I found this one really interesting. The story flowed well and kept my attention. I really enjoyed the writing style and the twists and turns. I’ll definitely be following this author to see what other ones they have written! I would recommend this one to a friend.

Isla finally gets the promotion she as worked so hard for but is brutally attacked on her way home from her promotion party. When her new boyfriend ( and the boss's son) agrees to move in to help her, life changes. A racing thriller to the end.

Isla was brutally attacked and she does not remember much about that night. As the days go by, she starts to remember more and more. The more she remembers, the closer she gets to danger. As I kept reading, more revelations were uncovered and the unlikeliest culprit is revealed, who would have thought? This was an engrossing read, full of shocking surprises and plot twists.

2.5 Stars

Sam Carrington is a hit and miss author for me. I loved I Dare You by this author but The Open House not so much. Unfortunately this falls into the not so much category. Isla becomes a sort of agraphobe after being mugged so her boyfriend, Zach moves in to help her with her paralyzing fear. Unfortunately it doesn't work out as planned because Isla thinks she was specifically targeted and whoever did it is still out to get her.

I knew right away who the miscreant was, you'd have to be oblivious not to see it. I did like the writing style and that is why I keep picking up books by Ms. Carrington. I also liked the true-crime podcast plot-line and using that as a way to investigate the protagonists mugging. I found that a great premise so I am rounding up to three.

Isla finally has the life she's always dreamed of. She has a boyfriend who she thinks might be The One, a nice home of her own and has just received a job promotion. However, Isla's happiness comes crashing down after she's brutally attacked while walking home alone one night. She can't remember the events leading up to the attack and has been unable to leave her house since. Her boyfriend, Zach, moves in with her but that doesn't seem to ease Isla's anxieties. Because she's certain this wasn't a random attack. She's positive it's someone she knows, but who? With only bits and pieces of that night intact, how is she supposed to trust anybody?

This book wasn't bad. There were certainly aspects that I enjoyed. But, overall, it was just meh.
The main reason being that the culprit was glaringly obvious so early on. Even with several red herrings to throw the reader off, it was still pretty blatant who the attacker was right from the beginning. The mystery could have still be salvaged, however, if the why of the crime wasn't also made obvious so early...around the 20% mark. It just took the steam out of the book for me unfortunately.

I did like the inclusion of the true crime podcast and I liked Isla as a character. I really felt for the trauma she endured and enjoyed reading her journey in trying to regain her memory and piece together the night of her attack. Although, guessing the who and why so soon did make her journey less impactful.

Honestly, this could just be a me problem. I read a lot of thrillers, which made it easy to surmise what was going on from the go. Most avid readers of thrillers probably will as well. But Sam Carrington is a writer with good storytelling skills and one that I've always enjoyed, so I would still recommend giving this book a chance.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I never trust the facade that people put up to impress on others how “fine” everything is. Life isn’t perfect and definitely not so for this couple. Well worth a read.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Avon Books UK, Avon and #NetGalley for my honest opinion.

A Chilling, suspenseful thriller.

Firstly thank you to net galley for the opportunity to read an early copy of the couple on maple drive. As a massive fan of Sam Carrington i knew i wanted to read her next offering. As always i wasnt disappointed. Throughout the whole book i was on the edge of my seat. Id say that this is definitely one of the best of Sam's books. Obviously all Sam's books are amazing but i definitely reallg did enjoy this one. Full of suspense, it kept me wanting to read until i found out how the story was going to pan out. I definitely recommend giving this a read, because like me you wont be disappointed

I thought this was a pretty good suspense/thriller! I’m surprised that I haven’t heard more about it yet, but I’m sure that will change. I will say it started a bit slow, but it quickly picked up and got even faster as it went along, leading to a speedy ending.

Isla is a 20-something girl trying to make adulting work - and so far, it has. She has moved from home into her own place and has a good job, along with a newish boyfriend who is poised to take over the company they work at. She’s also celebrating a promotion! (No, she didn’t get it THAT way.)

Not a big drinker, she has a bit too much wine at the office party to celebrate her new position in the company, and her boyfriend Zach is working late so he isn’t there to walk her home. As she tipsily takes a shortcut through a park to get home, she hears someone running up behind her. The next thing she knows, she’s waking up in the hospital.

The police tell her she’s been the victim of a mugging, but she overhears the nurses and realizes she was actually the victim of an attempted murder. Her wrist is broken, but worse, she’s had a bad concussion and has some amnesia regarding her attack. She’s desperate to remember anything about it, but they tell her it will take time for things to come back, and some things she may block out forever.

When she’s ready to go home, Zach temporarily moves in with her. She’s very traumatized, afraid to leave the house, not eating or sleeping well. He’s trying to take care of her as best he can, given they haven’t been dating long and have never lived together. She’s just trying not to completely break down.

While he’s at work, Isla starts listening to true-crime podcasts, trying to make sense of her attack. Maybe something they say will jog her memory? She listens to many cases like hers, and realizes the chances that she knows her assailant are high. Soon, she’s suspicious of everyone … including her boyfriend. She asks one of her favorite podcasts for help, and starts her own investigation into what happened that night.

This book leaves you guessing throughout, and while a couple things were predictable, the ending was pretty exciting. There were twists inside the predictably, if that makes sense. I found this to be a very entertaining book, and a solid four stars.

(I’d like to thank the publisher, author and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

I struggled to decide how I felt about this book. I really wanted to love it, and there were some parts that I thoroughly enjoyed. Unfortunately, I found other aspects of the novel to be lacking.

This was a thriller/crime type novel which is definitely a favourite of mine. It’s immediately revealed that the main character, Isla, has been in some sort of mugging accident and can’t remember anything about what happened. She thinks her attacker is someone she knows and is determined to figure out who it is. As you can probably guess, she gets in way over her head and the drama continues to unfold as she discovers the truth.

I really enjoyed the last section of the book where the truth is revealed and everything is explained. I found the writing to be pleasantly unique. I always try to guess what happens in books like these, and I was able to figure out some parts ahead of time, but there were some great twists thrown in and I loved that!

Something that really threw me off about this book was the relationship between Isla and her boyfriend, Zach. From the first few pages I was not rooting for them at all and it makes you wonder why they would ever get together in the first place. In most backstories, it’s believable as to why a couple would start dating, but I was just not convinced for the two of them. I was also disappointed that I found the main “who did it” part of the mystery to be pretty obvious.

In saying all that, I still found this to be a pleasant read and I thought the last section of the book was especially intriguing. I guess I just wanted there to be more and it didn’t measure up to what I was hoping for.

I will also post this review on Amazon and Goodreads, and will post on my Bookstagram account (@janinesbookcorner) closer to the publication date.

This was honestly really slow in the beginning but once it started amping up, it really went quite fast. I enjoyed Isla as a character, her development was great. I didn't care for Zach's POV though, could've done without that. But overall a good book with good twists.
Also Jase is probably my fave character next to Isla.

I really struggled to get invested in this one I found it sluggish as if I was waiting for something to happen and it never really did. I would call it a domestic drama but the drama needed more for me! A good part for me was that the podcast elements to this story they gave it some edge.

Sam has done it again. A truly amazing story, I was on the edge of my seat, and my heart was racing. So many twists and turns, I had so many theories running through my head, none of which were the final outcome.

This book has everything you want in a domestic thriller, with twisted secrets and alter egos. is read from many points of view, oved this thriller

Isla has been mugged and her boyfriend Zach moves in with her to take care of her as she recovers.
While she’s at home she begins listening to true crime podcasts and comes to believe these are the key to finding out who mugged her.
The book is slow enough to start but things speed up from about the half way point and I enjoyed that half of it.
For me some things just didn’t cut the mustard and for that reason I’m giving it 4/5 stars.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon books for the advance read.

My thanks to the team at Avon Books for approving my review request, I think this is my first book of hers and I will definitely be looking out for more.

To start with, I found it a bit hard going, Isla and Zach's relationship didn't seem particularly healthy. Zach, Isla's boyfriend of a few weeks, has moved in to support her following a horrific attack which has left her with PTSD, and struggling to cope.

Is this an altruistic act, or is there a darker reason?

Zach and Isla's relationship is the focus, where he is trying to be patient with a woman who is struggling to remember what happened that night, and is obsessing over true crime docu-dramas and podcasts in order to try and shake loose her memories.

This split narrative, between Isla and Zach, is interspersed with the transcripts from true crime podcast, Christie's Crime Addicts, reporting on a possible murder in Maple Drive, no victim is clearly identified, and all you know is that a potential suspect has been taken away by the police.

So the suspense is immediately there, and your inner detective is turned on-is the couple the one whose intimate lives we have been involved with? If it is them, which one is dead? And will there be further attacks?

At about the half way mark, the book kicks into gear and doesn't let go, this sounds horrible and unsympathetic(apologies!) but I got it, Isla was struggling to do any of the daily functions that many of us take for granted. But because this was a little laboured, by the time she actually got busy working out what was going on, and not taking it (literally) lying down, it seemed like too much of a leap from fragile to fighter overnight.

The way that the podcast was interwoven with the story was really interesting, it reminds you that whilst it may feel, or appear, like the victims of crime are essentially public property, there is a real story and real people behind the headlines about which we should be mindful. You really do begin to panic that Isla is in danger, especially as the podcast hosts/story narration begins to overlap and you see where things are going (but not necessarily how things end).

It was an engaging story where the notion of truth and lies in business and at home are explored in depth. Trust and life or death situations are realistic, and well conveyed, and you can see how the balance between expectations of your friends, and family, can let you down when you need them the most. It can also stop you seeing beyond the appearance of a person because you are too tied up in this to see the person behind the mask. And, in a situation like this, there is always someone waiting there to do the unmasking....

YES SAM CARRINGTON, YES. This is how you write a thriller. Red herrings, genuinely not knowing who to trust until it's too late, what are lies and what is truth? I read this in one three hour sitting and I regret nothing.

I can't speak highly enough if this book. It kept me up reading it gil the early hours. This is exactly what a fomestic noir should be written. I won't say too much about the plot but it will get under your skin and you won't be able to stop until you find out what is actually going on. A bit of intrigue, some suspense, and twists that you won't ever see coming. Highly recommended

A terrific thriller focusing on a slightly off relationship between a couple following the attack on Isla. Only their troubles are far from over, because things continue to escalate… Highly recommended!

An intriguing read from this talented author. Kept me guessing throughout with some chilling moments. 5 stars!