What a good debut!! This is a page turner that has you second guessing everything. Unreliable narrator made for a fun read I couldn’t put down!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my opinion. I believe this is meant to be a thriller but honestly, it left me very confused. Noah and Claire seem to have a very great relationship until it isn't. Is this a case of an unreliable narrator or are their liars amongst the relationship? You will be questioning the reality throughout. 3.5 stars

I enjoyed this debut novel/psychological thriller. Claire is your classic unreliable narrator. I find it a little frustrating that I didn’t have all the details throughout the book but they gradually surfaced and it made for a very readable story. The ending was unexpected but not surprising. Overall, a good thriller.

I would call this a psychological thriller, impressive for a debut novel. It's the story of Claire, who is engaged to Noah and is finally happy after growing up with an abusive mother. Noah is every woman's dream husband-handsome, attentive, and employed. One day Claire decides to surprise Noah at work with lunch, and finds out he doesn't work there, and he hasn't for months. Egged on by her friend Suki, she will not be ignored, and starts investigating Noah and why he hasn't been returning her calls. How could her fiance ghost her? And is he now with someone else? The more Claire digs into what's going on, the dire her circumstances get until it results in death and then you start finding out what really happened towards the last 3rd of the book. The author keeps us the tension and the pacing is good. I appreciate any book that is under 300 pages. I kept reading just to find out what possible explanation Noah could have for his behavior. When all is revealed, I was a bit let down. I was hoping for a more shocking conclusion, but this still was a good surprise. You feel bad for Claire throughout the book but wish she'd get a backbone and lash out to some of the people mistreating her, and she does a bit towards the end. All in all a great first effort and I look forward to seeing more from this author!

Claire is so excited to be engaged to Noah. She brings him lunch at his office then learns he doesn’t work there. Then she discovers he has another life, one with a different beautiful girl. She has to investigate and wants him to come back to her but her investigation takes her down a dark path, one from which she may not return.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A girl ghosted leads to a woman scorned in Claire, Darling, the electrifying debut by up-and-coming new author Callie Kazumi.

In this tense thriller, a young PR assistant, Claire, is desperately in love with her fiancé, Noah. However, her whole world is turned upside down when Noah apparently ghosts her. She doesn’t discover that she has been dumped without warning until she attempts to bring Noah lunch at his prestigious firm, only to discover that he left his position several months ago. Now with Noah not answering Claire’s texts, nor showing up at their shared apartment at night, Claire is sick to her stomach with worry … and the fact that it appears she has been really and truly ghosted. When Claire’s obsession to uncover the truth and gets answers leads her to digging deeper and deeper into Noah’s life, she learns that he has been hiding so much more from her than she could have ever imagined.

I could not look away from Kazumi’s knockout novel, Claire, Darling. This book became my own guilty obsession, providing me with a meaty mystery to sink my teeth into. I was truly shocked by every twist and turn, and despite my trying to stay on top of where Kazumi was headed with this searing story of love gone wrong, she managed to always stay one step ahead of me, continuously surprising me until the very last page.

Claire, Darling will appeal to readers who enjoy suspenseful multi-layered, relationship-centric fiction. Anyone who has ever been ghosted will feel Claire’s shock and pain as she tries to figure out just where her relationship went wrong. Desperate and unhinged, Claire does and says all of the things you might wish you could do and say to your ex, but never had the nerve to carry out. Twofold, this novel also examines Claire’s bumpy childhood with a cruel, narcissistic mother, and explores all of the ways her traumatic upbringing shaped her into the woman she is today.

With a first novel this taut and page-turning, I can’t wait to see what Kazumi does next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC of Claire, Darling!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
💔 have ever been cheated on
✍🏻 keep a journal
📖 love debut novels
🤔 often second guess yourself

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Claire is excited to drop off a surprise workday lunch for her fiancé, Noah. It’s their anniversary, after all. But when the receptionist tells her that no one with Noah’s name works there, Claire thinks there must be a mistake.

Noah isn’t picking up her calls. Her texts go unanswered. It turns out Noah has a different life . . . one with a beautiful girlfriend, a beautiful house. Claire was never really in the picture.

Desperate to speak to Noah and convince him to return to their dream life, Claire plunges into a nightmarish journey of obsession that submerges her deeper into the murky waters of her own past—a past dominated by a manipulative mother who shattered her sense of self.

Will Claire break free from the ghosts that haunt her? Or will they become more costly than any of Noah’s lies?

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

My friend recommended this one to me, and she knows me so well, because I absolutely loved this one! The chapters were nice and short, the pacing was just right, and I enjoyed the journal entries and flashbacks to her interactions with her terrible mother. I really felt bad for Claire. She was going through the worst possible thing, and I didn’t understand why. I had a ton of different theories, but I was honestly shocked by the conclusion. I kept second guessing myself about a lot of it, going back and forth, thinking over different possibilities and what they could mean. Overall, a really twisty psychological novel that was brilliant seeing it’s a debut! Get your copy of this now!

Claire is ecstatic to surprise her fiancé, Noah, with a special lunch at his office—it is their anniversary, after all. But when the receptionist insists that no one by that name works there, Claire is convinced there must be some mistake.

Her calls go unanswered. Her texts are ignored. And soon, she uncovers a devastating truth: Noah has an entirely different life—one with a gorgeous girlfriend, a stunning home, and no sign of the future they had planned together.

Determined to confront him and reclaim what was supposed to be hers, Claire spirals into an obsession that pulls her deeper into the shadows of her past—a past shaped by a manipulative mother who distorted her reality and shattered her sense of self.

I absolutely devoured this book! It’s a fast-paced, suspenseful read that kept me hooked from start to finish. Each chapter left me eager to see what would unfold next. Kazumi masterfully weaves Claire’s diary entries into the narrative at just the right moments, heightening the tension between past and present. And that ending—wow! The novel raises thought-provoking questions about mental illness and whether anyone can ever truly outrun their past.

I’ll be sharing my full review on Goodreads and Amazon in early March 2025.

Many thanks to Callie Kazumi, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam, and NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Be sure to grab a copy when it hits shelves on March 11, 2025!

Trigger warnings: bullying, ghosting, breakups, abuse, murder.

Callie Kazumi delivers a twisted, psychological debut with Claire, Darling, a novel that keeps readers questioning everything from start to finish. The story follows Claire, a woman who believes she’s in a loving relationship—until she discovers that her fiancé, Noah, has an entirely different life, one that doesn’t include her. What begins as a search for answers spirals into a dark and unsettling journey where obsession, past trauma, and reality itself blur beyond recognition.

Claire is the epitome of an unreliable narrator, making every twist feel unpredictable. Her desperation is palpable, her actions unsettling, and her downward spiral gripping to watch. Kazumi does a great job of immersing the reader in Claire’s fractured mindset, layering in childhood trauma and a manipulative mother that have shaped her into someone who isn’t sure what’s real.

The writing is sharp, the tension constant, but at times, the novel leans so heavily into Claire’s unreliability that the plot feels murky. Some moments could have used more grounding, especially as the story builds toward its climax. While this adds to the novel’s eerie, fever-dream quality, it occasionally makes it difficult to fully connect with Claire beyond her unraveling.

Claire, Darling is an engrossing debut that showcases Kazumi’s talent for psychological suspense. Fans of deeply unreliable narrators and stories where reality is constantly shifting will find plenty to love here, even if the novel’s ambiguity won’t be for everyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the advanced copy of this unique suspense book.
The book centers on Claire, who decides to visit and drop off lunch to her fiancé's office and is informed he hasn't worked there in months. She tries to find him and figure out what has happened and discovers he is essentially ghosting her. As she attempts to track him down through his routine, social media, and those around him, things begin to unravel.
It's hard to fully describe the book without giving too much of the plot away.
The story goes back and forth between the present time, her diary entries, and her abusive relationship growing up with her single mother.
The mystery of why her fiancé is no longer interacting with her is intriguing. You're both concerned for Claire and also stressed how she is making the situation worse.
If you are looking for a creative suspense book, this is an interesting and original one.

Wow - I really enjoyed this! The book is basically written in two halves. The first - the mystery is set up. The second is the legal case. I enjoyed both parts! Even when I thought I had figured out the twist, there was more to the story that I was not expecting!

I can’t believe this was a debut! There were so many twists and turns that kept me second guessing everything. I thought I knew what would happen next but there were moments I never expected and the ending shocked me. This book was very well written and kept me engaged from start to finish. I will say that I noticed various grammar errors and I’m sure with further editing this will be fixed before publishing. Both Claire and Noah aren’t likable characters but the first half of the book we see Claire as more unhinged and then as the story goes on the reader finds out about her upbringing dealing with an abusive mother. Once you read her diary entries you really feel like this is the true definition of a psychological thriller. The chapters were quick to get through and the writing style makes it easy for readers to get drawn in to the story. I will be on the lookout for future books written by this author since this was an excellent debut. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review and feedback.

Claire is living the dream. She has a wonderful relationship with Noah: they’ve been together for a year, and now they are engaged. While they save up to buy a house, they live in her small London apartment; she loves her new job in PR that Noah encouraged her to apply for. Claire has overcome a particularly difficult background tormented by bullying classmates (and even her own unstable mother at times). One day she decides to surprise Noah at work with takeout lunch, but when she arrives there, the building receptionist says Noah hasn’t worked there for a long time. Then she can’t reach him on the phone. Her work friend Sukhi discovers Noah has a social media profile that Claire is blocked from, and Claire begins to spiral. Why did Noah block her? Why don’t his colleagues know who she is? She doesn’t exactly know what he does at the office. Why would some people say such awful things about her?
Digging into Noah’s online life, she finds evidence that he’s been seeing another woman, so she begins to investigate her, even visiting her office. When she finds a home address, she goes there to see what she can learn. She’s shocked at the swanky neighborhood the other woman lives in. Unable to help herself, Claire visits again, and knocks on the door when she sees Noah leave the house. She confronts Lilah, tearfully asking why she’s stolen the love of her life. They argue, and suddenly, Lilah is on the floor, surrounded by blood, dead. The police don’t believe Claire’s account, and she is charged with murder and put on trial.
What a page-turner! Kazumi’s debut is riveting. Enjoy! Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!

4 stars

Wow! I cannot believe this is a debut, and you can’t change my minds. This was a thrill ride from beginning to end. Quite an unputdownable book. And I seriously cannot wait to see what Kazumi brings us next!

Yes, Claire Darling, this is how you write a debut novel! This was such a fast paced read that could easily be read in one sitting (darn norovirus for slowing me down) I did not want to stop reading until I knew the ending. Claire is engaged to, Noah, the man of her dreams, but when she drops lunch off to him she is surprised when she finds out he no longer works there. Now Noah will not answer any of her calls of texts. What is going on? This story grabbed me from the beginning and I am still picking my jaw up off the grab from that ending. Do not sit on this one. I would definitely recommend. Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC.

Claire, Claire, Claire, Claire. Sometimes....SOMETIMES, things are just too good to be true.

Claire, Darling by Callie Kazumi is a psychological thriller about a woman scored. Claire is in love with Noah. They are engaged and live together in a small flat while their dream house is renovated. Noah has helped Claire in many, many ways. She's a new job, she's dealing with her negative feelings about her past, she's no longer a virgin....

One day after their one-year anniversary, Claire and her co-worker/friend Sukhi go to Noah's office to drop off lunch. Except Noah no longer works there, and he hasn't in months. Claire frantically tries to contact Noah, but he doesn't respond. She is devastated.

With Sukhi's help, Claire accesses Noah's social media profiles and finds that Noah isn't the man she thought. He's in photos with people she's never met, and his arms are wrapped around a woman who isn't Claire. Who is Noah, and why has he ghosted Claire?

All the while, we, the reader, have access to Claire's diary. From her life with Noah to her past childhood trauma, we learn more and more about dear Claire.

When a tragedy occurs, the truth starts to unravel, and maybe Claire doesn't like the explanation of why Noah left.
---
Callie Kazumi has written a banger of a debut with Claire, Darling. Claire is a prime example of an unreliable narrator, and that's what makes this story so great.

I could not stop reading this one and highly recommend it to anyone who needs a quick-paced thriller.

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

Callie Kazumi’s Claire, Darling is a gripping psychological thriller that showcases superb writing and a knack for building tension. From the very first page, I was hooked, unable to put the book down as Claire's desperate quest for answers unraveled. The characters were fascinating and deeply flawed, and I was captivated by the way Kazumi explored Claire's inner turmoil and her haunting past.

That said, I was hoping for more depth in the narrative arc. The story leaned heavily into the familiar "the woman is insane" trope, which felt predictable and overused. I wanted Claire’s perspective to ultimately be validated in a way that forced readers to confront their own biases—perhaps even to realize that we had been manipulated by Noah’s lies, reflecting our internalized misogyny. Instead, the conclusion landed exactly where I expected, leaving me longing for a more subversive or nuanced take.

Still, Kazumi's prose and pacing make Claire, Darling an engrossing read. If you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller with complex characters, this book will certainly deliver, even if it treads familiar ground.

This was such a great book! Makes you think about if you know someone or not. It was a page turner for sure. I hope to read more from Callie.

Great debut novel for Callie Kazumi! Trying to surprise her fiance at work with lunch, Claire discovers he no longer works there and hasn't for some time. Is her fiance living a double life she is unaware of? Who can you believe? The ending will blow you away!

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Publishing- Bantam, and Callie Kazumi for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date for Claire, Darling is March 11, 2025

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
"Claire, Darling" by Callie Kazumi was an unique story that was part mystery & part psychological thriller. There were many twists & turns that I never saw coming & the ending was so unexpected.
This was a solid debut & I can't wait to read what Ms. Kazumi decides to write next.
I highly recommend this book.