She's Mine is messy, sexy domestic suspense at it's very best. I was so invested in these characters, I didn't see the kidnapper hiding in plain sight.
Every time I was sure I had it figured it out, Walter threw another curveball. The plot twists left me breathless! As did the spicy bits that snuck up on me in the best way.
I loved Summer Brownley so much I wanted to reach into the pages and give her a hug. Crystal, the surrogate, is somehow both diabolical and super sympathetic. My rooting interest zigzagged every which way, right up until the very end.
I enjoyed Susan Walter's other books, but this one is next level.

"𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬."

Summer Brownley is already watching her life implode when her four-year-old daughter disappears after a party at her house. Then the FBI shows up. Then one of the party guests turns up dead. THEN the secrets start crawling out of the walls. FBI Agent Willow Thorne is trying to untangle a case involving a cheating husband, a resentful friend, a suspicious surrogate, and a mother who clearly has more to say than she's saying. The alternating points of view had me flying through this because every time I thought I had finally figured something out, the book grabbed me by the throat and went, "Oh, you thought THAT was what was happening?"

I CANNOT COUNT THE NUMBER OF TIMES I HAD TO DOUBLE-CHECK MY PAGE PROGRESS BECAUSE THERE WAS NO WAY THAT JUST HAPPENED. Except it DID. This book felt like watching a true crime docuseries where every single episode ends with a scream-worthy cliffhanger and you're sitting there going, "WAIT. WHAT?!" before immediately starting the next one. Except there was no next episode because I WAS ALREADY READING IT. Every chapter pulled another thread. Another lie. Another secret. Another person I suddenly didn't trust. I was running down this rabbit hole so fast I stopped caring whether there was a bottom. I just needed to KNOW WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON.

And somehow, through ALL OF THIS, Susan Walter keeps the entire machine running. That is the part that impressed me most. There are so many moving pieces, so many characters with their own motives, and so many little details that could have sent this whole thing careening off the rails, but she keeps tightening the screws until you're sitting there questioning literally everyone. I kept thinking, surely we have reached maximum insanity now. NOPE. Here comes another reveal. Another turn. Another reason to yell at the book. This was twisty, chaotic, completely addictive, and exactly the kind of thriller where you stop trying to predict what comes next and just hang on for dear life. I devoured this one, and my only complaint is that I now need to find something equally chaotic to fill the void. Huge thanks to The Pulse, Blackstone Publishing, and the author for this early read that will publish February 16, 2026.

This was very good very intense had me on edge I read it in one sitting it was so good I will recommend

So happy I had an opportunity to read this early, and so sorry for those who need to wait until February. Preorder now to be among the first to enjoy this explosive thriller. My heart was racing from the many surprises that come at the reader so rapidly. If this serves as your introduction to Susan Walter, it will have you reaching for her previous work. Would give this six stars if I could!

She's Mine by Suasan Walter is a stand alone crime fiction published by Blackstone Publishing. I'm a fan of the author's writing. I like her style, the worldbuilding, the suspense and the bookhangover I get after I finished one of her novels.
And She's Mine is no exception. Utterly brilliantly written, literally unputdownable, characters so very easily to connect with, a gem of a story.
A little girl disappears, everyone is a suspect til the next body shows up.
The FBI and the mom are on a race against time, unique, fresh, outstanding, this book goes to my re-read pile for sure.
Recommend, all the stars.

She’s Mine by Susan Walter was absolute perfection! I am not usually one to focus heavily on star ratings, but this is a solid 5-star read all the way. It hooked me from the very first page, kept me completely engaged throughout, and I genuinely did not want to put it down.
The multiple points of view added so much depth to the story. The transitions were handled seamlessly, keeping the narrative distinct and easy to follow without ever feeling jumbled or confusing.
The intertwining timelines flowed like a perfectly crafted puzzle. Each piece fell right into place, connecting smoothly and keeping the full picture hidden until the final word.

RATING: 5 ⭐
GENRE: Domestic Thriller
BINGE FACTOR: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿
TWIST FACTOR: 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
PUBLICATION DATE: February 16th, 2027

Summer Brownley’s already messed up world is about to turn completely upside down. Her marriage may be in shambles, but she is determined to throw a perfect birthday party for her two young children at their Malibu beach house before the divorce is finalized. The presents have been opened, the cake eaten, and the last guests have finally gone home. Her soon to be ex, Van, has taken the kids to his apartment for the night, so Summer settles onto the patio lounger with a bottle of wine to decompress and contemplate her future. What she doesn’t expect is to wake up to a living nightmare. Her four-year-old daughter is missing, seemingly vanished from her father’s apartment during the night. Where is Daisy and who has taken her? The FBI is on the case, but the secrets hiding in this Malibu setting bring up more questions than answers. Will they find Daisy before it’s too late?

Oh, the tangled web we weave… and let me tell you, this is one messed up tangled web! This was my first novel by Susan Walter, so I had no idea what to expect. Well, color me impressed! I had no idea the wild ride I was about to take 😲

🥳 What worked for me

Cast of characters: Told from multiple perspectives in a “before” and “now” timeline, these people were superbly written; raw, authentic and messy, they put me through the emotional wringer.

Pacing: No lull in the action here! This was intense, unrelenting and anxiety inducing which had me flipping the virtual pages at record speed.

Ending: The last 15% of the story had so my twists, turns and revelations, I had no time to pick my jaw up off the floor!


🤔 Things to consider

Content warnings: Infidelity, domestic abuse, fertility issues, grief & loss

Final Verdict

An incredibly fast-paced domestic thriller with an intense and extremely well written police investigation, this was so freaking good! I have found a new author that will be an auto-read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing and Susan Walter for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

Absolutely loved this thriller!
Kept me guessing throughout
Can't wait to read more by this author!

Thanks Netgalley for letting me read this book for an honest review

Her best yet! A wild ride. Needed to pay attention as there is a lot going on.

Susan Walter is an auto-buy and read author for me. I have read all her books and I am NEVER disappointed and know I will get hours of enjoyment.
A crumbling marriage, a four-year-olds party, kidnapping, murder, lots of suspects.
Get ready to curl up with your favorite beverage and dive in for this thriller mystery. Trust me if you have not ready any of her books, give her a try.

Imagine your young children are spending the night with their father. Not ideal, but neither is the situation between Summer and Van. Then imagine how shocked you would be if one of your children was just gone! Whose fault is it and more importantly where is Diana? The currently missing Diana may have it better than the dead party guest that is discovered.
Holy California sunshine this is one twisted tale that every time I thought I knew where the story was going, in one of the most famous words from Friends, expect a pivot!!
There is so much I want to say, but everything and I mean everything is a potential spoiler. So my lips are sealed. Put this one on your list, after all who does not need a twisted tale in the middle of February as many of us are oh so tired of winter by then🫪

This was my first read of Susan Walter and OMG I’m now adding some of her past books to my TBR!

The way this book had my brain doing mental gymnastics trying to figure o it what would happen next is wild!! I can’t even think back and count the number of twists because Susan really knows how to throw a twist in and make it blend seamlessly.

This is a kidnapping book at first glance but I goes so much deeper. Dysfunctional family, trauma, guilty, greed, envy literally everything. Multiple POV’s and dual timeline, that again just felt so natural and all characters had their own voices and unique speech. Even when the story gets a little twisty it was still very easy and fun to keep all of the characters straight.

I usually try to throw a little synopsis in my reviews but I truly feel like you should just go into this blind. This is one of my favorite reads of this year and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for this authors next book. Do yourself a favor and pick up She’s Mine!

Okay, THIS is what I want from a domestic thriller. She’s Mine had me suspicious of absolutely everyone, changing my mind constantly, and still managed to catch me off guard.

The pacing was fantastic. There really wasn’t a point where I wanted to put this down because every new piece of information seemed to expose another secret, another lie, or another reason not to trust someone. And just when I thought I had finally figured out where Susan Walter was taking the story - nope. Another turn.

I also loved the multiple POVs and the “before” and “now” timelines. With this many characters and this much going on, that structure could have easily become confusing, but instead it kept adding layers to the story and made me even more invested in figuring out what actually happened.

And that last stretch?! The twists just kept coming. Some thrillers throw in twists simply for shock value, but these actually worked for me. By the end, I realized just how many times this book had successfully sent me in the wrong direction.

Fast-paced, messy, twisty, and completely bingeable. Exactly the kind of thriller that makes me say, “Just one more chapter,” until suddenly I've finished the entire book.

5 stars. Absolutely loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing, and Susan Walter for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a mysterious and exciting domestic thriller that kept me turning the pages. One thing after another, secrets, lies and suspicions. I really enjoyed this book because I was unable to figure it out.

There are surrogates, infidelities and ulterior motives. This book is full of surprises and Susan Walter was amazing. With so much going on throughout the book, it was very well written. The ending was great and very surprising.

She’s Mine by Susan Walter was a great surprise! This was a fast-paced family thriller that grabbed my attention and kept me turning the pages.

The story revolves around Summer and Van Brownley, who have two children through adoption and surrogacy. When their four-year-old daughter disappears after her birthday party, the search for her begins to uncover the family’s complicated past. Long-hidden secrets start spilling out, even though some people have gone to great lengths to keep them buried.

I really enjoyed the way the story was told through short chapters, with each chapter offering a different character’s point of view. It kept the story moving and added to the suspense. There were plenty of secrets, twists, and revelations along the way, and I ended up reading the entire book in one day!

I rated She’s Mine 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was such a fun, twisty thriller! Every time I thought I had things figured out, another curveball completely changed my mind. I loved the multiple POVs, dysfunctional family drama, and how quickly everything moved. Super bingeable, full of secrets, and genuinely hard to put down. Definitely one to go into blind!

This book reminded me of why I love domestic thrillers. Everything about it was so well done: the pacing, the characters, the secrets, the reveals, the twists. Oh and the short chapters and multi-POVs - LOVE!

Summer and Van Brownley’s marriage is already falling apart when their four-year-old daughter disappears while spending the night at her father’s apartment. The book starts off a missing child story, but then something happens that makes it a bigger mystery. Don't want to spoil it, I really recommend going into it blind because the twists are out of this world.

Okayyyy, this one had me questioning EVERYTHING. 😂 Every time I thought I had figured out what was going on, something else happened and I was right back to not trusting anybody.
I really enjoyed how the story slowly revealed different pieces of the puzzle. There were secrets, lies, obsession, and plenty of moments where I was like, “What the actual hell is happening?!” 😂 I love psychological thrillers that keep me guessing instead of making the ending obvious halfway through, and this one definitely kept me interested.
There were characters I liked, characters I wanted to shake, and characters I absolutely did NOT trust. 😂 The twists kept coming and I flew through it because I needed to know how everything connected.
If you like domestic/psychological thrillers with secrets, messy people, and plenty of WTF moments, definitely give She’s Mine a try!

As always, thanks so much to Susan for letting us read and love on her books early at The Pulse!!

Summer is going through it. Her marriage has fallen apart despite still being in love with her husband. Still, she managed to pull it together and put on a great joint birthday party for their two kids. When the party ends and the kids leave with their father, Summer downs a bottle of wine, in celebration AND misery.

But then in the early morning hours, she receives a knock at the door. Her 4 year old daughter has gone missing from her soon-to-be-ex’s house. And as the search for her daughter begins, a party guest is found dead.

FBI Agent Willow Thorne needs answers. There’s so many suspects, and no one seems to be offering up the truth. With every step forward, she finds herself twisted more into the web of lies created by the wife, her cheating husband, their surrogate, and her best friend. Unfortunately for Summer, if she wants answers, she’s going to have to bare it all.

As expected, we’ve got another hit from Susan! I love how much variety her thrillers carry in terms of characters and their lives. I can never stress enough that she is an author you don’t want to miss. With more twists than a pretzel and (somehow) a lot of heart, despite the diabolical characters, I was glued to my kindle. I always say with my brain and busy life, when I finish a book in less than 2 days, you know it was a good one and yep, She’s Mine clocked in at under 48 hours.

My favorite thing about this was that red herrings were literally everywhere, not a soul who graced the pages could be trusted. Susan literally has us doubting every person we meet, no matter how large or small their role in Summer’s life was. I saw someone say this felt like watching a true crime docuseries and that is honestly a perfect comparison. The timeline unrolled so well, there was never a point that I felt as though I was reading something that *wasn’t* important.

At this point, I’m not even sure if and how I could rank Susan’s books, so let’s just say they’re all bangers and if you haven’t picked her up before, what better time than now?

I never saw all the turns and twists coming in this book. I had a hard time putting this one down. I felt like there were quite a few characters in this book to keep everyone straight. I was sad to come to the end of the book.

67% in my first sitting, the remaining 33% in my second. I genuinely didn't want to put this book down, and having read a few Susan Walter books now, I think I've found my new favourite!

Combining a crime investigation with a whole lot of domestic mess, She's Mine explores murder, surrogacy, infidelity, marriage issues, generational trauma, child death, adoption, DV, r*pe and the pressures of balancing a career with motherhood. Throw in a heck of a lot of secrets, and you've got one incredibly compelling psychological thriller. There is an extensive trigger warning list, which I'd strongly recommend checking before reading.
The different POVs were brilliantly written and so easy to follow. I particularly loved how the different perspectives kept changing what I thought I knew. Even at around 70%, I still had absolutely no idea who the culprit was or what to believe. The misdirection is excellent, with twists I genuinely didn't see coming, and I loved how all the different storylines eventually converged.

One line that really stayed with me was: "But pain doesn't work like that. Once it has your number it calls at all hours". This spoke to me deeply. It's a particularly heavy line, but once you've read the book and understood the themes it explores, you'll appreciate just how appropriate it is. It's a quote I have a feeling will stay with me long after finishing this book.

I absolutely loved the way this story was constructed. The investigation, the domestic secrets and the different perspectives all came together so well, and I was completely invested from beginning to end. The heavier themes give this book a real emotional weight, while the clever misdirection and constant revelations make it ridiculously bingeable.

An easy 5 stars from me!

Summer Brownley's marriage is falling apart but she still manages to pull off a spectacular birthday party for her two children. After the celebration, Summer settles in for the night with a bottle of wine, relaxing while her soon to be ex husband has the kids for the night. Then the FBI shows up at dawn. Her daughter is missing. And somehow the nightmare is only just getting started. As FBI Agent Willow Thorne investigates, one of the party guests turns up dead, leaving a tangled web of suspects behind. Summers cheating ex husband, a best friend carrying regrets and a possessive surrogate all have secrets they desperately want to keep buried. Every answer seems to uncover another lie and if Summer wants to find her daughter, she'll have to expose secrets she has fought to keep hidden.

She's Mine takes a missing child, a fractured marriage, a dead guest and a collection of people with enough secrets to book several therapy sessions, then throws them all into one increasingly unsettling mystery. The more I learned the less I trusted anyone! Every relationship felt like it had something rotten underneath it and every new twist made me rethink what I thought I knew. There is definitely something terrifying about a thriller where the danger doesn't feel too far away. It feels personal. Familiar. Were there moments where I needed to suspend disbelief? Absolutely. But I was way too invested to care! I flew through this one in just a day, pretty much screaming "who can we trust, because it sure isn't any of these people"?! If you like domestic thrillers filled with secrets, betrayal, complicated relationships, missing person mysteries and characters that make you question every single thing, add this one to your TBR!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Susan Walter, Blackstone Publishing and Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse for this eARC!

***** SPOILER ALERT ****** (kinda)

I was thoroughly impressed with a fresh take on losing a child. Susan Walter effortlessly spun a spiderweb for readers to unravel leaving morsels along the way.

You can't even say much because anything could be a spoiler alert. The real spoiler is how amazing this story was. Gripped from the first page and it didnt relent until the very last. The whiplash from the twists is real!!

A women and her infertility issues are the center of this book. The couple used a surrogate for one child and adopted the second, a boy and a girl about one year apart. After their daughter’s birthday party, an uninvited guest shows up and the guessing starts from that moment. The father takes the children to his house for the night and finds their daughter missing. The police are called and begin their investigation. As always, the secrets and lies come up as the story goes back to the beginning. Twists and turns a plenty with an ending that is shocking. A must read!

This book is every mother's worst fear: waking up to the police telling you that your child is missing. You think that this is going to be the main bombshell of the story, but buckle up because that barely scratches the surface of this twisty thriller. It is told from multiple POVs in very short chapters that make this a very fast, bingeable read. The characters are messy, the secrets are dark, and the lies just keep on piling up. Just when you think you know what is going on, another twist comes your way. Susan Walter is an incredible thriller writer, and I always look forward to reading her books.

This book is absolutely brilliant!! This was such an intricately layered thriller with an abundance of twists along the way. I never could have predicted the ending.

This book helped me get out of a severe reading slump! Despite a slightly confusing start with the multiple POVs, I quickly got into the flow of the story. It's a fast-paced, messy, and twisty thriller about Summer and Van Brownley, whose lives are turned upside down when their young daughter vanishes after her birthday party. The way the story uncovers long-hidden family secrets kept me completely hooked. It was totally bingeable—the kind of book that makes you lose sleep because you can't stop at "just one more chapter."

Wow!! I couldn’t put this one down and read the whole book in 1 day!

I saw the cover and just knew this would be a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read!! This one definitely exceeded my expectations!

A birthday party, a kidnapping, a messy family dynamic, even messier friendships, and an fbi agent trying to solve the case all come together to make one wild ride of a novel.

This one is so twisted, it’s in knots! Every character is a suspect at some point, each one holds a secret, and it’s a race against time to figure it all out.

Words that describe this book;
Unputdownable
Twisty
Suspenseful
A must read

Definitely add this one to your tbr if it’s not already!! I highly recommend it!
Release date: February 16th

Thank you Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse, NetGalley, and the author for this advanced reader copy! I’ll definitely be ordering the physical copy for my bookshelf.

When four-year-old Diana is kidnapped from her bed the night after her birthday party, the FBI are called in. And from that moment onwards, my heart was firmly lodged in my throat.
It’s every parent’s worst nightmare, isn’t it? I genuinely don’t think I breathed properly again until the final page.

This was such a tangled, twisty story. There are quite a few characters, multiple POVs and dual timelines to follow, and I’ll admit it took me a little while to remember exactly who everyone was. Once I had them straight, though, I found it surprisingly easy to keep up.

Pretty much every man in this book (Alex, Nick and Van) was an absolute prick, each for completely different reasons. Naturally, that meant I spent far too long side-eyeing all three of them and questioning absolutely everything they said or did.
Not that it made any difference, because the real kidnapper wasn’t even remotely on my suspect list. I don’t think I ever would have figured it out, and I bloody love it when a thriller manages to completely blindside me.
And I know I say this a lot, but after that cliffhanger ending, I need a sequel. I swear, all these cliffhangers are not doing my blood pressure any favours.