This is the first novel I’ve read from Cathryn Grant and it certainly won’t be the last!

Hadley is living an idyllic life with her beloved husband and adored daughter. After a devastating loss Hadley must try to rebuild her life, keep hold of her friendships and job, engage with her friendly new neighbour and keep an eye on the creepy guy up the road. All with a detective breathing down her neck......

This is a wonderfully plotted physiological thriller that leaves you looking one way while something is emerging in another direction.

Secrets will be spilled, lives destroyed and a family tested. As the story plays out.......then BOOM! the epilogue hits you with another revelation!

Pacy and unique with a beautifully described setting. A gripping book that will keep you turning the pages long into the night.

Thank you to Inkubator Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this story in exchange for my honest review.

This was a nice palate cleanser after a lot of historical fiction novels lately. This is my first book by Cathryn Grant, and I enjoyed her writing style. This one did keep me on the edge of my seat throughout most of the book. I was able to connect with the characters as well. This as a nice thriller! Looking forward to more by this author.

3.5 Stars

I really enjoyed The Other Couple by this author so I thought I'd give this one a go. I want to start off with the positives and say I really liked the writing, the plot was unique and I liked most of the characters I was supposed to like. The book was very readable in the fact that I kept turning pages...and that ending/epilogue was amazing and turned the whole enjoyment of the book around for me up a notch.

Now for the negatives. I HATED the Camille/Chlementine chapters and thought they were absolutely unnecessary. A lot of the book was really impossible to believe and the author is really expecting reader to suspend belief a lot. I have a hard time with that. I did enjoy the book for the most part and I would recommend it to people who are looking for a "who" and "why" that isn't exactly thrilling but very suspenseful and keeps you turning pages...I read this in a day.

Hadley is happily married to Jonah with a fifteen-year-old daughter, Geneva. Life is good until two new people arrive in her neighborhood. Faith moves in next door, and Hadley’s good friend, Deborah, allows her adult son, Kenny, to move in with her. Faith is friendly—a bit TOO much—but also very needy.

Kenny is pretty much in love with Kenny and thinks the rest of the world should be, too. When someone close to Hadley is murdered, and Hadley’s husband falls under suspicion, she sets out to find the true killer. During that effort, her path will cross with Faith’s and Kenny’s time and time again.

In the beginning, I had a hard time settling into the book. Part of that is due to POV chapters from Hadley and Geneva that alternate with chapters devoted to a fairy tale between two characters named Camille and Clementine. This carries on through most of the book. Unfortunately, I found those chapters intrusive and annoying--mostly because I had no clue how they related to the main story. That becomes clear in the last quarter of the book, but I’m not a fan of how the tie-in was presented. I wish the author had found a different way, rather than spinning a fairy tale in a psychological fiction novel.

I wish I could have liked Geneva more, and most especially, Hadley. I was most sympathetic toward Jonah. Hadley’s behavior when he is first suspected of being a murderer made me dislike her. Geneva’s behavior, especially in the last quarter of the book was aggravating, and I had issues with how the police behaved in multiple parts.

I’m sure others will feel quite differently about this novel and find it enjoyable. It just wasn’t what I expected, although the writing is polished, and the story arc comes together at the end. 2.5 stars rounded to three for review purposes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hadley thought she'd left the past behind. But now it's found her.

I enjoy Grants book! And this wasn't bad either! I enjoyed the characters the creepiness of this story had me on edge! The characters were good to follow along with! Really enjoyable read!

A compulsive read, with especially compelling characters in Hadley and Geneva. I found the style of the Clementine & Camille chapters clunky in contrast to the otherwise fluid narrative, even though I appreciate why they were written in that way. Overall, I enjoyed this so much that I will certainly read more by Cathryn Grant.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for the chance to review this book.

If you haven’t read a Cathryn Grant novel yet, what are you waiting for?

The term Grant gives her particular genre is ‘suburban noir fiction’ because she prefers to explore the junction where psychological suspense meets psychological horror. Where other writers focus more on crime detection, Grant focuses on conflicts and betrayals because she finds them more fascinating. The journey Grant takes us on in this novel spans approximately 20 years and we get to peer into the psychological forces that drive her characters and witness the small, seemingly insignificant choices made they make that accumulate over time and lead to unforeseen and life-changing consequences.

Hadley leads a fairy-tale life; a charming husband, a beautiful daughter, and a fulfilling job. One day, cracks appear in her perfect life and cause her to abhor the leering, creepy guy down the street and question the enigmatic, needy woman who moves in next door. When someone close to Hadley is murdered, it’s the last straw. She becomes convinced that someone from her past is trying to turn her perfect life into a perfect nightmare.

A little confusing to follow at first, it’s really worth it to stick with the story as the writing style really benefits and highlights the plot. I initially thought that the editor had accidentally put in a chapter from a different book until I pushed on and discovered that the author’s presentation is fabulously clever! This is why I love Cathryn Grant’s novels!

Grant is obsessed with the ‘why’ behind human behaviour as this is the part that she feels is often left unanswered. You’ll see how she’s crafted the perfect circumstances to showcase how ordinary people are driven to commit crimes.

I was gifted this advance copy by Cathryn Grant, Inkubator Books and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Publishes May 02, 2021.

New neighbor Faith infiltrates herself into Hadley's life and relationship with her daughter. Hadley is uncomfortable with her attentions but after her sister is brutally murdered, she finds Faith's support reassuring. Hadley becomes convinced neighbor Kenny is behind her sister's murder and she launches a campaign to prove his guilt. In the meantime, Faith continues to ingratiate herself into her daughter's life.

Who is Faith and why is she so interested in Hadley? Does she need to worry about Geneva (her daughter)?

Loved the ending of this book! :)

Not thrilling enough. Couldn't get past chapter 3. This book did not hold my interest like I thought it was. This was sadly a DNF.

Hadley, her husband Jonah, and fifteen year old daughter Geneva had a simple, good life until a new neighbor moved in next door, named Faith. Faith is very pushy and needy and really wants to be Hadley's friend and a part of her daughter's life.

After an unfortunate event occurs while Hadley's sister Alice is visiting, everyone is a suspect, including her own husband. Hadley knows something is not right with Faith. Who is she really and what does she want?

Overall, I thought this was a good book. Although, it took me some time to get into the story, I still enjoyed it and I liked the ending. I will be looking into this author's other books.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

#OnlyYou #NetGalley
Hadley is one of those rare people who feels she's living the perfect life. She has a husband she loves, a charming daughter, and a job that is deeply fulfilling. Sometimes it almost seems like a fairytale.
Then, little by little, things start to go wrong. There's the creepy guy from down the street who keeps staring at her teenage daughter, there's the strangely needy woman who moves in next door…
Just little wrinkles, but then Hadley's world is turned upside down when someone close to her is murdered. And Hadley begins to suspect that the killing is linked to something from her own past. A terrible secret she has never shared with anyone…
As she digs deeper, Hadley realises there is someone out there who knows what she did, someone who is planning to take her perfect life - and turn it into a perfect nightmare.

I really identified with the main character here and it made the plot so much more believable to me. I absolutely love this story it’s really a fast paced thriller.