Claire is living a good life with a brand new job, a loving fiancé and a soon to be renovated dream home. When she and a coworker friend decide to swing by and bring lunch to her love Noah, her world is turned upside down as she is informed he no longer works there.

Determined to get to the truth, Claire frantically tracks down Noah only to find that he is with another woman and refuses to talk to her or answer her calls.

Claire was raised by a dramatic, often histrionic, single mother partial to anger and punishing Claire for normal childhood behavior. She is often given the silent treatment and forced to do her own cooking when as young as seven or 8. Claire’s sense of self worth is consistently damaged by being told that she is worthless and unlovable—the only one who will ever love her is her mother.

I was rather surprised by the trajectory of this story. Claire, who comes off initially as the victim of bullies and an abusive mother, is initially a character to root for. However, during the progression of the story, she starts to morph into a morally grey individual, and not in a likable way. What follows is an interesting story of a life unraveling, with plenty of twists in store. I rate Claire, Darling 3.75 stars.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

CLAIRE, DARLING by debut author Callie Kazumi explores a familiar trope found in psychological thrillers but has an interesting execution. Main character Claire is happily engaged to Noah, and when she brings Noah’s lunch to him at work, she learns that he no longer works there. And then Claire can’t find him. She’s been ghosted by her fiance.

And that leads the reader to debate with one’s self whether Claire is unhinged or if she is being played by her fiance. Claire’s deceased mother plays a big part in this novel, hence the title being how Claire’s mother addressed her (“Claire, darling”). I found the mother parts a bit suffocating, but I think that was the point.

What tugged at my heartstrings is that Claire’s first friend in life was her fiercely loyal co-worker Sukhi. Everyone needs a Sukhi in their life.

I must admit that I ate this novel up like it was my favorite chocolate. The second half of the novel features court testimony by a plethora of characters, and I really liked how the author crafted each piece coming together.

While this isn’t high literature, I found it extremely compelling and I didn’t want to put it down. Unlike a lot of psychological thrillers, though, I feel like the author laid a lot of groundwork for the “why.” I did find a few things related to the plot a bit difficult to believe, but I think that’s pretty typical with this genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam/Random House Publishing for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an unbiased review.


It publishes March 11, 2025.

"Claire, Darling" by Callie Kazumi is a gripping debut thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The story follows Claire, a woman who meets the charming Noah, they become engaged, only a year later, he mysteriously abandons her and denies any knowledge of her. As the plot unfolds, the twists and turns will keep you guessing - or at least, they're supposed to. While I found the book to be engaging and well-written, I did find the ending to be somewhat predictable. I was able to piece together the mystery fairly early on, which took away from the surprise factor. However, I still enjoyed reading and it was short and simple which I love. 4/5 ⭐️ thank you netgalley, Callie Kazumi, and BantamRandom House Publishing Group - Ballantine for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I gave this book 5 stars. I believe this is a debut author and I will be looking for more from her in the future. This psychological thriller kept me on my toes! I did not want to put it down once I had picked it up! This book is a job well-done!

Now this is how you write a debut novel!! 👏 I had lots of things I needed to get done (work included), but none of that was happening until I finished reading this book. Oh Claire, Darling…

This story starts off with Claire going with her coworker, Sukhi, to surprise her fiancé at work with lunch. When Claire arrives at her fiancé’s office, she is informed that he no longer works there and he hasn’t worked there in months. Where in the world has her fiancé, Noah, been going every day? And why isn’t Noah answering his phone and returning any of her text messages or phone calls? It seems as if he has totally ghosted Claire after they have spent a loving year together.

After Claire does some investigating of her own, she finds out that Noah might not have been so loyal to her after all. Through this we also get to read some of Claire’s diary entries from when her and Noah met, and also their time together. We even get flashbacks from Claire’s childhood of her time with “Mother”. Because of her mother, Claire was made to feel unlovable, unwanted, and unworthy. But Noah changed all that, and she couldn’t wait to prove to mother that she could be desired too.

I hate to admit that I resonated with a bit too much in this book. Like Sukhi, I wanted to be a friend to Claire as well. There was a twist in the end that I didn’t suspect, and it really threw me for a loop! 🤯 I really enjoyed this debut novel, and could not turn the pages fast enough!! I definitely recommend reading this!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Random Publishing House/Ballantine, and the author for a DRC of this book in which I had the pleasure of reading. All opinions are my own.
Publication date: March 11, 2025
Genre~ Women’s Fiction, General Fiction (adult), Mystery &Thrillers

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine/Bantam and NetGalley for this ARC of Callie Kazumi's 'Claire, Darling.'

A really enjoyable psychological thriller in which your kept guessing and second-guessing throughout as to what the real story is. It's very well-paced and a quick read as we learn about Claire's abusive and frankly horrific childhood and her efforts to find out what exactly is going on with her seemingly perfect fiancée. This is a novel partially populated with some damaged and unlikeable characters but balanced out with some compassion and friendship on the other side.

I can see this making one of those enjoyable Netflix four- or six-part miniseries. It has all the ingredients = great London locations, intrigue, attractive people, plot twists, the whole shebang.

This was twisty, turny fun!

Claire is living her best life. A super handsome fiancee, a good job, and a good friend. What more could a girl ask for? Things are going great until she finds out Noah has a different life, with a different woman, and then out protagonist begins to unravel.

Claire, Darling is the picture-perfect story of the importance of perspective and a reliable narrator. I was blindsided until the very last pages. I loved this book!

Solid 4 stars for this debut novel. Quick read, absolutely wild ride.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was one heck of a ride! Claire goes to her fiancé's place of employment to take him lunch only to be told he hasn't worked there for months. She is determined to find out what is going on after he won't return calls or texts.
I have read other books that started out this way but this one takes a new route from here. Usually I have things figured out by at least halfway through but not this time. Don't miss this one it is a great domestic thriller.
Thanks to Net Galley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

My fiancé doesn’t work here?

How can that be?

Claire can’t believe it. Noah has been lying to her for over a year, and now he has ghosted her.

She has to find out where he works now and what is going on.

Claire finds out what is going, and it’s what she thought.

Noah leads another life with another woman.

And how can she compete with the gorgeous woman he is with when she has always been told she is worthless and not that attractive. Her mother was the worst and meanest critic.

Why would he even want to be with her when he has been dating Lilah way before her and while they were together.

There has to be some reason, but what is it? Is Noah in some kind of trouble?

Claire has to find out what's going on - what can she do and what does she do?

We follow Claire as she looks for what’s wrong.

CLAIRE, DARLING is a pull-you-in ​psychological thriller debut that will have you quickly turning the pages to the unexpected ending.

Will you figure out how it ends? 4/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

A fast paced thriller with a twist featuring a good court drama .As a warning there is a trigger warning of child abuse. The story alternates between the present and the past childhood of Claire ,the main character. She was so excited to be engaged to her dream man , Noah Coors. She finally felt like she escaped the shadow of her horrible mother and her awful childhood. Until one day she found a secret Noah had been hiding. She is worried that her world was crashing down around her. If you like a fast paced psychological thriller with a unique plot this is an entertaining read. # ClaireDarling #RandomHousePublishingGroup-Ballantine

For a first novel, this was pretty good. I had no preconceived notions going into the book, and I was pleasantly surprised. This psychological domestic drama kept my interest and had enough twists to keep me on my toes. The book ended up going to a place I didn't expect, which was surprising (and positive).

There were themes of child abuse and neglect, so be forewarned.

Would I read more from the author? Yes.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

What a fun, fast-paced thriller! I enjoyed the quick chapters that alternated between now and Claire’s diary. The diary chapters provided a lot of insight into her mind and her traumatic childhood that set the story into motion. Even though I did not connect with Claire’s or Noah’s characters I enjoyed this book very much. There were a few predictable elements but some of the twists came out of nowhere.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC that was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! That was a wild read. That final scene in the courtroom!! No clue! Great reveal! And that epilogue! That's how you end a book.

Claire, Darling by Callie Kazumi is a great read! I really enjoyed this book and was recommending it to all my friends. The characters were so well written and I didn't want this book to end!

Claire has a fiance. HIs name is Noah. Only problem is Noah doesn’t know he is her fiance.
Talk about scary stalker! My problem with this one is that I have read probably way too many books with this same scenario.
Woman stops by work only to find the man has lied.


NetGalley/ RHPG March 11, 2025

I really liked this thriller. It was an interesting and easy read for me. I guessed the twist pretty early on, but I actually liked that! The fact that there were context clues peppered throughout the text (spoiler: her never going to his office, who doesn't have Facebook in this day and age??, the guard dog ) made it much more enjoyable. I hate when books have a "twist" that came out of nowhere and hinges on the narrator straight up lying the entire book. This book didn't do that! You can have an unreliable narrator AND still not give away the twist!

I also really like all the little details (buying milk with furthest expiration date, doing the laborious clicking along a google maps road to find the exact house, complaining about having to walk up 3 flights of stairs because there's no elevator).

I think this is a fun thriller to read on a snowy day (which I did, haha)!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this ARC!

Three and one-half stars
Review of Advance Reade’s Copy eBook

Claire Arundale and her fiancé, Noah Coors, are celebrating one year together. She’s looking forward to a wedding one day and then to children.

Claire decides to stop in at Noah’s workplace and leave him lunch. But the receptionist says that no one named Noah Coors works there. And all her efforts to reach him are unsuccessful.

Where is Noah? Why is Claire being ghosted? And what is the truth?

=========

The story alternates between what is happening today and Claire’s diary [providing some important background information]. Sprinkled throughout the telling of the tale are events the sometimes-gruesome details of Claire’s abuse at her mother’s hand are both cringe-worthy and heart-wrenching. Then, too, there is the bullying by her classmates at school. These incidents help explain Claire for the reader.

Although neither Claire nor Noah are particularly likeable, the unfolding story, with its mostly-brief chapters, keeps the pages turning as the readers are pulled into the story. Although many readers will figure out at least part of the story before the revelations in the surprising denouement.

Readers who enjoy psychological mysteries are likely to enjoy Claire’s story.

Recommended.

Hard to read, horrible abusive upbringing

This story was a quick, addictive read but it wasn’t as satisfying as it should have been. The unreliable narrator is a plot device that is tired, exhausted.

The sad thing is that Noah was a shit. Unfortunately all that was lost in nonsense that was our main character.

Hopefully she gets out of the asylum and takes him out.

This story was like an actual nightmare- dropping off food to your fiancé only to find out he hasn’t worked there in months and never told you.
This book was sooo hard to put down, I just wanted to find out what her fiancé was up to.

If you like a quick psychological thriller that grabs you quickly and jumps timelines, you will want to read this one!!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.