Dawn GoodwinRezensionen

suspense

Veronica Pullman is in need of some help. Help she knows she needs but help she can’t bring herself to ask for.
Her life fell apart the day her daughter died, her daughter Grace tragically died in a car accident and life for the Pullmans has never been and never will be the same again.
Veronica can’t come to terms with the fact her daughter has gone, she can’t believe and won’t believe the truth, she won’t even stand for anyone even saying it out loud – Grace is dead!
She has completely isolated herself from everything and everyone, even her marriage and husband Tom.
She very rarely leaves the house and when she does she just goes to her daughters school to stand for a moment imaging what it would have been like with Grace.
The other mothers know Veronica and of her loss but they have long since given up trying to talk to her so they just let her be and she’s only there for a few minutes anyway.
On a day like any other day, Veronica starts her pilgrimage to her daughters school but unlike every other day, today she meets Scarlet.
For some reason being with Scarlet makes her feel slightly better and she can open up and talk to her, something she hasn’t done with anyone else since Grace so the two women soon become best friends.
To begin with Tom is relieved to see some of his wife re-emerge after being so closed off from the world.
All Scarlet wants is to help, to help Veronica have a life again, have some fun and laugh again. Tom can’t remember the last time he heard his wife laugh!
But then things start to spiral out of control. Scarlet isn’t necessarily a good influence or the right person to help Veronica. Drinking through the day, going out partying for nights on end, drinking and dancing with god knows who and then the shoplifting! Why shoplift when you don’t need too? And the anger that is bubbling in Veronica, anger she can’t contain lashing out at everything and everyone.
Then odd things start to happen, a picture of Grace appears out of nowhere, parcels arrive containing items for Grace’s birthday, things neither Veronica or Tom has ordered.
Toms concern for his wife grows as more things happen, Is his wife doing all these things without being aware of it, in some sort of fugue state?
Or is someone deliberately messing with Veronica’s already delicate state of mind?
Is Scarlet really a friend or is she something a lot more sinister?
With twists and turns that at times are blindingly obvious and some more subtle, the book does end on a surprise.
So for anyone that likes psychological thrillers this is a book you need to put on your “To Read” list

So glad this was a shorter book. Other than a title change, character change and same plot twist I have read this book many times. Nothing new here....One miserable housewife, one controlling husband and one dysfunctional mother and one tragic event and you have the same old story.

I received this book as and ARC from#netgalley in return for an honest review. Katherine wants to write a best seller and is thrilled when the famous author of her writing class offers to give one-on-one help. But Katherine’s controlling husband, Paul has other ideas. And who is leaving notes on her doorstep? What caused her breakdown? Is the novel any good? Why does Sam’s wife hate her? Or is it her imagination? I can’t wait for more from Dawn Goodwin

I received this book as and ARC from#netgalley in return for an honest review. Katherine wants to write a best seller and is thrilled when the famous author of her writing class offers to give one-on-one help. But Katherine’s controlling husband, Paul has other ideas. And who is leaving notes on her doorstep? What caused her breakdown? Is the novel any good? Why does Sam’s wife hate her? Or is it her imagination? I can’t wait for more from Dawn Goodwin

To lose your child has to be one of the worst things to ever happen to a person. I cannot imagine the feelings that you go through and I certainly never want to. So when Veronica loses her daughter she becomes extremely depressed and starts to view reality differently. For her, living in a time where Grace is still alive is much easier than dealing with the truth. And there are quite a few truths she is not aware of around her.
Then Veronica meets Scarlet. The woman is her complete opposite, but they get along wonderfully. Although Scarlet often gets Veronica in trouble, she is so happy to have met a new friend that she pushes all of that aside. Veronica‘s husband appears to be the supportive man we all would like to have, but is he really? And Grace, her daughter, what really happened to her? Why is nobody actively helping Veronica move past the loss of her daughter? And why does nobody ever get to meet the infamous Scarlet?
When the end approached, I was probably sitting there with my mouth hanging open. It’s not that the ending is so much different or unexpected, but it’s the way that it is done and how everything comes out that left me breathless.

😳😳😳🤦🏼‍♀️ (3.5)

Anna and Vicky have been friends since school. Dysfunctional for sure, one is the ring leader, the other a follower. Vicky is dealing with an abusive situation which leaves her with little or no self respect. Anna, to put it nicely, is a manipulative rich bitch, who will hold things over Vicky’s head, and does what she wants with no worry to anyone else’s feelings. She can get Vicky to do anything. Vicky also knows Anna’s secrets, and covets Anna’s life! When Anna dies in a crash, did Vicky have enough? Did recent events finally open her eyes? She moves in with Anna’s grieving husband and children, in essence she starts living Anna’s coveted life. But, things are far from perfect.

While I liked the premise of the book and the story flowed easily, the ending was disappointing. The author was very good at making your opinion of Vicky teeter from one extreme to another. Very few likable characters in this book. This would be a good beach read for sure...entertaining, fast paced, easy to read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Aria Publishing for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

Katherine has a crush on her writing instructor, Samuel. Samuel is a famous author. He reciprocates feelings towards Katherine. There is one slight problem...his wife, Viola. Viola won't give up her husband so easily; especially when she recognizes Katherine from the past.

This is the perfect set up for a good thriller. Yet, it fell flat majorly in my eyes with the biggest issue...the characters. There was nothing interesting about any of the three characters. Also, when Katherine was receiving the threating texts, she didn't really react and there was no build up. I kept reading hoping that the story would get better but it was still the same one monotone theme through out the storyline. The ending was fine but as they say "a little too late".