I had high hopes for The Arrangement. Unfortunately, my hopes were not met. The Arrangement is predictable, which is a deadly sin in my book. I could not engage with the main character - she came off as childish in her thinking as well as her words. Thank you Netgalley for the copy.

Mirqanda Rijks continues to be hit or miss to me and this one was a miss. The story itself was actually really predictable. My main problem, though, was pure dislike for the main character. She was just so annoying. Her inner monologue sounded like she was 15. And she was just so naive and, at times, flat out stupid. I don’t want to feel the need to yell at the MC. If I don’t hear the words “Sugar Daddy” or “Sugar Baby” again, I will die happy. The narrator made some interesting choices, too. Just no hits and a lot of misses.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book started off on a slow note and was difficult to get into at first, but as the story went on it became more thrilling. The thought that you don’t know your friends and family as well as you thought is a creepy and intriguing thing to think about. The way Grace had to find out about what her daughters life was truly like was thrilling.

Thank you Netgalley for this audio edition of The Arrangement by Miranda Rijks.

When Abi goes on a fun vacation to Cape Town with her friends, her mother Grace would never have guessed that she wouldn't come home. But what initially seems like a random crime quickly becomes suspicious as Grace learns more and more about her daughter that she never knew. But Grace has her own demons, particularly with alcohol. Will she be able to stay lucid enough to solve her daughter's murder? And can she trust those closest to her to help?

Rijks! You crafty artist of words and stories, you did it again! I'm telling you guys, this gal knows how to write a thriller! Well fleshed out, great twists, good character development. I have no notes, except, what a fun murder mystery!

Ya know, this just wasn’t my cup of tea. It took me quite awhile to get through and I found myself not only not caring how it ended but just putting off reading it because I wasn’t a fan.

Can I see how people would like this book? Yeah absolutely. Why don’t I like it? It’s just a big cliché and I’m not here for it. I will say that the audio version was decent. I wasn’t a fan of the way the narrator did the voices but that happens.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for this one!

(4.5 stars rounded up to 5)
How far would you go to find justice for your daughter? How far would you dig to find answers?
That is the question Grace has to answer when her oldest was murdered while on vacation. She stopped at nothing to find answers for her daughter. Even after uncovering some really unfavorable information about her, she still pressed on.

That's not to say Grace was always likeable. I found myself talking to her, saying “girl no!” or “stop it!” She was frustrating to say the LEAST! But honestly, you can't fault her with everything she's going through.

I really enjoyed this book. I knocked off half a star because I guessed who was 'it'. But I'm a huge fan of Miranda Rijks. I honestly think all of her books are gold!

Thank you to netgalley & Dreamscape Media for the ARC audiobook
Thank you to Miranda Rijks for yet another amazing book
Thank you to Jilly Bond for lending your voice to these characters, even if I yelled at you a lot.

4.25 stars for the audiobook.
This is one of those books that makes me want to keep my daughter in my sights forever! Can I home-school for college??
A parent's worse nightmare is when their child dies before them, but when the child is murdered it's just all that much more difficult to grasp. The murder is solved pretty quickly, but Grace is not buying it and starts looking into Abi's death herself. She uncovers some things that I bet Abi never wanted her mother to find out about.

This was grief driven, very fast paced and a quick psychological read. I've read plots similar, but I did not see the ending coming at all.

Jilly Bond did an okay job narrating for 8 hours, easy to follow at 2x. I wasn't in love with her male voices, but she sounded like a frantic mother at all the right times. If I could go back I probably would have rather read it.

This is my 4th book by Miranda and my favorite so far. Looking forward to the next one.

This book was just okay in my opinion. I really didn't connect with a lot of the characters. I did like the beginning. I thought it started off pretty well. I just don't think this book for me.

I was really hoping I would love this but I did find it very slow paced and quite boring at times. Story line was decent a mother mourning her daughter and trying to figure out why and how this all happened . It just fell very flat. I did finish it but just was not my cup of tea

Grace's daughter Abi is murdered while vacationing in Cape Town, Grace is determined to find out who killed her daughter and the reasoning why. Grace starts her own covert investigation and finds a nice Dr that her daughter knew, they work together to start reviewing information. Grace is warned to back off, then things start going wrong everywhere. the pace is good and keeps the reader engaged once the story is laid out. The author's characterizations were strong and the plot was compelling. This is a quick read and could be finished in one sitting.

Many thanks to the author / Inkubator / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological thriller.

This book was less of a thriller and more of a story of a mother's grief. The answer to the mystery was apparent within the first 5-10% of the book. Unfortunately, getting to the end of the book was a boring slog.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

Enjoyment: 3.5
Total rating: 3.79

Miranda Rijks has quickly become one of my favourite thriller authors for engrossing, one-sitting books that are easy to read and always satisfying.

Even though The Arrangement has been my least favourite one so far, I still had a lot of fun listening to it.

Jilly Bond's narration kept me interested and helped me connect to the main narrator, thus enjoying the book.


Disclaimer: In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to the publishers and NetGalley for providing a copy of The Arrangement

4 (?) stars

Okay, well, this book was a lot. The protagonist experiences an incredible number of traumatic events over a short period of time, so it’s really no wonder that she ends up coping in less-than-ideal ways. The writer introduced several potential suspects for the murder, and the ultimate culprit wasn’t who I was expecting, so that’s a plus. There’s also something about pieces of the writing style/characterization, though, that irked me a bit. Even so, the story itself was still good entertainment value.

How well do you really know those closest to you? For the main character, Grace, in this book she realizes not well enough. Grace, a single mom to two girls, in heartbroken when her daughter, Abi, is murdered while on vacation in South Africa. This grief only intensifies when she realizes Abi was on a sugar baby website after her death. Though the cops claim they solved Abi's murder, Grace can't help but know there is more to the story. As Grace tries to do her daughter justice, she falls back into bad habits, and loses trust in her friend's. Nothing will stop her in her plight to discover who Abi's killer really was.

I listened to the audiobook of "The Arrangement," as my work out companion this week and thought it was the perfect story for that. It isn't so fast paced you must be only focused on the story, and I found the narrator quite likeable. While similar stories to this one have been told, I enjoyed the twist ending, and the way the author thoughtfully wrapped up Abi's story. A mother's love never ends, and I enjoyed that being one of the focal themes of the story from beginning to end. Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was fine. It was a fast read and it held my attention enough. There wasn't anything particularly memorable about it and I'm sure I'll forget that I even read it in a few weeks.

I was initially interested by the premise of sugar babies because I've always been interested in this idea - no sex, but just arm candy for money. Sure, some of those relationships do turn sexual, but from what I understand, there are many that are just all-look-no-touch. Reading a book that features sugar baby/daddy relationships intrigued me.

There's not much else to write. This was okay, the mystery was fine, nothing remarkable.

Full disclosure: I LOVE Miranda Rijks writing. She is able to pull you in and keep you engrossed until the end. The Arrangement was no exception. I enjoyed the unraveling of the story. I will say, a couple of the twists I saw coming, but I still couldn't wait for them to be revealed and to see how the characters would handle things.

My only real complaint is the narrator, Jilly Bond. I loved her voice for the main characters (Grace and Abby), but every other character's voice was masculine, which was distracting and so confusing.

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

I want to start by saying that I really like Miranda Rijks' novels. That being said, this was my least favorite of all that I've read from her. It was good. It held my interest throughout, but I just didn't find myself as invested in the characters as in some of her past books. I really didn't like Grace. She was an awful protagonist. I understand that she was a grieving mother, but her actions were so ridiculously questionable throughout that it made it a little unrealistic for me. That, and I saw the twist coming from a mile away. It was well written and a good story, but I just didn't enjoy it in the same way.

And I think part of the reason I didn't enjoy it as much was the awful narrator. Her voices were terrible. I thought she did decently as Grace, but her voices for every other character were over the top and took away from the story. For these reasons I can only give this book 3 stars. I definitely still recommend it, but skip the audiobook and stick to print.

Grace Woods is divorced, but thankfully she has her two closest friends Natasha and Ruth because when she finds out her oldest daughter Abby was murdered in South Africa she’s going to need their support. Even when she falls off the wagon and starts drinking and smoking again they are there and are so understanding. She finds out some devastating secrets her daughter who is keeping and it leads to questions she’s desperate to find the answers to and she’ll get help from the most unlikely of places. It’s what she finds out when she goes to these places that she is ill equipped for. I love this authors books, so much so after I read stay awake by her I went looking to join her newsletter and I must admit she did not disappoint with the arrangement. No matter how much you guess add the endings to her books you’ll never guess… At least I couldn’t and I am usually pretty good at that. I also thought the narrator did an awesome job and hope she reads more books for Miranda ricks in the future. A total five star listen! I received this book from net Gally and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily. Please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate most of my review but all opinions are definitely my own.

Thank you NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Miranda Rijks for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I am a huge fan of thrillers that keep you guessing throughout and Miranda Rijks is always someone I can count on to give us just that. The Arrangement was a storyline I have never read and was a great mystery, too. I tried guessing (incorrectly) what had really happened to Grace's daughter Abi over and over and still didn't figure it out until the very end. And even then, I didn't figure it all out. I am never disappointed by a Miranda Rijks thriller and this was no exception!

#TheArrangement #MirandaRijks ##NetGalley #DreamscapeMedia #InkubatorBooks #JillyBond

This is a review of the advanced listening copy of this book.

Grace is a mother who is trying to deal with the news that her beautiful, 21-year-old daughter, Abi, was murdered while on vacation in Cape Town, South Africa.

Riddled with grief, she tries to find answers. She finds support in her friends, Ruth and Natasha, and in her ex-husband Bill.

To her sorrow, she comes across a journal and files that indicate that her Abi was an escort, whose justification was that she wanted to experience life to the fullest and pay down her student loans.

Following in the trail of her daughter, she meets the men who knew her.

It is an interesting story as she figures out motives and motivations.

Someone has also started threatening her. Her house was set on fire and she finds herself battling her demons, as she sinks into the embrace of her old nemesis, alcohol.

Can she figure out the truth before it is too late? Whom can she trust?

I enjoyed the story and the narration by Jilly Bond.