This is closer to a 2.5 but I can't commit to rounding up to a 3 because it just didn't work for me. There felt like so much grey space in the book, things that didn't connect, that weren't realistic, and even a few "um, NO!" moments for me. I feel like the plot, and over the top characters, went astray and were never brought back to a reasonable place. Based on my 5 star for a previous book from this author, I am really hoping this was a one off.

Returning home from a basketball game one night with her son and a friend, Jules Hart hits a patch of ice and slides into the lake. Waking underwater in panic and fear, she grabs the hand reaching for hers and escapes to the surface, not realizing that it's not her son until it's too late. Jules descends into grief, not wanting to live without her son, and ends up in a psych hospital. Why does she keep insisting that she killed her son when it was a tragic accident? And why does the other boy, Isaac Greer, insist that he should have been the one to die? When Isaac disappears ten months later, everyone believes it's the serial killer called the Dog Snatcher that's been targeting adolescent boys. All the clues fit...but Isaac's mother Amber believes that Jules knows more about his disappearance than she's telling.
Told in alternating chapters between Jules' sessions with her therapist and Amber's reactions to the accident, her sons grief, and the investigation into his disappearance, I thought the storyline was interesting and unique. The pacing was good, not giving away too much at a time. And the ending was such a shock!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was definitely off the deep end. The deeper I got into the book, the more I recoiled in shock and disgust.
There are a lot of issues the book covers: suicide, depression, guilt, bullying, and extreme delusions.
I’ve read thousands of books and I can say Juliet is one of the most despicable, distasteful, and disturbed characters I’ve encountered. She is oily, sneaky, and just disgusting. Her sessions with her counselor were sickening.
Read this book at your own risk.

Off the Deep End begins with a horrifying accident. Juliet (Jules) Hart is a therapist living in an affluent suburb of Minneapolis with her husband and teenage son Gabe. When she drives Gabe and fellow teammate and neighbor Isaac Greer home from a basketball game, their car plunges into the local lake when she tries to avoid hitting a deer and skids into black ice. Jules believes the person she is working to save is Gabe, but she actually ends up saving Isaac. The death of Gabe, a top student and athlete, sends Jules into a severe mental decline. And Isaac, an unpopular boy who has had to deal with bullying, develops survivor's guilt which creates a deep emotional impact on his life. While Jules deals with her mental state, Isaac is reported missing and is believed to be the latest victim of a serial killer. But the police, as well as Isaac's mother, are looking at Jules as a possible suspect in his disappearance.

Author (Doctor) Lucinda Berry is a former clinical psychologist and leading researcher in childhood trauma, so this highly emotional book is an authentic one in terms of mental illness and PTSD. The overall premise had me very intrigued, but the story was just too intense and disturbing. While I read many dark books, the loss and severe trauma experienced by the characters was more than I could handle. I stuck with it as I wanted to know how it all came together but the book was simply too sad a story for me. It's a well-written book so perhaps you might want to tackle it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest book by Lucinda Berry - 4 stars!

Jules Hart is driving her son, Gabe, and a neighbor boy, Isaac, home from a basketball game when she swerves to avoid a deer and plunges her car into an icy lake. She is able to rescue only one boy - Isaac. Wracked with guilt, Jules mentally spirals downward. Isaac is also struggling with survivor guilt and then suddenly disappears. His mom, Amber, can't help but think that Jules is somehow responsible. Or is it a serial killer who is targeting teenage boys?

I am a fan of Berry's writings and have thoroughly enjoyed her books. I enjoyed this one as well, except the ending was a bit much. The story is told from the viewpoints of both Jules and Amber - Jules' through conversations with her therapist. This shows both mothers grappling with the aftermath of the accident and the resultant trauma on their families.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this arc.

Lucinda Berry has become a new favorite author of mine in 2022. Earlier last year I read The Perfect Child and was really impressed by the author’s writing style. Dr. Lucinda Berry is a former psychologist and a researcher of childhood trauma. Her novels go deep into the human psyche, reflecting her professional background.

Off the Deep End is no different. It kept me hooked from the beginning and it follows a therapist who was involved in a car accident. The protagonist was driving her son and another teenager from her son’s school when the car went into an icy lake. She managed to get out of the car before it completely drowned into the lake and saves only one of the boys, the one that was not her son.

I liked that the book depicted such realistic tragedy. As of in other books of the same author, the reader will find an exploration of mental illness, loss, and childhood trauma. The character development is fantastic. They are complex, layered, and some of them unlikeable. The direction the book took was completely unexpected, and I loved it. The end is heartbreaking. Highly recommend this book.

Therapist Jules Hart literally goes off the deep end. In a horrible accident, she crashes her car into an icy lake with her son and his friend. She only manages to save one of them, and it isn’t her son. Jules spirals into violent depression and becomes mentally unstable. But she is in a mental facility when Issac, her son’s friend that she rescued, suddenly goes missing. Most people think he is the latest victim of a serial killer that is targeting young boys, but his mother Amber thinks otherwise. She thinks Jules took him and nothing can convince her otherwise.

I love psychological thrillers! I thought this was interesting to see so much of what was going on in Jules’ brain as she processed (or maybe she didn’t really process) her trauma. I thought it was beneficial in that regard to get Jules’ perspective, as well as Amber’s as she was living through her own nightmare of her son disappearing. It’s really hard to review this without spoilers, so I will just say I wish there was a little more explanation or groundwork laid toward the end. Otherwise, I thought this was an easy read that kept me turning pages quickly. The psychological aspect added to the thrill.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for the ARC! “Off the Deep End” is out January 10th!

This review will be shared to my Instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly 😊

"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."
Ok.... sounds great, right? A mother's worst nightmare. And then....
"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?"
I thought this book sounded really good from this description, but then after the accident, is just kind of devolved. It went back and forth between Jules (who is now living in a mental health facility) having sessions with her therapist, and the other chapters are in the viewpoint of Isaac's mom, who is spiralling out of control, convinced that Jules is responsible somehow for Isaac's disappearance. It just sort of plods along there for almost the remainder of the book. I did say almost. The last few chapters you are hit with a twist that is completely out of left field, and almost feels like it belongs in another book entirely. I am normally a big fan of this author's books, but this one just was not my favorite.

Off the Deep End started out very strong for me. My jaw actually dropped in the first chapter. I continued to enjoy this book, like all Lucinda Berry's books, but I did find myself wondering why the focus shifted so much to a serial killer instead of the accident.

I also did not find myself invested in either one of the mothers in this story. At times, they did things that seemed somewhat unrealistic and repetitive. Even with these issues, I did still find myself anxious to find out what was going to happen next.

Overall, this story was still a good book and I am very thankful to NetGalley for an ARC of this story for an honest review. I will continue to read Lucida Berry's books. My favorite to date by her is Finding Jacob.

🌊 • REVIEW

Off The Deep End by Lucinda Berry

rating: 4⭐️
format: digital arc
length: 271 pages
pub day: january 10, 2023

Lucinda Berry is becoming an auto-buy author for me. Whenever I am in need of a fast-paced thriller, I can always count on her books.

Juliet Hart makes a terrible mistake one day. While driving her son, Gabe, and her neighbors son, Isaac, home, she slips on a patch of ice, causing her vehicle to slide and crash into the water nearby. Stuck under water, Jules grabs the first person she feels and fights her way to the top, only to find out that the kid she grabbed was not her son, and later learns that her own son didn't make it. Jules and Isaac both hold so much guilt from this accident, leading them to so many decisions that no one else can understand. When Isaac goes missing, his mom is convinced it's Jules and won't stop until she finds her son.

I really enjoyed the pacing of this book and the way the chapters were structured. We went back and forth between Jules POV, which was from therapy sessions, talking to a forensic psychologist, to the POV of Isaac's mom, Amber, as she goes through the heartbreak of dealing with a missing child.

I didn't see the ending coming at all, but it felt so real. Probably partially because the author is a former clinical psychologist. You could feel the pain and emotion from these characters. Please check the CW's before reading this as it may touch a little close to home for certain people.

Thank you to @netgalley and @amazonpublishing for an advanced copy of Berry's upcoming book. I can't wait to make my way through her backlist.

🩶

After losing her son in a tragic accident, former therapist, Jules Hart, finds herself as the patient after being placed in a psychiatric home. She has befriended Isaac, her son’s classmate that survived the accident. When Isaac goes missing, everyone things a serial killer has taken him, but his mother, Amber, thinks Jules has something to do with his disappearance.

I was hooked on this book right from chapter one. It started with a bang, and I didn’t want to put it down. Then the story took an unexpected turn and veered from a storyline I was invested in to something that just didn’t work for me. It went way off the deep end (pun intended) in my opinion.

The story is told from Amber’s perspective after Isaac disappears and Jules’ point of view as she’s being interrogated by a therapist. Neither of these ladies are very likable and they’re both unreliable, and there was an immaturity to both of them that I didn’t expect from grown women. With that said, I still needed to know what happened to Isaac. I wish the ending went a different way because this book was on its way to to being a 5-star read for me.

Lucinda Berry is a former clinical psychologist so she has an understanding of the human mind which she brings into her books. I’ve been a fan of her books for years so was disappointed this one didn’t work for me. I definitely recommend reading some of her older books and maybe skipping this one.

Thank you Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I had no idea who Lucinda Berry was before I picked up her book and trust me now I know exactly who she is. I am never sleeping on her again.

This book was different and it started very strong that it was easy to stay up reading it. The book is every mother's nightmare or in Jules's case the beginning of the end.. Jules life takes a turn for the worse when she crashes into a lake but saves neighbors son' while her son dies. The survivor starts visiting her in the hospital and ends up disappearing . The parents of the boy (Isaac) blame Jules for his disappearance . But nothing ever is what it seems. Go buy it! Go read it!

Thank you Thomas &Mercer for my complimentary copy and all opinions expressed are entirely my own

First off, I’m a big Lucinda Berry fan. I love how she is not afraid to write about taboo and dark topics. This book was no exception.

It was an emotionally gripping and very engaging thriller. The premise of this story is every parent’s worst nightmare - a car accident resulting in the loss of a child. As a mother, I found this even more chilling reading the details and imagining myself in that same position. Horrible.

The plot delivered and twisted into a story of deceit and untold secrets. The only hesitation I have with this story is that I felt the twist and ending came a bit out of left field and would have enjoyed more exploration (another POV of Isaac maybe) of what caused that explosive and aberrant conclusion.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and of course Lucinda Berry for the ARC of this book! I am so grateful to have gotten a chance to read this early.

Hurrying to get home Juliet "Jules" Hart is driving home but the roads are icy, she’s driving around Falcon Lake in southern Minnesota. Her teenage son Gabe and their teenage neighbor Isaac, don't notice the deer leaping in front of their car. Jules slams on the breaks and car goes off the road into the frozen lake. Jules grabs the hand of a boy and brings him to safety that’s when she realizes it's Isaac not Gabe. Gabe dies and Jules and Isaac are left picking up the pieces and living with survivors guilt. Fast forward and we now find that Jules is now in a psychiatric ward being interviewed by a forensic psychologist, he’s trying to figure out the *special* relationship she now has with Isaac. Isaacs family has a restraining order against her but Isaac is missing and his mother feels like Jules knows more than what she’s telling. All the while we have a possible serial killer grabbing young boys, could this be who took Isaac. As we begin to peel back the layers we uncover a twist and my jaw dropped. Please be aware of triggers, gun violence.

I love Lucinda Berry...her books always have so much going on and keep you thinking.
This one was fantastic .. started off with a bang and ended with a bang. Just a overall fantastic read.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

Lucinda Berry writes a really good mystery story in her latest book, "Off the Deep End". One woman, a therapist turned suspect in kidnapping has a mysterious relationship with the victim, now missing and suspected of being kidnapped by a serial killer. Another woman, the young man's mother, deeply hates the other woman for her relationship with her son and suspects she is involved until she overhears other information that leads this book on a twisty trail of suspects and relationships. Great book for those who love mystery and thrillers. The characters are interesting and the plot is unique and timely. Thanks to #NetGalley#OfftheDeepEnd for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Former therapist 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 the other boy.

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.

I wanted to like this. Really. This is not the one for me. The characters are all insufferable. Jules made my skin crawl the whole book. 😩 I was left with too many questions and it just didn't come all together for me. This comes out January 10th. You may love it. I will try other Lucinda Berry books.

This book was a fast paced, easy read and I wanted to love it but I just couldn’t connect to any of the characters. The two main female characters are awful and honestly the plot of the book was just brutal.

3.5 Stars.

This story changed so many times for me. What started out with a horrible accident and grieving mother, went into survivors guilt, which went into something else and left me scratching my head at a final revelation.

I did enjoy the psychological background and the explanation of the mental health issues. Characters weren’t very likable but were understandable in the situations. I could see people doing this to protect their loved ones. One part of the ending left me feeling cold. It was well written, and the authors knowledge was front and center.

Thanks to Ms. Berry, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

A novel that portrays how grief and anger can completely take over your life.
Lots of drama and secrets!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.