book could have taken, and I loved the twist that was chosen. It was emotional and raw and perfect for the storyline. 

	The only negative I could find with the plot were the unpredictable timelines. They almost gave me whiplash. The plot is set in both the past and present, however, the timeline in the past changed from days before the murder, to months, then years and switched between them often. This meant that I was sometimes disorientating, which meant I couldn’t quite piece all of the information together as it was hard to remember where it fit within the bigger picture. 

Characters: 
	I really enjoyed Gretchen’s character and she definitely gave me some Sherlock Holmes vibes. She was not fixated upon believing things based solely on face value and she is determined to find truth, regardless of what that may mean. She sees the world differently and this can have both a positive and negative effect on the Boston police department. The interviews between her and Viola were so fascinating! I loved reading the delicate power-play game played out between the two of them. It was almost like watching chess, they never wanted to give any information away without it benefitting them... I just wish we would have seen more of it. 
	The relationships in this book were one of the highlights. I especially enjoyed reading about the blossoming relationship between Gretchen and Marconi. Particularly as Gretchen does not tend to make friendships in a normal way and so that dynamic is interesting to watch play-out. Additionally, the almost familial affinity between Gretchen and Shaughnessy was a well-needed tonic from the dark themes in this book. The Kent family is definitely dysfunctional (to put it lightly) and the authors choice to drip-feed the information added to the mystery. I eagerly read every chapter that surrounded the Kent family as I was desperate to uncover their secrets.
	
Ending comment:
	Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I will be definitely checking out the author’s other work. The storyline was tied up nicely and I would love to see more novels including Gretchen’s and Marconi’s partnership.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC.

Omg. What did I just read. I am so tired from staying up to read just “one” more page. I couldn’t put it down.

So many twists and turns that just came together in such a clever way. I am not usually a fan of thrillers coming from the investigating side however this was an exception.

I loved how the flash backs went from most recent and then leading away from the actual event.

Just read it!!!!

I loved this thriller of a cat and mouse game of a police detective and a psychologist that is a murder suspect. A great read!

Fantastic storyline! Quick and easy read with interesting characters.. Can't wait to read more by Brianna Labuskes

Super good book!  

Confession time:  I have a weakness for books about assassins, or sociopaths or serial killers.  Wow that sounds twisted..  

This book was really interesting because it told the story from the point of view of a police consultant/psychologist who is also a sociopath.   I was fascinated by her thought processes.   And it was so well written, that I sympathized with her!    She could kill someone without  guilt, and yet I really liked her - thats good writing..  
There were multiple stories in one - who was the real killer - was it the child?  There was the story about the sociopathy of the main character and then finally the story of the BFF and what happened to her. 
  
I kept the pages turning all night!

Thank you to the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.

I had a really hard time getting through this book it just wasn’t enough suspense for me and just seemed boring.

Gretchen works as a police consultant, she's an expert in crime and she's also a sociopath that her fellow police believe killed her aunt years ago which they couldn't prove. Now another young girl is believed to be a psychopath and has been accused of killing her mother and Gretchen feels a personal pull to the case.

I was so happy that I had a chance to review this book for Netgalley, over the last few months I've discovered this author and read all of her books and she is definitely up the top of my favourite authors now. I love the characters that she writes, there's always a grey side to them and Gretchen is no exception. She makes no bones about the fact that shes a sociopath and this book is a fascinating insight into how a nonviolent sociopath might interact with the world. Besides the great characters there's always a brilliant story that keeps you hooked, I definitely didn't see how this book was going to end up and I liked the way that she did the flashbacks, rather than starting from the past and moving up to the present, she started from more recent times and going back farther and farther which gave a different view of how the story presented. All in all an absolutely brilliant book and I'm really hoping that Gretchen features in a sequel!

I enjoyed this book, I had not heard of this author before. This was an extremely well put together story, from the first page I was hooked and I didn't want it to end! 
Such great writing. The setting was fabulous.
Almost impossible to put down and told from two distinctive voices and timelines, Gretchen's and Reed's,
Some of it was a bit predictable but didn't keep from the story!

A Familiar Sight is the kind of thriller that’s impossible to put down. I needed to know what had truly happened after spending the entire book certain I had it figured out, even though I was changing my mind every couple chapters.

While the narrative switches between past and present, as well as POV’s, the main focus is Gretchen White. Gretchen is a sociopath which makes for a fascinating and refreshingly different narrator. 

She now consults for the police after being accused of murder when she was a child. When a new case involves both her best friend (or as close as you can get for a sociopath) and a young teenage girl, Viola Kent, who is a sociopath accused of murdering her mom, of course Gretchen is getting involved. 

The world and character building in A Familiar Sight is unbelievably good. I was completely enthralled in all the time jumps as they built a story so deep and compelling it felt like I was part of trying to unravel all the threads to figure out what had happened.

 It was also impressive how fleshed out all the characters involved were. When there are multiple people heavily involved in the story some of them can slip through the cracks but that wasn’t the case at all. I genuinely wanted to know more about all of their lives that had led up to this boiling point. 

The accounts of what it was like for the Kent family raising a sociopath daughter was chilling. Every account of what went on in that house was devastating and you can feel the desperation with every reveal.

Having a main POV from a sociopath created such an interesting take on a murder investigation. It felt different from so many mysteries in a very intriguing way. Gretchen was a character I desperately want more of.

I highly recommend this book for any mystery/thriller lover! Brianna Labuskes has quickly become a must-read author.

There are only a few things I can and might share. It`s about the character Dr. Gretchen White a
psychologist that considers herself a sociopath. That`s why it is easy for her to get into the
minds of the criminals. She knows how and what they see. Like she is one of them but a calm
one. one that can control her madness. One who knows her weakness and strengths.
Especially on how to use them in different situations. She uses her ability to help Viola, a child
that mistakenly took the fall of being a murderer. Is she really innocent or she is full of lies. As
far as I want to share the whole story I also don`t want you to get spoiled. You go read the
synopsis but that just it. Read this with a blank mind. Nothing to think or not looking into
something that you have read about it. Go on the journey aimlessly and face how good the story
was. Face the dilemma and the reality this book has.
I don`t have much to say about this book. I just wish that a lot of readers will also love it as
much as I do. A book that had taken me into the minds of fictional characters. A book that is
definitely worth reading.

Very well developed characters and an extremely engaging story. Well thought out and very suspenseful story line that keeps the reader  guessing until the final twist! This is the book to read this year! Highly recommended!

A Familiar Sight is the best thriller I've read in quite some time.

The plot of this book is what got me interested. It's a unique perspective where the main character is a doctor who specializes in antisocial behavior, but also is a sociopath. When I started this book, I didn't particularly like Gretchen, but as the story went on, I grew quite fond of her character. 

This book kept me guessing and was a page turner. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who loves the crime and psychological thriller genre.

This book had a great plot and a phenomenal ending. When i tell you, I DID NOT SEE IT COMING, i didn’t see it coming. The writing was good, but sometimes the flash backs threw me off. There were times when it went back 6 months and then 2 years. All of the flashbacks had NEEDED information so that part was fine, I just had a hard time following the time line at times.  The ending was worth the read. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKgnhV3JqkI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Well, if you don't need to sleep, or work, or really get anything else done in the foreseeable future, this is the book for you!   A FAMILIAR SIGHT is completely enthralling.  Gretchen, an admitted sociopath, is trying to solve the mystery surrounding her friend, Lena's death when she gets pulled into the murder investigation of socialite Claire Kent.  Claire's 13-year-old daughter, a suspected psychopath stands accused of murdering her mother.  Her plight interests Gretchen, who, as a child was accused of murdering her aunt.  Gretchen is teams with Detective Marconi, a savvy, and very patient police officer.  A FAMILAR SIGHT is a truly twisted tale that really kept me on the edge of my seat - I just had to know what happened next!  Excellent read and my favorite of Labuskes' novels so far.

I really enjoyed this book, I had not heard of this author before. This was an extremely well put together story, from the first page I was hooked. A lot of research must have been under taken to handle this subject so well. I loved all  the charachters, especially Gretchen and Marconi's relationship.. I found myself a little anxious as the book neared the end, there were many ways the storyline could have gone. For me it wrapped up in a very satisfying way. I have just purchased another book from this author and I want to thank her and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book..

A Familiar Sight might feature the most unusual main character ever. We meet Dr. Gretchen White at the home of her friend Lena, the now very dead Lena. While nothing suggests foul play, Detective Patrick Shaughnessy is not surprised to see Gretchen there. Her reason, she is the one who found the body. His thoughts, she winds up around a lot of dead bodies. She is a police consultant and a sociopath. Yep, Patrick relies on a sociopath to help him catch criminals with antisocial personality disorders. 
The ties that bind Patrick and Gretchen together are shall we say complicated. Patrick has had his suspicions about Gretchen's involvement in her aunt's death, but he could never prove her guilt. Of course, that happened when she was only a child, and his belief that she was guilty has left her with the need to be near him, the need to push him, to prove him wrong. Hard to say how reliable of a narrator Gretchen is early in the story, but we will learn much more about what makes her tick as time goes by.
What really has Patrick's attention though, is the fact that Lena was Violet Kent's lawyer. Thirteen-year-old Violet has been charged with the murder of her mother, and it surprises.......no one. Violet has shown violent tendencies to everyone around her, and the most common comment from those who knew her was not if, but when. When would she cross the line from inflicting pain and suffering to those around her, to murder?
Gretchen could never figure out why Lena took Violet's case. Lena didn't represent losers, and the evidence clearly points to Violet. She starts digging into the life of the Kent's and discovers that this wealthy family had more than one skeleton in the closet. 
So Gretchen seems.....nice if you consider the fact that she has gone to great lengths to avoid killing anyone. Any little thing can set her off, and let me tell you, it was not always sunshine and roses being in her head. Thank goodness Gretchen knows how to stay on the right side of the law, after all, not all sociopaths are killers.
The murder mystery is well-plotted, Violet Kent is a piece of work, and there is more to grieving widower and father Reed Kent and his dead wife Claire than meets the eye. Almost impossible to put down and told from two distinctive voices and timelines, Gretchen's and Reed's, I guessed some of the twists but definitely not all of them. I don't know if the author has plans for Gretchen White, but I for one would love to see her again.
I finished this book several days ago and I am still not sure if I feel sorry for Gretchen, or afraid of her. I loved this book.