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.

I loved every single word of this smartly written thriller, from cover to cover! To me, there is something wildly entertaining and fascinating about sociopaths and how they move through the world and affect those around them. I sincerely hope this book finds it’s way into many readers hands and then lives on the best seller list for a long time!

Gil is living a quiet life as a creative writing professor in Vermont with his wife and 2 teen daughters. His orderly life takes an unexpected turn when his only sister and brother in law are killed in a car accident and he is asked to take guardianship of his nephew, Matthew. Gil has good reason to be worried. There was a terrible event that took place roughly 5 years prior between his youngest daughter and Matthew that annihilated any affection he might have had toward the boy as well as destroying the relationship with his sister. But where else will the boy go? There are no other living relatives able to care for him. It’s only for 8 months until Matthew turns 18 and heads off to university. It will be fine….right? From there the story sharply plunges into the depths of paranoia and a little bit of madness. I felt my own sanity slipping a few times while reading this! And that ending BEGS for a sequel! Please write us a sequel Mr. Oates!

I cannot recommend this book highly enough and I really can’t wait for another story from this author.

Thank you Netgalley, Random House Publishing and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be released March 21, 2023

A Flaw in the Design by Nathan Oates is a highly recommended novel of psychological suspense.

Gil Duggan learns some shocking news. His sister and her husband have been killed in a car accident and their 17 year-old son, Matthew is going to live with Gil and his family. Gil, a creative writing professor at Essex College, his wife Molly, an artist, and his two daughters Ingrid and Chloe are living in Vermont, far from the privileged life in NYC that Matthew is accustom to. With Matthew, whose parents were incredibly wealthy, also comes an unbelievable monthly stipend that could help Gil's family enormously.

The problem is that ever since a life-threatening incident with one of his daughters, Gil dislikes and does not trust Matthew. He was estranged from his sister and her husband since that event seven years earlier, and hasn't seen Matthew since then. There were earlier encounters with Matthew that indicated he was a troubled child. Now Matthew, who seems to be intelligent, urbane, and charming, will be living with them, but can Gil trust him?

The descriptive writing is absolutely excellent in this debut novel and provides the impetus for the apprehension and tension to build and grow in the narrative. The question is whether it is Gil projecting his feelings onto Matthew or if Matthew really is a psychopath. Actually, at first it is Gil's resentment, suspicion and constant assessment of Matthew's every word or action that drives the plot and makes Gil an unlikable character, but soon doubts will arise about Matthew, especially when Matthew join's Gil's creative writing class and turns in stories that seem to be about imagined deaths Gil's family.

Including the real written stories within the narrative where imagined stories abound works very well in A Flaw in the Design. The final denouement wasn't quite as impactful as anticipated, but this is still a very good novel and definitely worth reading. 4.5 stars
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Random House via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Edelweiss, and Amazon.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for gifting me a digital ARC of this wonderful book by Nathan Oates - 5 stars!

After escaping from NYC to the Vermont countryside, Gil is living happily with his wife and two daughters, working as a professor at the local college. Then he receives word that his estranged wealthy sister and her husband have died in a car accident, and their son, Matthew, is coming to live with them until he goes to college. Gil and his wife, Molly, are worried about bringing Matthew into their home because he was a troubled child. But when he arrives, he's polite and seemingly unaffected by his parents' deaths. When he signs up for Gil's creative writing class, however, his writings seem to spell a dark side towards his parents and Gil's own family.

Wow - this book was so tense and I couldn't put it down. The fear and paranoia that Gil experiences jumps off the pages to grab you. Gil is desperate to make his family see beyond the polished persona of Matthew to what he believes is the dark hiding within. Both Gil and Matthew appear to be somewhat unreliable narrators, so that the reader is left questioning the true reality of the situation. That ending was perfect! Highly recommended.

A Flaw in the Design is precisely the kind of psychological suspense novel I'm always seeking out: an intense character study with a looming sense of dread and a narrative that keeps the reader off-balance and wondering what, and who, to believe.

In Nathan Oates' brilliantly-executed debut novel, we meet Gil Duggan, a writing professor who lives with his wife and two daughters in Vermont. At the beginning of the book, he's at the airport awaiting the arrival of his 17-year-old nephew, Matthew. After the tragic death of Matthew's parents in a car accident, Gil has been designated as Matthew's guardian, a fact that Gil resents. Gil has been estranged from his sister and her family ever since an event several years earlier in which Matthew lured Gil's youngest daughter into a life-threatening situation, and he doesn't entirely trust that Matthew has changed from the problem child he once knew. As the Duggans settle into the dynamics of their new life with Matthew, Gil descends further and further into panic, obsession, and paranoia, even going so far as to stalk his nephew, determined to find proof that Matthew is hiding an evil nature underneath his charming facade.

A Flaw in the Design is a suspenseful, tension-filled power struggle between two men: one, a middle-aged family man worn down by life, the other, a teenager entering his prime -- both of whom may be dangerous in their own ways. In haunting, mesmerizing prose, Oates explores themes of wealth and privilege, masculinity, and family dynamics in a way that kept me riveted. This isn't an action-forward thriller with shocking twists, but rather a slow-burning literary character study, laced with simmering dread that slowly builds to its inevitable boil.

Oates' characterization is flawless, particularly that of Gil, who perfectly encapsulates the midlife ennui of a middle-class man, and it's brilliant to watch how he reacts to a perceived threat to his comfortable life. Matthew is fascinating, too, specifically the way he evolves from a bratty child throwing temper tantrums to a composed young man who's mastered the art of subtlety. It's all so sinister and fascinating.

I highly recommend A Flaw in the Design to readers who enjoy a cerebral type of psychological thriller, one that takes the time to delve deeply into its characters' psyches while also serving up an almost unbearable amount of tension. Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the advance reading opportunity.

Rounding this up to 3.5 stars. It started off strong but dragged a little in the middle. The ending more than made up for it though. Completely satisfying and a real Mic Drop. Thank you NetGalley and Random House for an Arc. Fans of dark academia will find much to love here.
Book releases on March 21.

A Flaw in the Design by Nathan Oates

Gil is living a quiet life as a creative writing professor in a bucolic Vermont town, when he receives some shocking news: His sister and her husband have been killed in a car accident, and their only son is coming to live with him and his family.

Gil and his wife are apprehensive about taking in seventeen-year-old Matthew. Yes, he has just lost both his parents, but they haven’t seen him in seven years—and the last time the families were together, Matthew lured their young daughter into a terrifying, life-threatening situation. Since that incident, Gil has been estranged from his sister and her flashy, wealthy banker husband.

Now Matthew is their charge, living under their roof.

The boy seems charming, smart, and urbane, if strangely unaffected by his parents’ deaths. Gil hopes they can put the past behind them, though he’s surprised when Matthew signs up for his creative writing class. Then Matthew begins turning in chilling stories about the imagined deaths of Gil’s family and his own parents. Bewildered and panicked, Gil ultimately decides he must take matters into his own hands—before life imitates art.

A guest in the house who may or may not be trustworthy…I love this trope! I don’t want to spoil the story by giving anything away but WOW!

March 21

I heard about A FLAW IN THE DESIGN from an indie bookseller who described the ending of this book as “jaw dropping” and completely unpredictable. Say no more. I was sold.

The story follows a teenager who tragically loses his parents in a car accident and is sent to live with his aunt and uncle’s family out of state. Throughout his life, trouble just seems to follow Matthew wherever he goes. This can’t all just be coincidental, right?

A FLAW IN THE DESIGN does raise some interesting questions about nature vs nurture and the role of privilege and affluence in a child’s upbringing. While the premise was compelling, the story lacked the narrative drive that I was hoping for in a thriller. The chapters were quite lengthy and I had a hard time getting the motivation to return to the story. The action picked up right at the end, but I didn’t feel like the pay off was worth the slow build-up.

Readers looking for a character-driven mystery with a slow build may enjoy this!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When seventeen year old Matthew’s parents are killed in an accident, he goes to live with his Aunt Molly and Uncle Gil in Vermont. Several years previously on a family vacation, there was an incident with Matthew that has left the family estranged. There’s no love lost between Gil and Matthew, and Gil is counting down the hours until Matthew is off to college. Matthew has had trouble in his past, he’s grown up in a mega wealthy home in New York and is quiet smart and very privileged. When Matthew arrives he’s not the same boy that everyone remembers, but Gill isn’t fooled. He knows Matthew is evil. When Matthew signs up for for college classes where Gil is a professor, he ends up in a coveted writing class that Gil teaches. When his “fictional” stories start to mirror life, Gil is sure he’s right. Gil, too, has had troubles in his past, troubles with depression and as he spirals out of control, making bad choice after bad choice to “catch” Matthew, the reader wonders if perhaps Gil is an unreliable narrator. Could Gill possibly be wrong or are his instincts right on the money? As Gil takes things into his own hands, everyone might not come out unscathed. This book was twisty good with a perfect ending! Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Nathan Oates’ debut, A FLAW IN THE DESIGN, is brilliantly crafted, beautifully rendered, and psychologically rich.

A haunting spine-chilling psychological thriller of familial ties that bind. An unputdownable tale of grief, envy, and obsession. A blending of suspense thriller and literary fiction, readers will be salivating for a sequel.

Seventeen-year-old Matthew's wealthy Manhattan parents have died in a suspicious car accident.

Matthew goes to live with his uncle, Gil, his wife, Molly, and two daughters, Ingrid and Chloe, in Vermont. Gil has concerns about taking in his nephew due to things from the past that were of concern. Since then, Gil has been estranged from his sister and her wealthy banker husband.

Gil is a creative writing professor. He is jealous of his handsome nephew with the multi-million dollar trust fund. He also has his own problems.

Matthew appears to be intelligent, charming, and helpful. Molly, an artist, is delighted with Matthew's knowledge of the art world.

All seems well UNTIL.

Then he signs up for a creative writing class and turns in spine-chilling disturbing stories about the deaths of his family. He is in Gil's classroom.

Alternating between the past and present, we learn more about these two characters.

Gil becomes resentful and obsessed. Is Gil the one with the problems, or is Matthew a monster in plain sight? Did Matthew kill his parents, and are they living with a sociopath? Is Gil coming unhinged and paranoid?

As the tension mounts between the two, driving Gil and Matthew to an explosive showdown and an ending that leaves us wanting a sequel.

From the stunning eerie front cover to the very last page, this one hooks you. Compelling and thought-provoking, I love literary thrillers, and A FLAW IN THE DESIGN checked all the boxes! Love the writing style.

Oates carefully unspools this dark, intimate tale of ambition, class, and family. A deliciously wicked game of cat and mouse with a jaw-dropping ending. Highly recommend. I cannot wait to see what comes next!

Thank you to #RandomHouse and #NetGalley for a gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review. #RandomHouseInfluencers

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@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: March 21, 2023
My Rating: 5 Stars
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