❤️ Cuckoo In The Nest - Diane Saxon ❤️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Greif | Thriller | Shocking

- I just knew. And I came back to find my mum because she would never leave me. -

This was honestly like reading a horror film! Diane wrote this so well, flipping between the past and present. You're taken back into Alex's childhood which will absolutely break your heart 💔

Alex meets Nikki and her Mum at the park when he's little, Nikki becomes the most important person in Alex's world. Dive into Alex's search for Nikki when he knows that something isn't right, she would never cut communication and dissappear off the face of the earth, right? 

Read this if you enjoy a shocking thriller with an plot twist that you'll never guess 🖤

Is blood really thicker than water? This heart-wrenching thriller explores the bond of friendship and what makes a family. The story is gripping, intense, and emotional. I was immediately invested in Alex and his quest for answers about Nikki’s disappearance. The alternating timelines and perspectives kept me immersed in this heartbreaking, compelling, and suspenseful thriller. This is the first book I have read by Diane Saxon, but it definitely will not be the last. I highly recommend this addictive thriller. Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for my ARC.

My third Diane Saxon novel and I’ve enjoyed them all, with The Quiet Wife still holding the spot as my fav so far. I enjoyed this story with Alex, Nikki & Julia - I love it when all of the main characters are likeable. However, rest assured it had enough antagonists in the story to keep the readers on their toes.

I appreciated the concept of alternating between past and present, taking a deep dive into Alex’s past & troubled childhood made my heart ache for him even more. What I loved about Julia’s character, is how she did a kind deed with no expectation of anything in return. She literally saved Alex’s life and I enjoyed watching their bond flourish as he went into adulthood.

Nevertheless, I was still unable to pinpoint the magnitude of how deep the secrets went in this house. The story kept me engaged as Alex searched to find Nikki & the author did a great job at building anticipation as we awaited her fate.

Overall a solid, well written psychological thriller That I would recommend. Thank you Boldwood Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

This is one of my favorite books by this author. I connected to the characters, and it was one of those books that you can't put down. It has an unpredictable ending and that's what I love in a book.

This was a tale of two stories for me. The first half was brilliant and engaging, left me intrigued with an overwhelming need to read more.
Unfortunately the second half for me fell flat. I struggled to believe some of the aspects of the plot. While the beginning felt realistic and had a nice pace, to me the second half was not as flowing, and felt like it could have been expanded on and enriched with some extra chapters.

I enjoyed the relationship between Alex, Nikki and Juila and loved the way thier story evolved.

Cuckoo in the Nest is a gripping psychological thriller with an eerie, claustrophobic atmosphere that kept me hooked from start to finish. The tension between the housemates is palpable, and the slow unraveling of secrets creates a compelling sense of unease.

The narrator’s determination to uncover the truth about Nikki adds emotional depth, and I appreciated the way the story balanced suspense with character development. While a few twists felt a bit predictable, the overall mystery was engaging and well-paced.

If you enjoy atmospheric thrillers with complex relationships and a chilling mystery at their core, this one’s worth diving into. I found it hard to put down and was eager to see how it all unfolded.

I enjoyed this psychological thriller. I loved that this book alternated timelines from past and present, it made the book a quick read. I found it hard to put this one down and I was able to stay invested in the story the entire time. This one definitely kept me guessing!

This is a huge favourite from Diane, she sent me on so many goose chases it’s unreal. Just wow, I loved the characters, but I liked even more that certain characters you knew instantly they were dodgy.
It was just a awesome read.

Diane Saxon's Cuckoo in the Nest is a gripping and unnerving psychological thriller that seduces you into a realm of concealed secrets and unstated tensions. It concerns a woman who goes to live in a shared house with the pretext of acquiring a new home, but secretly she is there for much more malevolent reasons: she is there to discover what has happened to her missing "sister," Nikki. The new housemates are quiet and set an eerie mood, a clear indication that something is wrong.

The constant pursuit by the protagonist of the truth and her own secrets makes for a thrilling story. The writer masterfully crafts a feeling of fear and suspicion, and you find yourself suspecting every character. The novel is great for readers who enjoy Freida McFadden and T.M. Logan, because it's a quick, twisty mystery that has you guessing until the last page. The question at hand is always the same: Has Nikki gone missing, or has something terrible happened in this ordinary house? This book is a suspenseful, heart-pounding page-turner that will have you hooked.

This is one crazy, dark and intense ride. This book kept me guessing until the very end. I enjoyed the dual timeline as it gave a glimpse into who Alex and Nikki were and their relationship. Such a great suspenseful and thrilling read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Diane Saxon delivers another dark and twisty psychological thriller with Cuckoo in the Nest. Told across multiple timelines, the story follows Alex—a young man with a painful and abusive past—who moves into a houseshare not to make friends, but to uncover what happened to his best friend Nikki. She vanished without explanation, and while the police believe she left on her own, Alex is certain something far more sinister took place within those walls.

The dual timeline works beautifully here. The past shows Alex and Nikki’s friendship forming in childhood and deepening through adolescence, highlighting her role as his light in a bleak world. The present builds unsettling tension as Alex navigates his new housemates—selfish, secretive, and possibly dangerous—while searching for answers.

Saxon masterfully balances psychological depth with page-turning suspense. Alex is a standout protagonist: scarred but resilient, cautious yet determined. The supporting cast—Nikki, Julia, and even the hostile housemates—are vividly drawn, keeping the reader guessing about motives until the final shocking twist.

Creepy, emotional, and impossible to put down, Cuckoo in the Nest is one of Saxon’s strongest thrillers yet. Highly recommended for fans of gritty psychological suspense with heart.

What a crazy and wild ride! I loved everything about this book. I absolutely could not put it down. I’ll be reading more from this author.

Creepy and unlike everything else I’ve read, this thriller kept me turning pages! I had ZERO idea of what to expect next. If you are a fan of the unexpected, this one is for you!!!

A twisty thriller that weaves together Alex's past and present. Unexpected twists and gripping revelations. This was an intense read that didn't let up.

A shocker of a book, in a good way. I found myself turning the pages way past when I usually got to sleep and reading during my lunch break as well. I felt to sorry for Alex most of the book and the fact that there was found family in a book where such terrible things were happening so heart warming. The best people can be found and will be there for you and this books book showed that side all while keeping me guessing as to what happened to Nikki. There were some great twists and a lovely ending.

This is a really good thriller. It is a dual timeline novel, flashing back and forth between Alex’s past and present. I appreciate the way the two timelines grew and twined together to create a gripping plot. The puzzle pieces were dropped like breadcrumbs, some big enough you knew it was important, others flying under the radar until the ah ha! moment. Overall, a good read I recommend checking out if you love thrillers!

Alex knows something is wrong. He came back from assignment to find Nikki, his foster sister, missing. They said she probably just went off for a vacation, but he is the only one that she tells everything to. His gut pointed him in the right direction when he was younger and it had never failed him. He’s not going to ignore it now. So when the police aren’t convinced anything happened to her, he takes matter into his own hands.

I really enjoyed this book. The story was spellbinding, and I finished it quickly to see if Alex would find Nikki in the end. With twists and turns everywhere, it was fun to try to guess what was going on in the house shared by 2 women and one guy. As they needed money for the rent to be split four ways, they all thought Alex was another girl and were happy to have him until he arrived and was another male. Not a friendly group but Alex was on a mission and had only a short time to complete it. There were house rules to follow but nobody seemed to cooperate except Alex. Some strange things were going on in the house and Alex was caught up in all of it. It was a very enjoyable book which I highly recommend

Alex knows his best friend Nikki wouldn’t just disappear. He knows one of her flat mates knows what happened. He doesn't trust any of them... but he is determined to get to the truth.

This was a really enjoyable read. I liked that we get dual timelines of Alex's past and we see how he got to know Nikki alongside the current events as it really sets the scene and makes sense of their relationship with one another. The story is told mostly from Alex's point of view but we get a few glimpses of Nikki's experience in the flat before she went missing.

The flat mates are an unlikeable bunch of people and I thought the author did a good job of bringing all the characters together. Alex's back story was so sad!

There are some good twists and turns at the end of the book and it all resolves in a really satisfying way! Perfect for fans of claustrophobic thrillers.

One house...four tenants...one deadly secret...

I honestly don't know where to start with this one. I always enjoy Diane Saxon's thrillers but this one just left me feeling like something was constantly crawling on my skin. It was seriously creepy and uncomfortable which I guess was the aim of the story but I was just too creeped out and hated every person in the houseshare. They were all self-obsessed and arrogant prats. One rule for them and another for everyone else. And the end result was survival of the fittest. But then, it was about a cuckoo in the nest which is always an uncomfortable read.

I was more drawn in by the past timeline when Alex and Nikki were young and then teenagers growing up. I felt there was more to the story there and I was more invested in that than the one in the present day timeline.

In the present day, Alex has just moved into a houseshare with two females and one male - none of whom are considerate and all equally selfish. The only reason he is there is to uncover what happened to his friend Nikki who was their housemate previously and had mysteriously disappeared. The police had her down as having left of her own accord; she's old enough and just packed up and moved on. But Alex knows different. Nikki wouldn't leave her mum without a word. Besides, she had planned on moving back home with her. So where has she gone?

The alternating chapters in between begin in 2003 and 2004 with a few from Nikki's narrative in 2013 and 2014. They tell of Alex's harrowing story as a child, neglected and abused by his father before meeting sunny young Nikki at the playground one day and though she was five years his junior, they became firm friends - a friendship that lasted a lifetime. Alex is a genuine likeable character, despite his upbringing. Nikki is a delight also, but she features mainly in the past chapters so we get her either as a giggly little five year old or a giggly fifteen year old.

The story is journey through Alex's harrowing upbringing, finding a family who love and care for him right up to him in adulthood. As the story unravels and things begin to slot into place, we find him navigating a mystery that only he can unravel. And be Nikki's hero once again.

The pacing for this one was somewhat slower than Saxon's more pacier thrillers. And the unlikeable characters made it hard to connect with the story. If it weren't for Alex, Nikki and Julia, I probably would have shelved it without finishing...but for them, they made the journey worthwhile and I'm glad I stuck it out. The ending is rather shocking and unexpected to say the least! But I shouldn't be surprised as it is Saxon.

I would like to thank #DianeSaxon, #Netgalley and #BoldwoodBooks for an ARC of #CuckooInTheNest in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

Diane Saxon delivers a gripping psychological thriller in Cuckoo in the Nest, a story that is as unsettling as it is addictive. From the very beginning, there’s a palpable sense of unease surrounding Alex’s apartment—something isn’t quite right, though the truth remains just out of reach. As Alex struggles to unravel the mystery of his missing best friend, the tension steadily escalates, pulling the reader deeper into a web of suspicion and psychological twists.

What makes this novel so effective is the way Saxon balances atmosphere with character-driven suspense. Alex’s confusion and determination are written in a way that makes you feel his frustration and growing paranoia, leaving you just as uncertain about what’s real and what isn’t. Each chapter builds on that unsettling feeling, layering clues and misdirections until the shocking truth finally comes to light.

Dark, twisted, and relentlessly engaging, Cuckoo in the Nest is a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers. Diane Saxon masterfully keeps the reader off-balance, proving once again that the most terrifying mysteries often hide closest to home.