This is a slow burn psychological thriller that revolves around the death of a man.
This book is filled with powerful emotion and tugs at your heart.
It is beautifully written. A great thought provoking read.

I thought it was a slow burner but also a great book which I enjoyed it thoroughly, a great storyline and plenty of twists and turns , highly recommend it to others 😊

I think this is the part where I officially announce that I need to step away from thrillers - which will be hard because I went on a thriller binge last year and now half of my bookshelf is made up of said thrillers that I would like to step away from. I believe I've reached the point where no thriller truly... thrills. I predicted the outcome of this book at the 20-page mark and, while I normally don't mind predictability, it has to be done right. The predictable outcome of this book wasn't necessarily what I wanted - I definitely wanted something darker and more twisted than what I was going to get.

The book does start off giving you several people to suspect and several red herrings, but I honestly got bored with the characters. Not a single one of them was likeable or intriguing enough for me, some of them had weird relationships with each other that I couldn't wrap my head around and some of them were just plain boring. Perhaps this is one for newcomers to the thriller genre or thriller fans who don't particularly enjoy twisted narratives or goriness. It was just too tame and uneventful for me.

Thank you to Emily Koch, Harvill Secker and Netgalley for providing me with an e-copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

This was an interesting novel and done in an interesting way... but I feel like the author got carried away with twists and never linked them into a chronological order. A decent book for the genre, but nothing stand out

Thank you NetGalley. Super book with twists and turns throughout. Indigo was an intriguing character and made me think she would normally always be a happy person and full of life. The situation she found herself in still managed to let her personality show through at times. You do have to feel for Alice and what she went through but you couldn’t really agree with what she was doing. The whole book was a great read and in my opinion excellently written. Would absolutely recommend

I did enjoy this book but found it a little slow going to begin with. The concept of a grieving mother and one desperate to protect was intriguing and I didn't predict the outcome.

Emily Koch's Keep Him Close somehow managed to be dull and melodramatic at the same time. Its characterisation was majorly off — leading to scenes that would have felt out of place even in the most rollercoaster ride of thrillers. And this book surely wasn't even close to one of those.

Mothers – united in grief.

Alice is the mother of Benny – upright, kind, hardworking and looking forward to his future and Lou – scruffy, disrespectful and a drop-out.
Lou’s passion is restoring an old Tiger motorbike that his grandfather had bought for him. Benny, on the other hand, is packing his things, ready for university beginning in a few weeks. Alice oversees several libraries.

Indigo is the mother of Kane. He is also planning on leaving for university. She has a totally different nature to Alice. Never worked in an office and bikes everywhere.

The boys know each other, in fact, they’re good friends, but their mothers have never met – until tragedy strikes. Lou dies after a night out, and Kane is charged with his murder.

Emily Koch tells weaves a beautiful warm story around these two families. Two mothers struck down in grief for different reasons. Women who will learn more about their resilience as their paths intertwine. But possibly the most important lesson they will learn is who their sons genuinely are.

The book had a profound effect on me and one that I would very much like to read again.

Rony

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

This psychological thriller was a good read, at times I couldn’t put it down. The story itself was great, with plenty of surprises throughout. The style of writing was perfect so made for an easy read.
The first book I have read by this author but I will be keeping my eye out for more in the future.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

I would definitely recommend this book to people who like good read that is full of mystery. The twisted plot and unexpected ending made the book even more fabulous!

I loved the premise of this novel, but I felt it was executed poorly! A very slow burning novel and not particularly engaging.

Not for me sadly.

A huge thanks to Random House UK & NetGalley for gifting me a copy in return for an open & honest review.

⭐⭐

This is a very moving story with some twists and turns, until the truth eventually emerges, about that night .A wonderful story of mothers and the strong love they have for their sons .My thanks to the publisher the author and Net Galley for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review .

Fantastic book
Brilliant characters and fantastic storyline
Would definitely recommend to others
I definitely think its worth a 4 star

Keep Him Close follows the story of two mothers. Two mothers who have lost something incredibly close to them. Grief can take many forms and both essentially aching from the pit of despair. A longing that sits like rocks at the pit of the stomach. A pain that they both need to learn to deal with. We are taken on a journey of two women’s interweaving connection and a path crossed takes them both on trip of self-discovery and forgiveness. One mother has lost her son and one has admitted to killing him, a friendship found in the strangest of places.

You really don’t have the chance to breathe in the opening chapter. Things are gearing towards a climax. A rocky relationship between mother and son, Alice and Lou. Alice is very cold and awkward, and Lou seems harsh and a bit of a bully towards his mother but really it seems like he was just aching for that connection that his brother Benny had with her. I had a severe case of whiplash between Alice’s emotions and Lou’s “I couldn’t care attitude.” It’s an interlude into a night out gone wrong – a celebration that won’t quickly be forgotten.

Keep Him Close was predominately a domestic thriller but if you are reading it mainly for the thrills and twists you might be sorely disappointed. I enjoyed the reading experience and the writing was sharp and insightful, but it didn’t set me alight. I wanted it to blow me away and knock my socks off, but I was left just feeling that it was okay. A fairly passable read but it wouldn’t be memorable for me in the long term. It’s a slow burn thriller but it takes a bit on the long side to get more details about that fateful night that Lou fell.

One thing that I did particularly enjoy was the building relationship between the two mothers. It’s a relationship that shouldn’t be able to take off. Guilt and blame and social themes shouldn’t be a fertile ground for it to take off but slowly it does. They both felt the aching loss of losing sons even though only one was dead. The scenes between both Alice and Indigo are very emotional and extremely well written. The battle between pride and stubbornness are prevalent in both women but Indigo chipped away at Alice’s fragile emotional state and was finally able to crack the enigma.

I really struggled to get on a level playing field with Alice’s persona however. Her non-emotional state to learning about her son’s death perplexed me and her ability to keep ploughing on was baffling. Talk about stiff upper lip! She wasn’t keen on taking any time off work and pretty much instantly wanted to sort through Lou’s things. At different points I questioned whether Alice was on the ASD spectrum due to her social awkwardness and in her own words – can’t really deal with other people. Keep Him Close was a mixed bag for me but it had enough of the things I liked to keep me reading.

Two mothers, three sons and one dies - a tragic accident or something else? The idea was intriguing which is why I chose it, but never really found myself immersed in the story. It is a very slow burner and it failed to spark much interest in me so had to skim read quite a bit, not something I ever want to do. The writing was fine, loved the sound of it, so don’t really know what went wrong!

I found that I was quickly drawn into this book and needed to find out what had happened, just like the two mothers in the story. Really well written and kept me reading and guessing until the end.

a good read which I enjoyed but I wish it had been at a quicker pace - well written and different with good characterisation

Keep Him Close by Emily Koch is a rollercoaster of emotion. The plot focuses on two women and their families caught up on an avoidable tragedy. The characterisation is particularly strong and so believable. The relationship developing between the women at the core of the book is described in such detail, I almost felt I knew them myself. I thoroughly recommend it to all who enjoy a family drama. My thanks to Netgalley and Harvill Secker, part of the Penguin Random House group of publishers.

Two mothers, one who’s son has just fallen to his death from a car park, the other’s son has just handed himself in and confessed to the pushing him.
Alice and Indigo, so far apart in the upbringing of their children and outlook on life, yet they find themselves thrown together when Indigo’s son Kane pleads guilty to pushing Alice’s younger son Lou from a car park wall.
Indigo is adamant that Kane could never have done such a thing, but why has he said he did?
The story of the two families slowly unravels and we see both mothers at their wits end, one with grief that she dare not show and one with sadness for the life her son seems hellbent on throwing away.
Alice turns detective when she finds there may have a been a witness to the incident, but can she put things right before Kane is jailed for something neither mother believe he did?
I really enjoyed this book, it wasn’t full of dramatic twists but it was gripping and I found myself rooting for Indigo and Alice to overturn the case and get Kane released. My first from this author, but I will definitely look for more.

Two mothers....one son accused of murder, another has been apparently murdered...both seeking the truth...really enjoyed this book...written from the perspective of each mother....draws you in....the truth is not what it seems...would recommend