I have read more than my fair share of thrillers, and am therefore no stranger to unlikable characters, plot holes or ridiculous conclusions but - Upstanding Young Man had all three.

The premise had promise - a high school wrestling star in a small town goes missing. As suspicion turns to to his family, his mother's secrets are unearthed. What did Meg do, and why?

But the tedious pace, lack of serious red herrings and frustrating characters almost made me throw the book into the did not finish pile. There was some sweetness and light to McLane, our Upstanding Young Man - his loyalty to his friends, his love of his girlfriend - that kept me reading.

There is often shoddy police work in thrillers, leading main characters to figure things out for themselves. In this case, the teenagers in the book were always ten steps ahead of the adults in wildly improbable ways.

Story lines that could have been interesting - the correlation between aging contact sports athletes and CTE - were just dropped.

With so many choices of whodunits out there, this one is a skip for me.

Thank you Netgalley for the preview!

Sharon Doering delivers another dark, twisty psychological thriller that had me second-guessing everyone until the very end. The story follows a family, as layers of secrets, guilt, and family tension unravel.

Doering has a real talent for creating morally gray characters—people you’re not sure whether to root for or distrust entirely. The pacing is sharp, the writing compulsively readable, and just when I thought I had it figured out, the story took another sharp turn.

What I loved most was how Doering balances the suspense with emotional depth. The messy family dynamics and psychological tension felt raw and real, making the thriller elements hit even harder.

If you enjoy thrillers that are smart, character-driven, and keep you guessing until the last page, Upstanding Young Man is one to put on your radar.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. These are my views and thoughts.

OKAY SHARON - this book was sooooo juicy. I love when a thriller absolutely snatches my attention, which is exactly what this one did. I also love when I can commit to a book in one sitting because it is THAT addicting.
I was absolutely SHOCKED at who was to blame in this story. There were definitely moments leading up to it that made it more obvious now that I look back on it, but the amount of absolute slander and shocking revelations that happen in this book kept me distracted enough to not pay as much attention to every single detail.

This was juicy, wholesome, dramatic and nail-biting told in such a fun dual timeline and dual POV way and I loved every second of it.

Writing this I realized how many dark books I have been recently reading, all of which are extremely timely. The Hart family - man, I FELT for them. They had so many secrets that I don’t know if they new what the truth looked like anymore. The teens in this story were well written and felt so real. Without giving spoilers, there is a plot point in this that mirrors current events that is well done and much needed. Doering does an amazing job leaving breadcrumbs throughout that will tie together in the end.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

McClane, a high school senior, goes missing. His mother, Meg, waited a day before reporting him missing and only does so when McClane's girlfriend says she can report him. The chapters alternate between Meg and McClane, with Meg telling about the days after McClane disappeared and McClane telling the days leading up to his disappearance.

This is a well written thriller that builds the tension until it explodes! I thought the characters were realistic and the pacing on point. I liked that the reader is never really sure what the truth is and who is lying. This is a layered thriller that hooked me from the start! Highly recommend!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the eARC.

Upstanding Young Man was not easy to get through. The content is challenging, the characters are difficult. But the twists make it worth it.

Upstanding Young Man
by Sharon Doering
2 out of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

One sentence-summary: When high school student McClane goes missing, the past is dug up in unexpected ways.

This book is told in alternating view points between McClane and his mother. Although it is meant to add to the suspense, the alternating views frustrated me to some extent. I wanted to get deeply engaged with the story in order to connect. Unfortunately, between the alternating views and the short chapters, I was never really able to get into the story.

I really didn't care for any of the characters, and the writing seemed almost meant for a YA audience. Except, it had an explicit, unnecessary sex scene that did not need to be in the book.

Overall, I would not recommend this book to anyone.

This book hooked me right away with its clever dual timelines - Meg’s perspective in the aftermath of her son’s disappearance and McClane’s in the hours leading up to it. The structure gave it a unique rhythm and kept me flipping pages to see just how their storylines would collide. The writing was sharp in how she was able to switch continuously from a mother’s perspective and dialogue to a teenage boys. It had emotional depth with just the right amount of secrets and dysfunction hiding in plain sight behind a seemingly normal family.

My only drawback was that I felt the twist happened about 75% of the way through and felt a bit dragged out for the remaining 25%. This took away from the tension and suspense in my opinion. Still a great read and would definitely recommend to anyone that loves a good domestic thriller!

Meg Hart has crafted the illusion of the perfect family and home to the outside world but inside they're decaying. She barely recognizes her husband, Joe, a former Golden Gloves boxing champion and her teenage children are hiding their own secrets. McClane, her 18 year-old son is easy going, a star wrestler with a full ride to college and has his first serious girlfriend. But when he disappears after an argument with Meg, her perfectly created world comes crashing down. Meg finds herself the prime suspect and realizes Hudson was hiding secrets like she was-including that his girlfriend Natalie is pregnant. The Hart family has experienced tragedy before and the past is colliding with the present and closing in on Meg. Told in alternating perspectives and timelines (Meg's during the present after McClane is missing and McClane's leading right up until he disappears) the chapters are short and taut, which will keep reader's interest. There are some other subplots, some more pertinent to the story than others, and a couple good twists that readers of psychological mysteries and suspense will enjoy. There are a few trigger warnings to consider and as an ARC the formatting was a little disjointed but overall a strong 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

A mesmerizing look at a young man's psychology as well as his mother's hope, all with a plot that unspools at a fever pitch!

What happened to McClane? He was behaving like a normal 18-year-old with a wrestling scholarship on the line. Now the school is calling and his girlfriend is begging for his mother to call the police.

As time goes on we see a family unraveling. How long has it been going on and can it be stopped?

This is a new-to-me author and I was intrigued by the premise. Here are four things I loved about this new release:

🏡The Midwest setting was a plus for me. Sugar Glen is just down the highway from Chicago and not far from my home state of Missouri. I felt at home.
📝I liked the way Doering set up the narrative. Meg (Mom) has a POV running in real time starting the day of the call to the police. McClane gives his perspective beginning 28 hours before he is missing.
👨‍🦱McClane really does seem to be an UPSTANDING YOUNG MAN. Why would someone want to do him harm? He has a sports scholarship, loves his girlfriend, and works hard to be a good friend. There was that fight with his mom, but most teenagers have those once in awhile.
📚The Author's Note includes some intriguing clues to the making of this book. She also includes some great songs on her playlist. One of them -- "Lose Yourself" by Eminem -- was a motivator on my morning run today. Don't read it before you start the book to avoid spoilers.

Thank you to Hyperion and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review. This book is available as of August 12, 2025.

The chapters fly by, the tension never lets up, and just when you think you’ve got it figured out—bam, another twist.

This was a terrific book. McClane, a high school senior, goes missing. Where is he and why did his mother wait a day before reporting it? Why did she only report it after his girlfriend said she could make the report? So many questions in this book that needed answering, each question generating findings that were shocking. McClane lived at home with Meg, his mother and Joe, his father and sister Whitney. An older sister and brother lived in different states. The chapters alternate between Meg and McClane. Meg narrated the timeline from missing while McClane spoke of the days leading up to his disappearance. The chapter timelines were not confusing as long as you read the heading. What a Twisted Thriller. WOW.
Thank you to Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for the complementary digital ARC. This review is my own opinion and not coerced in any way.

Upstanding Young Man by Sharon Doering was just a fantastic read! I loved the story and way that it had me completely sucked in right from the beginning.
Captivating and suspenseful. I plowed through this book in about a day.

Thank You NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Y’all! Meg Hart’s life looks flawless—until her golden-boy son vanishes on a brisk spring morning and the cops start eyeing her like she’s the main suspect. Sharon Doering’s Upstanding Young Man is a brisk, bingeable tangle of betrayal, scandal, and “oh-no-they-didn’t” twists.

We jump between Meg’s frantic present and McClane’s tense hours before disappearing—pregnant girlfriend, wrestling scandal, and a betrayal that will make your teeth grind. You can smell the burnt coffee in the interrogation room, feel the cold dread seeping in, and hear the clock ticking louder with every secret exposed.

Fast-paced, sharp, and just messy enough to be delicious, this is Desperate Housewives meets Dateline. Perfect for a one-sitting read… preferably with wine you’ll forget to drink.

Thanks to Hyperion Avenue for providing this advance copy via NetGalley for my honest, voluntary review. #UpstandingYoungMan #NetGalley

Upstanding Young Man by Sharon Doering was a very distracting writing style and one I could not engage with. Wrote in a first person POV but also felt like a 3rd person POV at times.

I don't mind a multiple POV story and I think that it really adds to the story depth. However, this was instantaneous and with a countdown narrative that I don't think added to the story. I was being told these thing instead of feeling or being engaged as a reader in a story. Almost felt like I was being edged up for not a lot of payoff.

I felt like I should DNF early on and found the language used in this just didn't grab me.

The story and the issue with the ARC formatting (spacing, editing issues, etc) became to distracting for me to engage in the story being able to read it straight through.

Thank you Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue for this e-ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. Sadly, this book did not work for me and I DNF'd at 20%.

Upstanding Young Man is a brilliantly executed thriller that takes its time to wind the tension tighter and tighter, until it reaches a breaking point that delivers in the most explosive way possible. From the very first pages, Sharon Doering pulls you into a world that feels both unsettling and irresistible, crafting a narrative so cleverly designed that you’re never entirely sure where the truth lies. Each chapter adds another layer to an already complex web of lies, secrets, and unexpected alliances, keeping you in a state of constant curiosity and dread.

Doering’s strength lies not only in her razor-sharp pacing but also in her ability to create multidimensional characters who are as flawed as they are fascinating. The people who populate this story feel real—each with their own motivations, vulnerabilities, and dangerous secrets—and that realism makes every betrayal and revelation cut deeper. Just when you think you’ve pieced the puzzle together, the story shifts, revealing new truths that throw your theories into chaos.

The novel’s climax is nothing short of breathtaking, the kind of moment that makes you realize just how carefully every preceding detail was placed. It’s a testament to Doering’s skill that the ending feels both shocking and inevitable, a perfect culmination of the tension she’s been building all along. Dark, intricate, and utterly addictive, Upstanding Young Man is a must-read for thriller fans who crave an unpredictable ride with genuine emotional impact. This is not just a story you read—it’s one you experience, heart racing and mind reeling until the very last page.

Wow!! This book was so unexpected, the twist blew my mind. The story was told in dual POVs, right up until the time he disappears, the reader gets a glimpse into the thought of both characters.

When high school senior, McClane "Mick" Hart goes missing after he has a big fight with his mother, Meg Hart doesn't realize something's amiss at first. Meg thinks that her son is giving her the silent treatment and staying with a friend. In reality, he's missing and Natalie, her son's girlfriend is the one who informs Meg that Mick is in trouble.

Meg has spent her whole life trying to portray that she has a picture perfect family, when the truth is just the opposite. Her husband, Joe, a former boxer, has fugue-like states where he's a completely different person for hours. Years of blows to his head have had lasting effects that Joe refuses to see a doctor for. He disappears every night and she has no idea where he goes. They have four children, David, Jamie, McClane, and Whitney. Each child is as different from the other. David works for the FBI, Jamie is trying to become a journalist, McClane earned a wrestling scholarship to Indiana University, and Whitney is still in high school.

Unbeknownst to each other, they all have their own secrets, and no one wants their secrets revealed.

So when Natalie demands that Meg call the police to find Mick, Meg does so to shut her up. But the police find things in his room that's concerning. With Meg hiding secrets from the police about what her family is really like, the police are more focused on what they found than actually searching for her son.

When Mick is gone for three days, Meg realizes that the police haven't been looking for her son. They've been building a case against her instead. With the help of Whitney, they figure out some disturbing things and they go in search of McClane. What both Meg and McClane never expected was to be betrayed by someone they loved.

A definite must read.

*I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this advanced copy. Wow! Motherhood is hard! I enjoyed getting to know the characters in this and was shocked by the twists! so much going on. My first by this author and won't be my last!

There were so many great reviews on this book that I just had to get my own ARC copy! Once I was starting Upstanding Young Man, it got my blood pumping. The mystery and shock factor did it for me! Go read this book!!