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darkpsychereads's review
4.0
4 stars - Intelligent, psychological & chronic mellow thrills.
"I waited for Siggy, expecting her to bait me. But all I could find of her was the glowing outline of her, a swirl of anticipation coming from where she usually lay glaring"
Siggy is the dark alter personality hiding in the depths of Ellie Power's consciousness, an off shoot of her Disassociative Identity Disorder.. Everytime Siggy was mentioned, her mysterious and alluring portrayal captivated me. Siggy is Ellie's worst nightmare, seemingly uncontrollable and violent. And now those closest to Ellie have gone missing... But the twist to her story is much darker and closer to home.
I loved the parallel storytelling between the detective Ben Kwon Mae and the protagonist Ellie Powers as she battles through the daily repercussions of her Disassociative Disorder. There were abundant twists and characters to throw you into a convoluted haze, which kept me continuously hooked. But as a result of the sheer volume of writing and twists, I felt desensitized to the thrill. I'm also not quite sure how necessary it was to spend so much time on Detective Mae's story. As much as I was fond of his character, I would have liked more intense focus on getting to Ellie's whole deal. Detective Mae needs his own separate spotlight if his life is to be explored is my suggestion.
Lock Me In is overall very well-written, psychologically well-researched, has strong characters and a strong sense of world. Just perhaps too much world/characters. It was a relatively easy and enjoyable read. I also have to appreciate the broader cultural representations.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author & the publisher: Harper Impulse & Killer Reads, for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
"I waited for Siggy, expecting her to bait me. But all I could find of her was the glowing outline of her, a swirl of anticipation coming from where she usually lay glaring"
Siggy is the dark alter personality hiding in the depths of Ellie Power's consciousness, an off shoot of her Disassociative Identity Disorder.. Everytime Siggy was mentioned, her mysterious and alluring portrayal captivated me. Siggy is Ellie's worst nightmare, seemingly uncontrollable and violent. And now those closest to Ellie have gone missing... But the twist to her story is much darker and closer to home.
I loved the parallel storytelling between the detective Ben Kwon Mae and the protagonist Ellie Powers as she battles through the daily repercussions of her Disassociative Disorder. There were abundant twists and characters to throw you into a convoluted haze, which kept me continuously hooked. But as a result of the sheer volume of writing and twists, I felt desensitized to the thrill. I'm also not quite sure how necessary it was to spend so much time on Detective Mae's story. As much as I was fond of his character, I would have liked more intense focus on getting to Ellie's whole deal. Detective Mae needs his own separate spotlight if his life is to be explored is my suggestion.
Lock Me In is overall very well-written, psychologically well-researched, has strong characters and a strong sense of world. Just perhaps too much world/characters. It was a relatively easy and enjoyable read. I also have to appreciate the broader cultural representations.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author & the publisher: Harper Impulse & Killer Reads, for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
joannareads's review against another edition
4.0
As soon as I saw the blurb for Lock Me In, I knew I needed to read it!
Ellie Power is a normal girl, with a normal life and boyfriend. Except each night her mother locks her in her bedroom, to keep everyone safe from Ellie's Disassociate Identity Disorder. Put simply, at night she becomes a completely different person, and Siggy, her 'alter' is angry.....
One morning, Ellie awakes and finds the lock on her bedroom door broken. She's covered in cuts and bruises, and her boyfriend Matt is missing. What happened that night? Can Ellie ever lead a normal life?
A solid 4* rating for this book. I loved the pacing of the book, swapping chapters between Ellie and the Detective investigating Matt's disappearance kept me hooked and the reveals when they came all made me gasp out loud! Its safe to say this book didn't end up where I expected it to!
Ellie Power is a normal girl, with a normal life and boyfriend. Except each night her mother locks her in her bedroom, to keep everyone safe from Ellie's Disassociate Identity Disorder. Put simply, at night she becomes a completely different person, and Siggy, her 'alter' is angry.....
One morning, Ellie awakes and finds the lock on her bedroom door broken. She's covered in cuts and bruises, and her boyfriend Matt is missing. What happened that night? Can Ellie ever lead a normal life?
A solid 4* rating for this book. I loved the pacing of the book, swapping chapters between Ellie and the Detective investigating Matt's disappearance kept me hooked and the reveals when they came all made me gasp out loud! Its safe to say this book didn't end up where I expected it to!
notinjersey's review against another edition
5.0
Downloading a book on Net Galley that didn’t require approval had me a little nervous, but I could not stop reading this! For me, it was the epitome of a book I couldn’t put down. I don’t want to say too much about this book and give things away, because it really surprised me. While I suspected certain things, I never would have guessed the reasons for the way the characters acted or did what they did. It is told from the alternating perspectives of Ellie and the detective on the case, Ben Mae. This kindle book is available today, so if you can, give it a try and let me know what you think!
kellyvandamme's review against another edition
4.0
Hi and welcome to my review of Lock Me In!
Lock Me In is all about Ellie, who lives with her mum, and it soon becomes clear that Ellie doesn’t just have a sleeping disorder, she’s believed to suffer from DID – Dissociative Identity Disorder (previously known as multiple personality disorder). Well that just ticked all my psych thriller boxes in one go! I love psychological thrillers that actually explore an aspect of psychology, especially when they zoom in on a condition like DID, one that remains shrouded in mystery and controversy. Still, Lock Me In never becomes clinical, instead we see and feel the effects through Ellie and her mum.
Every night, Ellie’s mum locks her into her room, because it’s when she sleeps that her alter Ziggy takes over and does things, bad things. The reader sees the aftermath but never Ziggy herself, and neither does Ellie, who apparently goes into some sort of fugue state. Afterwards, she wakes up, hurt and dizzy, and can’t remember what Ziggy has done. No one knows about Ellie and her condition, except for her mum, and now Ellie’s boyfriend Matt. Ellie thinks she might get a happily ever after after all, but then Matt disappears. Ellie is convinced she, or rather Ziggy, had something to do with his disappearance. It wouldn’t be the first time: years ago, Ellie’s best friend disappeared too. I have to tell you, I loved Ellie to bits! And also her desperate search for the truth. Not only with regards to Matt, but also herself and her past. I was dying to find out where Ziggy had come from. Did something happen to Ellie when she was little? Presumably one does not grow multiple personalities (to refer to it with the old term) overnight and without any kind of trigger. The extracts of the conversations between Ellie and her psychiatrist in 2006 do nothing to clarify the situation, if anything they fuel the suspense.
Alternating with these extracts and Ellie’s POV in the first person, is Detective Sergeant Kwon Mae’s in the third person. Mae investigated the disappearance of Ellie’s friend and he has never been able to forget that case. Coincidence (or providence?) has thrown them back together, because this new misper case lands on Mae’s desk. Mae is fighting his own personal demons (name me a fictional cop who isn’t!) what with his ex-wife and his daughter who is having problems at school, and he is very determined to crack this case wide open with the help of rookie Kit, who is formidable and funny and l loved the interaction and the lingering tension between them and I kept hoping Kit would be able to get Mae out of his slump. (Did she though? Read the book and find out
Lock Me In is all about Ellie, who lives with her mum, and it soon becomes clear that Ellie doesn’t just have a sleeping disorder, she’s believed to suffer from DID – Dissociative Identity Disorder (previously known as multiple personality disorder). Well that just ticked all my psych thriller boxes in one go! I love psychological thrillers that actually explore an aspect of psychology, especially when they zoom in on a condition like DID, one that remains shrouded in mystery and controversy. Still, Lock Me In never becomes clinical, instead we see and feel the effects through Ellie and her mum.
Every night, Ellie’s mum locks her into her room, because it’s when she sleeps that her alter Ziggy takes over and does things, bad things. The reader sees the aftermath but never Ziggy herself, and neither does Ellie, who apparently goes into some sort of fugue state. Afterwards, she wakes up, hurt and dizzy, and can’t remember what Ziggy has done. No one knows about Ellie and her condition, except for her mum, and now Ellie’s boyfriend Matt. Ellie thinks she might get a happily ever after after all, but then Matt disappears. Ellie is convinced she, or rather Ziggy, had something to do with his disappearance. It wouldn’t be the first time: years ago, Ellie’s best friend disappeared too. I have to tell you, I loved Ellie to bits! And also her desperate search for the truth. Not only with regards to Matt, but also herself and her past. I was dying to find out where Ziggy had come from. Did something happen to Ellie when she was little? Presumably one does not grow multiple personalities (to refer to it with the old term) overnight and without any kind of trigger. The extracts of the conversations between Ellie and her psychiatrist in 2006 do nothing to clarify the situation, if anything they fuel the suspense.
Alternating with these extracts and Ellie’s POV in the first person, is Detective Sergeant Kwon Mae’s in the third person. Mae investigated the disappearance of Ellie’s friend and he has never been able to forget that case. Coincidence (or providence?) has thrown them back together, because this new misper case lands on Mae’s desk. Mae is fighting his own personal demons (name me a fictional cop who isn’t!) what with his ex-wife and his daughter who is having problems at school, and he is very determined to crack this case wide open with the help of rookie Kit, who is formidable and funny and l loved the interaction and the lingering tension between them and I kept hoping Kit would be able to get Mae out of his slump. (Did she though? Read the book and find out
ktmcken's review against another edition
5.0
Couldn't put this down! Draws you in from the very first page and the ending certainly didn't disappoint. The clever plot twists and turns were beautifully crafted to give enough clues to keep you intrigued without giving it away. Highly recommend!
maz403's review against another edition
4.0
Ellie has DID ( dissociative identity disorder ) at night she has to be locked in her room so her violent alter ego doesn’t take over. Luckily her mother will do anything to protect her from herself....... but things are not always as they seem !
An excellent psychological thriller full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing and reassessing what you think you know. Ellie’ character and issues are sympathetically portrayed and I found myself rooting for her and hoping for a good outcome.
Well worth reading.
An excellent psychological thriller full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing and reassessing what you think you know. Ellie’ character and issues are sympathetically portrayed and I found myself rooting for her and hoping for a good outcome.
Well worth reading.
agustinap's review
4.0
WoW! What a book! Even though I guess the “who” half way thru the book, I had no idea how it was going to unfold. This book had so many twists and turns you never see the ending coming. It was a great read. I will definitely be recommending it.
Thanks NetGalley and Kate Simants for the copy!
Thanks NetGalley and Kate Simants for the copy!
karinzoueini's review against another edition
3.0
This was a solid read
The main protagonist, 19-year-old Ellie, who has a personality/psychological disorder, experiences loss in ways we can’t begin to imagine. Her only friend growing up wounds up dead, and three years later, the love of her life goes missing too.
Speculations and tensions rise as we try to determine what happened to these two individuals, was it Siggy? Her alter ego that she can’t control that took over? Was it her psychologist or her boyfriend simply running away?
I would have rated this a five had I not known who the “killer” was going to be. The whole book relies on the premise of where these people went and who got rid of them. And let me tell you, the author, (as great as her writing is), did not do a good job or creating that suspense. I knew from the very beginning so it really felt like I was reading the book just to finish it
The main protagonist, 19-year-old Ellie, who has a personality/psychological disorder, experiences loss in ways we can’t begin to imagine. Her only friend growing up wounds up dead, and three years later, the love of her life goes missing too.
Speculations and tensions rise as we try to determine what happened to these two individuals, was it Siggy? Her alter ego that she can’t control that took over? Was it her psychologist or her boyfriend simply running away?
I would have rated this a five had I not known who the “killer” was going to be. The whole book relies on the premise of where these people went and who got rid of them. And let me tell you, the author, (as great as her writing is), did not do a good job or creating that suspense. I knew from the very beginning so it really felt like I was reading the book just to finish it
lxurx64's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25