Liz Alterman
Suspense Thriller
An unflinching examination of motherhood and the dark side of domesticity set against a suburban backdrop that’s anything but blissful. This twisty tale invites readers to a slow motion unravelling that culminates in a devastating finale.
Who was I? What had I become? Breathe, I commanded. You’re doing this for your family.
When Laurel and Rob West move into their new home in New Jersey, it seems too good to be true. But Laurel can’t shake off her old feelings of anxiety. The neighbour who pays far too much attention to the Wests’ two young children . . . Rob watching her every miss step . . . and there’s something people aren’t telling her about this house . . .
I promised myself I wouldn’t go to that neighborhood again. Not that street. Not so soon. But I couldn’t help it. They made it too easy.
Corey Sutton is trying to outrun her past. Recently divorced and reeling from a devastating loss, she moves into her widowed mother’s retirement condo in Florida. Everyone says she just needs some time to recover and rebuild . . . but is Corey beyond saving? She wants answers. And there’s very little she won’t do to get them.
Though Laurel and Corey have never met, the women have something in common, and if they’re not careful, it may just destroy them both . . .
-Excerpt taken from Goodreads.
Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.
My Opinion
(4 / 5) Two women, two lives and many heartbreaks in between. Laurel comes from a dark past and because of that, puts everything into raising her family. “To some people I might have seemed pathetic, co-dependent, but my children had become my entire world, the family I’d craved since I lost my mom. I needed them just as much as they needed me.” While Corey is a cranky, sarcastic smartass who moved back in with her mom after her own tragedy. She admittedly had the “bitch switch permanently stuck in the ‘on’ position.” The contrast between the two was stark but the similarities brought them unknowingly together.
I was glued to this story! I laughed out loud at Corey and her mouth multiple times. At the same time, her grief was heavy. You could feel the depth and the pain she experienced. But I found myself relating to Laurel and her over-compensation for a past she had no control over.
I was hooked to this story until the end. Don’t get me wrong, that end was fabulous! But it was an ending that stopped at a certain point before the reveal, then the next scene is after the “big moment.” Ah! I don’t want to fill in those blanks of the story that are only briefly touched on afterward. I want the intricate, juicy, all-consuming details of each moment. It was an intense ride with a slow reveal that comes together well at the end.
General content summary: F words= 29
Murder (family member, previous)
Money theft
Allergy emergency
M/F intimacy (closed door scene, scene with foreplay 2x)
Child death (previous, intense grief, water, intense details of finding the body)
Near drowning (small child)
Gun shot
Poisoning (few details)
**Any quotes have been taken from the advance readers copy and may or may not be in the final, published copy.
Thank you to Thriller Book Lovers; The Pulse and NetGalley for the copy!
The book releases August 6, 2024.
**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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