I devoured The Assistant by S K Tremayne in a very few days. It’s compulsive, scary and, in parts, a horribly plausible psychological thriller. The divorcee Jo, whose online sexting relationship proved the catalyst for her failing marriage, is struggling when her best friend Tabitha throws her a lifeline of a spare room in her high tech flat in Camden. Jo is made up but the flat is controlled by smart tech courtesy of Electra through which the heating, lighting and, as it transpires, so much more is facilitated. The mix of AI, casual drug abuse and mental health is a toxic one and it’s not long before Jo doesn’t know who she can trust as her past comes back to haunt her and she becomes a social pariah watching, seemingly powerless, as her life disintegrates before her eyes. Great characterisation and insights into the omnipresent world of AI make for a good though often sad read and certainly kept me engrossed. While I didn’t guess the protagonist I did find Jo’s happy ending slightly predictable. Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the e-book.

A slow start for this book. Although there were lots of twists in the story it didn't grip me as much as the previous ones by this author. Only an OK read

Jo is an intelligent pretty thirty something divorcee
As a freelance journalist she hasn't much money and is lucky to be able to rent an apartment from a friend- in a particular desirable part of London - for a bargain price. However she didn't bank on sharing the apartment with -The Assistants -technological home helpers -who seem to know all about her and her past.
This was a great page turner and a shocking ending -fabulous read.

The Assistant is a piece of modern technology that you speak to n your home. The apartment Jo shares has Electra and several others. Jo has reasons in her past to be psychologically troubled. She lost her father who committed suicide as his mind deteriorated. She had an unsatisfactory marriage finally destroyed by her own actions. She and the friend she shares the flat with were mixed up in a drug related death at Glastonbury when they were students. So when things start to go wrong,Jo's first thought she is following in the footsteps of her father. The story is exceedingly weel researched in terms of modern technology and it would take a specialist to be sure whether it is possible. But it makes a gripping and scary story. The reader is challenged to guess who is behind the manipulation of Jo's mind. It is not an easy guess! This book breaks new ground and is worth reading even for that alone.

This is the story of Jo. Jo is a freelance writer who has moved further into trendy London to live with her friend Tabatha. Tabatha's boyfriend Arlo is still angry at Jo for writing a piece for a magazine about how intrusive technology is, and now Tabatha has her house kitted out with home assistants. Jo can't quite get to grips with the home assistants, specially now they are telling her things from her past...things she would rather keep quiet...things that might ruin her life if they became public. No one else hears the home assistants mocking her and no one hears their threats either, so is she really being threatened or is she slowly going mad?

This is a slow moving story that is filled with twists that lead you down one path then reveal something that shows you may be wrong. The writing style is a little awkward, as is the overuse of colons which I found quite irritating. The end of the story was a disappointment and a stretch too far in my opinion.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sensational, and very disturbing! So much of daily life is regulated, controlled, supported or monitored by electronic assistants and this book will make most readers reflect on the impact of this truth. Alongside this thread is a very well written psychological thriller. Despite guessing who the antagonist was fairly early on in the novel, I had no idea why until the end and both of these things made the plot all the more rewarding and "more-ish". In fact, I was annoyed each night when I fell asleep because I wanted to stay awake in order to keep reading longer.

This is the story of Jo who is divorced and down on her luck. Most of her problems she has brought on herself. Her rich best friend Tabitha let’s her stay in her flat. The flat is full of mod cons including Alexa type devices. It seems though that the Alexa type devices know a lot about Jo. They know what she did. Jo begins to doubt herself. Is there someone behind what’s happening or is she imagining it all?

I really didn’t enjoy this one. Jo wasn’t a very likeable character. A lot of the time I really didn’t understand why Jo didn’t do or say certain things. It is hard to elaborate without spoiling the story. I am a big fan of technology and it certainly showed the pitfalls but I am not sure technology is at the point it is in this book so it lost me a bit.

This book gripped me from the start, Jo lives with her friend Tabitha, they have lots of "assistants" in the house like Alexa type assistants not humans!! They start talking to Jo and they know all about her and her past, she thinks she's going crazy, one by one she loses all her friends apart from one who believes her and tries to help her. When it is uncovered who/what is behind it it's a big surprise which I didn't see coming

This is a really creepy story about assistants. Those small items that sit on a shelf and answer questions about the weather or a definition. These are spying on the main character and giving her nightmares! As the story progresses, she becomes increasingly desperate and is pushed to seriously black thoughts. As the reader, I became almost convinced that this was possible and the story progresses with firstly, a worryingly possible takeover by technology to a human possibility which is even more scary!
This is a clever story using modern technology and household gadgets to create scary possibilities.
Recommended

I had high hopes that this book would be the one techno thriller that I could relate to as I have my doubts about the “assistants” currently on the market ( only in a lighthearted way I hasten to assure you) but it failed. I wasn’t impressed by the way the pace of the book made for a sluggish early and mid section with information that seemed just to be a filler and then such a surprisingly rapid everything happens now ending.

I really enjoy reading S K Tremayne books, and although this was different to the others m, I still really liked it!
It has however made me think twice about having my smart gadgets on!

The Assistant by S.K.Tremayne is possibly not the ideal book if you've got one of those new-fangled virtual assistants. Jo Ferguson is a Freelance Journalist living in a friend's smart home which has all the latest gadgetry,not least voice activated assistant "Electra" and lesser versions ,Homehelps, throughout the flat to automatically carry out such apparently onerous chores as turning the lights on, locking the doors and turning the heating on. While being old enough to be bemused that such things are deemed necessary I do realise that they're already commonplace and some do find they ,make life a lot easier........so what could possibly go wrong? In Jo's case it's Electra ,in a change from the usual weather forecast,informing her that it knows what she did several years earlier,something shocking that she's sure only a couple of people know about. From then on she feels under attack from her various gadgets,the ones in the house,her laptop and phone as the technology in her life seems determined to hound and persecute her. Is she going mad or is Electra really able to threaten and manipulate her,dragging up things from the past? As her life spirals out of control and she begins to doubt her own sanity ,losing her best friends ,work and much else in the process she's desperate for someone to believe her.
For someone like me old enough to remember when a pocket calculator was something amazing the premise of this book seems eerily plausible. I can still remember not long after getting my first Smartphone looking at it and wondering quite how it had been mapping my movements throughout the day,how it knew,as it said on the screen,where I''d just had my motorbike repaired and what shops I dropped into on the way back and not being overly thrilled about it. The subject of the book would have been science fiction not so long ago, S.K. Tremayne has skilfully woven a tale of fairly commonplace modern technology gone bad that that ratchets up the tension as Jo tries to find out whether someone is behind Electra's malevolence or whether it's all in her mind and she's mentally deteriorating .
This is a great read that might just have glancing at your own "Electra" as you read and hoping it doesn't know your deepest darkest secrets.

Thanks to S.K. Tremayne , HarperCollins UK and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Jo is a journalist. Always on the go, writing 'at length' pieces, she stupidly had an'on-line' dalliance with someone & this broke up her marriage. Now she is living in a very upmarket flat belonging to her best friend Tabitha. Tabitha is often away so Jo is often on her own. The flat is the ultimate in hi-tech with electronic assistants to manage almost everything. When they start to speak to her without prompting Jo is worried. Before long she is downright scared. Messages & emails supposedly sent by her, alienate her friends & family. Is she going mad or is someone out to get her?

I've never liked the idea of these electronic 'smart' gadgets & after reading this I'm certainly not going to rush out & buy one. This was a fast paced story & it kept me glued to the page. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

I have previously read and enjoyed 'The Ice Twins' and 'The Fire Child' by S.K. Tremayne so was keen to read this one.
Jo is recently divorced and moves into her best friend's spare room paying very little rent to help her get through this change in her life. The accommodation is an high tech luxury flat complete with a home assistant to control the heating, lighting etc. The assistant is called Electra and is similar to the Amazon Alexa. Everything is going so well until one night when Electra states 'I know what you did'. Jo is dumbstruck because she has a dark secret in her past that she is eager to keep. Only two other people in the whole world know Jo's secret and she is positive they would never tell. Jo is terrified that Electra wants to destroy her.
I found this novel an easy read and a decent read. Quite a slow start but a very good premise and decent characters but didn't quite feel it lived up to the promise. Unfortunately not up to the standard of the other novels I have previously read.

I would like to thank both Net Galley and Harper Collins for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

#TheAssistant #NetGalley
Its beautifully written.
She watches you constantly.
Newly divorced Jo is delighted to move into her best friend’s spare room almost rent-free. The high-tech luxury Camden flat is managed by a meticulous Home Assistant, called Electra, that takes care of the heating, the lights – and sometimes Jo even turns to her for company.
She knows all your secrets.
Until, late one night, Electra says one sentence that rips Jo’s fragile world in two: ‘I know what you did.’ And Jo is horrified. Because in her past she did do something terrible. Something unforgivable.
Now she wants to destroy you.
Only two other people in the whole world know Jo’s secret. And they would never tell anyone. Would they? As a fierce winter brings London to a standstill, Jo begins to understand that the Assistant on the shelf doesn’t just want to control Jo; it wants to destroy her.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Harper Fiction for giving me an advance copy.

Jo is delighted to get the opportunity to live in her best friend's spare room almost rent free. The luxury property is managed by a Home Assistant called Electra, who can control the heating, lights, and answer your questions. Jo even relies on Electra for company at times. Then one day, Electra randomly says the words "I know what you did" and Jo immediately remembers something that she did in the past that has been kept a secret all those years. So how does a Home Assistant know about it? When other parts of Jo's life start to go wrong, she is left wondering why a Home Assistant is causing her life to go crazy - is it being controlled by someone else? Jo is left suspecting all the people in her life and soon realises that she may be in danger.

A really unique, thrilling story that makes you think about how a 'Home Assistant' could become sinister! The book had a good plot and I was kept guessing until the end. A brilliant ending with a great twist, I'd recommend this book.

#TheAssistant #NetGalley
Creepiest psychological thriller I've ever read in my lifetime.
Are you aware of Amazon's Alexa? Well everyone is. How would you behave when it says to you that it knows what you did?
She watches you constantly.
Newly divorced Jo is delighted to move into her best friend’s spare room almost rent-free. The high-tech luxury Camden flat is managed by a meticulous Home Assistant, called Electra, that takes care of the heating, the lights – and sometimes Jo even turns to her for company.
She knows all your secrets.
Until, late one night, Electra says one sentence that rips Jo’s fragile world in two: ‘I know what you did.’ And Jo is horrified. Because in her past she did do something terrible. Something unforgivable.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Harper Fiction for giving me an advance copy.

Thank you to Netgalley for this copy. I had requested this ages ago and because I love S.K Tremayne I literally couldn't wait for them to approve so I bought a copy on kindle. Very different from The Ice Twins and The Fire Child but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

There's an enjoyable hook as a smart home device (think Alexa) is programmed to go rogue but there was a creepier version of this in Ruth Ware's 'Turn of the Key', and a more thoughtful engagement in this year's 'Little Eyes'. Once the tech-y stuff is stripped away, this is a formulaic return to the psychopathic killer who waits 20-something years before activating a destructive revenge plot.

The attempt to create red herrings feels laboured, and the characterisation a bit sloppy. Bits of social commentary can be pretty judgemental, and the attempt to add some class via Sylvia Plath just feels pompous and show offy. This kind of book can be throwaway fun, but some of the cruelty (Jo's mother, her brother, the racist tweets) feel too pointed and leave a rather bad taste. Pacing is off, too, starting slowly with lots of padding and then rushing to a finish in a ' all is revealed' chapter that comes out of nowhere.

That said, I wanted to read to the end, just to see it all tied up. I wanted more of a slow creepiness and less of that silly climax followed by the ' with one bound I was free' epilogue. 2.5 stars rounded up.

The Assistant is a brilliantly creepy thriller. Anyone who has read any of S.K. Tremayne’s previous novels will know that he is a master of chilling gothic style thrillers and this latest novel is no exception.

Jo, our heroine, is sharing a luxury flat which belongs to her wealthy best friend so she can’t really get rid of all the state of the art house assistants that have been installed in every room. Slowly the ‘Electras' start talking to her, goading her and then threatening her. Is she going mad, like her poor suicidal Dad or is it one of her high profile IT savvy friends gaslighting her, and if so, who and why; or is it the dark shadow of a hidden secret from Jo’s past that has come back to haunt her? Slowly and insidiously Jo’s entire life is in ruins and she finds herself completely isolated and in deadly danger. Will anyone believe what is happening to her and can they help her before it gets too late?

I thoroughly enjoyed this read – the insight to the privileged lifestyle in London’s Primrose Hill provided a diverting background to the story and the creepy technology turned it into a hi-tech ghost story – I’m pleased I just possess a run of the mill standard iPhone! The only thing that jarred slightly for me was the description of the weather in the story – obviously an icy cold winter with blizzards definitely added to the sense of isolation and menace but it was still slightly unlikely – I’m sure central London hasn’t experienced a cold snap like it for many decades - but artistic license aside, It was still a ripping yarn.

Many thanks to Harper Collins UK, to Mr Tremayne and to NetGalley for letting me read and review this terrific book.