This book was a grave reminder of awful events especially in our last 2 decades. There are factual and historical events, happenings and real lived experiences threaded within the non fiction parts. You can’t help but to get pulled into her books.. sometimes with incredulity and surprise and other times a bit of foreknowledge or good projecting lol.

OFF THE DEEP END by Lucinda Berry 

Woah. I think what lures me most to Lucinda's books is that you always have to brace yourself for one hell of an impact. It's just, you never know how hard of an impact it will be, or the extent of it. She will always be an auto-buy author of mine.

This one fooled me in the sense that the story took a bit of a detour and then a hard direction change. I still find myself thinking about how disturbing it was. I won't look at Thanksgiving the same ever again for a VERY* specific reason. If you haven't read it yet, consider that my warning gift to you. 

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for this e-copy!

“I’ve never understood peoples obsession with the limelight. People who shine from within don’t need a spotlight.” - Lucinda Berry, Off The Deep End.

When Lucinda Berry releases a hot new book, you run, you do not walk to your nearest bookstore. 

I was introduced to Berry via “bookstagram” and I have to say, it is one of my best finds. Berry is not only an extremely talented writer but a bad ass, humorous, and genuine person. So if you are looking for a new author that you can appreciate on paper AND in person, Lucinda Berry is for you. 

Enough of that sappy stuff…

Off The Deep End 

Gah!!! How does Berry keep doing this to me! You would think I’d be accustomed to these twists having read her entire collection, but I promise you, I am not. 

I still shriek and gasp, every time. 

As the suspense grew I found myself tightening my grip on my bed sheets, white knuckling my pup’s paw for comfort . 

This book is what nightmares are made of. 

Here is a little teaser : 

Therapist turned stay-at-home mom Jules Hart’s idyllic suburban life shatters when she crashes her car into an icy lake. Her son and another teenage boy plunge into the water with her, but Jules can only manage to save one―the wrong one.

Reeling from the death of her son, Jules spirals into a violent and unstable mental state. Ten months after the accident, she’s still trying to reckon with the fact that she rescued Isaac Greer, another woman’s child, when Isaac suddenly vanishes.

Jules finds herself at the center of a massive police investigation. While she harbors her own dangerous secrets, Jules is adamant that she didn’t take Isaac. But then who did? Is Isaac the victim of a dangerous killer who’s been targeting boys in the Midwest? Or is someone else pulling the strings in this deadly game?

"Audiobook version of OFF THE DEEP END, great narration, but missed a few of the thrills."

My full review for this one can be found on FreshFiction.com.

This novel had me hooked from the very beginning. I loved the plot and it kept me on the edge of my seat as I read through the chapters. I definitely recommend this one.

Jules use to be a therapist, and in one night her perfect suburban life is gone when she crashes her car into the icy lake.  She was on her way home after her son's practice and this night she was doing a favor for another mother, and giving her son a ride home.  Jules is able to save one, but it's not her son.  This sends her reeling, as any mother would do.   She is forever changed and struggles with her own loss.  She finds herself in the middle of an investigation.

Amber is the mother of the surviving son, Isaac, she is trying hard to figure out what has changed Isaac so much after this accident.  When Isaac vanishes, she feels that Jules has a major part in this.  Afterall, her son survived and Jule's son did not.  Amber, feeling that the police won't listen to her motherly instincts about Jules, sets out to find out the truth of what has happened to her son.  She questions everyone, even her husband.

First off, let's just say I love all of Lucinda Berry's books.  I have always had a deep interest in psychology, so her books are always interesting for me.  

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Mercer for an ecopy in exchange for an honest review.

This was middle of the road for me.

 I love Lucinda Berry's perspective as a psychologist that she brings to every one of her novels, and that was my favorite part about this one as well. The idea of a therapist being psychoanalyzed is perfection. But I wanted more of the novel to back up the twist. It could have "gone there" like Saving Noah and The Perfect Child did, but for me it lacked focus and that visceral forbidden feeling that I come to look for from this author. 

The pacing, however, was great, the multiple perspectives kept it moving along. I think Lucinda does best when she writes from the perspective of children. I would have like a POV from Isaac in this one, even though he wasn't a child, it could have added my connection to the story.

This book was quite the ride! Lucinda Berry knows how to throw twists and make readers question everything they think they know! I was impressed with how much Ms. Berry packed into this slim novel. The storyline starts with a car accident and a mother, Jules, who saves one boy in her car, but not her own son. The survivors guilt bonds Jules with the boy she does save, however, it bonds them in a strange way and as readers we are left to question their relationship. Although Isaac's parents do not question the relationship at all! They know they do not want Isaac around Jules. But Isaac's parents have problems of their own each keeping secrets about Isaac. I was immersed it in the story and wanted to see how things played out. I do wish Isaac's POV had been included, I think it would have made the ending smoother. But overall, I definitely recommend this one!

While this book started out slow, it did pick up but got weird. I had no choice but to keep reading as I had to see where this all led. Turned out to be an interesting story and outcome.
Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas and Mercer and the Author Lucinda Berry for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow was this book quite a ride! It kept me on my toes and around each corner I was reeling for more. The story was unique with its plot and twists and pulled me in from page one. Reflecting on the end, I could see a sequel being written and it being just as twisty. The author did a fabulous job with character development and really made it hard for me to put the book down at times. Overall, I enjoyed this read and will selfishly hope for a sequel so I can see what this next chapter holds for Jules.

Off the Deep End by Lucinda Berry is a psychological thriller about what happens when a mother crashes her car into a lake, and she ends up rescuing her son's classmate and losing her son.  Jules rescues Isaac, but then he ends up disappearing ten month later.  Is she involved?  Or he is a victim of a serial killer?  This book truly went "off the deep end" and not in a good way.  The author went too far with some of the reveals, and so this book was kind of icky to me.  Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

This book is aptly named since that’s just what this novel did towards the end….go off the deep end. This book was a “what happened to the missing youth” story then turned into something sick and twisted. I literally felt sick to my stomach when the book ended. This was not my cup of tea but the writing was good and it kept me reading. It may be a while before I would read another book by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer Publishing for the chance to read this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 
This is my second book by this author and the second one I haven’t been able to finish. I’ve had this ARC for about 3 months (around there) and I’m only 30% through it. I just think I’m not vibing with this author. No dis to the author because the writing isn’t bad, I just don’t think it’s for me. I read a Goodreads review spoiler and kind of glad I did and didn’t waste my time trying to finish this. The eye rolls I would’ve done would’ve given me a migraine. I can understand now why there’s so many mixed reviews on the ending.

I was excited to read Off The Deep End because it takes place in Minnesota, well sadly, that is about about all it has going for it, I really dislike writing bad reviews, but since this is an e-arc and I am required to write a review, let’s just say this book wasn’t for me, I hope others enjoy it, I did not. 

Thank you NetGalley for the review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

From a genre point-of-view, this book is a psychological thriller, but from a mom's point-of-view, it's a horror. The title is absolutely perfect. In a car accident where a car "goes off the deep end" into a lake (a personal nightmare of mine), the mother saves her son's friend but is not able to save her son. She then mentally "goes off the deep end" and spirals into a dark depression - quite understandably! Then 10 months later, the boy she did rescue vanishes. So to recap, a mother loses her son, and another mother has her son go missing - two of a mothers' absolute worst nightmares. See... horror!

This book has a lot of psychological stuff to unpack which is one of the reasons I love Lucinda Berry's books so much. As a former psychologist she is so knowledgeable, and she brings that knowledge into her novels. This book is a really good look into the dark side of mental illness, and what grief can do to people.

⭐️⭐️ Off the Deep End by Lucinda Berry

This book has been praised all over BookTok and I couldn’t wait to read it. It was not one of my favorite Lucinda Berry books. 

Jules is driving home with her son Gabe and another boy Issac when she crashes into a frozen pond. She escapes with who she thought was her son but ends up being the other boy. She loses her mind, does some very irrational things, and begins grooming Isaac. Isaac goes missing. Isaac’s parents, Amber and Mark…well…I don’t really know what they’re doing. The police…well…aren’t very smart.

The writing was simplistic. I felt like I was being told what was happening rather than experiencing good story telling. Because of this I just really didn’t care. And the ending, which could have really been mind-blowing, just wasn’t. I thought every character was flat, selfish, demented, annoying, and downright insufferable. Nearly every thought and action made little sense. The most confusing actions were on the part of Isaac’s parents. He was missing, suspected of being kidnapped by a serial killer, and they were acting as if he just went to the mall and was late for curfew. They were not acting even close to what I would expect parents to act if they’re child was missing and may end up murdered! Everything about this was just wrong. 

Amber’s decisions both before and after Isaac went missing were questionable. I felt as if she was so concerned with what Jules was doing and being “right” about everything, that she lost sight of the fact that her SON WAS MISSING AND POSSIBLY KIDNAPPED BY A SERIAL KILLER! The father just seemed disconnected and not too concerned that his SON WAS MISSING AND POSSIBLY KIDNAPPED BY A SERIAL KILLER! Why were these parents not scared out of their minds!?!? 

There were so many unresolved issues. <spoiler> How in the world would Isaac ever be able to be out of jail? Why are we not delving way more into the fact that Jules is pregnant - how it happened and why? Isaac wore a bright yellow coat and got away? Where is Jules’ husband--they never divorced--he should be somewhere in all of this? What happened to the serial killer? I also need more information about the other kids involved. </spoiler>

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this title for review.

Read this book and loved it as always. Lucinda Berry is the queen of thrillers.

I got to interview the author on my Sleep When I'm Dead book club live show on my YouTube channel and it was amazing to get to know the author and how her mind works with writing. 

I will say this was not my favorite by Lucinda Berry but I still overall liked it. At first, I thought the last 25% turned in a crazy direction but after I sat with it, I believe the author did an amazing job at showing how life can have crazy and unexpected events. 

I also loved the "trauma bonding' aspect of it. Lucinda Berry always teaches me things from books and I love that. 

To hear my full thoughts and also the interview with Lucinda Berry, check out the live show link below. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2nNfVHrVeY&t=806s

Off The Deep End by Lucinda Berry was a page-turner! Lucinda’s writing keeps you completely hooked from beginning to end as always. She’s such an incredible author, every one of her books is a four-star read. You cannot go wrong with picking any of her books to read but one of my absolute favorites is The Perfect Child.

Therapist-turned-stay-at-home mom Jules Hart’s idyllic suburban life shatters when she crashes her car into an icy lake. Her son and another teenage boy plunge into the water with her, but Jules can only manage to save one—the wrong one.

Reeling from the death of her son, Jules spirals into a violent and unstable mental state. Ten months after the accident, she’s still trying to reckon with the fact that she rescued Isaac Greer, another woman’s child, when Isaac suddenly vanishes.

Jules finds herself at the center of a massive police investigation. While she harbors her own dangerous secrets, Jules is adamant that she didn’t take Isaac. But then who did? Is Isaac the victim of a dangerous killer who’s been targeting boys in the Midwest? Or is someone else pulling the strings in this deadly game?

Off The Deep End is out now!

This was a very good book. It was also my first time reading this author. I will definitely read more of her work. I really liked the story from two different sides of the plot. There were quite a few surprises and twists.

I always enjoy books by Lucinda Berry. She takes me inside the minds of both victims and assailants. This to me was one that makes you understand what a child goes through who almost died and was bullied most of his life. Even with a very loving family he was a troubled young man. My heart broke for him and I would never have thought I would feel that way under this situation. After what he did. I usually only see the meanness. The thoughtlessness. The anger. But finally I see the mental part. The useless feelings that a child this young had to be feeling to do what he did. 

I had so many feelings reading this book that it's hard to describe them all. I felt sad, lost, anger, and ultimately fear. When Jules's car careens off the road into the icy waters little does she know what twist her life is about to take. She's a strong woman. A psychologist. A person who helps others. But she is first and foremost a mother. A loving and caring wife and mother. Her life spins out of control quickly when her car takes this deadly plunge. When she realizes that her son is dead and her neighbor's son is alive. That she saved the wrong son. She saved Issac instead of Gabe. 

Amber is Issac's mother. Her life is about to change also. In so many ways. So many sad and very scary ways. I didn't much like Amber but I do understand that as a mother you will do anything and I mean anything for your child. Her and her husband Mark get the scare of a lifetime when their son, who already survived a horrific wreck, goes missing. It's the same MO as other young teen boys who have previously been abducted. The police are working hard to find out what happened. Even questioning Jules who Amber is adamant has him or had somehow taken him. Or is just hiding him. Amber makes some pretty stupid choices but again I understand. It's her child. Jules has lost her mind. 

This book keeps you on the edge of your seat. Keeps you wondering what happened to Issac. Who has him. What is his and Jules's relationship. What secrets are Mark and Amber keeping. What secrets did Issac have that he could not share with his parents. Other than he was suppose to die the night of the wreck and he didn't. He survived. 

This is a twisted story. It's filled with a lot. It will have you wondering about certain things and have you tearing up. It had me second guessing myself about things that I always thought I knew about. That I always thought I felt a certain way about. You'll have to read it to know what I'm talking about. I don't do spoilers if I can help it and I can.... 

The saddest line I've read this year is: MY SON IS A MURDERER.. That line almost did me in.

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

4.5 stars. It's a gutwrencher in places so be warned.