gripping my fingers and gripping my heart this book did. it got me from the start. i was tense almost immediately just knowing how high the stakes were. this was a policeman and we all know how that works in stories and events such as these...
and this certainly was a full on page turner and i was trying to read faster just so i could get to the next part!
this book brings us to Lisa who thinks she has found her man. her match. hes also knows whats its like to feel how she does as he too lost someone closest to you. he too is widowed. so she thinks he could be just the man to have a future with and to be a lovely stepfather to her daughter Bella.
but things don't turn out as she wished. for his behaviour is quickly morphing into something more, something darker, something uneasy. hes controlling her and Lisa fears she has made a horrid mistake. but what can she possibly do now? she knows she needs to leave, she has to to make her daughter safe. but with the man in the role he is in? how?fear. thats what she feels now. just fear. why did Lisa ignore the warnings? she is going to need all her strength and maybe a bigger plan to get out, get away. but she also knows he will chase her, he will find her, and he has friends that will help him do so. so what can he do?
and so we are taken on a deeply emotional and terrific ride of a read. i loved this book. it was sharp, tight and just so well paced and written. you genuinely feel the feelings and fear surrounding the whole pulse in this book. and you are worried for our main character too. you suddenly have your whole head in this book and don't want to leave until you know how it will play out.
i also felt like this book really touched upon the importance of themes like this in books. because thrillers have people trying to get away from a villain. but this book REALLY showed that abusive side, the more ins and outs and then needing to flee. i thought that was one of the best parts to this book. it was done right and done with the tone that indeed made me think, and feel just a smidgen of that fear those fleeing must. that in this book was done better than i've seen done in a along time. and i feels like it should be done more. sorry to say that, but especially as the time we are living in. but i also know that a fine balance needs to be had as books are the very place people don't need to be seeing such a thin line to the realities of these things. books always are the escapes from the escapes too.
the title of the book becoming clear was also a bonus brilliant touch for me too.
loved this book, im so glad i get to read such fab reads. books are truly the best arent they?

Let's Play Dead by Elena Frost captivated me from the very start.

Widow Lisa believes that she has found a man with whom to share a future when she meets Alex, a police officer who understands what it means to be widowed, having lost his own wife. He will surely be a devoted stepfather to Lisa's young daughter Bella, and so the two decide to wed after a brief courtship. But as Alex's behaviour becomes more controlling, Lisa fears that she has made a terrible mistake, and knows that she must leave Alex and do whatever it takes to keep herself and her daughter safe. Escaping from a police officer, though, will not be easy, and the fear intensifies steadily in this potentially deadly game of cat and mouse.

This one kept me fully engaged and invested in the final outcome. A very good read! 4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for an ARC.

This is a psychological thriller which was an enjoyable read.

Lisa has been widowed and meets Alex, who is also widowed. Alex appears to be wonderful to Lisa and her daughter Bella, and after a short romance, they get married. Lisa’s best friend Willow is not happy. However, its not all roses in the garden, as Alex begins to control Lisa. On their wedding day, a stranger turns up at the wedding and is quickly ushered out. The stranger is Alex’s first wife’s sister – she wants to warn Lisa about Alex. Lisa finds a note from Alex’s first wife suggesting Alex had something to do with her death. Lisa knows she and Bella has to escape and with Willow’s help, they fake their suicide and escape to Scotland, with Alex not far behind – he has mates in his police force who can help track her down.

This book was a page-turner for me.

I would recommend this book.

Let's Play Dead was an enthralling read--so enthralling I read it in one sitting! I thought it was suspenseful in all the right places, and Alex was a perfect villain. This book opened my eyes to the plight of women fleeing abusive relationships, something that--while I knew happened quite often--I didn't know many details.

My only complaint would be that Alex goes from 0 to 100 rather quickly, and I would have liked a little more build-up.

Just book the day off work to read this. Five massive sparkling stars! Love, love, it! The ENTIRE plot was fantastic!

I was hooked from page one, and I think my favourite thing was, I was guessing up until the end and that is my kinda read! I couldn’t put this one down!

I loved every page I kept saying to myself “one more chapter and I will stop”, well that never happened, I raced through it as I absolutely loved it!

You definitely don’t want to miss this one when it comes out!