What would you do if your nephew tried to kill one of your children but ends up living with your family due to the untimely death of his parents? Herein lies the dilemma of Gil and Matthew. Told mostly from Gil's point of view, he is an unreliable narrator with some pathology but is he right? Told unsparingly and bluntly.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC!

Thank you to Random House for the ARC - Out 21 March

A man’s sister is killed. His family is forced to take in their newly orphaned cousin. Who is a millionaire. And a hottie. And…maybe a murderous psychopath?

Psychological thrillers can be pretty hit or miss for me, which leads me to rarely pick up the genre unless something really gripping comes my way. This new release from Oates was a great bite-sized reminder of how transporting unreliable narrators and spoiled rich con-men can be when I give them the chance.


Read If You
Want a thriller you can read in one-sitting
Are waiting for Timothee Chalamet to have his ‘Talented Mr. Ripley’ moment
Ever had a professor become UNHINGED during a class

A Flaw In The Design is an absolute thriller on so many levels! With psychological twists and turns and characters who somehow grab your heart and then break it, the story is filled with one shocking revelation after another in a gripping story which will carry you through to the last page.

Gil and his wife Molly are hesitatingly awaiting the arrival of Gil’s nephew, Matthew. Gil’s late sister and brother-in-law, who died in a tragic car accident in New York City had made Gil the guardian of Matthew. Since he is seventeen, he is coming to live with Gil, his wife and their two girls in Vermont until he goes off to college next year.

But the last time Gil’s family had actually seen Matthew was many years prior he tried to hurt one of his girls, allegedly. This heinous act caused a terrible rift between himself and his sister with Gil begging her to get Matthew help.

So as Gil waits for Matthew’s plane to land, he can’t help but feel this is a bad idea. Certainly, Matthew is much older than he was when the incident occurred, but he can’t help but feel a lack of trust in the boy and have a great deal of fear in being able to protect his own family. Although Matthew became very wealthy when his parents died, and Gil will be paid generously monthly for taking Matthew in, something still does not feel right about the situation.

Seriously, what could go wrong? He would only be at their house a few short months before he heads to college and be on his own.

When Matthew arrives, he seems to fit right into the family. As a matter of fact, Molly and the girls are taken with his charm. No mention is made about what happened. Gil’s senses are heightened to make sure Matthew is not being sneaky. Gil also finds out Matthew who is still in high school will be in his writing workshop at the college he works at for credits toward his degree.

Then Gil starts to see a few flaws in Matthew’s personality. He notices he’s beginning to go outside to make secret cell phone calls. He notices a difference in the way he is behaving in front of his daughters and especially his wife Molly. Everything in him feels Matthew is hiding something. But what could it be? When he mentions this to Molly, she seems to think it’s Gil’s imagination.

Through more snooping, Gil discovers perhaps Matthew is not the saint he is trying to portray, but the bad seed he had seemed. And then Matthew writes a story in the workshop which stuns and confirms Gil’s worst fears. It’s all been an act. But when Gil confronts Matthew, he is able to turn the tables and make Gil look like the bad person.

It is now up to Gil to find a way to prove Matthew is vey dangerous. He must be stopped before he can do any more harm than he already has. Because he will.

A Flaw In The Design is a fitting title, because in reality we all have flaws. Some more dangerous than others. The story reads like being on a roller coaster. There were so many emotions along the way. So much fear for the characters which we wanted to be protected. The ending? Well…flawless!

Thank you #NetGalley #RandomHouse #NathanOates #AFlawInTheDesign for the advanced copy.

Publication Date: March 21, 2023

Gil, a creative writing professor at Essex University in a lovely, quiet town in Vermont where he is living part of the American dream which he has always wanted with his beautiful and selfless wife along with their two daughters who Gil simply adores. The only things missing in Gil's life are the books he was supposed to have written alhthough he keeps working on and the never-ending need for more financial support due to the countless bills that continue to accumulate as the girl's keep getting older and the salary for a professor just isn't enough for the cost of living in today's world. Granted, they are not poor by any means but they just can't seem to get ahead of their many debts yet Gil is very happy and content with his beautiful family and home life and he's a smart man to recognize his many blessings. One afternoon Gil receives a call that shatters his existence informing him that his millionaire sister and brother-in-law have tragically died in a car accident that leaves him the sole legal guardian of their seventeen year old son, Matthew, along with an insurmountable amount of money paid to them as caregivers until Matthew has graduated college. Shocked to his core, Gil is beside himself with grief, fury and frustration over the news that Matthew will be living in his home with his family. Gil had not seen his sister (Sharon) and her family in over six years, not since the bitter fight over Gil accusing Matthew of intentionally causing harm (where she almost died) to his five-year old innocent daughter. Matthew had always been a spoiled, belligerent child who was quite toxic to be around but Sharon endlessly excused his behavior causing the boy to feel more entitled to his disregard of right and wrong.

At seventeen, Matthew is the picture of a well-bred, mannerly, handsome and highly intelligent young man that any person would be glad to know. How can this be the same child whom Gil had been harboring many grudges against? Is this even possible? Sure, people can change but there is absolutely not one particle of the boy bully who tore apart Gil's relationship with his sister. Now, Gil questions himself over and over about the wrongness of the boy then and now. Was Gil mistaken over Matthew's intent years ago and only saw the events in black & white where he exaggerated the terrifying event at that time because it was his own little daughter who was hurt and he couldn't see past his own feelings instead of recognizing that Matt was also only a child at the time and maybe Gil had been completely mistaken because of his own protective nature and fierce love of his precious child being injured. Can Gil objectively welcome this boy-man into being a part of their family or will the monetary payout be the only reason to take Matt in since all of their financial difficulties could be resolved almost overnight. With this type of thinking what does this make of Gil as an upstanding and conscientious person? Is Gil any better now than what he imagined Matthew to be all those years ago? Time will tell since Gil's family opens up to Matt and welcomes him into their hearts and lives. Although silent, Gil refuses to let go of the past and the grudge grows heavier with each day that passes even though Matt passes each and every test of being trustworthy. Gil is obsessed with trying to trap Matthew into a lie and now he causing rifts and imbalances within his own family that is now starting to grow out of control and alienating the ones closest to his heart. What does Gill want to prove? As the days turn into weeks Gil's obsession never ends and Matt seems to be tuned in but what does that mean? The family home has turned into a simmering pot of tension, suppressed negative feelings, a sense of claustrophobia threatening to boil over into a burning abyss that no-one could have imagined leaving behind scars and heartbreak which cannot be healed once the damage takes place.

An intriguing and frightening look into the mind of a husband and father obsessed with being correct about a child he had once deemed as evil growing up into a seemingly wholesome and upstanding young man. I think this would be a great book for a group discussion read to seek out many different variables against Gil versus Matthew. There are so many intricate dynamics working beneath the surface that one may not be aware of at first so don't read too quickly or you may miss some of the psychological nuances that seem simple at first but will carry heavyweight factors that aren't clearly seen. The storytelling and writing are so good. I cannot imagine how earth shattering it would be to be caught up in any type of obsession. This book shows how it can truly knock a man off his rocker but then you have to wonder what if the man was right to worry so and be crazed about all the what if's? The last quarter of the book was quite the cat chasing the mouse leading to a stunning climax that really bowled me over (in the best way). A truly great (head shrinker) psychological mystery following the path of what lies at the end of the Obsessive Brick Road.

I want to thank the publisher "Random House Publishing Group - Random House" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC which was a giftted book from the publisher in response to my request and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given this novel a rating of 4 SIMMERING AND OBSESSIVE 🌟🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!

This one is probably closer to a 3.5 for me. I feel like the build up was really good and the whole time it could have gone one of two ways - usually I can see it coming but this time it kept me guessing which I enjoyed. But the ending didn't tie things up enough for me and I wanted more. But it's definitely a page turner and I enjoyed it.

Gil has harbored resentment against his sister not only for her wealth after she married well but more importantly because she refused to recognize that her son Matthew caused an accident that harmed his own daughter. But now, she, along with her husband, are dead and Gil has been named guardian for Matthew, at least until he turns 18 in 7 months. You know Matthew has issues but he's doing his best to charm the family, especially Gil's wife Molly, and this only increases Gil's unease. It amps up more when Matthew enrolls in Gil's writing class and this tips Gil over into stalker world. Much of this takes place in Gil's head and while Matthew is certainly untrustworthy, Gil becomes unlikable. It's not as twisty as it could be but Oates did keep me guessing. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

3.5
First of all…I suggest you go into this pretty blind because if you read the synopsis…you’ve basically read the book. It always bothers me when too much is given away.

That said, I was entertained by the story and had to continue reading until the very end which ended with a bit of a stunner to make me satisfied yet also left me with a few questions!!

Gil is a professor with 2 daughters and a wife when his estranged sister and husband die in a catastrophic accident. Per the will their only son is to go live with Gil, should he accept. Gil isn’t overly enthralled with the idea of inviting his 17 year old nephew into his home considering the last time he saw him, 5 years previously, ended under very bad terms. But, he relents and accepts him to come live with them.

Then your story begins! Not an overly complicated plot, but one that makes you wonder what is true, who is honest, who is not? I are things being blown out of proportion? What would I do in these circumstances. Entertaining and enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the advance e-copy of this book.

This was an interesting cat and mouse story. Parts were extremely repetitive and I felt like I was rereading a chapter from earlier. Gil truly was his own worst enemy and some of his choices were mind-blowingly stupid. His background, once revealed, did allow some of his choices to make way more sense. As a naturally suspicious person, I have no clue how anyone would buy into Matthew's act. He was extremely unlikable (obviously) so I am not sure how he hoodwinked others so easily.

A Flaw in the Design, a psychological thriller had me turning the pages well into the night.

Gil and his wife are the newly appointed guardians of Matthew for the next 8 months.

Eight months what could go wrong.

Gil suspects what could go wrong as past experience with Matthew has him believing that as charming as Matthew is, there is more to him than meets the eye.

Psychopaths can often be charming.

Gil becomes more and more paranoid.

Matthew becomes more and more of a suspicious character.

A Flaw in the Design is well worth the read with a surprising ending. Loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group , Random House for a page turning read.

I stopped reading this book at 30%. The plot was slow and didn’t keep my interest. I also think this read was too dark for me at this time.
I have seen other reviews that really enjoyed this book so mine is a definite minority view.

A wealthy couple who die under mysterious circumstances, a troubled and dangerous son, Matthew who is sent to live with his uncle. Oh, and Matthew begins writing stories about not only his own parents death but the murder of his uncles own family!? This is a story I will eat up! I love a good domestic thriller with murder and a mysterious younger character like Matthew

This story is one that will take you on a wild ride and you will not want to put it down! The game played between Gil and Matthew is enthralling and captivating.. You will have so many questions at the end of each chapter and let me tell you, the theories will be flying around in your head!

I will definitely be on the lookout for more of Nathan Oates books because this one was great!

Thank you Random House and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

In a back and forth in time story, Gil is a late 40's professor living in a small, quaint town in Vermont with his wife Molly and their two daughters. One day Gil's world is turned upside down when he is notified that his only sister and her husband were killed in an auto accident and their only child, Matthew, aged 17, has been left to their care along with a healthy, monthly stipend to cover costs.

This is not an ideal undertaking. While, yes, Matthew is Gil's nephew, in flashbacks we learn that Matthew may have a dark side. Or is Gil looking back with a tainted view? Now Matthew is living under their roof, attending Gil's college where he teaches and causing subtle issues in the household.

As the story winds, back and forth, you start to wonder is Matthew that bad, or is Gil imaging things?

I think if I was in a different headspace, I would have enjoyed this book more. Right now, there is a lot on my plate so it took me a while to read this.

If you're in the mood for a slow burn, psychological read, then A Flaw in the Design may be of interest to you. I found the story really interesting, but definitely slower than I anticipated. I wanted more action, but this is one that really gets to you psychologically. It's evident really right from the start that Matthew seems to be either a psychopath or a sociopath, and I found that kept me in the story. I wanted to know how everything was going to unfold.

There were minor twists throughout, but the major ones really didn't happen toward the end. It's definitely a book you will feel the tension in, and build throughout.

Overall, an interesting read.
Thank you Random House and NetGalley for the eARC!

I love it when an author manages to present several points of view to his readers to throw you off the scent. But I must say I was hot on the author’s trail.

Seventeen-year old Matthew was robbed of his parents’ lives due to a tragic car accident. One would think after having suffered a tragic loss like that, the teen would be a basket case, but to everyone’s surprise, including his Uncle Gil, he didn’t seem phased by it at all.

In fact, Matthew didn’t seem to feel anything about the entire situation. It was like his parents’ death was an inconvenience to his life. Of all the guardians for Matthew to end up with, his mother wrote in her will that her brother, Gilbert Duggan, should take care of Matthew. When he first arrived at his uncle’s home, his cousins and aunt knew Matthew, but they didn’t really “know” Matthew. I’m sure some of you readers have family like that. They were related and that’s as far as it went.

Even though Gil wasn’t thrilled to have his nephew living with him and his family, the one good thing Matthew brought to the table was his fat pockets. Gil may be a struggling writer and college professor, but his sister hit pay dirt. Matthew was extremely wealthy, thanks to his parents. And since Gil’s sister named him as guardian in the will, he would receive a monthly stipend for his inconvenience. So, life wasn’t too bad having to take in his wealthy, alleged grief-stricken nephew.

Right as Matthew began settling into his new life with his uncle and family, he decided to take some creative writing courses at Uncle Gil’s school. Gil wasn’t too thrilled about having his nephew in his class. It was bad enough (or so you’d think) to have Matthew living with him, and now he’s invading his work space as well. So, what does Gil do? He charges his students with a creative writing exercise to help broaden their writing chops and when Matthew began reading the gruesome story he wrote, Gil became agitated and fear settled in. For you see, the story that Matthew wrote was it fiction or fact? And that is where this story takes off.

This was a very interesting story in how it played out. It reminds me of the type of terror like the novel Bird Box whereas you know something horrible is happening, but you can’t see exactly what it is and that’s what makes it even more terrifying. Was this book the type you'd be able to read in one setting as some reviews have suggested? For me, I’d say no because I found several sections of the book to be quite long and dragging in sections. It had fear in it because you couldn’t just figure out what exactly was going on, which I loved, but then it began driving me nuts because it was like, “enough, already” let’s get down to it!

Overall, this was a decent read. And one other note I’d like to advise my readers of, what I absolutely liked about this story is that as you read and follow Gil and Matthew’s journey, you’ll begin to understand the title of the book and it will also leave you wondering, just ‘who’ exactly had a flaw in their design? It was like a play on words so the speak. I may be going a little deep for some readers, but if you’re the type of reader who truly dissects a story, then you guys will know what I mean by that statement.

A Flaw in the Design is a psychological thriller, a debut novel by Nathan Oates. I had a hard time getting into this story, I kept going and am glad I did. At times the novel is unbelievable, repetitive and frustrating. That also did not make me quit reading.
The story is about a college professor named Gil, who is teaching creative writing. His estranged sister and her husband were killed in a hit and run accident. Their son, who the professor and family have reason to dislike, goes to live with his only living relative, Gil. Gil hates this situation from the beginning and keeps finding more reasons to hate Matthew.
I enjoyed reading this book and am hoping for a better written sequel. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this E- ARC. In return is my honest review.



#RandomHousePublishing, #NetGalley, #NathanOates

Wow holy..what can I say about this book other than its just so great!! Greater than great! Definitely pulls you into the characters and storyline right away and doesn't let go.
Loved everything about this book I can't praise it enough. And wooohooo what an ending my my my!!!
.

3.5 ⭐️The main focusing story of this book is quite good from a perspective of a jealous brother. I like the idea of the story about the household and psycho nephew even though the too-long descriptions in this book get me quite bored. However, several issues this book holds are quite amazingly written as well as the world perspective on Literature as a main source of finance.

The story is from the perspective of our MC (Gill) who is from a poor household, his parent work as teachers and journalists and he had a dream to become a writer. He moved to New York to pursue his dream but he was feeling overwhelmed by that part because he knew later that ”being a writer isn’t enough to cover your finance even though it is your dream.” Not long after he moved to NY, his sister Sharon moved there as well to pursue her own dream. But then she met Nigel, a wealthy society man and after that, they got married pretty quickly. Gill met Molly (his wife now) in a book-reading community and they were married after Gill’s parent death while they already had 2 beautiful daughters, he had to take care of his nephew, Matthew as Matthew’s guardian. Because, his sister, Sharon, and Nigel were dead. That’s where the story began.

The main storyline in this book has suspense and thrilling emotion and gets me on my nerve sometimes. It was good but not that good enough when it comes to the murderer and the clues. I have lots of questions as the story goes by and even though the clues laid bare on the surface when it comes to the death of Sharon and Nigel, the reason why the culprit did what they did were only written in a sense of fictional academic writing. I know that in the story of thrillers lately, they always left it unfinished or cliffhung the end but it still doesn’t make sense to me. I get the main reason for what the culprit did but that was it, no other reason and the psycho mind of the culprit is the one that gets me going, to be honest. Also, I dislike the long written paragraph that gets me bored all the way, the writing is understandable and get along well with the plot, HOWEVER, the long overdue paragraph written is just too much description and even if we did skim, it doesn’t make any difference of confusing

Several Issues and Symbolism from my perspective:
①How NYC people see commoners, especially “the poor”
②Politicians in the eyes of the rich
③Hired Nannies based on their looks — What odd are you suggesting?
④Envious of the success of the other sibling, only because of the spouse
⑤The haunted past
⑥Representative of people nowadays — looking at their phones all the damn time
⑦The Live of Immigrants
⑧Dropping off your dreams because of a man. Woman, are you insane?
⑨White man supremacy
⑩Not all people with a good looking physic are dumb
⑪Different representatives of the Poor and Rich in society
⑫Work of art as the symbolism of someone’s life
⑬The Wolves in the sheep's cloak
⑭How people see Literature Major has no future in society

The characters in this book did not have a special attachment to me except this psycho. His mind work is a genius of art especially knowing his own age and his reason to did what he did is acceptable, because ”Toxic is toxic, it doesn’t matter if it’s your own blood.” His beautiful mind on how he perceives all the things to cover up his own track and pretending to be nice and kind of his surrounding almost get me fooled. Then, this certain character is the one who is seen as the lunatic because his own surrounding sees the wolves on the sheep's clothes as a nice and kind young man. The author twisted the readers on their minds with questions like ”What the hell is going on?” sort of thing which is impressive in its own way.

Overall, this book is a journey and I love the ideas in this book from a perspective of a father and a brother. No character POVs which I am grateful for and make the story more interesting than ever. The writing in this book is remarkable in its literature way, several books and works of Literature were mentioned in this book, especially in Gill’s class which make our knowledge expanded. However, the main part that I dislike about this story is the ending and the long overdue paragraph written. Other than that, I enjoy this story. Also, it’s not really good enough on my mystery-crime story because I knew it all along from the beginning

Dear Matthew, I love your genius work of art

☆☆☆☆☆
“A Flaw in the Design” is one of the best debuts I’ve read! This brilliant psychological thriller kept me up way too late trying to race to the conclusion. Please tell me there is a sequel coming!

Anyone with children dreads the thought of dying before their children are grown. Choosing someone to raise them in their absence. And, honestly, is anyone excited about taking on the responsibility of a child that has just lived through such a traumatic experience? Especially a teenager. It’s a huge disturbance to your family dynamics and home. But it’s hard to say no to family, no matter what reservations you have. When you’re struggling financially and there is a large monthly stipend included, it sweetens the pot.

The last time Gil saw Matthew he was a young child and he put Gil’s daughter at risk. So even though Matthew is a charming young man now, Gil is suspicious that he is still the same dangerous sociopath.

Matthew is clever and begins to taunt Gil but he doesn’t let anyone else see this side of him. Gil becomes obsessed with revealing this dangerous side of his nephew and gets carried away. Soon it’s unclear who the unstable one is!

Many thanks to Nathan Oates and Random House for the gifted ARC supplied through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

#AFlawInTheDesign #NathanOates #RandomHouse #netgalley #giftedARC #honestreview #sociopath #Vermont #hitandrunaccident #professor #writer #inheritance #wealthyparents #debutthriller #crimeandcocktailsbookcrew #mysteryandthrills #readwithme #bookaddict #thrilleraddict #thrillersofinstagram #bookstagrammer #lovebooks #bookreviewersofinstagram #lovetoreadbooks #cantstopreading #fortheloveofbooks

A Flaw In The Design by Nathan Oates
Publishing Date - 03/21/23
Rating (4/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for this arc. I really enjoyed this one. It started off slow in the beginning for me … but once I got half way into the story , I couldn’t put this one down. I think 🤔 there could possibly be a sequel to this one. If you enjoy psychological thrillers with twists and turns you do not see coming , pick this one up when it releases March 21st.

When Gil and his family take in their seventeen year old nephew, Matthew, they are nervous about it. It’s their responsibility after Matthew’s parents died. He seems charming and smart; unlike the pay child he was who tried to harm their daughter.

While I didn’t quite find it the “edge of your seat” thriller it was described as, it was an interesting read. It was a slow burn suspense that took some time to build up. You aren’t quite sure who is evil and who is made to look evil. It definitely keeps you thinking throughout.

“To be responsible for a person he knew basically nothing about. To be required to love a stranger he’d spent so many years loathing. It must end in failure.”

A Flaw in the Design comes out 3/21.