Lucinda Berry does it again!

On a summer day in Alabama, the mayor's wife is found brutally murdered along a quiet path with a 14 year old boy with autism, Mason Hill, standing next to her drenched in her blood. The town demands answers and the police seem determined to drive the verdict home that Mason is killer. Casey Walker, a local clinical psychologist experienced with autism, is brought in to consult on the case and as she spend time with Mason, his medical records and his mother, former Miss USA Genevieve Hill, her suspicions grow. Not only does Casey suspect Mason is innocent but she begins to question Genevieve's carefully constructed life.

This book had me gripped from the beginning, very fast paced, constant development and an insatiable urge to know what has/is happening. I devoured it in a single sitting! My favourite thing about reading Lucinda Berry's books is how she incorporates psychological twists. A former clinical psychologist herself, she shares information throughout that blends effortlessly into the story whilst allowing the reader to gain knowledge and insight into a variety of disorders. Her characters are fully fleshed out and feel real, even if not all are likeable. I think the book perfectly juggled the story from multiple points of view. We got the fewest insights from Mason, but I think that reflected his exact predicament in the story: quiet, downtrodden by his mother and trapped in the shell of himself, defined by his "autistic" label.

Be warned, her books never end with a perfectly tied bow, instead they keep the reader guessing and wondering beyond the final page.

Gritty. Dark. Disturbing. Mason, a young boy with autism, is found covered in blood standing next to the mayor’s wife’s murdered body. All signs point to his guilt. His mother defends him and repeatedly says that he is innocent. The rest of the town believes otherwise. Local autism expert Casey Walker consults on the case and starts drawing her own conclusions. This book will keep you guessing and make you question just how far some moms will go for their kids. Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for a review. #netgalley #UnderHerCare

When the mayor’s wife is found brutally murdered and a 14-year-old autistic boy is found next to her covered in blood, it’s natural for the police to want to consider it an open and shut case. But when Casey Walker, a specialist who works with autistic children, is brought into the case to review, she realizes there’s a lot more to the story than just what the police know. I really enjoyed reading this book; fast pages, likeable character in Casey, and a true mystery as to what happened and who was behind it all. Unfortunately, the ending more or less fell apart. I’m still wondering about some of the loose threads and am super disappointed since I think this could’ve been a really great book if the ending had only come together a little better.

Special Note: Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This one was just ok for me. It’s told in alternating POVs of Genevieve, whose son has autism and is accused of a heinous crime, and Casey, a psychologist specializing in pediatric autism who is brought in on the case.

I liked the alternating POVs and delving into the personalities of the main characters, which makes you start wondering who has something to hide. When the truth does come out, it’s rather shocking and there were a couple twists that I didn’t see coming. However, I had a hard time understanding why some of the major decisions in the story were made and wished that the author gave me a better understanding into some of the characters’ motivations; it felt like she was going for shock factor above anything else at some points. I also couldn’t get my arms around the fact that Casey was allowed to get this deep into the investigation for no real reason, but maybe I just don’t understand small town law enforcement.

Overall, this was a twisty read with plenty of surprises and I enjoyed the twists and the pacing, but I do wish more time had been spend on the background versus just the shocking events that occurred. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this novel. I am rating this book based the stars due to lack of time to leave a full review. #NetGalley #UnderHerCare

I really enjoyed this book. This is my second from this author. I loved the synopsis and couldn’t wait to dive in. I finished it fairly quickly. It kept me thinking about it long after. I can’t wait for her next book!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I loved Berry's previous books, so I was excited to read this one. It did not disappoint. Fast-paced, with unexpected twists and turns!

In rural Alabama, the body of the sheriff’s wife is discovered next to a creek bed, and standing alongside the body is a 14 year old autistic boy, covered in her blood. The cops call in an autism expert, who uncovers more than she should. Under Her Care is a top notch thriller that was so engrossing I read it in one sitting. Told in multiple POV’s, the book centers on the expert, Casey Walker, and her battles with the boy’s mother as Casey tries to communicate with the boy, who she believes in innocent. The cops think otherwise, and Casey has some ethical issues to sort through. This all adds up to a gripping, twisty story with plenty of puzzle pieces that all fall into place. Absolutely 5 stars!

First if all the reason for giving just 2.5 stars for this book, might be because this was my first book bt the author. So I am not sure if this is her usual writing style or not. I know I should have started with one of her life popular titles, which I am still going to try out

So now let's dive into an in-depth analysis if my time reading this book.

This book was not at all a disappointment but it was kinda slow for the first 40% of the plot, this was one of the reasons I had a hard time sticking to reading this book. After that the plot was intriguing and was thrilling to the core. I loved the characters and the crazy way the plot moved on. This was true toll you reach the last 5% of the book, where it ends abruptly. I am a great fan of ambiguous endings but this was just too much for me to digest. Just as you start to care for the characters, it was ended is the most dissatisfied way. I felt that there could have been an epilogue to tie the loose ends together.

My favourite character was Mason and I do think more details about his situation and the things he was facing could have been given to us by the author.

Overall I felt that it was a good concept but the execution was lacking

Autism expert Casey Walker tries to help the cops solve a crime in which 14-year-old Mason Hill is accused of murder. But something's not right with Mason's mom Genevieve. Even her daughter Savannah questions her mom's sanity. Things turn ugly when child protective services are notified. Moms are supposed to protect their kids, right? And who is the real criminal?
This book kept me guessing. I wasn't on the edge of my seat, but I did want to find out what happened at the end. And I liked the author's strategy to leave loose strings at the end.
I did not like the use of backtracking to tell missing pieces of the story. This technique made the flow choppy and difficult to follow. And I'm new to this author. Her note at the end that this is her best work ever - that ego turns me off.
There is plenty of good information about autism in this book. For the most part, it accurately represents the condition. As an autism advocate and parent, I appreciate that this book raises awareness in a mostly accurate way.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Under Her Care by Lucinda Berry in exchange for an honest review.

Welp. I didn't love it. It pulled me right in which was great but the plot is full of holes and, in my opinion, the reader is really not told anything that we should be.

Lucinda Berry is one of my favorite authors. Under Her Care is another thriller which keeps you guessing all the way through. Maybe you’d better take notes as you read to keep track of clues along the way. Another fun novel by a prolific author.

Under Her Care | Lucinda Berry
Genre: Psychological mystery
Rating: 4 stars
Under her Care is a standalone psychological mystery novel by bestselling author, Lucinda Berry. I’ve been hearing about this author everywhere recently, so decided to pick up one of her novels to try. Based on the strength of this one, I would definitely say I would go back and read others and any new ones coming out.
The story is told in multiple POV and follows Casey Walker, an psychologist specializing in autism spectrum disorder and Genevieve Hill, mother of 14-year old Mason who is accused of murdering local girl after he is found standing next to the body. The story is part-amateur detective novel, part psychological fiction. The book touches on themes around motherhood, autism, child development, and the human psyche. You can see Lucinda’s background as a psychologist and researcher into childhood trauma coming through. You can tell she knows her stuff.
I quite enjoyed this one and it had me hooked early on. I had guessed the direction the book was going to take but it had a few interesting twists and turns along the way. It was easy to read and I read it pretty quickly.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an ARC of this book.

Under Her Care was my first book by Lucinda Berry, and I was very intrigued by the description and cover. I always love a "whodunnit" murder investigation, which is exactly what Under Her Care has. After a mayor's wife turns up murdered, the town things that a local, Mason Hill a young autistic kid as he was discovered by the body. Throughout the book, the story unravels through Mason's mom and local autism expert, Casey Waker.

At first, I was really intrigued by the book. I love using context clues to try and solve the mystery myself and I was excited to dive in. After the first 20% or so though, I found my excitement slightly dying off. I felt like there was a little bit of disconnect throughout the book and lots of details that didn't matter. When I got to the end, I felt like it left me wanting more and that I didn't get all the details wrapped up like I liked.

While It wasn't my favorite thriller, I could see how someone would enjoy it if they love a good thriller (like me!) so I would still recommend giving it a shot yourself!

This book was a quick read, which I really enjoyed and was a page turner. I will say the description and cover really play up the pageant history of Genevieve, which was really a minor detail in the story. I was hoping for a bigger plot twist but overall this was not a bad introduction into Berry’s books.

I always enjoy Lucinda Berry books. She has a way of spinning a thriller that keeps you on edge and guessing. I throughly enjoyed this one and yes I did guess a few things but it sure didn't take away from the story at all. There was a couple of things near the end that I wish would have been cleared up, (what happened to a couple of people), but still it was a great read.

This book is told from two POVs. Casey Walker a therapist who works with autistic children. Genevieve Hill who is a stay at home mom and ex beauty pageant winner. Genevieve is very controlling while Casey is more laid back. One is nice and the other is truly evil. Or at least I think she is pure evil. Both are women and they both have children who have autism.

Genevieve has two children. A daughter Savannah Hill who has many problems of her own and a son Mason who has autism. Genevieve loves to control everything but she does it in a way that makes her look like a hero. Like she is the greatest person you will ever meet. I didn't like her. At all.

When the mayor's wife is murdered it's Genevieve and her son Mason who find her. The police decide that Mason must have done it because he's such a big boy and he has blood all over him. The lead detective, Layne, gets Casey to help them talk to Mason without his mother being there. So much is uncovered during this. So many things that will make your skin crawl. You will wonder how a person can do such things. Who would want to do these things. That's all I can say as I sure don't want to give anything away. But be prepared to cringe when you read about it. To get very angry.

What lengths will a person go to to cover their bad deeds. Or to make themself look good. Or innocent. This is a story that you won't soon forget. It contains a type of child abuse that I can't believe but I'm sure it has happened. Just why though. What would make a person be so cruel.

There are many edge of your seat parts to this story. Many things happen that will make you angry. A few tears along the way also. Mostly though you will want to know who and why. Some might surprise you. Some might truly make your skin crawl.

Thank you #NetGalley, #LucindaBerry, #Thomas&Mercer for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

4/5 stars. It lost one because of something that I wanted wrapped up at the end. It is very good and I highly recommend it. SYNOPSIS
From the bestselling author of The Perfect Child comes a shocking thriller about the disturbing complexities of a mother’s love and the deadly consequences of unravelling family secrets.

3.25
I was very disappointed with this one coz I have heard so many great things about Lucinda Berry, I went into it expecting to love it but all I got was a meh feeling. The book felt so rushed that towards the end I didn't feel like we had got all the answers we needed. But I did like the fact that we got to know more about autism, and I learnt a lot more about it.

Some quotes I liked.
1) "A mothers rejection cuts to the core. It's impossible not to feel her grief."
2)"Nobody knows the insides of a woman like her daughter"
3)"You should worry about the kids who never want to be at home"
4)"When you're a kid, you feel things when they're wrong. Everything goes by your feelings because you don't really understand all the stuff going on around you."

Thank you so much for this ARC!

Under Her Care was a great ride told by multiple narrators. I really enjoyed the psychology aspect (Berry is a real child psychologist) which was executed really well and in easy to understand terms for the reader.

What I did not like was Genevieve - which I think is the whole point! Everything was very unbelievable, but that's why it's fiction!

The ending was lacking for me a bit but I still enjoyed this read overall. Would liked to have some closure with Casey.

My first book by this author.
This started off really well and I was intrigued, my intrigue was short lived.
I did not like any of the characters, the child psychologist was annoying, irritable and dumb. Mason’s mother was just ridiculous and unbelievable. The whole story was utterly unbelievable. I kept reading to the end though.
Thanks to Net Galley and Thomas and Mercer for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Lucinda Berry is a real life child psychologist who brings a lot of authentic detail to her stories that deal with human emotions as much as typical thriller elements. i have loved her previous books but this one is not a favorite for me as it lacks believable characters, motivations and actions. The story is told by three narrators: Casey, a psychologist who works with children with autism, Genevieve, the mother of a teenager with autism and an unnamed narrator that speaks riddles. The story begins when the wife of the town mayor is found murdered and Mason, the 14 year old with autism is found standing over her body,. The police are determined to arrest Mason for the murder but the mother insists he is innocent and Casey is brought in to talk to Mason and try to determine what is happening.

I felt the story was lacking in not having more about the police investigation or even the victim since she was the wife of the mayor. The majority of the book was Casey trying to figure out what Mason was diagnosed with and trying to decipher his previous medical reports which seemed confusing to her. Genevieve's viewpoint wasn't really needed as she just repeated what we already knew on top of telling lies and she kept mentioning a "monster" who was somehow involved. Various statements just seemed odd to me: Genevieve's house was featured every spring in a decorating magazine (that doesn't happen, no one wants to see the same house twice), talk about high school football coaches drafting players and the fact that only one detective was involved in such a high profile case and Casey was never used in an appropriate way.

There are some twists in the end but they were kind of crazy and relied on people believing things like a person can have a secret room in a closet when she was previously married and her husband would know what was going on and the motives of the bad guy. I would highly recommend Berry's other books and gave her three stars for her writing style but this wasn't a favorite. Thank you to NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for a review.