I was SO intrigued by the synopsis but NOTHING EVER HAPPENED! I read and read and refused to put it down because I just KNEW something good was coming… and it never did. 3 stars only because it did keep me hooked, but maybe I was just hooked by my expectations…

Engaging and entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.

I received an advanced copy of "The Good Samaritan" by Toni Halleen, courtesy of Harper Paperbacks and NetGalley. The novel centers around a teacher who, on his way home, encounters a teen passed out and reluctant to return home. This incident unravels a deeper exploration into both the teen's family and the teacher's family dynamics.

The book was an enjoyable and fast read. I particularly appreciated the author's perspective and the narrative choices made throughout the story. The characters were well-crafted, making the book both engaging and easy to follow. Overall, Toni Halleen's "The Good Samaritan" provided a satisfying reading experience with its thoughtful development and compelling plot.

This was another must read and highly anticipated read for me! I’m glad to say that it 100% delivered! It was a mix of a mystery and a drama which are two things I love so it worked well for me. It was a slow burn but it worked for this story. I loved that it was infused with grief, and the main characters internal conflict. It was a solid book we just need a bit better pacing.

Well, this book was not exactly what I expected. I almost didn’t read it because I hate when a good deed gets punished and I thought that is what this book was about! Boy…was I wrong!

What would you do if you found a young boy under a tarp? This happened to Professor Matthew Larkin. Matthew puts this boy into his car with the intention of taking him to the hospital. But when the boy wakes up…things are not as they seem.

There are quite a few moving parts to this novel and several different narrators. But the author does a pretty good job weaving this tale together. But all of the plot lines do not come together until the end. So, as the reader, you are wondering where this story is going. But let me tell you…it is worth the wait.

I loved the intensity, the family drama and the characters. Just trust the author will get you there. It is a different read!

Need a tale which is engaging and will make you think about your next good deed…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel for a honest review.

Unsure my final thoughts on this story. I felt like I had to force myself to continue at a few points, but the story line was intriguing. I may give it another read eith a different perspective.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and author for this Arc.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would rate it 4/5 stars. This was a fun thriller! Had me engaged from the start . This is the first I’ve read by this author but it won’t be the last!

Sociology professor Matthew Larkin is having a rough go. Once again up for tenure, he’s striving with everything he has to reach it. That is until he makes some rather ill advised decisions, even though he means well. While each choice he makes seems like another nail in his coffin, he’s finally making the choices that will help him face his past to make room for his future. A emotional filled family drama. Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

The cover of this book leads you to believe it's a thriller but I found it to be more of a slow burn drama. Short chapters with a variety of characters made it a quick, easy read.

Matthew's life has become a disaster. After his young son's accidental death, his wife divorces him, he loses his job and his daughter doesn't have much to do with him. Deciding to put his life back on track, Matthew takes a tenure track position a a small college in southern Minnesota.

When Matthew gets caught in a hailstorm in the middle of the night while driving, he pulls off the highway to seek shelter and discovers a child curled up beneath a plastic tarp. Alive but soaked to the bone, Matthew decides to put the boy in his car. When the boy suddenly wakes up agitated, Matthew makes a dangerous choice...

The moral dilemma will leave you questioning character decisions.

An enjoyable read that kept me interested from start to finish.

The Good Samaritan by Toni Halleen is a slow burn, compelling mystery that will leave readers questioning what they would do when faced with this situation.

Matthew Larkin is struggling. After his toddler son died, his wife and teenage daughter left him and he lost his job. Now he has landed a rare tenured position at a small college and trying to overcome his past. When one night during a storm Matthew finds a young boy under a tarp, alive but unconscious, Matthew makes a split decision to put the child in his car to seek medical attention at a hospital. But when the boy wakes up agitated Matthew needs to make a quick decision and the repercussions of that decision will affect many more people than just Matthew.

This was definitely a slow buildup type of novel. While it is delicately written it does deal with some pretty heavy topics such as grief, foster care, sexual assault, addiction and divorce so just be aware. This is not really a psychological thriller in my opinion, more general fiction/mystery or drama. I do especially like the multiple POVs and how they are all interconnected. I will definitely check out more work by Toni Halleen!

Thank you to NetGalley, Toni Halleen, and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for this ARC. Publication day was March 4th 2025.

Matthew is a sociology professor on his way to tenure when he is drinking one night and finds someone on a porch. He doesn’t want to call the police because he’d been drinking but didn’t want to leave the boy either. He decides to take the boy to the hospital but the boy wakes up and takes off. Matthew is left wondering what to do to help the boy and also not hurt his chances at tenure.

There are other POVs in the book and their main link is to Matthew. I found the story very interesting and enjoyed how the writer crafted the characters reactions to situations. A quick and enjoyable read that you won’t want to put down!

I love a book with several different narrators but their stories didn’t come together as much as I wanted them too. I think I needed a little more details and connections!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #HarperPerennialAndPaperbacks for the book #TheGoodSamaritan by #ToniHalleen. This book is a great reminder that sometimes we get caught up in our own stuff that we neglect others. We need to slow down and appreciate life. Matthew is a professor at a college in Minnesota and is hoping for tenure. One stormy night, on his way home, Matthew finds a small boy hiding under a tarp passed out. He puts the boy into the car to take him to the hospital but on the way the boy wakes up and gets upset about going to the hospital or the police. Has Matthew made things more difficult on himself or did he do the right thing?

Toni Halleen’s The Good Samaritan is a slow-burning psychological drama that explores themes of morality, choice, and the unforeseen consequences of good intentions. The story follows a seemingly simple act of kindness that spirals into a complex web of tension and ethical dilemmas.

While the novel offers strong character development and thought-provoking themes, the pacing may be a drawback for some readers. The plot unfolds gradually—at times, too slowly—making certain sections feel drawn out and lacking urgency. There’s a solid emotional core to the story, but it occasionally feels like it’s missing a crucial spark to make it truly compelling.

Overall, The Good Samaritan delivers an intriguing premise and well-developed characters but may test the patience of readers looking for a more gripping or fast-paced narrative. If you enjoy introspective, character-driven fiction, this may still be worth a read.

2⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for an advanced copy of The Good Samaritan.

A college professor whose wife and teenage daughter left him after the death of their toddler son has a chance at redemption. While he is traveling he finds a young boy who has been abandoned. He has a choice to make to try to right the wrongs of the past but will he make the right ones.

This was classified as a mystery/thriller but it definitely was not that. It was more of a domestic family drama. It discussed a lot of important topics but I felt like there were just too many things going on at one time and the story felt disjointed to me. It was not my kind of book.

I loved this author’s book The Surrogate, so I was ecstatic to be approved for her sophomore book The Good Samaritan! This book covers heavy topics: grief, foster care, divorce, sexual assault, runaways, alcohol abuse….but Toni does so in a tasteful way. I was invested in the characters and worried about Seaver. I wish there were more foster parents like the ones taking care of Seaver. This is not a thriller, but rather a domestic drama maybe?

✔️Minnesota setting
✔️1990’s timeline
✔️multiple POV
✔️slow burn
✔️what would you do scenarios

The cover of THE GOOD SAMARITAN by Toni Halleen is a bit deceiving. In my opinion, it gives off dark and seedy thriller vibes, but I’d describe it as a mysterious neighborhood drama. I absolutely loved the author’s previous novel, THE SURROGATE so I jumped at the chance to participate in the book tour for her latest.

QUICK SYNOPSIS:
“𝘈 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯—𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘱𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦.”

The novel follows Matthew, a college professor, Claire, his teenage daughter, Seaver, a young runaway in foster care, and a social worker named Kira. With each new chapter, the perspectives alternate, and Halleen expertly weaves all four storylines together. All four characters were impeccably crafted. I was extremely intrigued by them all, and 100% invested in each of their individual narratives, yet Claire was definitely my favorite. As a mother to a teenage girl, I found myself looking forward to her chapters the most.

READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:

- Multiple POVs
- Minnesota setting
- Family drama
- Reflections on loss and grief
- Slow-burning mysteries
- 1990s timeline
- Well-developed characters
- Marriage and divorce
- Foster care/social work storylines
- High school life and challenges

Redemption, loss, grief, and forgiveness are the main themes of this novel, yet it also includes some triggering subject matter like sexual assault, addiction, and the loss of a child. It was a bit heavier than I was expecting, but the author handled it all with care.

4/5 solid stars for THE GOOD SAMARITAN! It’s out now! Highly recommend!

In a suspenseful read, it is always intriguing when the narrator potentially is unreliable. I was intrigued in seeing where the storyline would lead us. I continued reading and rooted that he hoped he had the best intentions. The character that captivated me the most was the daughter, Claire. She piqued my interest loved how her character development. I appreciated the clever delivery and development of the crossover storylines.

This definitely isn't a thriller, it's a drama but I probably wouldn't have read it if it hadn't been listed as a thriller which would have been a loss because I enjoyed it. The story has minor twists, but the characters are well written and it was a fast read.

The Good Samaritan by Toni Halleen keeps you hooked till the very end.
A well written suspense filled with twists that kept me hooked from the very beginning.
A quick and fun read that I finished in a few hours.
The characterization was superb, the writing pacey and flowing, and the tension delivered in a series of shocks and twists along the way.
This is a tightly written story, with well developed characters and enough suspense to keep you reading.