Cover Image: Looker

Looker

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Member Reviews

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

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At the moment I am no longer interested in this book. The premise sounded really exciting when I first requested it however I am yet to pick it up. Maybe in future I will but for now I don’t think i will.

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A short and pacy read. I loved the premise and found myself hooked right away. Excellent! Can’t wait for more from the author.

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Looker by Laura Sims is the story of obsession when an unhappy and mentally unbalanced young woman becomes fixated on her neighbour.

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Had high hopes for this one but it fell flat for me. Could not get into to it at all and the story dragged. Disappointing.

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Not what I was expecting and, unfortunately, a DNF for me. I thought this would be more of a thriller but instead it's a character study of sorts that examines a lonely and somewhat disturbed woman - called the Professor - who develops a stalkerish obsession for another woman - the Actress. Whilst this is very well written - and really quite creepy - I just couldn't get into the style or the characters at all so wasn't able to finish the novel. Definitely a case of wrong reader though and of going in with the wrong set of expectations about what the book would be about.

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I am in charge of the senior library and work with a group of Reading Ambassadors from 16-18 to ensure that our boarding school library is modernised and meets the need of both our senior students and staff. It has been great to have the chance to talk about these books with our seniors and discuss what they want and need on their shelves. I was drawn to his book because I thought it would be something different from the usual school library fare and draw the students in with a tempting storyline and lots to discuss.
This book was a really enjoyable read with strong characters and a real sense of time and place. I enjoyed the ways that it maintained a cracking pace that kept me turning its pages and ensured that I had much to discuss with them after finishing. It was not only a lively and enjoyable novel but had lots of contemporary themes for our book group to pick up and spend hours discussing too.
I think it's important to choose books that interest as well as challenge our students and I can see this book being very popular with students and staff alike; this will be an excellent purchase as it has everything that we look for in a great read - a tempting premise, fantastic characters and a plot that keeps you gripped until you close its final page.

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Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

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Oh wow I totally loved this book. Gripped me from the start. This was a book I couldn’t put down until I got to the end . Gripping,

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A great claustrophobic feel of a book, about a woman's decent into a breakdown. This was a fast read as its quite a short book but it also moves along quickly and has you turning the pages. It has a very serious and somewhat dark theme to the book but also works well as a type of thriller read. However the serious aspects are dealt with carefully and with truth. It follows just one person and mainly just around her home which adds to the claustrophobic feel but with the different aspect of her day to day life isn't boring or contained in just one area. An interesting read.

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So many shocking twists. The way that a single event has such a catastrophic effect on the main character was fascinating.

The feeling of unease that I felt as I read on, which slowly crept upon me just came from nowhere. I honestly hadn't expected it.

The ending was a little abrupt but on hindsight, I can understand why the author thought this was the best place to stop.

Highly recommended

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Ok, just finished this book and I feel so…angry I think that is the word. This book has had me feeling so many emotions, I started with some empathy and then a bit of sympathy, to a bit of denial, to a bit of WTF to the damn right angry and shock!!

The woman known as “The Professor” is struggling big time in life, her husband has left, she can’t have a baby, she has a cat she doesn’t want and her hours have been cut. What then follows is the most unreliable of narrators. Fantasy blurs with reality and you are never quite sure if what you are reading has happened or if it is in her head.

Don’t get me wrong, I do love flawed characters, I love unreliable narrators but I did not like this character. She is completely unstable and there are a lot of things she does that makes you not like her. You are really made not to like her and then there is a line, you don’t cross this line but she did it! She crossed and there is no care on her part and for me that was it. I was angry!

I think as well, some of the hallucinations had me thinking because sometimes I probably do the same. Not to her extent, but I sit and daydream about interactions and situations. However, these take over her life, to a point where she becomes angry and upset over things that haven’t even happened. All the while imagining winning that elusive Oscar with her performance or the actress does that she is watching/stalking.

This is a short book, but it’s an uncomfortable and unnerving read but yet it’s compelling. We are watching the downfall of this woman, slowly she sees her fantasies as a reality. She wants them to be a reality but yet her behaviour is of someone slowly on a breakdown. When it ends, you don’t feel like the story has ended and in her mind, it is an Oscar-winning performance where she would expect an audience to stand up and cheer. Which brings me back to the unreliable because the way the ending played out it is left for you to decide whether this truly shocking ending happened….or was it in her head? She is a person who wants to be recognised but sets such expectations on herself where it doesn’t quite work, -and that is an understatement.

I know I might sound like I don’t like the book, but that’s not true, it gives you a lot of food for thought. It has an abrupt nature and there are no chapters to break it down. It is a rollercoaster without the breaks which makes it hard for me to review without giving anything away. You dislike the characters, the actions of them and yet it’s a sign of the writing where one book can cause so many emotions with you. It creates a talking point, as you say to someone “Have you read this book? you need to because of X, Y and Z happen” This book is perfect for this!

If you want to read and have front row seats with popcorn (you will have to buy this) to witness the performance of someone who life is unravelling In front of your eyes and spiralling out of control, then this is for you!

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Dark and intense plot wise but I wasn't as gripped as I thought I'd be. I was bored at times but stuck with it as it wasn't a long read. I think part of the problem was that there were no chapters, just stars to break up the text slightly. This made it feel like an epicly long chapter but if it's addressed in the final version, it would help a lot. Its not a bad book by any means buy does need some formatting changes to make it easier to follow.

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Laura Sims writes a remarkable, haunting and intelligent psychological drama of an engaging and intriguingly believable character.

This book is told from the point of view of an unnamed woman, a Professor, as she observes an actress and her husband with three children at a distance through their window. She lives alone with only her ex-husband’s cat for company. During the story, the reader learns that the Professor is angry because she wanted to have a baby but couldn’t. Following failed IVF treatments her marriage ended and she displays angry, bitter and obsessive behaviour, aimed at other women who can easily have children, especially the actress neighbour. In her depressive state, she often imagines herself living a better life, akin to the actress.

There was a wonderful, creeping sense of menace and depth to the prose as events unfolded and I was never quite sure where things were heading until they were revealed. Looker allowed the reader a glimpse into an ever darkening mind and was very cleverly written, as well as being wickedly insightful.

Descriptively delightful, spiralling towards an emotionally charged conclusion, this is not so much a thriller or a mystery; rather it was an incredibly accomplished, soul-stirring character drama. An excellent début and a book that brought no disappointments, I am perfectly happy to recommend Looker.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Tinder Press via NetGalley at my request. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

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Dark and intense are two words that perfectly sum up Laura Sim’s novel Looker.

Our narrator was an unnamed professor, a woman who outwardly seemed fine but inwardly was definitely not ok. You had to wonder about a grown woman with an unhealthy obsession with a famous actress who resided a few doors away. Was she jealous of the actresses family, her loving husband, her children, her success? Did she want what she had or did she just want to be her friend, to be a part of what she had?

It could have be one or all of them, and that is what made this novel so intriguing as you tried to work out the many questions Sims posed as to our narrators motives and actions.

The one thing the novel was definitely about was the huge impact life events can have on one person, how it can close us off from the rest of the world. It was almost as if our narrator had put on a pair of blinkers, couldn’t see anything beyond the actress, herself and her all encompassing need to belong to something or someone.

You admired Sims’s ability to step deep within her character, her eloquence at conveying her emotions, her turmoil so brilliantly into her narrative.

At points Sims made me feel sorry for her, at others I really didn’t like her. She frustrated me, I wanted her to wake up, to halt the self destruct button and get help. You could only watch as she spiralled out of control and you knew there was nothing you or she could do to stop it.

The ending when it came was abrupt, shocking and inevitable, and perfectly fit the general tone and themes of the novel.

The novel itself wasn’t long, a mere 198 pages but it didn’t need to be any longer. Sims’s narrative was precise, every word, every page heavy with tension and turmoil and at times menace. It was an intense, fast, dark read that left you exhausted but satisfied as you turned the final page and I loved it.

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A study of a lonely and disappointed woman.

This relatively short book is told from one perspective, the unnamed narrator, as she unravels. It begins with the news that her husband has left her because, she believes, her inability to have children. Her neighbour is a glamorous actress with a loving, handsome husband, and they have three children. She begins to fantasise what the actress's life may be like and plays out scenarios in her mind of them meeting.

In her professional life she teaches poetry and becomes involved with a student in an inappropriate way. Here, like her fantasies about the actress neighbour, she imagines how the student thinks and feels.

This is a dark and often humorous book. It looks at the superficial aspects of life but also touches on some very disturbing things including the process of depression. Bitterness, obsession and loneliness make this a sad story but the destructive, base and insensitive elements turn the novel into a chilling and tense account.

There is no storyline to speak of other than the workings of the protagonist's mind, and yet at times it is as tense as a thriller. Easy to read, engaging and a little disturbing. Recommended.

#NetGalley #Looker

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I can’t help but say, that this is the most craziest book about stalking.
It is stalking if someone is watching your every move, watching from afar from across the road to your home.

This woman, the stalker, the “looker” watching someone else’s life unfold with her husband and children.
The “used to be” actress living with her screenplay husband.

The “looker” who is barren, whose attempts at fertility failed and her marriage down the drain.

I’m watching the “looker” go quietly insane, losing her grip on reality.

It’s a strange one....
Marketing this book as a thriller?
Nah, I wouldn’t have put it in that section.

So I’m sat on the fence with this tipping from a 4* to a 3* because the ending just fell flat for me.

It’s 180 pages.

And some of those pages didn’t need to be there.

Did I like it?
Umm yes.
Was it kinda weird?
Oh yes.

Did it all make sense?
Not really.

Did I understand what the author was attempting?
Yes. But the way of getting to it was long winded.

Did it keep my interest?
Well, my eyes raised to the ceiling several times with words in my head saying “ get a grip, grow up woman”

I’m kind of confused.com about it.

The “looker” was really a stalker, in my humble opinion.

I’ve comforted myself in saying, I’ve read it.
Instead of it still being on my TBR

The juries still out on this one

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A fun, quick read inside the head of someone descending into mental illness and obsession. The first person narrator works well, but the plot is missing a little depth

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Compelling read from the offset. The writer's choice in style made for a wonderful sense of unease and urgency throughout the story, and intensified as it headed toward its conclusion.

Recommended.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

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This story is told from the perspective of the Professor, her attempts to get pregnant have failed, her husband, Nathan has left her and she only has Cat to keep her company, and she doesn’t really like Cat. Poor Cat !

She becomes obsessed with The Actress, her neighbour with the perfect life, beautiful and glamourous. She imagines situations where they would meet, laugh and become friends…..all the while watching, walking past her house and building a collection of momentos….

As her mind gradually unravels, she becomes angry at everyone and everything….

This is an utterly compelling tale, disturbing and heartbreaking at the same time….it shows how some people use others’ lives as a measure of their own, leading to dissatisfaction and feelings of inadequacy, especially when at a low point.

Unsettling, disturbing and I felt like a voyeur myself, watching this drama unfold. Thought provoking and magnificent…

Thank you to The publishers, the author and NetGalley for a free copy of the ebook and this is my honest, unbiased review.

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