I have loved so many books by this author, but I could not get into this one for some reason. Might have been a bit of a reading slump at the time and perhaps I'll try again, but I didn't connect much with it. More of a "it's not you, it's me" situation here. It was well written though!

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This has been on my TBR pile for so long, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed the storyline and seeing the characters change throughout the story was a great character development. The plot was great and kept my attention. I'm glad I got the chance to read this and will be on the lookout for more in the future!

He Will Be My Ruin, K.A. Tucker's first adult novel, has left me speechless. I am no stranger to K.A. Tucker's books. I've read her romance and her romantic suspense. I know the caliber and quality of her writing. There hasn't been one yet that I've read that hasn't resonated with me or impacted me profoundly. I always feel like my horizons have been broadened after reading one of her books, and I truly feel like my reading horizons have expanded greatly with this book.

It's heartbreaking to lose a best friend. Maggie has come to New York at the news she's lost her best friend Celine, only to find out the circumstances and evidence doesn't seem to match the description given to Celine's death. The more Maggie finds out, the more she learns how little she knew the closest people in her life and the more determined she becomes to find out the whole truth. I loved Maggie's determination to find out if Celine really killed herself and if so why. Another quality of Maggie's I loved was how kind and caring she was. For someone without the need to work to survive, she wasn't a lazy spoiled rich person, but someone striving to use the resources she had to make a difference in the world.

The setup in this book is amazing. The prologue alone had me sitting up straight and scooting to the edge of my seat to help me ground myself. I could feel my heart rate speeding up. From there I loved how the book went between the present and the past. While the present was told exclusively from Maggie's point of view, the past was in Celine's and really allowed the story to become three dimensional. Celine's chapters really showed her evolution from the art struck and inspired child to the adult she became and what led to her demise, while Maggie's chapters showed how complicated and complex Celine was and how even though she knew her best, she really didn't know her at all.

From beginning to end this book held me in its spell, I know that sounds trite and can be said of many a book, but this book never let me find my bearings. Every time I thought I had the story figured out, more information was revealed leaving me once again scrambling to sort through the evidence and try and choose a new culprit. It's a testament to K.A. Tucker's writing skills that even with a limited cast of suspects I was never able to fully pinpoint who had the best motive or even who the most likely suspect was.

As someone who loves to read romance, and loves both happily ever afters and even happy for nows, I had high hopes for the men in this book. Maggie had wonderful chemistry with all of the men, both those who she was interested in romantically and those who there to help her find the truth. I couldn't decide who I'd like to see her more with, and the end result was surprising but not at all unpleasant. Even though adult suspense is not something I've read regularly or even recently, I can definitely see myself reading more in the future. Bravo to K.A. Tucker for taking a risk and writing something new, and for doing it so well.

KA Tucker is one of my auto buy authors. I automatically read anything she puts out. However, I primarily associate her with adult contemporary romance. In He Will Be My Ruin, Tucker takes a different route and goes into full blown mystery suspense. There are elements of romance and sexual tension, but that is not the core of this story. And I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The prologue drags you in from the very beginning. When Maggie’s roommate is found dead, it’s deemed a suicide but Maggie suspects that not everything is what it seems and is determined to find out what happened. They mystery surrounding the characters kept me guessing for much of the book and I had an idea who the culprit was, but Tucker kept my right on the edge and guessing with little clues for much of the story. All around this was a solid story with an interesting murder mystery, an engaging female lead, and just a hint of romance and sexual tension.

Not quite unsatisfied, just conflicted. But the writing was great, the characters interesting, and all the plot threads seemed to be tied up, so it has a lot going for it.

I am ashamed to say that this is my first KA Tucker novel *hides behind her hands*

While I do have all of her books on my To Be Read Shelf, I somehow have never gotten to reading her books, so when the chance came up for this tour, you bet your cute tushi, I signed up lightening fast and I don't regret it . at all!

Celine and Maggie had been best friends for a longtime, even though they come from vastly two different backgrounds, but they have always been close and had hoped that they always will be. But when Maggie gets the call that her best friend in the whole world, Celine has committed suicide, she not only doesn't believe it but also sets out to gather evidence to get the investigation into her death opened up again.

But she never even imagined the kind of secrets Celine had been keeping - the kind that makes her unrecognizable to her loved ones, but most of all to Maggie.

It's hard to write a review for a suspense thriller, without giving anything away *thank you for this tough job Ms. Tucker* but I am definitely going to try!!

The story takes a little while to get it's engine revved, but I don't find that even a bit of lacking, because Ms. Tucker does a brilliant job of actually getting into the head of a person suffering from an unimaginable grief of loosing a loved one - she has taken that perfect arch of grief fueled by anger and a desire to understand the reason behind the tragedy.

But it took me a while to warm up to Maggie, and not just because I haven't gone through what she is going through - she comes as self - involved at first with her privileged background and her total obliviousness to those around her. So I soldiered on ahead, even with a little hesitancy because Ms. Tucker is an author I have heard nothing but good things about!

And I have to say, the mystery sucked me in - what I loved the most was the fact that it was told in two different POVs - Celine and Maggie's - best way to understand how absolutely two people can have so varying perspectives about the same situation *the shrink in me is delirious over this aspect of this book, no questions*

This is a plot that gets you all worked up, only for you to get that you will never get what is going to happen - and I for one, have never read such a romantic suspense-thriller ever before! This was a brilliant way of looking at the world around us, and subtly get us to face the infinite truth - not everything is as it seems and even your best friend keeps secrets!

I won't tell you why you need to read this book, but if you like solving mysteries and are a fan of romance *because damn if some scenes didn't make me fan myself* then you definitely need to pick this one up! Ms. Tucker really doesn't disappoint :P

There's no two ways about it, KA Tucker is a gifted storyteller. This book kept me guessing and unfolded in ways I was not expecting. This was my first title from her that wasn't pure romance and it won't be my last.

What can I say about K.A. Tucker besides that she is a freaking genius?

I love her books and lately I've been on a binge of reading all of her books. Somehow I haven't read this one yet so I had to rectify that.

He Will Be My Ruin is such a great thriller mystery that leaves you guessing till the end. Who did it? Did Celine kill herself or did someone do it? Why? What happened?

Let's just say that Tucker takes the reader on a ride that is so worth it.

Tucker is an author who I enjoy. this book was dark, twisty and turny. very enjoyable, I wanted to read in one sitting but had to stop because of work. will re read.

My Review:


What I Liked:

The Plot/Twists. The best aspect of the novel was the ending and the various twists that happened along the way. I did not see the main one coming at all but did guess a few of the smaller ones. The author did a good job of not having predictable conclusions or plot twists.

Writing/Characters. I've read other nonthrillers from Tucker and I enjoy her writing style and her character development. I enjoy her detail and her ability to keep me reading until the very end. Some of the characters were a bit unrealistic, mainly Maggie (because she has no flaws), but others were interesting/complex like Celine and Grady.

What I Disliked:

Main Character. I did not completely dislike or hate the main character, she was an okay one but I felt that she was not three-dimensional because her character seemed too perfect.

Sexual Exploit Content. I've been lucky to read a lot of Adult thrillers that do not overdo the sexual content (it is something I do not like reading) but this one had a few too many scenes for my liking.

I would recommend this thriller based on the interesting plot but be warned, it has unneeded sexual scenes and some unbelievable characters.

My Rating:

3.5 Stars Out of 5 Stars

This book is one of my favorite books I've read to date. And that's a lot.

He Will be My Ruin was a lot better than I expected. And by that, I don't mean anything bad, only that I expected more romance due to some classifications of such and I'm not much of a romance reader. However, in this particular story, the romance was necessary to the crime making this much more of a mystery/thriller as I would have hoped. There is a great amount of suspense within this slowly unraveling psychological thriller. You will be glued to the pages until you find out all of Celine's darkest secrets. I cannot wait to read more by K.A. Tucker. I highly recommend to readers looking for an unputdownable mystery.

This book! OMG THIS BOOK!!!!

He Will Be My Ruin will keep you on your toes and up late reading because you just need to know!!! You think you know but you don't ....trust me!

Celine discovers her best friend has killed herself but she doesn't believe it and she goes to great length to discover the truth and this is all I'm saying.

KA Tucker is amazing. I love a great suspense book but usually I'm not a big fan of a "who done it" books but this one - it has everything. You must read. I promise you won't be disappointed. I couldn't stop reading this one. I've been on a KA Tucker roll lately. Her stories never fail and this one sure won't.

Get it. Read it. And hang on for the ride.

That's all I'll say on this one because really if I give any details it's ruined for you.

He Will Be My Ruin was my first K.A. Tucker book and I loved it! Since I had never read any previous books of Tucker's, I didn't really know what to expect. While reading the novel, I quickly realized I've been seriously missing out on a great author! I love picking up books just based on the author and I know I will be doing that from now on with Tucker's books.

He Will Be My Ruin was fast paced with incredibly interesting characters. I became attached to several of them and wanted them to be my friends in real life! I also loved how the plot was incredibly detailed and complex. Tucker forced me to constantly question the innocence of even the most trustworthy and unlikely characters. I loved that characteristic and I often find its difficult to truly pull off, but Tucker accomplished it well.

I am so grateful that the folks over at Atria books included me on the book tour for this novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to lovers of suspense and thriller novels. He Will Be My Ruin was clever and filled with twists that I never saw coming, leaving me constantly guessing and questioning everyone. It is a must read!

He Will Be My Ruin was phenomenal. I literally sat and read this entire book in a day. The twists and turns kept me guessing the ENTIRE time I was reading. What an addictive, suspenseful and thrilling ride that will have you hooked right out of the gate!

Maggie Sparks is rich heiress in NY to clean up her friends belongings after an untimely death. One they ruled suicide by Maggie knows better. Her friend had Celine had no reason to kill herself. While Maggie is there going through Celine’s things she finds out about a man that no one had any idea about. She will stop at nothing to uncover what happened to her friend. Little did Maggie know what a tangled web she was about to enter and when you think you have it all figured out, think again.

I literally was on the edge of my seat reading this. I thought I had it figured out and then I was smacked with a big dose of “Oh no you didn’t” right in my face! The story simply flowed so effortlessly. The characters were described in such detail and no stone was left unturned in this authors writing with this one. This book certainly wasn’t a hearts and flowers kind of read. It was a thrill riding suspense with a killer plot that I absolutely devoured!

He will be my Ruin is the story of one woman's quest to find out if she really knows her BFF like she thought she knew her. Maggie isn't convinced that Celine would kill herself. She goes to NYC to clean out Maggie's apartment and begins an investigation into her suspicions. As a reader, you too will question what you think you know. There are lots of tidbits of information dropped along the way. Deciding what is important and what is inconsequential is what kept me reading.

Most of the story is told from Maggie's POV but there are a few times when you get Celine's POV from the past. I really enjoy when authors take a risk like that because I find it so engaging. While you are trying to get some sense for what actually happened, you get peeks into the victim and it changes everything you thought you knew. It was easy to empathize with Maggie because she is slowly realizing she doesn't know her friend as well as she thought. I think we can all imagine how troubling it would be to have to go through your dead friend's life! There were times in this book that I could totally hear the Jaws music in my head-you know, when you just KNOW something bad is about to happen!

Vague enough review? Yep! I mean, who wants a spoiler to a book that is just a mystery/suspense? So, I am keeping it vague. This is NOT a romantic suspense. Its pure suspense/thriller so don't expect some alpha hero to come in and save the day. This is NOT that type of book!

Nail-biting. I was glued to the page. Celine's story had be on the edge of my seat. Suspenseful. I had to keep reading until the end.

Maggie Sparkes, heir to a fortune, is called to New York City when her closest friend, Celine Gonzalez, is found dead. Did Celine really commit suicide? Maggie doesn’t believe it for a minute, and when she finds Celine’s personal effects hidden away with a note, she believes it even less. Thanks go to Net Galley and Atria for the DRC and invitation to read and review this title. It was released February 2, 2017 and you can get a copy now.

Maggie and Celine grew up together; Celine’s mother Rosa was the housekeeper and nanny to Celine’s very wealthy family, and so apart from school, the girls were inseparable. Now Maggie is determined to find out what happened to Celine.

The cast of characters here is limited to Maggie, Celine’s neighbor Ruby, who was my favorite character, a cop named Doug, and two hunky men, both of whom were involved at some level with Celine. Jace is an investor; Grady is the property owner of Celine’s building, and both are described as immensely attractive. Who can be trusted? Who is a killer?

The limited number of characters and repetition—how wealthy and philanthropic Maggie is, how creative and hardworking Celine was—makes for an accessible read. The vocabulary is adult level but not out of range of the average reader. For those that are newly venturing into reading English language novels, this is a great place to start, because if something important slides by you the first time, you’ll be told again.

As for me, I prefer more nuance in my literature. When Maggie tells us how things went in high school, she wasn’t merely a debater, she was the captain of the debate team. Likewise, Celine wasn’t just a student actor, but scored the role of Juliet. Having both of them be so perfect within their realms of interest keeps them from seeming real to me. Maggie is rich, and we get told constantly in case we forgot. Maggie has a million charities and wants to save the world, and we’re unlikely to forget that either.

On the other hand, I wasn’t always this old and sometimes cynical. I can recall a younger version of myself that adored the writing of Victoria Holt, and I think that younger self might well have enjoyed this novel. Tucker is a successful, experienced novelist, and I have a hunch this is the pool of readers that finds pleasure in her work.

Recommended to those that love Harlequin romances, Victoria Holt mysteries, and readers that enjoy romance but are still relatively new to reading in the English language.

*I received this book for free, via Netgalley, in exchange of an honest review*

This book was a 4 out of 5 star for me.

I want to say so much about this book, so much that isn't in the book description. (but I don't want to spoil it for anyone) What I can say is, This book will show you, the grass isn't always greener, that no one is entitled to everything, and that even if someone looks perfect, there really is no such thing.

This was an edge of your seat, nail biting, un-putdownable novel, that was absolutely brilliant. A cast of characters that you fall in love with. Even the "bad guys"

Have you read this guys? What are your thoughts?

I love a good mystery and books full of suspense and thrills really glue me to the pages. K. A. Tucker’s He Will Be My Ruin didn’t met my expectations and then some in every way–from not being able to nail down who the murderer was to a great cast of supporting characters to a strong heroine that didn’t back down without being annoying. I was immediately trying to guess who killed Celine Gonzalez from the very beginning of the book, and my choice kept changing until the big reveal.

Two Very Different Girls That Are Great Friends…

Maggie and Celine had been best friends ever since Celine’s mother was hired as Maggie’s nanny when the girls were young. The girls were fast friends despite their financial differences, and their friendship endured even as Maggie heads a non-profit that provides and builds things in third world countries with Maggie taking a very active role and being away from the States for months at a time while Celine has moved to New York City to pursue her dream of becoming an antiques appraiser. But while Maggie has always been fast to share her money with Celine, Celine is too proud to ask for help when she needs it–especially when her mother gets cancer and the bills start to mount. And that’s when Celine turns to something dangerous to make extra cash, something that she keeps secret from her mother and Maggie. When Celine is found dead in her bed from an apparent overdose of pills and booze, Maggie doesn’t buy the official story and she begins to dig into Celine’s life–and she finds that she didn’t know much about Celine in the last few years at all.

A Mourning Best Friend Comes to Take Care of the Apartment and Estate…

As Maggie packs up the antiques-filled apartment that Celine has left behind, she finds Celine’s diaries that she’s kept since she was a teenager. But the last diary is missing, as is Celine’s cell phone. Since the police won’t reopen Celine’s case as a suspected homicide, Maggie hires a private detective to look into Celine’s life, and she takes matters into her own hands as well–delivering her right into the killer’s grasp.

A Flawed, Headstrong Heroine That You Can Root For…

Maggie just wouldn’t let the idea of Celine killing herself go since she knew that her friend had too much to live for, and she definitely believed that Celine wouldn’t put her dying mother through the pain of her suicide. Some of the things that Maggie did along the way, like get romantically involved with the super of the apartment building, and tangle with Celine’s super rich and powerful maybe-ex-boyfriend investment banker. But she’s a loyal friend and she trusts her gut, which does help her out. Even though her family owns an energy company and she has a giant trust fund, she’s trying to do something good for the world by getting her hands dirty with her non-profit.

Such a Great Supporting Cast of Characters…

The secondary characters really shine here. The private detective, Doug, and his tech guru Zac were a little quirky but so smart and savvy. The seemingly nosy old lady neighbor across the hall, Ruby, turns out to be so much more than she seemed, and the trio of Doug, Zac, and Ruby giving Maggie suggestions on how to investigate the murder was quite clever and sometimes conflicting between themselves. The only characters that weren’t all that likeable were Celine herself and the banker. Through Celine’s diaries, she definitely had a gold digger streak and a bit of a resentment towards Maggie, who’d never done anything but be her friend and help her out.

I give He Will Be My Ruin a 4.5 out of 5. You really get to know both Maggie and Celine since Maggie narrates her part of the story and Celine’s life is filled in with her journal entries. I went back and forth between who I thought killed Celine, and there was a time that I even thought she just might have killed herself. The suspense built perfectly throughout the entire book until it just exploded in the end. I’m a little sad that this is a standalone since I really want to see Ruby, Doug, and Zac work together on something–with Maggie footing the bill. I was really glad to see that in the end, Maggie had matured and learned that she could do something when her gut tells her that someone is lying–and that phone call to Doug or Zac made me very happy. I highly recommend this to lovers of suspense and mysteries.