Overall, the premise of the story was interesting and compelling. The main character was a little difficult to relate to, she felt sporadic and stubborn, but that seemed to be the point. It became difficult to follow towards the end when the plot seemed to take unexpected and often unrealistic turns, but over all i enjoyed reading it.

'Keep you Close' by Karen Cleveland is my first ever read of her works. After completing this I can say one thing for sure, I shall definitely look out for more of her books.

The cover is beautiful and the blurb explains enough to spark curiosity.

The story is about Stephanie who works in the Internal affairs division of the FBI. She is a single mother and has worked her way up the bureau ladder with her hardwork and perseverance. Her 17 year old son Zachary is a handful and she starts experiencing distance from him due to her job. Amidst her job she realises that Zachary has got involved in some supposedly terrorist activities. So the story is about her discovery of the details of this and also her effort to get close to her son.

The story dies move fast but the jump from one event to another and from past to present seems abrupt in quite a few places. This made me flip the pages to see what I had missed. For most part the story is narrated in first person POV of Steph but in places it's the third person POV of an unknown character. It took me some time to get to the flow.
The plot is good and the author has tried to tie most of the loose ends. Despite this, the ending seemed a bit flat. Steph came across as a very strong character in the end although initially I mistook her to have some issues in her thinking style. Zachary is a teenager and the behaviour and communication between them was apt. Steph relationship with her mother could have been explored more.

All in all I liked the story as a one time read, especially as I could not put the book down mainly to assuage my curiosity as to how the story would end.

If you love to read thrillers involving FBI agents and that too a female agent, you will enjoy this one. If you love to read stories with twists and complete the story in the last few pages then you will love this.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley. I thank the author and the publisher for the same.

It the first book I have read by this author but it won't be the last I really enjoyed reading this. It keeps you guessing until the end.
Fantastic.

Stephanie is a special agent with the FBI, she is also a single mum of a seventeen year old boy.
Zach is changing and Stephanie is unsure if it’s just the typical teenage behaviour.
When Stephanie finds a gun in the back of Zach’s wardrobe she realises that she really doesn’t know her son.
This was a very hard read for me, I couldn’t relate to the characters, the plot was very basic and there was just to much going on that really added nothing to the story.

On the edge of my seat reading late into the night to finish this thriller. I really enjoyed this book

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy of Keep You close. I really enjoyed this book. It was a fast-paced, twisty thriller. Perfect quick read. I look forward to more from this author. I thought her first novel, Need to Know, was even better than this one.

I requested this as I liked the sound of it. I really wanted to love this book but I didn’t even finish it. It just didn’t hold my interest at all, everything felt so drawn out.

It started out well but just got to be too much and a bit confusing for me. Also, it’s hard for me to imagine a situation where I could even consider doing something other than whatever it takes to protect my son. The greater good is a nice idea but definitely not something I’d struggle with over protecting my kid. For a story that dragged on at times it seemed to end abruptly.

Keep you Close by Karen Cleveland is the story of Stephanie Maddox who heads up the FBI’s Internal Investigations and who is a single mother to 17 year old Zachary. Lately, Zachary has been spending more time in his room and Stephanie put this down to typical teenage behaviour. However, she is horrified to find a gun hidden in his room and then an agent from the FBI comes to tell her that Zachary is involved in some domestic terror organization. She questions her son and believes him when he denies knowing about the gun and being involved with the group. She will fight for him even if it means losing her job.
I think the book started off so well but before long Zachary was charged with so much more and everything appeared to be a bit too much and quite frankly I lost interest.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

Stephanie, an FBI agent, finds a gun in her son, Zachary's, closet. From there this book is full of crazy twists and turns, some kind of unbelievable. While it was a fast paced book, for me it just wasn't great.

This is a fast paced crazy read full of twists & turns. I thoroughly enjoyed this book & will definitely read more by this author in the future. Would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a good thriller.

This novel left me empty. I needed more. More substance, bigger play, not sure. But I needed more. I couldn’t connect with Stephanie. As it didn’t seem realistic that this woman worked her way so high up, yet was so spacey.

Thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fast-paced and thrilling - definite edge of your seat stuff. This is one of those stories that you may think you know where it is going but you couldn't be more wrong. Karen Cleveland is a great storyteller and she certainly knows how to plot the inevitable twists and turns of the thriller genre to maximum effect. 'Keep You Close' is not a straightforward thriller or domestic noir, so there is something in it for everyone. It is more a mixture of these elements, with some espionage thrown in for good measure. It starts off with a question posed by many parents: how well do you know your child? This is the question for FBI agent, Stephanie Maddox when she find's a gun in her son, Zachary's room. Then there are the accusations of Zachary's membership of a fundamentalist group. teenage hijinks or something more sinister? In this multi-layered novel the truth is revealed, sometimes at breakneck pace. Moreover, it will keep you guessing with its deep-dive into contemporary issues of the day. So, if you enjoy a thriller with the contemporary realism of an espionage novel, then look no further than 'Keep You Close'.

I knew I was going to love this as soon as I looked at it! Definitely a crazy thriller and one that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Must read!

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion. This is a fast moving suspense mystery. I can only describe it as an intense read with a lot of twists and turns that will keep you intrigued until the very end. I can’t wait to read more books by this author.

I received a free e-copy of Keep You Close by Karen Cleveland from NetGalley for my honest review.

How far will you go as a parent to protect your child?

Stephanie Maddox, head of the FBI’s Internal Investigations division, works all the time. Her work, however, is starting to effect the relationship she has with her teenage son, Zachary. One day, She finds a gun that is hidden in his closet. Then a fellow FBI agent tells her that he might be part of a domestic terrorism cell.

I enjoyed this book but as it went on I felt like it was dragging some.

I had read Karen Cleveland's earlier book, Need to Know, and was anxious to dive into this one. The main character, Stephanie Maddox, is a FBI analyst who is assigned to the internal affairs unit, policing other agents. She has one teenage son, Zachary, who becomes seemingly involved in a domestic terrorism FBI matter. Stephanie has to try and find out the truth about her son's involvement but this goes against everything she has been trained.

There are several other secrets and twists in this story which added to the plot. While some of it seemed a little unbelievable, it made for a fast-paced, exciting read.

I recommend this book.

I’m looking forward to reading Cleveland’s debut novel, Need to Know. Meanwhile, In this one FBI Agent Stephanie Maddox works hard to do her difficult job while also keeping her teenage son Zachary on the straight and narrow. She finds a gun in his room. What to do. Which one does she love more, her job or her son. . Surely Her son? Fast passed, with plenty of action to make up for any missing character development. As a conspiracy lover, this felt right up my alley. Hey, even Russia was involved in a plot to kill government officials.

I don't know why I requested this book, as I don't overly enjoy thriller books. I thought I'd give it a try but I found it to be a bit too much and I didn't finish it.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

#netgalley
#keepyouclose

Normally I would enjoy this sort of genre but unfortunately I really struggled to get into this one, the pace was a bit to slow for me.