This book is centered around child abuse, which some people find hard to read.

However, what a gripping book.

Even though it centers around horrible circumstances, it is so gripping and you just want to read on.

I was really looking forward to reading this book and it met my expectations. It was captivating and I just wanted to read on!

I didn't like the characters, but I dont think you are meant to!

All in all, it was a great book and I will look out for more by the same author!

The Dark Path by Michelle Sacks is a stunning debut novel. With intelligent writing and a gripping story The Dark Parth is a fabulous thriller.

Michelle Sacks' You Were Made for This' and recently titled 'The Dark Path' is an eye-opening, and in parts quite distressing, read, and one that forces us to face up to the startling effects of mental illness of the post-natal type.

At first we see Merry and her perfect life, and we cannot feel anything but jealousy for her. She is so efficient, has the house and family of her dreams and there is nothing she could want for. Yet beneath this shining example of how to be a perfect housewife and live in your ideal home, the story soon reveals what is really going on behind closed doors, and how Merry is unravelling. This a total game-changer! I could not put this book down!

Add Frances, Merry's childhood friend to the mix and you've now got an extra reason to be rooting for the protagonist, Merry, you at first don't even like very much. Not because she has it all, but because of what she does to her child when she thinks no one is looking. It's weird, but the author had me feeling more sympathy for her as I eagerly read through to find out how it was going to end. Can Merry really be blamed for her actions?

I have to say that I did not miss the authors (perhaps not so subtle hint) ironic use of giving Merry such a joyous first name. For such a depressed main character, Merry was far from merry.

I loved the different setting, where the Swedish countryside came into play almost as though it was a character in itself. Merry has moved from busy New York to make a new life for herself in a remote part of Sweden. But why? What are their reasons for getting away from it all? Why do they need a fresh start? A fast-paced thriller I totally lapped up!

I really enjoyed this book, it was a real page turner. The characters were interesting and there was a great twist I never expected. It keeps you on the edge of your seat
A great psychological thriller, it’s the first book I’ve read from this author and I’ll be looking out for more in the future.
Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this

This was an interesting book. The story is about two people who are making a new start in Sweden with their baby, until the best friend comes along. Things start to happen and you get background story on the two women but the characters are not likeable at all. It is a dark story about friendships and the lengths you go too!

I enjoyed this modern thriller. The writing flowed making it easy to understand. It's about a family who look as though they have a perfect life. But do they?

I really tried to enjoy this book. It started off OK but soon went downhill. I read to almost half way then had to stop. The characters felt one dimensional and boring and I couldn't stomach the neglect scenes when there was no redeeming aspect to the book.

Michelle Sacks' deeply disturbing and dark domestic thriller was utterly gripping and I couldn't put it down.

It begins with an idyllic family living their best life out in the wilds of Sweden. It seems utterly wholesome. A doting father, perfect, loving wife and mother and their apple-cheeked, well-behaved child.

This beautiful family soon find their lives disrupted by sex, jealously, lies and suspicion. The tension amps up page by page and it's impossible to look away as their seemingly perfect existence begins to unravel.

Each of the characters is utterly despicable, and wretched in their own way - but these flaws never feels over-the-top. It feels very human, and that's what makes the story so terrifying.

I loved it!

Dark, tense and nail-biting. Unpredictable right through to the end. It starts off with the mundane but manages to make everyday incidents feel sinister and ratchets up the tension unbearably for the reader. An excellent psychological thriller that lays bare the ways in which people closest to us inflict the most cutting wounds.

I found this book a bit dull and I was glad to get to the end of it. I found it hard to care about any of the characters, and the plot was just tedious with no real tension. Rather disappointing as it sounded like a good book.

3 for neutral, I was really excited to get this book, as I’ve seen it multiple times with the USA title; but every time I tried to get into it, I just could not get into it. Finally, I’ve decided that it’s just not the book for my moods lately or me in general. Maybe the way it’s written doesn’t appeal to me or the fact that I’m a very moody reader. Anyhow, I’ll update if I am able to get into it and enjoy it!

This story was interesting in parts but quite disturbing in places. Without giving too much away I really didn't really like just how flippant the mother was about some of her actions as well as how things turned out with the villain in response to what they did. I felt for the mother in places but thought she lacked the wisdom to control how she reacted to things. We are not robots and even though we are sometimes tempted to do things, common sense should factor in our decision making, else we would all just act like psychopaths and violence would be rampant even more than it already is in our world.

Thank you netgalley for letting me read this in advance, very dark and strangely absorbing, I certainly couldn't put it down, not my normal dose of reading genre, was a tad strange at first but once you get into it you can't put it down, would recommend to anyone who loves dark noir.

Firstly I need to admit I thought this was a new Michelle Sacks book when I requested it. I have read this under the UK title. You Were Made For This. However, I can review this as I loved it. You Were Made for This by Michelle Sacks. I really enjoyed this story. Set in Switzerland and told in alternating chapters headed by three main characters, the story was dark, and a little odd at times but I loved it! You can tell from the start that something is wrong with this family and yep you’d be very right. The characters are really unlike able but somehow this added to the story. A really dark, gut wrenching psychological thriller x ❤️

Merry has it all. Handsome husband, baby son and an inherited home in a beautiful part of Sweden. She even makes her son’s food from vegetables grown in her own garden. Really, she has the perfect life.

Unfortunately for Merry it’s a life she doesn’t want.

Her husband isn’t everything that he portrays himself to be. Her son wants to be with anybody else but her. And to top it all off, Frank, her perfect best friend has decided to come for an extended visit.

This is a very dark, sometimes uncomfortable book with the most horrible characters within it but the writer has written it in such a clever and brilliant way that you can’t put it down. I read this in around four hours and, although it is tough going in places, everything else was put on hold until I finished it. This is one of the best books I’ve read in a while.

Many, many thanks to Netgalley and HQ for giving me the opportunity to read this very excellent book.

I really did not enjoy this book. The writing style was definitely not for me. If there's dialogue, there have to be SPEECH MARKS. If you're asking a question, there has to be a QUESTION MARK. I get it, no emotion in the writing symbolises the emotionless characters and the eerie vibe. But it just wasn't a mystery. Okay, the plot twist was fair enough about Conor. But the rest of the book was just so predictable, and not in a good way. The characters were just awful for me; I have to relate to a character or find some kind of loveable/redeeming quality in them. That just didn't exist.

I know a lot of people have enjoyed this book, but in relation to my own personal tastes, this book was not for me.

I really enjoyed this book, I couldn’t put it down. The secrets, the cruelty and selfishness which is kept hidden, culminating in a horrific and tragic act.

I found this book quite a struggle to read it i am honest. I didn't particularly like any of the main characters and couldn't relate to them at all - I didn't realise it was Scandinavian noir as i am not really a fan. Strange story with an odd ending. Not for me i am afraid.

Thank you to Netgalley, the Publisher and author for the opportunity to read an arc.

I really enjoyed this book, I couldn’t put it down. The secrets of others; the cruelty and selfishness which is kept hidden, culminating in a horrific and tragic act. They were flawed terrible characters, but how different are they from those we interact with every day. I can’t wait for Michelle Sacks next book.

Sam and Merry move to Sweden to start a new life. From the outside they look like they are living the perfect dream with Merry growing their own vegetables, baking, cleaning and bringing up their baby Connor. They describe every day as a “perfect day.”

Each chapter is from a different persons perception (Sam, Merry and Frank) we are given clues along the way that maybe Sam and Merry are both keeping secrets and are not as wholesome as they first appeared.

Kerry’s best friend Frank comes to stay with them, the saying “with friends like these who needs enemies” would be very apt as Frank is at first jealous of Merry’s idyllic lifestyle and wants it for herself, but then she notices what is really going on and this book gets darker and even more disturbing!!

Loved the way the tension kept building all throughout this book and was like a pressure cooker about to explode!!

This book will keep you turning the pages unsure what is going to happen next. A compelling, gripping and sometimes distressing book.

A must read, definitely looking out for Michelle Sacks next book, I think I have just become a fan of yours.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.