𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲-𝗨𝗽 is an exceptionally fast paced thriller that left me shocked by the end! This book included two of my favorite themes: the dark side of Hollywood fame and the often cutthroat world of writing and publishing. I was captivated from start to finish.

Zoe Weiss is a British writer living in L.A. and reconnects with Zach after he had ghosted her several years before. He is now a famous movie star, while Zoe is suffering from writer’s block after the publication of her first novel. Zoe also has a stalker, who is eerily following all the actions of the fictional stalker in Zoe’s first book.

Is Zoe’s stalker a crazed fan of Zach’s? Or is the stalker actually someone from Zoe’s past? The author kept me on my toes because while Zoe is relatable, she’s also an unreliable narrator. She’s paranoid and confused and her rising panic added to the suspense.

The tension escalates with wild twists and turns. Just when I thought the story reached its conclusion, the author unveiled one last, shocking revelation. I read that the author actually had a stalker while living in London and she certainly did a great job at translating her emotional experiences onto the page. These unforeseen turns will keep you guessing right up to the final page!

Many thanks to the publisher for the #gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The Close Up was a fun stalker thriller. The pacing was a little hard for me at times. There were moments I was flying through the pages, then moments I had to make myself keep reading. I semi-called the twist at the end. Nevertheless it was a fun read for thriller fans!

Take a turn on Hollywood's dark and and twisty side with Pip Drysdale's The Close-up.

Working at a flower shop after her first novel flopped, Zoe Ann Weiss bumps into a one-weekend fling who is now a Hollywood star and sparks fly.  But when word of their relationship leaks and Zoe starts being stalked exactly as the character in her book was stalked things start looking dangerous.

Take a break this holiday season to binge this twisty tale.

Click here to check out the book today.

I love the cover with my whole heart but I loved the ending to this book even more. the epilogue made it for me! Drysdale did an excellent job at catching all the small nuances of a morally gray story. The story follows Zoe as she tries and fails to start her second book. We get an indepth look at her struggles even when she meets back up with Zach. It was fun to watch the mystery unfold and there were a few curve balls in there I didnt see coming.

In The Close-Up by Pip Drysdale, disillusioned writer Zoe Ann Weiss is yearning for a career revival. As she juggles the challenges of penning her second novel while working as a florist, she unexpectedly reconnects with Zach, her ex-lover who has now become a Hollywood superstar. However, this resurgence of romance comes with a dark twist when someone starts stalking her, recreating scenes from her first novel—a thriller featuring a heroine who meets a grim fate. Set against the dazzling yet dangerous landscape of Los Angeles, this neo-noir thriller is packed with unexpected twists, high stakes, and an engaging look into the themes of ambition and survival.

With its constant twists and turns and surprises—mixed with plenty of Hollywood glitz and glamour and gossip—The Close-Up makes for a captivating read. It’s dark and eerie—and it’s sure to keep you guessing through one unexpected revelation after another.

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery.

The Close-Up by Pip Drysdale is a thrilling ride with an unforeseen twist. I loved it!

Will Zoe find love and her newest book?

Zoe Ann Weiss
Zoe is our main character and only point of view. She is making it with one published book but hasn't finished her second required book. Writer's block has caught her, so she works as a florist to supplement her income. I like Zoe, but sometimes I want to smack her and say, "What are you doing? Listen to your friends!"

Zoe is stubborn and full of pride. She doesn't want to admit that she needs help and doesn't want to move back in with her Dad in London. Yet, perhaps she should. She could also write in a different genre, and as long as the book was good, her publisher wouldn't mind. At least, I think.

The Mystery
So, the mystery was crazy good. Zoe meets up with Zach, a guy she knew before he became a famous actor. He was her muse for her first book. So, she is hoping that he will be able to inspire her to write again. But that isn't what happens. Now she has Zach's stalker after her, or does she? There are all these secrets she isn't aware of until the end, which leaves her feeling blindsided. I was guessing through the whole story, and Ms. Drysdale kept surprising me turn after turn. The twists keep coming all the way to the Epilogue! OMG!

Five Stars
The Close-Up by Pip Drysdale starts slow, but once it's moving, you will be on the edge of your seat until the very end. I was entranced. My rating for The Close-Up by Pip Drysdale is five stars. If you like thrillers, you will love this one. I highly recommend it.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of The Close-Up by Pip Drysdale.

Until the next time,
~Jen

If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out Baroness Book Trove.

The Close-up by talented writer Pip Drysdale delivers a punchy, twisty, and fun story about unrequited love, blind ambition, and coincidence, all placed in Los Angeles, a city of dreams. The major player is Zoe, who moved to L.A. to become the next great American novelist. Her book sells very little, and she is forced to work at a flower shop where she reunites with a previous friend, Zach, who is now a movie star. Zoe and Zach put their heads together, looking for creative inspiration.
Zoe attracts a stalker who uses scenes from her first book to terrify her and keeps her from working on her second book despite her agent's criticism and her publisher's lack of concern and interest. Zoe's life is turned upside down as her stalker continues to harass her and wreak havoc.
The Close-Up is a superior thriller that offers a glimpse at "Hollywood" and the ambition required to make it.

A really good read that picks up pace and keeps you hooked. I couldn't put it down and was hooked from early on. From the first pages I was hooked, and stuck to the edge of my couch the entire time!

When I read the synopsis of this book I was sold (it’s about a struggling author, a stalker who reenacts threatening scenes from her novel, and the Hollywood celebrity lifestyle 👀). And while it took me a little while to get into the book, I ended up really enjoying it.

This book feels different from typical thrillers. There’s a lot more detail to the story than just a twisty plot, and once I adjusted my expectations I really enjoyed that aspect. I also tend to love books about writers, and the writer vibes are strong in this one, so that was great. And the epilogue?? I did NOT see that coming. Loved it.

Definitely recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for the digital ARC of this book.

I made two attempts to finish this book, the second a successful one.

First off, this is NOT really a thriller. More like chick lit with a suspense plot.

The Close-Up is an odd book with a strong narrative voice, a VERY convoluted plot, and a bold ending. I didn't hate it, but can't really say I loved it either. Zoe is a British writer in Los Angeles, struggling to complete the second book in her two book deal. Her writer's group says her ideas are bad. She thinks her ideas are bad. Then she runs into Zach, a celebrity actor she had a brief fling with previously. The two of them start a situationship and then Zoe starts receiving threatening notes ... just like the threatening notes Zoe's fictional main character received in her first book. Is a killer after her? Is she losing it? Both?

Reading that makes this book sound like a couple of Lifetime TV movies rolled into one, and that isn't inaccurate. (I like Lifetime TV movies.)

Zoe Ann Weiss signed with an agent and then a publisher who were both very excited about her first novel. There was even a movie deal. But that was years ago. Her novel came out to mediocre reviews. The movie option never panned out. Now Zoe owes her publisher a second novel, but all her ideas get shot down, if not by her writer’s group or her agent, then by her own insecurity. She needs a winning idea for that second novel, or she will owe the publisher a huge amount of money, far more than she an rustle up through her day job at a florist.

Delivering some flowers for an event, Zoe bumps into her ex, Zach Hamilton. She met Zach when he was tending bar several years back and had a magical long weekend with him. And then he ghosted her. But as it turns out, it was exactly what she needed. Her editor had been wanting a rewrite on her first novel, and she couldn’t find that desperation her character had until Zach broke her heart.

Now Zach is a huge movie star, voted the sexiest man alive, and Zoe can’t believe her luck. If she can get back into his life, it would be amazing. For her career. As long as she can keep her heart separate, Zoe might be able to get enough information on the upper echelon of Hollywood to write her long-overdue novel. But it’s not a perfect idea. Writing the story would be a betrayal of Zach’s confidentiality as well as going back on the non-disclosure agreement Zach’s security guy made Zoe sign. But for the first time in a very long time, Zoe’s agent is excited about something she’s working on.

Someone else is unhappy with Zoe though. After being photographed in the media with Zach, someone leaves a gift on her van’s windshield. When Zoe takes a closer look at it, she sees that it’s a heart. An actual heart. Probably from a cow, but it’s still disturbing. Especially since in Zoe’s first novel, a stalker leaves a heart on the windshield of the protagonist’s car.

Zoe is juggling a lot. She has her day job as a florist and an agent demanding pages from her. She has a budding relationship with one of the hottest actors in Hollywood and some sort of psycho who is acting out scenes from her first novel to try to scare her. And it’s working. But when Zoe accidentally overhears a telephone conversation between Zach’s security guy and his handler, Zoe isn’t sure how safe she is with Zach. The police can’t help her unless she is actually attacked. And while she is getting more and more terrified, her book is coming together with an amazing story of stardom and stalking.

The more danger Zoe is in, the better it is for her writing. But in order to finish the book and save her writing career, Zoe has to survive the danger. Will she be able to pull it off, or will it all turn out to be too much, pushing Zoe over the edge, causing her to lose her career as a novel, or maybe even more?

The Close-Up is the latest from Pip Drysdale, and it’s electric. This thriller takes a deep dive into how difficult it is to sustain a creative career, especially in a city as competitive as Hollywood. With the added intensity of Zoe’s own words coming back to haunt her as she makes questionable choices, this thriller takes the danger up a notch. Trying to figure out exactly what is going on and who is behind it is a maze of blind turns and shocking twists right to the end.

I loved this novel. I could barely put it down. I was so absorbed in this character and her struggles, and I could not wait to see how it ended. It’s just so much fun. If you need an escape this winter, something to cuddle with under a soft blanket with a hot drink, then The Close-Up may just be the novel you’ve been waiting for.

Egalleys for The Close-Up were provided by Gallery Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Interesting book that kept adding the twists and turns. I instantly liked this and could not put it down. A bit of slow burn but great storytelling.

A solid slow burn thriller plot, perfect for fans of You and for books from Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen.

Thank you Gallery books and Simon and Schuster audio for review copies! This is a dark, edgy, and wild ride of a thriller, the unreliable narrator themes are well done in The Close Up from Pip Drysdale, who offers here an interesting take on the "You" stalking themes and takes readers on an interesting, and intense, story where I didn't know what was going on (in a good way, not an annoying way) until reveals and twists came together later in the book.

😎𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗨𝗣😎
𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔯
🗓️𝙿𝚞𝚋 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝙳𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟹, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺 𝚃𝙾𝙳𝙰𝚈!
🤩𝕄𝕪 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: 𝟜.𝟚𝟝 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤! ★★★★✫

BEST COVER EVER!🏆

🤏𝚃𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚋𝚒𝚝...”a struggling author discovers the dark side of fame when a stalker begins reenacting violent events from her thriller in this twisty new novel…”

🌻𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚊𝚢...I lapped this one right up! 🙌It was fun!! 🎉So, Zoe here(the MC) writes a thriller about a crazy stalker & then those things start happening to her in real life(I am talking unhinged things!😳), but also so much more is happening on the side. I love me some dark side of Hollywood 🎥🔪plots & you get that along with plenty of twists & the most unexpected epilogue ever. I loathed the epilogue😝, but I appreciated it too. No spoilers. That’s all I will say. Enjoy! 😍🤩

This book was very slow paced and just took way too long for it to start to pick up for me. The author did a good job with all the detail but sometimes for me it seemed like the level of detail outweighed the action and that just made it hard for me to get through.

This was a fun read with an unlikable narrator, a favorite trope of mine. Great if you like dark side of Hollywood and fame stories.

Whoa! What just happened?! This story is a true roller coaster! Starts off slowly and gradually builds up excitement until it's non-stop twists and turns. And just when you think they twists and turns are over, there is a surprise final drop you didn't see coming and you are left grasping for air.

THE CLOSE-UP captured my attention from the start. I highly recommend grabbing this book if you like stories filled with surprises and jaw-dropping endings.

Many thanks to the publisher for my gifted copy.

Immediately felt as if I was speaking to a friend, Drysdale creates believable characters and setting. Writing is captivating, thrilling and there is one hell of an ending.