Under Her Care by Lucinda Berry finds Mason a young teen accused of murdering a woman in the park while out with his mother Genevieve Hill. Mason , however, is not like any other teen, he is a boy on the autism spectrum. Genevieve has taken care to work with Mason diligently since he was young but Pediatric psychologist Casey Walker, who begins working with Mason discovers he may not actually be as he seems. Berry has a winner in the thriller, Under Her Care.

This is my second Lucinda Barry thriller, and I found it to be enjoyable. It’s a fast paced read with mostly unlikable characters. For many other authors, this wouldn’t work, however Barry is able to pull this off. I would definitely recommend this for a beach read thriller.

Thank you to Netgalley , Lucinda Barry, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This is my second book by Lucinda Berry and like the first she had me hooked from start to finish!

In a small town in Alabama, the mayor’s wife is found dead under a bridge by the 14-year-old autistic son (Mason) of a former Miss USA (Genevieve). He is standing over her body with blood on him and is quickly accused of murdering her. Genevieve insists it wasn’t him and goes about protecting him as best as she can. Local autism expert Casey Walker is brought in as a consultant by the town detective. She discovers some discrepancies and questions Genevieve’s behavior and actions, past and present, regarding Mason.

Such a good book! Lucinda Berry uses her expertise to form a twisty, unputdownable thriller. This was the first book I’ve read about a child with autism. I liked that Genevieve and Casey were both mothers of autistic kids so could relate to each other in the beginning. But only to a point, then their mothering styles are totally different. There are some really unfathomable things about Genevieve throughout. The characters were well developed, the book was fast paced and I had no clue who was doing what or when until the twisty shocking end. I could have used a little more from Mason’s perspective and what happened after. Maybe a 2nd book? I definitely recommend and will continue to read Lucinda’s future books.

Thank you Lucinda Berry, Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions are mine alone and not biased in any way.

Mostly unlikeable characters but a good twisty poolside summer read. Not my favorite from this author.

Wow! That was a crazy messed up story! But really good! Lol this book had so many twisted crazy characters! But what a story! The storyline was so very interesting! It had me glued to my kindle! I highly recommend reading this book! Its so worth reading! Geez crazy people! Lol I really enjoyed reading this book! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

My first by the Author. The book talks of the murder of the mayor's wife and an autistic child is a possible suspect.
The story feels too slow it took a while to get interesting.

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for the ARC

Under Her Care by new to me author, Lucinda Berry, is a story that I felt had a lot of potential, but definitely missed the mark with its execution. The build-up was slow, and it took a lot of effort to get to the good parts. Which I didn't find, mind you, until I was about 80% into the book!

This story just kind of falls flat. It doesn't keep me at the edge of my seat anxiously awaiting what happens next, doesn't give me any plot twists that keep me wanting more, and doesn't even really pack a punch! If I'm being completely honest, I was just relieved when it ended.

Again, I definitely loved the idea of this book. I think the author could've taken a different approach with the varying point of views. For example, without giving too much away, I felt like Mason's pieces were the most impactful out of all of the characters' parts, and those were too few and far between. Not to mention it just felt like there were parts missing... like we didn't get the full story. It just abruptly comes to a halt.

I've heard lots of good things about Lucinda Berry and her work. It's disappointing that this is the first book I read by the author and it turned out to be an utter flop. But I'm not going to write her off just yet. If you love Lucinda Berry, I recommend maybe checking out one of her other books -- Because this one was just not it.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Lucinda Berry for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

👑 BOOK / REVIEW 👑

Alright, this book was TWISTY and if I am being honest, totally f*cked up! I walked into this book completely blind and was taken on a rollercoaster from page 1. Not sure how this is my first @lucindaberryauthor book, but this was messed up in so many good ways that I need more!

Lots of trigger warnings: autism, child abuse / neglect, addiction and mental health struggles. The pace ebbs and slows in this, but its absolutely a page turner. The ending was a full on anxiety attack for me 😰 EXCELLENT read - highly recommend #underhercare. Thanks for my copy @netgalley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟

Wow, wow, wow. Lucinda Berry knows what she's doing 🤯 the narcissism... The psychopathy.... The horror.... This was a real wild ride. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough during the last 40%. And THOSE LAST THREE CHAPTERS. Pure evil genius 😈
As rough as this was at parts I loved it!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the free copy to read and review.

A mother praised by the community, her misunderstood son, a high-profile woman murdered in a small southern town, a cop reluctant to look beyond who he already blames for the crime, and a consultant who tries to help uncover the truth. When Casey, a therapist specialized working with children on the autism spectrum, is called for her professional opinion on an ongoing crime investigation, she has no idea the dreadful secret that she is about to uncover. With twists and unexpected turns, this book is equally disturbing and enthralling. That said, there were definitely certain points that felt a little far-fetched, the story dragged at some points, and some of the language and descriptors used to describe autism and mental health did not sit well with me.
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Thank you to the author, Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. #UnderHerCare #NetGalley

Rating: 3/5
Publication: June 1, 2022

"Just because I can’t talk doesn’t mean I got nothin’ to say."

Oh, man. Well - not the best way to start with a new to me author, but it is what it is. At least I heard good things about her other books, so I will definitely be checking them out.

Under Her Care - the plot was ok for a thriller. The characters were ok but nothing special (though I liked one of them quite a bit). But the writing - there was so much space for improvement.

It was full of unimportant details and forced dialogs. But even worse to me was that it felt like we didn't even get the whole story. All in all, it felt a bit like a waste of time.

If you want to see my much more in depth review, you can check it out on my book blog NovelOnMyMind.

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.

I got an ARC of this book, and I'm hoping most of the issues I had were fixed in the final edits.
To start: this was a great story! Two moms of children with Autism are the points of view in this murder mystery- one the mother of a boy whose Autism was cute when he was little, but not so cute as a large, strong teen. He's found, covered in blood, over the body of the mayor's wife, and his mom is insisting he is innocent. The other main character is a therapist who specializes on working with children with Autism, brought in by police to help form a connection with the "suspect," who is entirely non verbal. The therapist also has a child with Autism, so she can understand exactly what the other one is going through. That being said, the more she gets involved in the case, the more she realizes things aren't entirely what they seem.
This was a very unique story, and the plot was entertaining and original. My biggest issue was the pacing. Sometimes the inner dialogue of the characters was clunky, and often times the conversations between characters didn't feel like it flowed correctly. It just wouldn't sound right if read out loud. There were also some typos, but again, I'm hoping that was because I received a non-final draft.
Overall I enjoyed the book, and I would read more from this author in the future.

Another excellent story from Lucinda Berry! This book was captivating - her writing is so realistic which made the story so much more engrossing. I loved the dynamic between the characters - each character was fully developed which added to the overall story.

My only critique is that I would have liked to understand the story more from Mason's perspective. I enjoyed the last chapter on Savannah's perspective, so I would have liked an additional chapter told from Mason's point of view.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Such a good book with an odd ending! I thoroughly enjoyed this story surrounding two mothers with children with autism. A murder has occurred in a southern town and the main suspect is a teenager with autism. The author takes you on an exciting ride in this book with excellent character building and foreshadowing that will keeping you guessing the whole book. I was ready to give this book a five star review until the last few pages. The ending did tie up the murder story but left some characters’ story endings hanging and then threw in an off the wall twist that just did not totally add up. It was almost like the author wanted a shocking twist but went back and added it to her original novel as an afterthought. I would still recommend this book if you are looking for a good, quick read but just expect a little disappointment at the ending.
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy to read and review.

When the wife of the mayor is founded dead with an autistic boy at the scene on the incident, people begin to suspect that he is the one behind the crime. Casey Walker, a local expert in autism amongst children, is asked to consult on the case and as she interviews and digs deeper into Mason and his mother's background - is it the teenager or someone else behind this crime...

I picked this up as it features an autistic character and I heard Lucinda Berry writes fantastic psychological thrillers, as she has a background as a psychologist and childhood trauma. Which may have set the bar a little too high - although I hardly ever set expectations for authors unless I've read previous works.

I wasn't the fondest of the occasional insertions of Mason's pov, though I suppose this was one of the few ways that his character had a voice even if it's just to the readers seeing his thought process and make us feel more for him. Which would've happened for me, with or without this.

The alternating chapters between Casey's and Genevieve's perspectives. Because while they're both mothers to autistic children, they're otherwise such vastly different people, and in Genevieve's case, a lot to take in. Because while we don't know what is going on with her, we do know she's a Piece of Work. Which made reading her perspective both good and irritating, like I wanted to scream on the odd occasion when she wasn't doing anything particularly bad.

Overall, the thriller aspect was pretty decent - this was easy to get through and good writing.

Under Her Care by Lucinda Berry. Story advanced slowly with multiple back and forth POVs that were blurred and could not always tell who was doing the narrative. Did not much like any of the characters. Not a favorite by Ms. Berry

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Name of Book: Under Her Care
Author: Lucinda Berry
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Pub Date: July 1, 2022
My Rating: 3.5 Stars

I have only read a few Lucinda Berry novels but they were great and I was excited about starting this one!

Casey Walker is a pediatric psychologist with a specialization in neurodevelopmental disabilities ~ <i>of course, no one knows what that means so is refers to her an expert in autism, </i> is called in to help with the case of Mason Hill a fourteen year young boy who is autistic and describes as nonverbal. Mason was found standing on the riverbank near the body of the wife of the mayor of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Mason has the blood of Annabelle Chapman all over him and the police believe he is a person-of interest in Annabelle’s murder.
When Casey meets Mason’s mother Genevieve; Casey is sure she is hiding something and is going overboard in trying to protect her son.
Later when Casey meets Savannah, Genevieve’s nineteen-year-old daughter; she finds out that Savannah has some disturbing secrets.
I love psychological thriller but this one seems to be all over the place. Mason is describes as nonverbal~ what does that mean? ~ He cannot communicate when questioned? No writing or eye blinking?? Casey an expert does some tests but no attempt to communicate~ I was confused by this.
Story had me curious as well as confused.
I am positive this will make a fantastic ‘book club’ discussion.
I always love reading the author’s acknowledgements and/or Author’s Note. In this case, in her Acknowledgement our amazing author states~ This is her best work ever!
YIKES ~ What am I missing?
Will I read another Lucinda Berry novel ~ You Bet!!!!

Dr. Lucinda Berry is a former clinical psychologist and leading researcher in childhood trauma. She now spends her days writing full-time and uses her clinical experience in writing what turns out to be a fine line between fiction and nonfiction. She enjoys taking us readers on a journey through the dark recesses of the human psyche.
Want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me for my honest opinion.
Publishing Release Date was June 1, 2022

Personally I’d give this book 1,5 stars. It took me over half of the book to actually find it interesting. I love Lucinda’s other books so I was so excited to recieve this ARC but sadly I didn’t like it that much. The story itself would’ve been good but somehow I didn’t seem to like it. I can’t even really tell you why, only that it somehow felt weird and even the plot twists couldn’t really save this book for me.

I recommend other books from Lucinda but sadly couldn’t recommend this one.

This ramped up to something good like a billion times, but, ultimately, fizzled. Also the bits from the perspective of the child were sort of wincey.

Under Her Care was an interesting Thriller. This is my first Lucinda Berry book and she did a great job writing this one.

I had some issues with the autism rep in this book and I feel like in a way the ending helped me understand and come to terms with those issues.
I felt like the MC was kind of dumb in the beginning and the mystery of the story was not very engaging until the 50% mark.
This was a very easy read so the fact that the plot felt like it took 60% to get anywhere did not deter from the rating.

The ending was very thrilling, but it left so many openings for me wanting more than I was slightly disappointed because I wanted more.

Overall pretty good read!

3.5 stars