Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
But then… the story dragged. I kept wondering, where is this going? I guessed from the beginning that Adele was the “evil” one, and while that didn’t ruin the suspense, it meant I was waiting for something bigger. Reviews had promised me a jaw-dropping twist, so I kept reading, expecting that wow moment where everything clicks.
And sure, the final reveal had elements I didn’t see coming — especially the identity swap — but the reason I didn’t guess it wasn’t because it was clever. It was because it was completely unrealistic. Soul-switching? Astral projection? Watching yourself from outside your body? For me, that kind of supernatural twist doesn’t belong in a psychological thriller. I love plot twists that blow my mind because they’re smart, plausible, and hidden in plain sight (And Then There Were None, Rock Paper Scissors, The Silent Patient). This one just felt far-fetched.
Character-wise, I couldn’t stand the main character. She was immature, whiny, careless — especially as a mother — and seemed bad at the “detective” role the plot wanted her to play. Adele, on the other hand, was fascinating and intelligent, and I enjoyed her chapters… until I learned she wasn’t even Adele.
I will say, the audiobook did one thing brilliantly: the final reveal is read in a male voice, and that choice was shocking in the best way. It served the plot perfectly and gave me a genuine jolt.
Overall, though, I was disappointed. I liked how the twist was presented, but I hated that it relied on an unbelievable premise. If you enjoy grounded, realistic psychological thrillers, this might not be for you.
what the FUCK.
what. the. fuck.
im stupid i think too much i thought about the ending too much and figured it out a couple chapters before it was revealed
what. the. fuck.
im stupid i think too much i thought about the ending too much and figured it out a couple chapters before it was revealed
*Audiobook* man 2025 is turning out to be a dud on books. This one was not for me-and the ending was so freaking bizarre like who thinks of this?
dark
medium-paced
Rating: 4.25
This was such an entertaining thriller! While it wasn’t one of those heart-pounding, can’t-put-it-down page turners, it still kept me hooked the whole way through. And then that last chapter? Completely threw me for a loop. My jaw was on the floor! That twist alone bumped my rating up because I absolutely did not see it coming—and I loved every second of it. I could definitely see myself picking this one up again in the future. Also, the audiobook definitely elevated the reading experience for me!
This was such an entertaining thriller! While it wasn’t one of those heart-pounding, can’t-put-it-down page turners, it still kept me hooked the whole way through. And then that last chapter? Completely threw me for a loop. My jaw was on the floor! That twist alone bumped my rating up because I absolutely did not see it coming—and I loved every second of it. I could definitely see myself picking this one up again in the future. Also, the audiobook definitely elevated the reading experience for me!
The promise of a fantastic twist urged me to pick this as one of my Book Of The Month selections, and it kept me reading despite not being especially interesting. This is just another book about a troubled marriage and secrets. However, in the very end I was surprised. While the book doesn't cover new ground, the author did a successful job of keeping her big secret guarded. This is one to borrow from the library or a friend if you get around to reading it.
So here's the thing: back when this book came out, I didn't want anything to do with it. There was a huge publicity campaign starting a couple of weeks before it came out featuring a hashtag called #WTFThatEnding and I thought it was a very cheap way of grabbing readers' attention. Obviously I enjoy surprising twists in my thrillers, but I've read a lot of stories where an author relies solely on that whatthefuck moment and doesn't develop their story or their characters enough to really drive the punch home.
But I needed a little palate cleanser after finishing a Stephen King tome. And I had this on kindle (because yes, even though I never actually planned on reading it, FOMO is real and I didn't want to feel completely left out).
And oh. My. God.
Louise is a single mom living in London who's worked for years as a receptionist at a private psychiatric clinic. She hasn't been involved with anyone since her divorce, until one night at a bar she meets a man - a handsome, charming, funny man - and they make out until the man backs away, apologising because he's married. She's okay with thinking it was one of those mortifying stories that become funny once you tell them to people, until she goes to work the next day and realizes the handsome man-from-the-bar is actually her new boss, David. And things get even more complicated once she bumps into David's gorgeous wife, Adele, and actually becomes friends with her.
I'm not gonna go in plot details. Usually in thriller reviews you'll see something like "you should go into this blind!", and in this case, I mean it. Start reading this book without knowing more than the basic information the synopsis provides you. Most reviews I've read of this book reveal a plot point that I think is better left unsaid until you've read.
(And just in case you have read it, or don't care about getting mildly spoiled:)
I really liked the characters we get to meet here. I loved Louise, because she was so realistic in all of her relationships: yes, there is a very obvious love triangle here, but Sarah Pinborough manages to write it in a way that makes it understandable. Louise knows that what she's doing is not okay, but how can she get out once she's deep into a relationship with both of these people? I also loved the way the author wrote about her relaitonship with her son and her ex-husband; the cheapest plot point for an author to pull when writing a single mom is to make her resent her marriage, but Louise was ambiguous toward the whole point, and that was so much more relatable than tipping the scales one way or another.
What I like the most about the story, and what I was scared of and put me off reading it when it first came out, is that while you can't tell what the twist is going to be, it doesn't drop down on your lap out of nowhere. It's constructed all throughout the novel, and you just don't see it. That's my favorite kind of surprise.
I read this in a day, ignoring all of my other responsibilities. It was 100% worth it.
But I needed a little palate cleanser after finishing a Stephen King tome. And I had this on kindle (because yes, even though I never actually planned on reading it, FOMO is real and I didn't want to feel completely left out).
And oh. My. God.
"Everyone should be allowed their secrets. You can never know everything about a person. You'd go mad trying to."
Louise is a single mom living in London who's worked for years as a receptionist at a private psychiatric clinic. She hasn't been involved with anyone since her divorce, until one night at a bar she meets a man - a handsome, charming, funny man - and they make out until the man backs away, apologising because he's married. She's okay with thinking it was one of those mortifying stories that become funny once you tell them to people, until she goes to work the next day and realizes the handsome man-from-the-bar is actually her new boss, David. And things get even more complicated once she bumps into David's gorgeous wife, Adele, and actually becomes friends with her.
I'm not gonna go in plot details. Usually in thriller reviews you'll see something like "you should go into this blind!", and in this case, I mean it. Start reading this book without knowing more than the basic information the synopsis provides you. Most reviews I've read of this book reveal a plot point that I think is better left unsaid until you've read.
(And just in case you have read it, or don't care about getting mildly spoiled:
Spoiler
I didn't think the slightly supernatural twist actually ruined anything about the plot. I was already engaged enough with the characters and I thought the gradually rising levels of paranormal were fully okay. It doesn't take anything away from the actual development of the story, so honestly, it was fine.I really liked the characters we get to meet here. I loved Louise, because she was so realistic in all of her relationships: yes, there is a very obvious love triangle here, but Sarah Pinborough manages to write it in a way that makes it understandable. Louise knows that what she's doing is not okay, but how can she get out once she's deep into a relationship with both of these people? I also loved the way the author wrote about her relaitonship with her son and her ex-husband; the cheapest plot point for an author to pull when writing a single mom is to make her resent her marriage, but Louise was ambiguous toward the whole point, and that was so much more relatable than tipping the scales one way or another.
What I like the most about the story, and what I was scared of and put me off reading it when it first came out, is that while you can't tell what the twist is going to be, it doesn't drop down on your lap out of nowhere. It's constructed all throughout the novel, and you just don't see it. That's my favorite kind of surprise.
I read this in a day, ignoring all of my other responsibilities. It was 100% worth it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can't decide how to rate this book. There were things I really liked about it -- that ending was truly fucked up, and I love when there are multiple narrators and you have to piece the story together yourself -- and things I hated about it. For one, I think it asks you to suspend your disbelief way too much. Everything in the story felt a bit...convenient. I'll concede that I really couldn't have predicted the ending, but then again, that's because it was so out of left field. Pinborough definitely has a way of making you unable to put the book down. I liked her writing. The only thing that started to piss me off were the paragraphs after paragraphs of characters asking themselves rhetorical questions. "What if he doesn't show up? Could he really do that? Was I really going to do what I said I was going to do?" We get it dude, you're dubious.
I guess overall I thought it was a good thriller with somewhat weird pacing that used a little bit of a cop-out of a plot device to deliver a genuinely shocking ending. So.
I guess overall I thought it was a good thriller with somewhat weird pacing that used a little bit of a cop-out of a plot device to deliver a genuinely shocking ending. So.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The promise of a domestic thriller with good reviews, the let-down of a book that decides to create a twisted psychopathic marital drama along the lines of Gone Girl/i>, the greater let-down when the ending relies on a supernatural angle. Meh.