Sarah PekkanenCritiques

Stella Hudson is an attorney who represents children in custody cases. She is a somewhat damaged individual as the result of a traumatic childhood, but the one constant support in her life has been attorney now judge, Charles. When he asks her to investigate the case of nine year old Rose Barclay whose parents are battling for custody, she is reluctant because she usually does not deal with children that young. However, she takes on the task because it is Charles who has asked.

There is something very amiss in the opulent Barclay home where the nanny, who was impregnated by the husband, jumped or was pushed to her death. Everyone is a suspect and when Rose who exhibits traumatic mutism (as did Stella when she was a child) is discovered to be stowing away pieces of glass and other weapons, suspicion falls on her as well.

I have always liked Pekkanen as a writer. In this well plotted story, she creates a strong atmosphere of suspicion and foreboding. The characters, even the minor ones, are well developed. Fast paced, it is an engrossing, suspenseful read with twists, turns, and surprises.

Thanks to #netgalley and @stmartinspress for the DRC.

TWISTED ! Get ready for a rollercoaster ride with dark tunnels and blind curves. I thought I knew, thought I got it right, I was so sure. I wasn’t I never saw that ending coming, never ! It’s so hard to review this without spoiling the story. it was really two stories in one, double fun.
There was a death, and then there was a divorce, and a custody battle. Seems normal right ? Wrong. These people are off center, way off. Secrets, lies, manipulation, more lies, and a child that is different to say the least.
The MC who was representing the child in the custody battle had her own closet of darkness that slowly opened that added another level of Eeeekkk to the story.
Excellent pacing, well written characters and a wicked twisting.½

read

Do not assume to know you understand or get what is going on because the twists in this book will give you whip lash. Suspenseful and thrilling. I really love this and even bought for a friend so they can enjoy it as well. :)

Suspenseful domestic drama and psychological thriller.

What would a loving mother do to protect her daughter? Ruth is living those things every day after becoming pregnant at 16 and leaving her family and home to fend for herself. Ruth has always done whatever it took to keep them safe. Catherine is now 24, has gotten her nursing degree, and is about to embark on her own life which begins with her moving away. Ruth can't bear it. Catherine doesn't understand it. But why is Ruth so desperate to keep Catherine close?

Secrets and lies have built the relationship between Ruth and her daughter. Now things start to fall apart as Catherine no longer believes her mother and suspects that her whole life might be a careful construction. They become wary of one another as the layers of deceit are revealed.

This was an engaging and compelling drama with some twists and shocks as the mother and daughter start to learn more about each other. Lots of emotional buttons in the narrative that flips back and forth between Ruth and Catherine as each tells her perspective. I found that both characters had qualities that I could relate to and actions that I could understand at times. Not that their behaviors or choices would be those I might make, but they were believable in context. I liked the writing style and the narrator in the audio did a good job though I'm not sure the voices were different enough that I would have known who was speaking had I not also been following along in the e-book.

I like mother-daughter stories for the most part and this did not disappoint. Thank you to the publishers for the e-book ARC to read and review. I obtained the audio format from my library.

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

Nine-year-old Rose Barclay collects broken shards of glass and other sharp objects. She never speaks.

Guardian ad litem Stella Hudson, a child advocate lawyer, has a particular expertise in working with teen-agers. However, her friend [and father figure] Judge Charles Huxley, has asked her to accept Rose as her client.

Was Rose responsible for pushing her nanny, Tina de la Cruz, through a third-story window? And if she did, why would she kill the nanny she supposedly loved?

=========

The mystery of Tina’s death lies at the heart of this psychological thriller. Stella’s own past plays into the solving of the mystery surrounding the nanny’s death and Rose’s subsequent mutism. Strong, nuanced characters help the reader negotiate the ins and outs of the many dark secrets in this unputdownable tale.

Although a bit creepy at times, the plot twists and turns are so unpredictable, so intriguing that they keep those pages turning at breakneck speed as readers try to put all the clues together. Although both Stella and Rose have heartbreaking trauma in their lives, the unfolding story’s primary focus lies with the family relationships.

Readers who enjoy psychological thrillers, tales of families affairs, and puzzling mysteries will find much to appreciate here as the evolving story leads to a denouement most readers simply won’t see coming.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
#HouseofGlass #NetGalley

This story captivated me from the jump. I was worried about reading it because I loved The Wife Between Us and didn’t want it to ruin this author for me. I was not disappointed. The story had me guessing none stop, with me not figuring out almost until the very end. The major plot twist had me sitting up in awe of the choices made. Seriously, I was laying down in my blankets and I shot up, shocked because I didn’t see it coming!!

I am becoming a fan of this author duo. The stories are amazing and keep me captivated.

The mystery surrounding this story took me for a small loop. I thought I knew the outcome on four different points in the story to just have it turn on me. It flowed well, the thought provoking strategies and mean girl with a twist plot had me glued to the pages. I am looking forward to the net release. The books from these two never last more than a day for me!!

This story is narrated from the POV of Avery Chambers, the unconventional therapist and Marissa Bishop, the wife who cheated on her husband, Matthew Bishop. The story alternates between telling the story of the Bishops and that of the therapist.

Avery Chambers received her Master's degree in Social Work married to Paul who was an author, 20 years her junior and dies from a seizure caused by an aggressive brain tumor. Avery has her own ideas about how to help her clients and developed a 10-step therapy session program. This practice swayed from the traditional practice she was licensed to practice. After she loses her therapist license she decides to practice by her own rules. She is a woman who isn't afraid to push the limits or boundaries to get the results she seeks with her clients and in her personal life.

Marissa and Matthew Bishop are trying to reconcile after it is revealed that Marissa had an affair with a man at her gym. Matthew is a partner in a DC law firm sleeping in the guest room when he agrees to seek counseling when Marissa suggests they see Avery. Marissa owns a boutique shop called Coco where she sells unique, specialty items and has Polly working as an assistant for her so she can care for their 8 year old son Bennett. The Bishops agree to the unusual therapy techniques of Avery Chambers but aren't convinced that this will work and don't completely reveal the depths of their marital issues. Meanwhile, Avery is dealing with her own personal drama which distracts her focus and provides her own problems.

This is a tumultuous ride of some very flawed characters who are juggling deceit and lies with trust and forgiveness. Will they be able to resolve jealousy and betrayal and find a family worth saving?

Shay Miller likes facts. She keeps a notebook of seemingly random facts & statistics. And she's a good person, but she's looking for all the fulfilling things in life: a steady job, a steady relationship, a close friend or two, & a reliable place to call home. So she's vulnerable. And when she witnesses a tragic event, she gets swept up in the aftermath, which includes being swept up by the glamorous but enigmatic Moore sisters. But what she doesn't know is that the Moore sisters also want something too.

I've read some reviews that have said this book is not as good as the previous ones by this author duo, and I've not read those. But I have to say this one was pretty engrossing and rather twisted and I enjoyed it a lot, so now I really think I need to read their other books as well. This one kept me interested all the way through and I kept wanting to return to it when I wasn't reading, so yeah....sign me up for some more of that!

Everyone is just as dumb as you imagine, but also not. A solid twisty tale.

Marissa and Matthew are often referred to as 'the golden couple" so why are they going to see a therapist? Because Marissa has a confession to make and she anonymously received an article about Avery, the therapist, and her unconventional methods. Of apparent little to no concern to Marissa is the fact that Avery is no longer a licensed therapist, she just hopes Avery can help their marriage.

There is something that connects Avery to Marissa and Matthew but you don't realize what it is until the end of the book (unless you figure out beforehand).

I received this book from St. Martin's Press as an Advanced Reader's Copy. This book will be published on January 9, 2019 and I highly recommend you pick it up. The story centers around Jessica, a makeup artist in NYC. She stumbles into a "study" about morality and ethics where she becomes embroiled in a twisted relationship.

Avery, a maverick therapist who lost her license due to controversial methods, agrees to help golden couple Marissa and Mathew Bishop overcome Marissa's cheating, setting all three of them on a collision course because the biggest--and most dangerous--secrets have not yet been revealed.

Avery’s method didn’t seem plausible to me but it was entertaining. Besides the problems with Marissa’s cheating, Avery had problems with a pharmaceutical company threatening her because she called in information about serious problems with one of their drugs which she learned about from a client. There were many twist and turns. Although not compelling, it kept me interested.½

There were a lot of people to keep track of but I loved the alternating points of view once I figured out who was who. I loved the ending; someone got their comeuppance and the person(s) that deserved a happy ending, got one.

Thriller

Suspense

Suspense

Good book about murder, mother and daughter, running and hiding. Worth the read.

QUITE a surprising book that seemed to start rather calmly and then....took right straight off!!! A very clever back and forth in the chapters between the mother and daughter each showing their view of their relationship changing. Hard to put this book down and reach......a series of twists in the end!!!

Loved it!

3.5

There's nothing wrong with this book - it's a good easy beach read - but in the end it felt a little too clunky and on the nose with the story and left me mostly cold.

I can't help but feel like this was the author's first book. There's a lot of "tell not show" going on.

The Wife Between Us A Novel by Greer Hendricks; Sarah Pekkanen published by St. Martin's Press is fantastic. I was given an arc of this through Netgalley and I have to say January cannot come soon enough for this one. January 9,2018! Mark your calendars! You are assuming you know how this one will end just by looking at the title I know I did when I requested it I simply requested it because I was intrigued the cover and description pull you in what I got was a book I want to give to every female who loves books.

What happens when you fall in love with a man you hardly know or a man you think is so perfect you can’t see his flaws until it’s too late. Richard’s first wife, Vanessa, was dumped for a younger woman after many years of marriage. Gone were all the trappings of wealth she had enjoyed as she struggles to put her life back in order.
Vanessa forced to move in with her aunt after her divorce and take a job at Saks to put her life back together. Each chapter is penned so well that you are tossed between Vanessa, Nellie and forced to figure out who is the victim who is the victor and who wins Richard if anyone. The Wife between us has it’s dark moments has its heart racing faced pace and has you guessing who these women are at their core. In the end, it makes you wonder not only if true love exists but also of the past mistakes catching up with your future. There is no room between a perfect five star review with this one because any less than a perfect score and you didn’t understand what the two writers were trying to accomplish.

[b:An Anonymous Girl|39863515|An Anonymous Girl|Greer Hendricks|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1546956642s/39863515.jpg|61659722]

To say I inhaled this book is a gross understatement. I sat down and didn’t stop reading until I finished it. I ate dinner while turning pages and I think everyone thought I have lost my mind. To my defense sanity is over rated. After reading The Wife Between Us I knew I had to read this book. You know when you have a book immortalized in your mind and you can’t wait to read it. Yet you fear it may not live up to the hype. No problem with that here this book holds true to ever bit of praise that it has gotten and the praise it will continue to get. Remember the rules: Be open and truthful, and avoid pivoting away from any embarrassment or pain these questions provoke. Jessica Farris a makeup artist sneaks herself into an ethics and morality study in order to earn some extra income. I was able to immediately put myself in her shoes. The initial questions had me wondering how I would answer. Each chapter is crafted to keep the story moving flawlessly until the nail-biting end. Jessica becomes obsessed with this study and questions herself at every turn. The chapters alternate beautifully between patient and doctor and you can’t seem to pick sides. After the first 12% all you want to do is find out what the motives are for each person and what each has to gain. Jessica and the Dr are such well thought characters that you can picture them clearly in your minds. That being said Remember the rules: Be open and truthful, and avoid pivoting away from this book. Pick it up. Read it and review it. Share it with friends. 5***** for my first all nighter of the year. Side note this is in talks to be a TV show. YES PLEASE!!!!