Thank you Lucinda Berry and Amazon Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. IYKYK, my reviews are ALWAYS honest.

Yes, this is a one star. But I HIGHLY encourage you to read her other books, including my faves: The Secrets of Us, Appetite for Innocence, and Saving Noah. DO NOT swear off this author!! This just was not it.

THE PLOT

Autism expert Casey Walker is called in to consult on a case about Mason, a 14-year-old boy with autism, who police strongly believe is responsible for the murder of the mayor's wife, Annabelle. But as Walker dives into Mason and his mother's background, she begins to question everything she knows.

MY OPINION

.......... le sigh. I want to reiterate that I LOVE Lucinda Berry's novels. Her expertise as a child psychologist always shines through, and her books, especially Appetite for Innocence (AFI), are introspective and well-written. THIS book was so off the rails, I re-downloaded AFI to double check I wasn't tweaking and that Lucinda could actually write. To my relief, AFI still goes hard, so I'm considering this a one-off.

Tbh it felt like an entirely different person wrote this. It was so overloaded with insignificant details, forced dialogue, platitudes, and telling the reader how to feel. I had almost 200 notes/highlights on my Kindle when I was finished and most of them were: ????? r u good ????

I understand this book was supposed to be about autism, and yes, I learned a lot about the condition, but I think Lucinda missed a bigger play. Why did we need the mother's (Genevieve) POV if the main focus was on the son's condition? We only got little snippets of his side, which were the strongest parts of the book. All I got from Genevieve was that she's annoying AF, and in the context of the book, she added absolutely zero value. Genevieve's POV would've worked if the book had tackled a different—more suitable IMO—angle... I can't say more without spoiling it. So if you're curious, slide in my DMs and we can chat.

Casey Walker was clearly there to act as a mouthpiece for autism awareness. She knew nothing about the investigation nor basic police procedural. She was clearly used as a pawn by detectives to serve up the "evidence" they needed. The only person she was consulting with was her dad basically. The police didn't give two f@cks what she had to say, she was never in the "war room" with them—just having friendly catch ups at Panera and Zaxby's. So essentially, other than being an #autismspeaks spokesperson, she didn't provide any value to the novel and her POV was pointless.

Also you can't get "drafted" into college football... You get RECRUITED. This is a well-known fact and the editor should've picked up on it.

I'LL SAY IT AGAIN FOR THOSE IN THE BACK, READ HER OTHER BOOKS. THEY ARE ABSOLUTE BANGERZ.

PROS AND CONS

Pros: I received an ARC from an author I admire (not kissing ass b/c... I'm giving this book 1 star cmon)

Cons: it's 1 star... do I really need to say it?

I received a gifted copy and am providing a review. Publishing June 2022.

I am up at 4 a.m. on a Sunday morning because I cannot get this book out of my head. I went into this book without knowing what it was about because … Lucinda Berry! I’ve read all of her books, so this one has to be good, right? RIGHT! I knew I was in trouble as soon as I read the prologue … I should never start one of her books at lunchtime or in the morning before I have to start my workday. To say I was hooked is an understatement.

Annabelle – The victim in this story, the one this tale is based on.

Casey Walker – A therapist who works with children with autism spectrum disorder is called in to help with the case this story is built around. She has a daughter, Hannah, who also has ASD. Casey’s father is also involved in this tale as he helps take care of Hannah while Casey is at work, on top of which they are dealing with the loss of Casey’s mom.

Detective Layne – His title speaks for itself. He comes across as a not-so-smart detective, but that’s not true.

Genevieve Hill – What a character she is! She is the rich, I’m better than you character. Genevieve is involved in many different programs, trying to raise awareness for ASD, but there’s another side to her.

Mason – Genevieve’s son who also has ASD. Extremely important character.

Savannah – Genevieve’s estranged daughter who has issues of her own, but she’s tucked away at Ole Miss.

This book starts out with a bang and … does … not … stop. It is filled with so many twists and turns, it’ll leave your head spinning and by the time you get to the end you’ll be asking yourself what you just read, as well as why you didn’t see THAT around the corner. Not to mention what happened to John, Genevieve’s husband. That could be a story on its own. This tale is twisted on so many levels, a little dark, and a little creepy. Exactly my kind of read.

Once again, Lucinda Berry has blown me away!! I am still reeling from the twists and turns in this one. Lucinda Berry did it again and left me with a story that I can't quite get out of my mind.

You can’t go wrong with Lucinda’s books! She’s definitely a fave author of mine and Under Her Care is another top read!

First off, I absolutely loved the topic about autism and the story of Mason, a child who was diagnosed with ASD. I work at a ABA therapy clinic where we see kiddos with autism every day and could definitely agree with the diagnosis related information. Under Her Care provides a good amount of information on the autism spectrum disorder and it’s super insightful. I am just so amazed and intrigued by the autism community.

Under Her Care is such an addictive and gripping psychological thriller. The build up was great as well as the character development. Mason and Harper absolutely intrigued me. I enjoyed how the story played out and the ending was definitely unexpected!

I love anything Lucinda Berry writes. I appreciate the fact that she brings psychology into all of her books, without forcing it. The last 2-3 chapters also smack you right in the face, which is the best kind of book (in my opinion).

I do feel that there was a bit unresolved with Genevieve and Casey, but I could definitely look past it. The twist was good enough for me to move past it!

Thank you Lucinda, NetGalley and Thomas Mercer Publishing for the eARC!

After the local mayor's wife ends up being found dead, a manhunt is underway for her killer. When the police arrived at the scene, they find a 14 year old autistic boy named Mason, son of a former Miss USA, Genevieve Hill, leaning over the woman's body. Everyone is quick to point the finger at Mason but before they can formally charge him, they bring in Casey Walker - an autism expert on children. Although she was hesitate to do the case (having an autistic daughter herself), she becomes empathetic to Mason. As she continues to dig deep into the case and spending more time with Mason and Genevieve, she starts to have suspicions that Genevieve has something more to do with the case than what she's letting on. Casey starts interviewing Genevieve's estranged daughter, Savannah, who unleashes years of family drama and gives Casey everything she needs to start looking into Genevieve and finding the real killer.

Lucinda!! Thank you so much for sending me this! You can truly grasp the knowledge that Lucinda has in psychology (I mean, she's a psychologist, duh) in this book. It was twisted in all the right ways allowing you to wonder how this was all going to end. I swear the last line of this book was PERFECT. Just a great, edge of your seat thriller.

Absolutely unputdownable! Under Her Care is Lucinda Berry at her finest. This is a woman who knows human psychology well and it shows in this twisty atmospheric thriller set in Alabama. Things are not what they seem at first, and it's a helluva ride to find out the truth. Berry handled the issue of autism with great sensitivity and insight. Under Her Care is packed with dark secrets that remind us how misleading first impressions can be. A must-read this summer.

I absolutely love her books. They keep you interested from the beginning. The book keeps you guessing on what is going to happen next.

My Review
🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

Under Her Care.
By Lucinda Berry.

Another well written book by this author..
Just when you think you have it figured out she blows you away with another twist..

perfect storyline, fabulous Amount of suspense.. And I love Suspense..

The mayor's wife has been Brutally attacked and murdered..

Sometimes you think you have everything figured out.. And then there's a big twist and it just blows you away because you did not see that Coming. That's exactly what Berry did with this one..

A mother's love what she will do what she will hide what drives her. So many secrets...

So I read this one in two days
Fabulous Read.. If you're into thriller books this is the one. highly suggest Lucinda Berry books... 📚

Wow! Lucinda Berry is one of my very favorite authors and this book continues that consistency. From the beginning I was drawn into the story by the relatable characters. As the story unfolded I was constantly changing my mind about what the truth really was! I don’t want to include any spoilers, but this story surpassed my expectations of the perfect thriller! Another home run, Lucinda! May there be many more!

Lucinda Berry has topped herself once again! I was lucky enough to be able to read an advanced copy of this book, and I'm so grateful for that opportunity! Once I started, I could not voluntarily stop reading - when I wasn't able to read, I could not stop thinking about it! First, the psychologically twisted storylines Berry comes up with continuously blow my mind! Second, I was utterly fascinated with the mind of the pediatric psychologist, Casey Walker, almost as much as I detested a few of the other characters. I'll let you come to your conclusions, though. You can never really know what goes on behind closed doors! My heart ached so much for all of the children involved; the world needs more Casey Walker's. Lastly, WOW - my head is still spinning from the ending twist! I'm already excited to dive into whatever this beautiful mind of Berry's comes up with next! Can we say book hangover?!

Holy Amazeballs!!! Lucinda Berry has done it again with this phenomenal read! She truly never disappoints, From start to finish you are truly invested in EVERYTHING that is said and done. Highly interesting storyline, with the perfect amount of suspense, mystery and overall fantastic psychological thriller. Highly recommend you add it to your tbr right now!!!!

This was one of the most unputdownable books I’ve ever read! I love knowing that I’ll always learn some new and insanely shocking things about real life mental illness and I’m left wanting to pick Lucinda Berry’s brain about how in the heck she came up with this stuff! Under Her Care is BY FAR her best book yet and I have loved all of her others! The characters are so layered and fascinating and I just want to know more! There was also a point in the book where I was desperate to go back and reread a bunch of chapters with this new perspective! Absolutely recommend Under Her Care!