I've read all of this author's books and this one is just as gripping. It's a good psychological thriller with a twist, and although I did guess it the story it is well written and a good holiday read.

An intriguing thriller but rather disappointing in comparison to Lucy Clarke's others. I hope in future she goes back to the kind of vivid travel-based mystery narratives she has written in the past. This is more of a standard psychological thriller of the type that seems to be ten a penny these days. That said it is a decent read and I'm sure it will sell well.

I'm attributing the past few nights disturbed sleep to my foolish decision to read this in bed and even more foolishly stopping at sections that were about to hook me in further, as had I done that then I would never have even attempted sleep and instead would have been reading all night.

The book is rather unsettling and at times I wasn't really sure what was reality, what was past and what was another character, or if some of this was a book within a book as Elle is an author.

This is the second psychological thriller I've read in a few weeks with books and authors at the forefront, and I just wish I had put more distance between them so I could distinguish the stories more clearly in my mind.

That aside this is a book definitely got under my skin, I was eager to keep returning to reading to it. I wasn't entirely sure who was causing the unease but the final reveal somehow didn't surprise me, although a few of the other twists did.

The writing is rather evocative and I really did wonder if Elle was losing her mind at points every occurence of something weird also had a potentially plausible explanation, which added to the intrigue. I was very curious throughout as to what Elle was hiding, and the story is certainly a bit creepy.

Unfortunately at the end of the day I have much preferred the authors previous books, and feel this just didn't hit the mark properly for me - but given I can be hit and miss with the genre, doesn't necessarily mean you will have the same reaction to it.

Thank you to Harper and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

A gripping, psychological thriller that will keep you guessing right until the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC.

I’ve always enjoyed books from this author, this time I had no clue about the plot so I went in with no expectation and I loved it – a pacy psychological thriller with a totally brilliant ending that I really didn’t see coming – at least not in its entirety. That was super cool.

Honestly I’m tempted to say nothing at all about plot but I will caution that if you use AirBnB you might want to tread carefully…Also I think I’ll have to give a little away to tell you why it worked so well.

Elle was an excellent character to follow along with and I really enjoyed the underneath of it all.  I think Lucy Clarke has definitely brought the benefit of experience in creating a writer character following up her first extremely popular novel with a 2nd book that isn’t coming easy..although I hope not all Elle’s experiences come from reality as she’s also facing down an unknown intruder…

The story twists in on itself so beautifully, it is occasionally very creepy and also has the benefit of a beautifully described Cornish setting. It flows out, with some lovely touches for those of us who have read this author before and ultimately it was a right proper page turner that goes in unexpected directions.

A great read. One of the best in this genre I’ve had for a while.

Recommend.

I have been so lucky with books recently and this one is no exception. I don’t usually enjoy books set in Cornwall . I live here and don’t enjoy the romanticism surrounding many authors’ depictions but this book didn’t focus on this side of the land, just used the sea as a backdrop; sometimes brooding and darkly dangerous, other times beautiful and enticing.
The story of an author struggling with deadlines, insomnia and a dark secret in her past, I was enthralled until the rather weak ending... only to discover the true finale was a beautifuly ironic twist in the tale

Fantastic book , I really enjoyed it . I’m not going to give away the plot but I would highly recommend it and I will be picking up more novels from this writer in future

This is a really, really good read.

It's a story about an author who is living alone in an isolated house in Cornwall and is told from 3 perspectives; the author now / the author a good few years ago / the person who is stalking her. It's creepy, well written and keeps you guessing and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I particularly liked the lead characters experience of being a writer, her frustrations and the chapters headed with her 'thoughts for the day'. However, gosh, but she's irritating at times!

Overall I found it such a good story, very well told and despite my guessing and re-guessing the ending, it still got me! I'll definitely be looking out for this author in future.

Many thanks to HarperCollins and Netgalley for my ARC.

I have just read another book with similar themes which did not work; a struggling author, an event from the past catching up with the main character, someone intent on revenge, main character out of control with drink, mental issues; I thought oh no not again, but the similarities ended there. This one did work, and the surprises and twists kept on coming until the end. I did not like the main character, she made so many bad choices, but the plot was so strong and compelling that it did not matter. I am not going to say any more because this is worth discovering without any clues.
I did not know this author, but I see that she has written quite a few other books, so I look forward to my holiday reading next week!

In a world over-populated with 'twisty' psychological thrillers, this stands out for keeping things creepy but real. Clarke certainly re-uses tropes of the genre like the big empty house, though now renovated and modernised, and that old chestnut of 'how well do we know those around us?' - but, importantly, she makes them work for her by not going over the top and by keeping the focus on characterisation rather than hokey twists. Ok, there is one huge coincidence but I was happy to overlook it in view of how adroitly we're wrong-footed - and even if I guessed the villain, the motive was kept well hidden till the last.

A deliciously creepy read, then, with emotional payoff - clear your calendar for this one, I literally couldn't stop reading once I'd started it!