I am totally aware that there are a lot of awful people in this world, unfortunately. However, it's always a shock to read these kind of stories that show us terrible things done by people, that even though are fictional, make us believe that this happen also in real life.

I really liked Kate Simants writing. The way she weaved the main plot with all others situations happening in parallel was very creative and I simply couldn't put it down. Towards the end though, I thought that things took too long to develop. I understood that perhaps the author wanted us to see a deep character growth in there regarding Ellie, but perhaps other stories could've been explained faster.

Ellie's character was a complete charade for me since the beginning. I never knew what's really happening to her. She was saying one thing but I knew that deep down, her interior person (her alter) was saying something else. It was very intriguing and complex and once I finally understood what had happened, I couldn't help but get a bit frustrated and angry, completely putting myself on her shoes.

One thing that didn't work for me at all, was the duo point of view. Don't get me wrong, I usually appreciate stories with that dynamic, in here though, I only wanted the detective to solve Ellie's case. I didn't care about his background at all, I didn't want to hear about his family drama, didn't connect with that plot.

All in all, it's a nice book, with neat plot twits and worth a chance.

This book took me on quite a roller-coaster ride! Plan to be so engrossed in the story that you’ll not be able to stop reading! I was very shocked by some unexpected twists—a sign of a fantastic thriller!

Amazing! Lock Me In is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It took a while to grip me, but I’m so glad that I stuck with it. So powerful and moving, I was crying by the end. I can’t explain it because I’m afraid I’ll give the story away and I don’t want to spoil it for others. Fantastic, I’d love to read a sequel and find out what happens next to the characters.

4.5/5⭐

Thank you #NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Hooked from page 1.

I adored this book. It made me feel so many things that I don't know where to start from!

It was scary. Going through was Ellie (One of the main characters) is going through has to be hard. There were so many situations and scenes described by her and her mum that Oh Jeez! Made my skin crawl.

It was sad. To live with a disorder like Ellie's makes your life so much difficult. We saw how she tried (several times) to get help, to get better without any luck.

It was soooo good too! I loved everything about it. I think the writing style is superb! It's written in a way that you just can't stop reading it! This book is considerably long but it felt like a short story because of how quick I read it!

I loved the story told by two people. Ellie, the girl with the disorder and Mae, the police detective that is already quite familiar to her for her past acts.

I liked both storylines. I found them both very intriguing, interesting, with likable characters and with a perfect chapter length to flew by!

I found Mae's chapters kind of funny, "easier to read" as in, less heavy with emotions and I thought his relationship with the TI was very cute.

A lot started happening fairly soon and it kept like that till the very end. There were a los ot twists and turns that I didn't see coming. There were so many awesome scenes and I couldn't stop thinking: Oh dear, this book is so so good!

The end was a great conclusion to the story. I really liked how the author wrapped everything up. I liked the answers given to everything that happened throughout the book and I liked the end itself.

I am going with the unpopular opinion and say j didn't enjoy it. I know nothing about Did and I feel this book didn't educate me enough for me to care.

LOCK ME IN is a compelling and tense psychological thriller debut from Kate Simants. I really didn't know what to expect but that haunting cover drew me in straight away! And it is so good it is hard to believe it is a debut.

Chilling in its complicit manipulation, this thriller throws us twist after twist...just as soon as we think we have it all figured out...that just keeps adding to the puzzling plot. But one thing is for sure - nothing is as it seems.

Ellie Power is a normal 19 year old girl by day, but by night her mother Christine has to lock her in her bedroom to keep them - and everyone else - safe. Ellie has Dissociate Identity Disorder (DID), formerly known as multiple personality disorder or split personality - an illness that put her and everyone around at risk. You see, at night after Ellie and her mother have gone to sleep, Ellie becomes a different person. At night, her alter named Siggy, comes to life. And Siggy is angry. Siggy is violent. Siggy is unpredictable...but most of all, Siggy is dangerous.

One morning, Ellie wakes to find the lock on her bedroom door broken, she's covered in bruises, her hand is badly cut and her clothes are caked in mud. But even more so, Ellie has no memory of what happened during the night.

Later that day, she discovers her boyfriend Matt is missing and her cuts tally with the barbed wire fence near the narrow-boat he's been living on. Then she finds his car parked just behind their flat. At first she thought Matt had driven her home...but then she realises that all the adjustments - mirrors, seat etc. - match her build and not Matt, who is over six feet tall. It is then she realises...Siggy can drive. What has she done?

Both Ellie and her mother are horrified. This has happened before and it cost her best friend her life. They thought they could control Siggy, but it appears they cannot, as she seems to be getting worse. With Christine always in the firing line, coming out second best with black eyes and bruises as a result of Siggy's anger.

What then unfolds is a frightening journey into the mind of someone with Dissociate Identity Disorder, a missing person, a questionable psychotherapist, the discovery of child exploitative material, stolen drugs with severe side effects and so much more. LOCK ME IN is filled with secrets, lies, deception, manipulation and murder...but above all, NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS!

With short snappy chapters, the alternating perspectives between Ellie's first person narrative and Detective Sergeant Ben Kwon Mae's third person POV is both compelling and clever. Through Ellie's eyes we get that personal insight into the inner turmoil she suffers mentally and emotionally as a result of her DID. And yet, in Mae's third person narrative we are privy to the unfolding investigation into what began as a missing person but ended up so much more.

I had my own suspicions throughout and while I was correct in my assumptions in part, nothing could prepare me for the unabated truth of the bigger picture. The plot developments towards the end were brilliant and fascinating all at once, bringing what was essentially an incredibly sad tale to a satisfying and happy end.

An absolute page turner I could not devour quick enough, LOCK ME IN is a psychological thriller of the highest calibre that is fast paced and will keep you guessing to the end.

I would like to thank #KateSimants, #NetGalley and #HarperImpulseAndKillerReads, #OneMoreChapter for an ARC of #LockMeIn in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn’t sure about this book to begin with and it took a while for it to grab my attention. The main character Ellie has DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) and at nights she can take on a different persona called Siggy. From the beginning we learn that Siggy is often violent and Ellis has to be locked in at nights by her mother to avoid causing damage. Then Matt, her boyfriend, disappears and the worrying sets in...

The book switches between two points of view: Ellie and DS Mae. I really liked Mae as a character and felt that without his points of view, the story could have been read in a very different way. For me, Ellie was quite a cold character to begin with but as the story goes on, we find out more about her and begin to sympathise more.

Once I got into the story, this book became quite the page turner with lots of twists and turns along the way. I had my suspicions about how the end would play out but despite that, I felt this was a great debut novel for the author and I would certainly read more of her books in the future!

5 stars and more!

Ellie seems "normal" but she suffers from DID... at night her nightmare Siggy comes out and takes control of her mind and body and when Ellie takes the power back she can't remember a thing... Has Siggy committed a crime, was it the first time... what happened?

AMAZING! Really good!

Well written psychological thriller. I loved it from page one, I was into it from the first line!
Interesting storyline with good characters. Captivating! You question everything. The kind where you don't know for sure what's going on and when you think you finally have a clue you are proven wrong! People are NOT always what they seem to be and those who seemed to have disappeared or died maybe didn't entirely... The last few chapters the truth is revealed about everything and I was shocked (in a good way)! I felt upset and angry and sad for different characters. Really well developed!

Good from start to finish! Kept me turning the pages until the end!

ARC received through NetGalley and the publisher. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this read and the subject matter of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) really interested me, especially as I just finished reading another book about this disorder which left me wanting more. I was instantly hooked reading about Ellie's life and the methods her and her mother had to go to, to protect themselves, and the world, from 'Siggy'. I did initially find Mae's backstory tedious and unnecessary but must admit by the end of the book had really gotten into this and could imagine reading another book with him and Kit involved, and learning more about them as characters. I loved the twist(s) and although quite wild, found it was made believable by the evidence given. However I was left with a few unanswered questions and while I won't publish them in this review (spoilers!) that is part of the reason I couldn't rate this book 5 stars. A solid read for those who enjoy psychological thrillers, especially for those wanting a storyline a bit different from the norm.

*I received an advance review copy of Lock Me In from the publisher through NetGalley.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

I really liked this book. I loved the way it explored mental illness and the stigma around it. I loved how involved the author got with each character. I had sort of guessed what was happening in this story but still loved each new thing I discovered about each character.

Very well written and I would love to read more from this author!

An impressive debut from Kate Simants. I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Lock Me In" and this is a writer to watch in the psychological thriller genre. Original, deals with a complex psychological subject (disassociation), full of suspense, brilliantly written, and a completely unexpected ending. It's not often I'm left feeling so emotional at the end of a thriller, but I found the last few chapters breathtaking and I sympathised with all the characters. No spoilers in this review - you'll have to read it!

The novel is told from two points of view. Ellie has an 'alter' called Siggy, and this somewhat abstract depiction of Ellie's fear and anxiety is brilliantly portrayed. Ellie's mother locks her in her room every night, and they live in a bare house with little furnishings and possessions. One morning Ellie wakes up and her door has been unlocked. She is covered in bruises and cuts and is terrified that the past has repeated itself. When her boyfriend goes missing she tries to find out what has happened... The second point of view is Ben Mae, a detective sergeant. Kate Simants has created an instantly likeable police character whose life, personality and relationship with his mentee (Kit) were the main interest for me. I'm not a great fan of police procedurals, but in this novel the police chapters have a depth and interest that kept me engaged with the characters with lots of emotion, reality, humour.

The novel is really well written. I loved the detail of observations about people and the settings that delivered a lot of impact in a few well-chosen words and sentences. I spent most of the book trying to work out what was going on and as I started to piece together the mystery and all the secrets, the ending took me by surprise. I loved it.

What a great debut novel from this author! The story had me hooked from start to finish. This was a fast paced read with lots of twisty goodness! This author deserves more hype than she is getting I will definitely be on the lookout for more of her books!

3.5 stars

This was good for me. It started off slow but that may just be my mood lately. I knew almost from the beginning some of what was going on but there were still some twists in there. Had a lot of sympathy for almost all the characters by the end of the book. Was a very creative idea from the author.

This premise, right? Could you imagine trying to live a normal life, but at night someone else takes over your body and makes you do things that you have no memory of doing?

This is what happens to Ellie, and when her boyfriend disappears her life turns into a nightmare.

I loved the uncertainty of this book, which jumps back and forth between Ellie's point of view and the detective that's chasing her, Ben Mae. Neither of them really understands the entire situation and as they slowly peel back the layers it was really fun to try to figure out what was going on.

About 75% into this book I really thought I had the whole story figured out. And... I sort of did. But I wasn't totally right, and I kind of loved that. I love trying to figure out books like this one, and when they trick me, and trick me the right way, it's like I've struck gold.

If you love twists, turn, and unreliable narrators you're totally going to love this book.

I didn’t really care for this book. It seemed to veer off on several different plots and I never cared about any of the characters. I am definitely in the minority from other comments I have seen so give it a try and let me know what you think.
Ellie wakes one morning with a cut and punctures on her hand. She has smears of what appear to be blood. She asks her mother how this could have happened because she has her mother lock her in at night to keep her alter ego they call Siggy from doing things in her sleep that she doesn’t remember later. There is also a handprint on her neck and when she tries to reach her boyfriend Matt he has disappeared.
Detective Sergeant Ben Keon Mae leaps to investigate the case when he hears the name of Ellie and her mother because of a case when he first joined the force in which they crossed paths.
The story leaps from looking for Matt and Ellie’s mother trying to cover for her, to the detectives daughter being bullied in school, and other red herrings along the way which had me put the book down repeatedly. I honestly came close to not finishing this one.
Thank you to #netgalley and #harpercollins for the advance ebook in exchange for my honest opinion. 2.75 rounded up

Lock me in was an intense gripping and thrilling read, I’ve read nothing like it before, Ellie’s Story of multiple personalities really fascinated me, some parts were actually quite scary and gave me goosebumps- a sure sign of a fantastic thriller! I don’t want to give too much away, Ellie has no control over her actions at night time to the point she has to be locked in her room by her mother whom she lives with, she is overtaken by different personalities one of which is a force to be reckoned with and pretty frightening, she awakes one morning to find her boyfriend has disappeared- she is covered in bruises and cuts, what exactly happened the night before and where is her boyfriend?

A compelling and chilling thriller that will keep you hooked until the very last page. Thank you to net galley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I LOVE when a book takes me by surprise. It came in off my radar and I could not put it down.

So, Ellie suffers from disassociate identity disorder and while she is asleep a person called Siggy takes over her body. Siggy is really violent. Her mother locks her in her room every night so if Siggy makes an appearance she can hurt her or anyone else, for that matter.
Imagine being Ellie and waking up knowing this, covered in mud and finding out your 'boyfriend' has gone missing. How do you live with yourself when you just really don't know what happened! Ellie turns out to be a strong character who is constantly moving forward when it would be so easy to curl up in a ball, locked in a room. She's fighting an enemy...and that enemy is inside her. She looks into it's eyes every time she looks in a mirror.
This story really focuses on the police investigation. It's a bit predictable but I enjoyed it and could absolutely see this on the big screen.

* I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I liked this thriller. I did totally guess the main antagonist early on, but I think you're supposed to. There is more mystery behind the why/when than about who did it. This thriller also took a long time to get started, like close to 30% before I got really sucked in to it.

I think the depiction of DID (dissociative identity disorder) might be considered problematic. I do not have it so I can't vouch for it one way or another. This mostly has to do with the way the trope of mental illness in thrillers is used, I won't spoil it but it could be an issue.

I also figured out one of the main twists the moment it was hinted at. I did still enjoy watching the characters find their way to the conclusion, but it felt like it took a very long time for it to happen when it felt obvious to me what was going on. I enjoyed the ride, but only a few twists caught me off guard. It was annoying that one character was constantly used as a red herring/distraction from the main plot and I just found myself annoyed every time they were mentioned.

Ellie Power seems normal enough. By day, that is. Because by night, Siggy comes visiting.

Some nights, while Ellie is asleep, Siggy wakes up in her. A dark alter ego, Siggy is violent, stressed, scared. And, most importantly, she's unpredictable. Which is why Ellie is being locked in her room every night by her mother.

But this time, Ellie wakes up to find her door splintered, and the frame smeared in blood. Siggy has been out. And her boyfriend, Matt, is missing. Can Siggy have done something very dark? Ellie is determined to come to the bottom of this mystery.

Lock Me In is a story for the thriller seekers. Kate Simants lays out the crumbs for you to follow home, Be careful, though, because not everything is what it seems. Trust no one, challenge everything, and try to keep up in this thrilling game of hide and seek between two characters that hide inside the same body.

Imagine having a second self that comes alive while you're asleep. Imagine waking up to them having done something horrible. Now, live the terror of that possibility in Lock Me In: a genius concept with a great narrative. Lock Me In can easily become the next big thing on Netflix (please, oh please, let that happen). And it's definitely something you should be reading!

Ellie is a dangerous person, no, wait .... it's Siggy who is dangerous. Siggy lives inside Ellie and usually only takes over when Ellie is sleeping.

Ellis suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder , which has been called having multiple personalities. It's been this way her entire life and her mother has dragged her to numerous doctors looking for a cure. Ellie has been poked and prodded with no relief.

At night, Ellie's mother locks her in her room so they both will be safe. While Ellie might be a fairly normal teenager with a stable home, a loving mother, and a boyfriend ... Siggy is not.

Siggy is angry, violent, unpredictable .... dangerous.

One particular morning, Ellie wakes with cuts and blood and mud on her hands. She is covered in bruises and her whole body hurts. And even worse .... the lock on her bedroom door has been smashed and the door is open.

Both Ellie and her mother are horrified .... this happened before and it cost the life of a childhood friend. Ellies first thought .. where is her boyfriend?

This is a fabulous debut novel with twists and turns and red herrings around every corner. The characters are finely drawn and have come to life under this author's pen. The book takes place in the here and now .. and the past. There are memories of dealing with a therapist. The ending is unexpectedly

I think this is a promising start for this talented writer and I look forward to see what she does next.

Many thanks to the author / Harper Impulse and Killer Reads / One More Chapter / Netgalley for the digital copy of this intriguing psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

4.5 STARS