This was sure a creepy one! You have people being fake, relationships in trouble, and a murder….wow! I flew through this to get to the end! Loved it!!!

This one was a bit of a letdown for me. The premise sounded super intriguing, a woman watching the life of the woman who adopted her biological daughter through social media? Definitely had potential for a dark, twisty thriller. But sadly, it just didn’t deliver.

I couldn’t really connect with the main character, and a lot of her choices felt weird or unbelievable. The story started off strong, but then it kind of lost steam. Some of the twists were easy to see coming, and the pacing dragged in places. By the time the twist hit, I didn’t feel shocked, I mostly just wanted it to be over.

That said, the writing is easy to get through and I finished it quickly. But overall, it just felt flat and forgettable. Not the psychological thriller I was hoping for.

When Autumn placed her daughter up for adoption she hoped that she would find a better life, and she did. Grace was adopted by the McMullens, a wealthy family that adores her. At least that's what it looks like on social media. Watching her daughter's life via social media is enough to Autumn, for a while, but when she learns the McMullens are hiring a nanny, she jumps at the chance to watch from much, much closer.

I absolutely loved this one. Daphne & Autumn are both flawed and likeable, the other characters are interesting and felt real, and the plot moves FAST. This author's books are always quick reads for me, but I killed this one in a day because I couldn't put it down. I loved the way the stories folded together in a way that felt believable and then how the last 20% had an amazing twist that you can't possibly see coming. 10/10, highly recommended for anyone who loves a good twisty thriller!

3.75 🌟 rounded up

Autumn Carpenter becomes obsessed with the social media posts of the family who adopted her biological daughter, Grace. When their account suddenly disappears, Autumn takes drastic action to stay close to the girl by posing as a nanny. As she infiltrates their lives, she learns that the seemingly perfect family hides disturbing truths, and the reality behind the photos is far darker than she imagined.

Minka Kent is quickly becoming a favorite thriller author of mine. They're always quick, twisty reads that I usually devour within a day. The Memory Watcher is told from two POVs - Autumn and then Daphne (the mother who adopted Grace). Both women have their flaws and I spent most of the book trying to figure out if I empathized with either one, but I still had to know what happened. The ending got a little trope-y but I still enjoyed it. It almost feels like it was left open for a possible sequel.

Recommended for lovers of fast-paced domestic thrillers.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC.

The first chapter held me & the ending had me shooked!!!

The book was highly addictive and packed with suspense that kept me hooked from the start. Though the ending was surprising, I still had a lot of questions about how did the heroin get into the deceased body and was it that after Autumn thought her to be dead, she wasn't really dead? So yeah, the book left me slightly confused.

Overall, the book was a fast-paced, well-written psychological thriller full of drama, secrets, and emotional tension.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the eARC.

Minka Kent is such a fun author. Her books are dark, twisty, and bingeable. Really loved the Memory Watcher and the added layers of adoption and social media. Highly recommend.

It was enjoyable to read but felt a bit slow and drawn out but it was still good and some people enjoy those type of books, so its likely down to personal preference. I wasn't quite expecting it be so in depth with family challenges where they seem like the perfect family on the outside but really so much is going on under the surface. The ending was unexpected in a good way.

This book was so good , I love this author ! The characters were interesting and kept me wanting more. You could tell something was off with Autumn and it made me want to keep reading to learn, the ending did not disappoint .
Thank you Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

3/5 Stars

This book had a promising premise that initially drew me in, but I found the pacing to be quite slow throughout. I often caught myself checking how much of the book was left, hoping for a moment when things would pick up. While the final quarter did ramp up the tension and provided some satisfying twists, it felt like a long journey to get there.​

The dual perspectives of Autumn and Daphne offered an interesting look into their contrasting lives, and the exploration of social media's impact on perception was thought-provoking. However, I struggled to connect with the characters, and some of their actions felt inconsistent or unexplained. The ending, while surprising, left me wanting more closure and depth.​

Overall, The Memory Watcher had its moments, especially towards the end, but the slow build-up and lack of character development made it a less engaging read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minka Kent for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for a review

i enjoyed it more than i initially thought i would, but it did take a long while for the actual story to start up so i wasn't necessarily the biggest fan of all the build up. i didn't get attached to either of the women, but at least they were somewhat interesting. the twists at the end were just a bit overwhelming as there was little left for us to process it all.

It's books like "The Memory Watcher" that'll have you thinking one thing and it's something else entirely. Mika Mika Mika, reading as it's being told from two perspectives, Daphne McMullen and Autumn. Daphne is a housewife, a social media influencer with a cheating rich husband named Graham. She's overwhelmed with her three children until they hire Autumn to be the nanny.

Autumn lives behind the McMullen family with her boyfriend Ben. She has stalked the family for a long time. When the opportunity presented itself for her to become the family nanny she jumped at the chance. Their lives become entangled with an affair that leads to murder.

You'll definitely want to read this one. I couldn't read it fast enough and look forward to future books by Minka Kent.

Autumn Carpenter’s obsession with the picture-perfect family who adopted her daughter spirals out of control when they suddenly delete their social media account. Desperate to reconnect, she infiltrates their life as a nanny, only to uncover the dark secrets behind their flawless facade.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I'm always very happy about an ARC and being able to give it a review! <3

Unfortunately, I didn't find any of the characters particularly likable. They started off somewhat interesting, but as the story progressed, they became increasingly frustrating.

Daphne, in particular, was a disappointment. I had hoped she'd be portrayed as a stronger, more resourceful woman — but instead, she just drowns in self-pity. I kept waiting for her to take control, maybe devise a clever plan to get back at her husband. But no — nothing of the sort happens.

Honestly, I’m tired of reading books where women write about women as their own worst enemies. And that’s all this story was. Spoiler: Daphne ends up destroying herself, not because she confronts her cheating husband, but because she can't bear the betrayal — and takes it out on the mistress instead. Really?

The plot moved painfully slow. Half the book passes before Autumn even becomes the nanny. While parts of it were very entertaining, the story lacked spark. It felt like a dragged-out family drama where no one had the guts to stand up for themselves. The children had little to no character development — why were there even three of them when, in the end, the story only focused on one? And what happened to them all in the end?!

And the final twist? A medical condition presented as a major reveal? It was unsatisfying and left far too many questions unanswered. What a waste of time. Minka Kent, you can do better.

Slow burn that retains your attention throughout. There were many twists and many different tropes used. First ones I enjoyed and then after a few more and I had no idea where the story had veered to. Overall a good read. 👍🏼

Thanks to Netgalley for this one.
This is almost like a 'peeping tom' gone wrong, almost.
The emotions this story will have you feeling really should be illegal.
Minka really has the reader rooting for Autumn only to have the rug pulled out from under us.
Marnie feels like she was just cast aside, same with Graham and Ben.
It's a good read but that twist will get you.

while this certainly was a page turner the plot was unbelievable and the twists kept getting dumber and dumber

I was ready to give this book 3.5 stars, but the ending disappointed me so much. The plot dragged in places where it should have been tense and thrilling. Worst of all, the ending felt rushed and unsatisfying, the author just overthought everything.

I felt like I was on the edge of my seat for most of this book, but the ending kind of fell flat for me. Overall I highly enjoyed it though!

I really liked this book. I didn't feel like I totally related to either of the two female lead characters, but I appreciated the depth of their personalities. It would have been so easy to write this as a caricature: the shallow, picture-perfect social media mom who's secretly falling apart on the one hand, and on the other, a half-a-disaster woman who adopted her kid out but who is now living in so much envy of the picture-perfect mother that she'd do anything to become her. I'm so happy that it didn't just stop there with those played-out tropes. Both the picture-perfect mom and the disaster-woman had a whole lot more to their personalities, in ways that made me want the best for them, even as things began crashing down around them.

There were a couple of other characters that I didn't mind seeing suffer (Marnie especially, ugh), but they (mostly) got what was coming to them. I sort of wish the fates of Daphne and Graham were reversed, but that probably would have felt like things were too neatly tied up with a bow at the end.

If this is your genre and if you're looking for a book that explores more than just the basic social media drama, I definitely think this is worth a read.

I received this as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Autumn gave her daughter, Grace, up for adoption when she was born. She now stalks the family her daughter was adopted into and takes it as far as dating their neighbor, Ben, so she can be close to Grace. She watches the family on social media and gets her fix. Once Daphne stops posting to social media, Autum freaks out and applies for a nannying job with Grace’s family—getting the job. Things seem to be going quite well and Autumn is happy as Grace and her are connecting on a deep level. Then tragedy strikes! Murder, drugs, mental health issues, affairs strike and nothing will ever be the same.
I was not expecting the twist at all! In fact, it was so random and left me a bit confused. I think there should have been more of an explanation so this didn’t feel so random. I had high expectations for this one, but to me, it wasn’t as good as the other Kent books I’ve read. I will admit, I was kept on my toes, I had to find out what was going on and who did what.
Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.