Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Toni Halleen's The Good Samaritan isn't your typical feel-good story. Rather, it is a gripping psychological thriller that delves into the complexities of redemption, grief, and the moral dilemmas that arise when one's past collides with the present.

The story centers around Matthew Larkin, a sociology professor whose life has been shattered by personal tragedy. After the death of his young son, Matthew's marriage crumbled and his daughter distanced herself from him. Now, he's grasping at a chance for redemption with a new tenure track position in a small college in southern Minnesota.

One stormy evening, Matthew's life takes an unexpected turn when (while driving after consuming too much alcohol) he pulls over to relieve himself and discovers a young boy, soaked and unconscious, beneath a plastic tarp on a deserted highway. The boy, who appears to be around the same age as Matthew's deceased son, pleads with Matthew not to take him to the hospital or call the police.

Overwhelmed by grief and a desperate need to make sense of his own life, Matthew makes a risky decision that sets off a chain of events with far-reaching consequences.

Halleen's writing is evocative and unflinching, capturing the raw emotions and moral ambiguities that drive the narrative. Matthew is a deeply flawed yet relatable character, whose internal struggles and quest for redemption are portrayed with a poignant authenticity. The supporting characters, including Matthew's estranged daughter and the mysterious boy, add layers of complexity to the story, making it a compelling read.

The novel's pacing is taut, with each twist and turn keeping readers on the edge of their seats. Halleen skillfully explores themes of loss, forgiveness, and the search for meaning in the face of unimaginable pain. "The Good Samaritan" is ultimately a testament to the enduring strength of the human spirit and the transformative power of compassion.

Highly recommended for readers who enjoy engaging psychological thrillers with rich character development and thought-provoking themes.

Toni Halleen's "The Good Samaritan" is an enjoyable, powerful and moving story that I couldn't put down. I loved this book, and I will be watching for future great novels from this talented author.

What starts out as an engaging thriller quickly bogs down until it reads like a combination young adult novel and after school special. There's a lot going on and some of the events are truly horrific, but in the end most of it winds up as fodder for a college admissions essay. I didn't enjoy this one.

Thank you, NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this early access book. My only regret about this book is not reading it sooner. It’s been on my NetGalley shelf for awhile. I wouldn’t classify this book as a thriller. It was a really well written story that I couldn’t get enough of. It was insanely good and I especially loved the happy ending. Highly recommend getting your hands on this one when it releases to the public!

This book wasn’t what I was expecting and I just wasn’t vibing with the writing style. It was a decent read but nothing crazy happened. It was kinda lackluster.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review. While The Good Samaritan was not exactly what I expected, it was still a good read.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: March 4, 2025
Toni Halleen, author of “The Surrogate”, poses a sociological question in her new novel, “The Good Samaritan”. If you found a boy, unconscious, lying at a gas station, seemingly on his own, what would you do? For sociology professor Matthew Larkin, the answer to this question and his choice will haunt him.
Matthew Larkin is on the tenure track at the local college and he loves teaching his students and posing sociological questions and theories to them. While driving one evening, he stops at a gas station and notices a young boy under a tarp, alive but unconscious, and decides to take him to a local hospital. But on route, the young boy awakens, refuses hospital care and jumps out of Matthew’s car, running into the night. Matthew thinks that that is where his involvement stops but when the police show up in the middle of a seminar, Matthew begins to wonder what happened to the boy and if the outcome was his fault?
“Samaritan” has several characters that take the lead; Matthew, of course, Matthew’s daughter, Claire, the young boy, Seaver and the social worker, Kira. Each character is connected through their relationship (however short) with Matthew, but they are each dealing with their own personal conflicts and traumas, which helps readers build a bond with them all. As a reader in the social work profession, I connected most with Kira, but all of Halleen’s characters have some level of relatability.
The choices Matthew made were not necessarily the most common (or even the correct) one, but he had his reasons, which Halleen crafted believably. Young Claire is connected to Matthew, obviously, and to Kira as her social worker, but her plot line did not seem to intertwine in any specific way until the end, when her experiences help spawn the creation of a new project that Kira helms. Even without the connection, Claire’s plot line was relevant, emotional and powerful and, it should be noted, consider this a trigger warning for sexual assault and harassment with Claire’s character.
Halleen wrapped the storylines cohesively and I thoroughly enjoyed the outcome. Although there were some aspects that were predictable (such as Kira and Matthew’s relationship at the end), the characters were relatable, the storyline was well-developed and engaging and the premise was thought-provoking. What would you do in this situation? Whether you agreed with Matthew or not, “Samaritan” is one heck of a good read and I am excited to read Halleen’s next work.

I am extremely underwhelmed. I had a lot of hope for this book when it started. I needed to know who the kid was and what happened to him. However, as all the lives of the people started coming together, it just didn't work for me. I would not consider this a thriller at all...maybe more contemporary fiction??? IDK. I LOVED the beginning but couldn't wait for the story to be over.

Thank you Harper Perennial and Paperbacks | Harper Paperbacks for an ARC of this book in exchange of my honest review.

This guy has lost everything and his life looks like there's not every going to be a point of being turned around. Suspenseful and addicting, I love a good second chance, but is it really?

received this as an ARC from NetGalley


This story was a great look into different family dynamics and the secrets we hold. Each character has their own share of struggles they are going through. It seems everyone’s story unfolds after an event takes place.

It was a good read. Left you wanting to continue reading to find the end result in everyone’s story.

This book offers a thoughtful exploration of grief and redemption through the eyes of sociology professor Matthew Larkin. The story begins with an intriguing premise and the book’s portrayal of Matthew is rich with emotion, capturing his struggle to find solace after the devastating loss of his toddler son. However, the novel falls short in several areas. I found the lack of action, and unexpected twists a bit disappointing. The pacing can feel sluggish at times, with the narrative occasionally losing momentum due to its focus on Matthew’s internal conflict. Despite its strong thematic elements, the story could have been enhanced with more dynamic and interconnected plotlines, as well as moments of heightened tension.

This is a solid read for those who appreciate introspective psychological thrillers, but it may not satisfy readers looking for a more action-packed and twisty experience.

The premise - a lonely man, post divorce and after the death of his toddler - is dirivng and finds a little boy on the side of the road during a storm. He stops to help the boy, who insists that he can't be taken to the police or the hospital.

But then....that's it. It's a nothing burger.

This has the potential to twist and turn but kind of fizzled out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This one drove me a little nuts because WHY is the professor that worried to make these dumbass mistakes. Alas, a great novel where murder is sometimes okay, in my opinion.

This thriller felt a bit nostalgic for me! I loved that it was set before a time of cell phones or the internet. The MMC is a little bit boring and I didn’t find myself wanting to stay up all night to finish it. Everything came together well in the end!

I was excited for this book. The premise was intriguing and I love mystery/thrillers. The characters were interesting ... at first. But as the story continued nothing happened. No twists, no shocks, no mysteries, and no thrills. This is a family drama with a lot of emotion. I'm the wrong audience for that.

I went into this book expecting a thriller, but in the end it didn’t feel that it qualified for that genre. There were a lot of big feelings touched on - death of a child, SA, etc - which I also didn’t expect. The characters were very surface level and even when the trauma was brought up, nothing got super deep. The story overall wasn’t bad, it just felt like there should have been more all around. It was a very easy read.

Thank you to Toni Halleen, NetGalley, and Harper Paperbacks for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

While this book started off decent, it lost the intrigue a ways in. I felt there was too much repetition and it was easy to guess the ending. Not a terrible read but not the best either.

Ok....Listen... YES! This was such a thriller and I could not put it down! Chapter after chapter I kept reading just to see what was going to happen and what would the consequences be for that decision! Secrets, heartbreak, shock, this one has it all!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Good Samaritan

Brace yourself, “The Good Samaritan” is where grief, abuse, trauma, and addiction collide!

A few different stories intertwined with a bit of an edge, family drama and real life hardships, I found myself to be invested in each of the characters. Tugging at my heartstrings throughout, so many emotions reached the surface; sadness, anger, frustration, hope, and much more.

Personally, I didn’t quite gain the traction of a psychological thriller but I was eager to unravel the mystery.

I didn’t really find this to be a psychological thriller. I liked how all the characters fit together, but I didn’t really find it suspenseful. It was not a bad read, just not what I was expecting.

The Good Samaritan is a novel set in the 1990s. This is a story that focuses on four main characters and their perspectives which are told through them. An alcoholic college professor Matthew, his high school daughter Claire, a foster care social worker Kira and Seaver a teenage runaway.

The story did touch upon the tragic loss of a child as Matthew’s son drowned at a young age and afterwards, he and his wife divorced. Matthew throws himself into his work as he is hoping for tenure when he comes upon a boy out in the cold appearing to be injured.

The story goes from character to character. I didn’t connect to any of the characters as I felt they needed a more personal explanation of their feelings, and I needed more of a why. Why didn’t Matthew spend more time with his daughter who clearly needed guidance. I needed more of Seaver’s story and his background, I needed more of Kira’s story, a social worker who cared so much for all those cases she was assigned to and was in the foster care system herself.

There were some questions I felt were not answered and I felt the ending was a bit rushed. I wanted to connect and understand the characters in more depth but felt bored at times and found myself skimming pages which is something I do not do.

Many thanks to Netgalley , Harper Perennial and Paperbacks and the author Toni Halleen for an advanced copy of this book.

Pub Date: Mar 04, 2025