
Member Reviews

Wow, I loved everything about this book, the twists, the turns, the characters and the secrets .I was gripped from begining to end. Come a Little Closer unnerved me and kept me on edge throughout. A brilliant book highly recommended.

I loved this book and read it in one day as I just wanted to find out the answers as to what was going to happen at the end. The characters were well described and the scenes were very realistic. Charlotte and Anton were not a typical couple but all the way through the book new developments of their relationship were added which caused so much confusion to the reader.s thought processes. The twists were so well engineered throughout which made the story so fantastic to read. The first pages of the story set the scene for the psychological thriller that followed. The story is based upon Anton and Leah (the female half of the couple who have rented the basement) both have stories to hide and so an informal friendship begins but how will it all end is the question?
The ending was totally unexpected as I had so easily fallen into one of the many red herring traps set by the author.
Thank you Net galley for letting me read this in exchange for my truthful review.

I enjoyed this book although it was a little slow at the beginning it got better and quite exciting I didn’t expect that ending it was a bit of a shock but would recommend

Really enjoyed this psychological thriller. Great read and I couldn't put it down. Thank you for the opportunity to read the book

The psychological thriller genre is a little oversubscribed; many are called, few are chosen. But with a Come a Little Closer, Karen Perry has delivered a tale filled with insidious menace. I truly had shivers a couple of times as the net closed in on a new victim.
It’s a really well paced story, set near Dublin, with a narrative that flits between a domestic murder 20 years earlier and the aftermath. I bought into the characters, particularly Leah and Anton who are central to the mystery and menace. Both have secrets. So do others and it’s difficult to judge where the story will end. Is Anton a killer or a manipulative liar focussing on his next victim. Why is Leah hiding a deadly truth? Who’s involved in infidelity?
This story is sharp. The pages flew and there are some truly chilling moments where, as a reader one almost wants to shout he’s behind you...I was totally absorbed and loved it. Thank you publisher and Netgalley for a review copy. Can’t wait for mor3 from Perry.

Leah and Jake are given the opportunity to rent a flat in the basement of a large home. The owner has ‘been away’ for a number of years and now returned.
Leah knows nothing of Anton’s past but the neighbours aren’t happy he’s returned. Whilst Leah and Anton become friends. Anton listerns to her problems unlike Jake.
However Anton killed his and Leah looks a little like her. Is she to be his next victim?

Come a little Closer is a dark,chilling psychological thriller set in a close community.It starts with a young boy running out of a house into the street ,covered in blood asking for help .His Mother has been murdered and his Father is found guilty and sent to prison for 19 years.Fast forward and Anton the Father us now out of prison and has returned to his big old victorian house and the basement flat has been rented out to a young couple Leah and Jake,who know nothing of the history if the house.This book is full of surprises it is difficult to guess who did what!A highly enjoyable read with a clever twist at the end.Many thanks to the Publisher,the Author and NetGalley.

I'm a big fan of Karen Perry, having read a few of their books now and enjoyed each one a lot.
However, this book is the third such book of a mysterious whodunnit set in claustrophobic neighbourhood streets that I have read this month. It seems to be the topic du jour!
In a leafy surburban street, a wife is murdered. The husband, Anton, is convicted and spends 19 years in prison. He maintains his innocence. On his release, Jake and Leah rent the basement flat in Anton's house and the news that he is just out of prison surprises and shocks them. Told from 3 pov's, Antons, Leah's and another neighbour, Hilary, the plot is not so much teased out as plods along. At times I wasn't sure where it was going, but I found it a very slow book which unfortunately did not really maintain my interest and I struggled to pick it back up each time I put it down.

I am afraid that this title was not for me. Although there was a feeling of menace and mystery throughout, the pace seemed too slow and I could not connect with any of the characters finding them lacking in morals and integrity. Perhaps this is a little judgemental seeing as this is a thriller so I will change it to “lacking in trust and truthfulness”.

As the neighbours in a close community celebrate a summer evening, a boy appears covered in blood pleading for help.
Fast forward nineteen years and we are back to the same house. The boy, Mark, has found new tenants for the basement flat of his childhood home, Leah and Jake. The house has been neglected and Mark is offering cheap rent to reflect this – and the history of the house. His father, Anton, has been released from jail for the murder of his mother, Charlotte: a murder he claims that he did not commit.
Jake has a son, 7 year old Matthew who lives with his mother but will now be able to spend time with Leah and Jake in their new home.
Clearly the neighbours are anxious about the murderer’s return to the community, and curious: none more so than Hilary and Grey who live opposite, both teachers who had once rented the basement flat whilst their own house was renovated. As Anton’s fixation on Leah develops, Hilary watches closely – it is not lost on her that Leah bears a striking resemblance to Charlotte.
A creepy, creepy thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat, jittering. It seemed plausible that Anton was telling the truth by the very narrative used – but is that just a plot device? Just run Leigh, run!
Thoroughly enjoyed this book; the structure, the characters. Just recalling it makes me a little nervous.
Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

A mystery where all is not as it seems. Many twists and turns with a final one at the end which one doesn't see coming. Easy to read and keeps the reader wondering where the plot goes next.
Although it's obvious that the main male (Anton) character did not commit the crime he is accused of, there are more than a few candidates and he is not innocent either. A sub plot behind one of the main female characters (Leah) was almost unnecessary but overall the story hung together well. Slightly chilling in places but believable in what might happen behind closed doors.

An easy to read thriller but not gripping or interesting enough to break the norm.
Who dunnit? Well, it was pretty easy to figure out. With very few culprits the book didn't go out of it's way to surprise you.
2.3 Stars.
Thanks to Karen Perry, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Leah and Jake are so happy to have found an affordable basement flat to live in. It’s been unoccupied for a while and it’s a bit run down but there’s a lovely park just across from there, a room for Jakes son who comes to stay and it’s a place of their own.
Except what they don’t know is the man upstairs who owns the house Anton has been in prison for the last 19 years convicted of killing his wife Charlotte. Anton maintains his innocence but no one believes him.
Jake works a lot and spends a lot of time with his son leaving Leah on her own and feeling lonely.
Anton craves company. The people in the neighbourhood are not happy that he’s back. He’s lonely. He secretly likes to watch Leah and it isn’t long before they have become friends.
It was one of those books where you feel like you are silently screaming don’t go there and don’t open that door.
I was fully invested in the story so when it slowed down there was one point I thought where is this going? Then the story picked up and came to an enjoyable but guessable ending. Overall a good read.
Many elements of the story give you the creeps. It just goes to show that you never know what goes on behind closed doors.

Leah and Jake move into the basement flat of Anton's house. Anton has been in prison for 19 years for killing his wife.
Jake is torn between Leah, his ex-wife and his son and when Leah becomes pregnant he struggles to cope. Leah becomes closer to Anton, especially when she is left on her own.
What does Anton want with her? and is her life in danger?

Jake and Leah have finally found a basement flat which they can afford via Mark, a work contact of Jake. Shortly after they moved in find why the rent was so affordable – Mark’s father, Anton, who lives upstairs has just been released from prison after serving 19 years for the murder of Mark’s mother.
Leah befriends Anton and finds it hard to believe that he murdered his wife. Anton. Jake is somewhat more cautious, not least as his young son, Matthew, from a previous relationship comes to stay often.
Life gets more and more difficult for the neighbourhood as Anton’s presence back in the street does not go down well with some. Hilary and Greg lived in the basement flat in the months leading up to the murder and now still live down the street. We find out more about their relationship with Anton and his wife and that all wasn’t entirely well in plenty of relationships leading up to the murder.
This is a well-written book with a lot of suspense which kept me wanting to read it.
With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, there wasn’t much that I liked about this book. This would have been a 1 star rating, but I was a little surprised by the ending. I found this book really slow going and uneventful and had no motivation to pick it up. A lot more action is needed in this one. I didn’t connect to any of the characters and found most of them quite annoying. This is the first book I’ve read by Karen Perry and unfortunately I wasn’t impressed. Due to my rule of always trying two books by an author before deciding if I like them or not, I will be reading another book by Perry, but this one has really put me off.

A young woman called Leah and her relatively new boyfriend, whose name I literally couldn’t remember from one page to the next (it’s Jake, apparently), move into a basement flat in the house of an older man named Anton. He’s been away for a while. Quite a while, actually. But now he’s back, causing an apparent stir in the neighbourhood, and taking quite an interest in Leah... who has, of course, past secrets of her own.
Come a Little Closer is a very well written and constructed story which I really enjoyed, even if I never quite found it “unputdownable”. I’ve read a few Karen Perry books now and if you like well written psychological drama (I’d hesitate to call it a thriller), they’re definitely worth your time.

Leah is in love. It should be the happiest summer of her life, but she can't help feeling lonely with Jake's attention divided between her, his ex-wife and his young son. As insomnia sets in, the walls of their new basement flat feel as if they're closing in around her.
Until she meets her upstairs neighbour, Anton, who has recently moved back in after a long absence from the street. He's a sympathetic ear when Jake can't be, and even though others on the street seem strangely hostile towards him, Leah soon comes to rely on Anton and their secret conversations in the night.
Leah has no idea that nineteen years before, Anton was convicted of killing his wife. A wife who looked a little bit like Leah. He has always said he didn't do it. Is Leah his redemption? Or is she befriending a killer intent on luring her closer and closer.
Come A Little Closer by Karen Perry is a psychological thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. The story was dark and chilling and I didn't know what was going to happen next. It's the most gripping thing I've read for ages. A brilliant binge-read thriller with a real roller coaster of an ending.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK for an Advance copy in return for a fair and honest review

If you want a book that will send shivers down your spine then this is one you should pick up. The story builds up to reach a breathtaking level which left me trying to grab every available minute to read more.
The story is narrated from the three main characters in the book with flashbacks from the past weaving extra dimension to the present day story.
Leah and her boyfriend Jake are delighted to find a cheap basement flat in a beautiful area. Jake has a 7 year old son and is struggling to spend time with him. Leah finds the time he spends with his son difficult especially as their relationship is new.. Leah is struggling herself with a secret from her past that she knows she must share if they want a future together. But when is the best time to tell.?
Anton is the owner of the house they rent the flat from. He has just been released from prison after served 19 years for the murder of his wife Charlotte. Anton strongly protests his innocence and finds a friendship with Leah who reminds him of his late wife. Anton is estranged from his two children and is struggling with coming back to the real world and the loneliness he has felt since has been released from prison.
Hilary is married to Greg and is one of Anton neighbours. They both share a secret which could implode and change their lives forever. Hilary is obsessed by Anton and has visited and wrote to him throughout his prison term.
The burning question throughout this book is who killed Charlotte.? Is Anton innocent or is he a dangerous killer? As the plot progressed my suspicions were swinging like a pendulum!, The final twist in the plot was fantastic!, No one knows what goes on behind closed doors and this was resounding explored throughout.
Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for my chance to read this twisty page turner.

Another great psychological thriller from Karen Perry which may or may not have a twist at the end . The book starts with a young blood covered boy crashing into a party on the crescent with the words somebody help me . Fast forward several years and Leah and Jake a young couple rent the basement flat of the house that he appeared from .
The flat is rented cheaply to them by Mark the son of the owner and an acquaintance of Jake . Leah has trouble settling in as Jake is often off seeing his son and ex partner and she feels out of place in that particular bit of London . Anton, the owner ,returned after an absence of nineteen years still protesting his innocence of the charge against him . The neighbours are not welcoming with the exception of Hilary ,an old lover ,who still appears to hold a flame for him . Both Leah and Anton have secrets in their past that they are trying to keep hidden ,something that ,together with their loneliness, will draw them together . The book is told in the third person from the point of view of three characters Anton Leah and Hilary. Creepy and tense with various twists and turns this is a great psychological read.