Holy flipping psychological thriller!! This author delivers...every...single...time!!

Picture this..you take a trip to Rome and visit the Mouth of Truth with your darling husband of 3 years. Legend has it that if you put your hand in the mouth of the mask and you get to keep your hand, well then you are a truthful person. If it snaps shut on your hand, well liar, liar pants on fire! Your dear husband will not put his hand in the mouth, in fact he absolutely refuses!

I found the premise for this book to be extremely realistic. Here we have the aging professor that the girls are swooning over due to his power and prestige. His being "off limits" due to his position makes him even more irresistible to young girls. He fills his need to feel youthful by dating a much younger girl. We stand by and are forced to watch in horror as the uneven levels of power seep into the relationship and eat away at the core.


As Peter got closer to Samantha and his true self started to emerge, I felt myself despising him. I wanted to scream " Samantha just step away from the professor!" Of course she did not listen to me and a fabulous story of power, control and revenge played out in the pages. As you can imagine, a person like Peter probably has a lengthy history, as this twisted behavior did not simply emerge overnight. As the skeletons from his closet tumble out, prepared to be shocked, I know I was! This book is sooo good!

After reading The Proposal last year, I am now a hardcore S.E. Lynes fan. She can spin a wicked psychological thriller with the best of them. If she wrote an appliance instruction manual, I would stand in line to read it. She is able to incorporate her dark humor into her stories and wow what an entertaining read they always end up being.

I have been lucky recently having picked really good books to read, and this one is at the top of my list. “The Women” by S. E. Lynes is a story about Samantha, a young naive woman who meets Peter, an older wealthy, charming, and attractive lecturer. A man who (personally I think) we can all see dating, or would like to. The relationship moves at a rapid pace and soon Samantha is completely entwined in her new life. Sadly, Peter is a bit of a “shit” to put it mildly. He’s manipulative and controlling but also charming and caring. When Samantha begins to receive disturbing poems, she begins to question her life with Peter and Peter himself, mainly his past.
This book was about taking back control, personal growth and self confidence, as well as friendships. This was a thriller but also so much more, it was about the women. You go girl!!

A very interesting, psychological thriller!
It follows the main character, Samantha who is a college student. She meets Peter, a lecturer, who is very smart and handsome, and the story unfolds.


It was a little slow at the start..then all of a sudden I was hooked! I read the book quickly and found it quite easy to read.

This author gets better and better. I was drawn into the story from the first page and my head was spinning until the end. It's one of those books you can't put down and when you need to you can't stop thinking about it and grab every possible opportunity to read more. This is one that will stay with me for a long time.

The Women kept me up all night and I swear my heart was racing the entire time. This was a ticking time bomb of a book and I loved every minute of it!
S.E. Lynes is one of my favorite authors and I have never read a book by her that wasn't freakin' awesome and this one lived up to all expectations! Go into it not knowing too much and the OMG moments will knock the kindle right out of your hands!
5 stars! And I love the simple cover as with all Lynes' books. Adds a mysterious feel.

Thank you to #NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review.
LOVED IT!!!! THANK YOU S.E. LYNES!!

Excellent novel, you’ll be hooked! And all those literary terms that Sam talks about in the novel will be crystal clear the further you dive in.

Samantha can’t believe her luck when Peter a charming, sophisticated and worldly professor picks her at a grad school function but chooses her he does. After a whirlwind courtship, and a baby Samantha has learned everything in its place and a place for everything, But now Peter thinks Samantha should give teaching poetry a try at the local college. Each week 8 students. Each week an assignment. Each week there is a 9th menacing poem that seem to be directed at Sam. But who would want to do her harm? Why are they indirectly referring to Peter? Should she be wary or is this merely some sick joke? You’ll have to read it to believe it! Special thanks to Netgalley and Bookoutre for S.E. Lynes very well written novel, The Women. A page turner!

This is a slow-burn book. Dripping in atmosphere, imagery and tension, its insidious nature drawing the reader in as expertly as protagonist Samantha is caught up in the urbane world of lecturer Peter. A young woman, as guileless as they come, unable to believe that someone so educated, sophisticated and attractive would deign to form a relationship with her. And yet … exteriors can lie. People can lie, but people can also form unlikely bonds. And, within those bonds, strength can be found to make changes. Dramatic, life-altering changes.
'Their words landing like bricks in the water … waiting for silence, to begin their poisonous decomposition.'
'Peter is the bullseye, but the dart pierces where the dart lands, and so far he has not felt the slightest prick.'
I would use that last quoted word as the perfect description of Samantha's lover. From the very start I loathed him, but could equally understand why he held her in his thrall. There were times I wanted to drag Samantha from the pages and scream, but luckily … Well, I will give nothing more away. Suffice to say that the author has created a dark, mesmeric and ultimately gripping novel which explores exploitation, manipulation and – ultimately – the power of sisterhood. My thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this book. All opinions are 100% my own.

Oh I did love this one! What a deliciously dark and devious novel The Women is! From the opening chapter set in the beautiful city of Rome, I was hooked! And I remained hooked until that brilliantly delivered ending!

Samantha meets Peter on a night out and they very quickly become involved. I found Samantha to be rather naive at first but then I had to remember that she was only 21 when she became involved with the much older lecturer. Her backstory, when it unfolds, also gives us more of an insight into her reactions to her new boyfriend so I did try to give her a little more understanding! But I did NOT like Peter and found him to be controlling, manipulative and just downright selfish!! He was obviously set in his ways and expected his less experienced new partner to fit in with him but he wound me up so much! And I do love it when a character inspires such an excess of emotion in me even if it is a negative one! So I was just waiting to see if Peter got his comeuppance or if there was something else I had missed. And when we return to where we started and everything came together there was a real sense of justice being served, even if it wasn’t quite what I’d been expecting!

I thoroughly enjoyed The Women. It was an intelligent, relevant and wickedly insightful look at the importance of the relationships we build with our peers. It left me with a very large smile on my face and a compulsion to recommend to all!

The Women was a can’t put down kept you guessing till the end kind of book. What a great physiological thriller. I can’t wait to read more books by this author. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a fantastic psychological thriller and a must read for anyone who likes this type of book. It’s a definite slow burner with a fabulous ending. I’m gutted I’ve finished it!

Wow! Was pleasantly shocked by this book. It didn’t grab me from page one, but did grab me after I got into a few chapters and I had a hard time putting it down. Very chilling and unfortunately real, but I did think it tended to be anti men, which was why I couldn’t give 5 stars! A real treat for my fellow psychological thriller/domestic drama lovers!
I will use in challenge and highly recommend to the members of Chapter Chatter Pub’

I found this a bit of a slow burner at the start but glad I stuck with it as it was a well written story that all tied together nicely. I would recommend this book.

I picked up this book as the blurb was exciting. I knew where the plot would go. A naive young woman barely out of her teens and a sophisticated world-wise professor!! You know what happens next!! The two got together, slowly and steadily with him taking charge and protecting her. They lived together soon, had a child, and soon he started changing, getting angrier with a night and day personality. And the truth was revealed first with notes, then in her baby getting kidnapped, and then by various people. What would she do now?

Author S. E. Lynes is now very good at writing psychological thrillers. She maintained the tension in places where required. The initial half started slow, laying down the foundation which niggled me as I wanted the thriller to read faster. But the book changed at exactly mid-half with the plot revealed, the pace doubled up, and the main character more pro-active when she was a shriveled lily in the first half. Few twists at strategic points made the book a fun, fast read.

Absolutely enthralling story of love and betrayal, told brilliantly by one of my favourite authors. Penned during the height of the ‘Me Too’ movement it tells the self-empowerment journey of one woman, learning from the mistakes of many.

(Also posted on my Goodreads account!)

The Women was, in essence, had the perfect setup for any mystery/psychological thriller. There was a naive (if not downright stupid) young woman, a (might-be) manipulative older man, the jilted lovers, various supporting characters that acted as warnings and dismissed, and of course a plot containing did they or didn't they?

I was confused as to how would I rate the book that I asked for someone else's opinion. On one side, the plot was okay-ish, the tension throughout the whole book was acceptable, and it was your typical psychological thriller novel. What made me fumed was the main character. She irritated me to no ends and I wanted to smack her head open on more than five occasions. However, considering the whole ordeal, was it victim blaming if I considered her to be the 2nd most annoying character for the month?

The Women didn't offer something new in term of plot, twist, you-named-it. It was an enjoyable ride through, safe for the main character (that I already forgot the name). Perfect for your summer or weekend read as you can finish it in less than a day.

Another cleverly written book by Susie Lynes. This could quite easily happen to anyone. She never disappoints.

It took me a while to get into this book, but once i did I could not put it down. What looks like a light read, is actually surprising when you realise you should have paid more attention to the previous details to get all of the facts. Would recommend this to others

Oh lordy. We all know a Sam and a Peter at some point in our lives ... and the reality is we have to sit back and watch whilst biting our tongues ...or risk saying something and being accountable for all that results from that point on. Loved the simplicity and complexity of this classic timeless tale ...well told. Loved the depth of the main characters ..... the beginning ...the middle ...and the end!

Revenge is a dish best served cold.... when the tables are turned does Victory really feel as good as it shoul

College student, Samantha, feels flattered when Professor Bridges takes a special interest in her. Peter is older, more distinguished, cultured. He’s all these things that Samantha is not—and to say that she was smitten is an understatement. They have a whirlwind romance and before long, Samantha has moved into Peter’s beautiful estate and they are having a baby together.

Months after their daughter, Emily, is born, Samantha takes a job per Peter’s recommendation as a creative writing lecturer. After her classes, Samantha starts receiving anonymous notes—poems, short stories, limericks—that have a sinister undertone. They all seem personal, foreboding. But strangely enough, they all are a warning against her partner, Peter.

When Samantha first met Peter, she thought she hit the jackpot. But over the months of them being together, Samantha’s noticed that maybe Peter isn’t as perfect as she once thought. He’s controlling in more ways than one. And Samantha gets the sense that Peter is lying to her.

And now with these anonymous notes, Samantha starts to re-evaluate her relationship with Peter. Samantha wants to uncover what he’s been hiding—who has she been living with all along? And by the time Samantha uncovers the truth, it might be too late for her to escape this monster in sheep’s clothing.

The Women is S.E. Lynes’ latest thriller release. Although I found the plot line to be a little predictable—“perfect” man turns out to be an abuser—I still thoroughly enjoyed it! The first half of the story is slower and took some time for me to get into it, but the second half made up for the slow start. I enjoyed the twists along the way and I was excited for the ending I knew was coming. I wish the ending was flushed out more, as I felt it was a little rushed. This was my first S.E. Lynes read and I look forward to reading more by this author—3.5/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and S.E. Lynes for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.