The Night Side by M. M. DeLuca is a creepy thriller full of twists, turns and rotten characters!

This story is told between two timelines, twenty years apart, and learning about the main character Ruby, her unhinged family and the townsfolk in this way really added to the mystery aspect of the plot. Full of atmosphere, grifters, and characters with dark pasts - I was kept on the edge of my seat! Set in Montana, I loved the mentions of Great Falls, Missoula and various other cities I have visited!

Audiobook narrator Helen Laser's voice instantly hooked me with its mystery and intrigue; there's a slight smokiness to it that fit these characters and the story perfectly. She also did a fantastic job changing and manipulating her voice, perfectly becoming a child version of Ruby, a deranged Ida and the multitude of others along the way. Laser performed this book so well she made me forget that there was only one person narrating! (My minor complaint was the slight mispronunciations of Estevan and Saskatchewan as they just didn't flow the way they're supposed to.)

This would be the perfect read for a dark and stormy night as it is perfectly spooky!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the complimentary copy to read and review.

I didn't love this book, but I didn't dislike it. The plot was decent, but I'm not sure I would consider this a thriller. This was more a story of a girl discovering her past. There were some surprises that were uncovered. I feel like this book was slow. The last couple of chapters had a bit more action. I did enjoy the narrator. I was able to keep track as the narrator switched from the past to the present.

M.M. DeLuca's latest darkly thrilling tale of survival and obsession, THE NIGHT SIDE—will keep you glued to your AirPods (or pages) from beginning to end. In this twisty, multi-layered domestic suspense of secrets, lies, and a web of deceit, the past and present converge for an explosive finale.

This well-crafted mystery relentlessly uncovers a multitude of dark secrets, leading readers down a delicious path of fear, lies, and long-awaited justice, with an ending that will leave jaws dropping.

Ruby Carlson grew up in a highly dysfunctional family in Stoneybrook, Montana. Her mother, Ida, grew up as a carnie also in a dysfunctional and abusive environment and an intense fight for survival.

Ida, her mother is a life-long scam artist and will do anything for money. She forces Ruby to go along with her psychic scam or else she does not eat or get clothes. This woman is crazy, dangerous, and a psychopath.

Her selfish mother does not care about her daughter's school work or life, just manipulating and controlling Ruby to continue to scam others and take their money. She is pure evil. Ruby was traumatized; being underage forced to go along with it because there was no escape.

Her only outlet was her best friend, Aidan. However, she had to leave him to escape this madness. When she turned eighteen, Ruby left and said she would never look back. She escapes to England, cutting all ties with the town and her crazy mother, and becomes a well-respected archaeologist.

Now, twenty years later, she receives a message from Aidan, her old boyfriend and first love, that her mother is believed to have drowned herself and she needs to return to sort out her affairs.

When she arrives in Montana, she learns she has many enemies. Many people lost money and their savings due to their manipulation and cons. However, Ruby is just a child forced to lie and deceive when she does not want to. However, some liked Ida because she knew how to charm and stab you in the back the next minute. Now, who can Ruby trust in this town?

The more Ruby learns, the more sinister things appear. Is Ida dead, or is this a setup to escape all the debt that now falls to Ruby? Soon, she learns tidbits of the past, and no one is as they appear. Something is going down, and she is determined to solve the mystery. She wants to leave and return to her everyday life in London.

Ruby is forced to revisit memories she's worked hard to leave behind. Ruby's entire life has been a lie, the more she learns. How far does Ida's manipulation go? What else has Ida taken away from Ruby? (more than you can imagine). From twists and turns leading to a showdown of MURDER. How far will some go to keep their dark secret hidden? How many people are involved in Ida's scheming, and who will die next? Will Ida and Aidan finally wind up together?

Atmospheric, dark, and sinister, this is a well-crafted psychological thriller (with a Gothic vibe) in which the torments of the past return to wreak havoc in the present—the devastating power of family secrets.

THE NIGHT SIDE is a brilliant, wicked, spine-chilling tale of greed, justice, obsession, revenge, and one woman's dark past. The author cleverly depicts psychological terror, trauma, and moral ambiguity in her well-developed characters and the shocking betrayal. My first book by the author, and I look forward to reading more.

AUDIOBOOK: I listened to the audiobook narrated by the fabulous Helen Laser, who delivered an outstanding performance. She made the characters come alive. INTENSE! Ida's voice was chilling, rooting for Ruby all the way.

My only con is that I wish the ending had been slower and drawn out more, as it seemed rushed after the long-awaited buildup. I would highly recommend the audiobook!

Ideal for fans of Lisa Unger, Jennifer Hillier, Ruth Ware, and Freida McFadden.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for a gifted ALC for an honest opinion.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Mar 12, 2024
My Rating: 4.25 Stars
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The Night Side written by M. M. DeLuca and narrated by Helen Laser is a riveting audiobook and a pageturner of a novel.

Helen Lser is a fantastic author, complementing the fast-paced narrative with skill and empathy, reflecting the flow of mood and dynamic, action and description and as for the dialogue, brilliant. Such a strong author needs a strong narrator and this is a great combination

DeLuca writes with depth, intensity, and insight. She creates a framework of a narrative, interlocking sturdily like scaffolding and you need this because the narrative took me right up the side of a high-rise (on the outside) and I felt as if I was barely hanging on. Edge of my seat? Feeling grateful for a metaphorical safety harness and carabiner!

Ruby Carlson escaped her manipulative, abusive mother and fled to England where she becomes successful as an archaeologist, however, 10 years later, she receives notification that her mother has disappeared, presumed unalive. But with her self-professed medium/ psychic mother, nothing is ever as it seems. Ruby returns to her childhood home, meeting up again with old acquaintances, and old experiences, not all of this mortal coil

A fantastic audiobook that explores the effect of hidden secrets and manipulative families and the scars they leave behind, both real and imagined

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, the author M. M.. DeLuca and the narrator Helen Laser for this brilliant ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Wow Ida is a real gem. She seems like she'd be interesting to have as a mother. You'd never be bored.
This is one of those where someone is forced to go home to her creepy small town. Our girl Ruby goes home when she gets a call saying that her mother died. When she arrives home they tell her that her mother might not be dead and that she actually owns the home her mother was living in, and had been the owner for years.
There is a ton happening here and so sad but I got attached to Ruby.
The narration was lovely too!

The Night Side by M.M. DeLuca
Narrated by Helen Laser

Sometimes I just can't let go of the skepticism when reading a really twisted story with so many rotten folks. We get to see two timelines, the first during Ruby's teen years and the other, twenty years later, when her grifter, psychic scammer of a mom has gone missing, a possible suicide. Ruby ran away twenty years ago but has to come back to Stonybrook, Montana to see if her mom is really dead and, if so, to put the estate in order.

So many of the characters are enmeshed, some of them dead in the present day timeline, most under suspicious (at least to me) circumstances. Rudy feels great guilt in both timelines for helping her mother do her grifting thing, not that she had much choice since her mom was a violent, abusive shrew. Her only bright spot in her life was her best friend, Aidan, and when she comes back twenty years later, she feels like her love for him is pulling her back. Will he forgive her for running away all those years ago? In the present day, Ruby just runs toward danger, always on the verge of calling for help but also neglecting to do so for one reason or another.

Some will enjoy all the twists, turns, and bad deeds. There are lots of surprises, maybe too many for me. Also there are times when UK words or phrases are used by the people of Stonybrook, Montana, which would jar me out of the story. I don't think they call selling property, "selling up" like they do in the UK. But several of the Montana folks mentioned "selling up". I was waiting for them to offer visitors digestives with their tea next...ha ha. Helen Laser did a good job of voicing all the evil in this creepy town of Stonybrook, Montana. I'd stay away from that place, that's for sure!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this ARC.