Stephanie will go to great lengths to protect her son. As a high-level FBI Agent, she puts herself and others at risk to ensure that her son is safe. Is he guilty as suggested by her friend? Is she blinded by her love of her son and want for him to be innocent or are they being setup? Ultimately, it’s a story about love and protection of her son, family and friends. There are some glimpses into Stephanie’s past and her relationships with others which are interesting. There are political aspiration, espionage and murders, it’s not really your normal chic-lit but also not quite a thriller

This was a quick and easy read and thought provoking. It made me stop and think about what I might do in the same situation, there are ethical and moral questions throughout the book and it was easy to connect to the “mum” element, especially when she looks at her teenage son and pictures him as a small child. However, Steph is a little more selfish, perhaps for good reason, perhaps not.

I wanted to read this to the end to find out what happened but ultimately it was a little disappointing. It wasn’t really to my taste there are some good elements, but it was a bit to back and forth for me as in whether he was guilty or not. I didn’t really enjoy the ending, I would have liked more closure on what happened to all the characters, an extra chapter or two would have been much better!

This was not only a great mystery/thriller, but also a great story highlighting the lengths that a mother would go to in order to keep her child safe. Stephanie's career with the FBI keeps her busy and away from her son, Zachary,. When she is confronted with the fact that she may not know her son due to finding a gun in his room and a visit from the FBI about Zachary, Stephanie feels the obvious mom guilt of not being around enough and a desire to protect her child. This was a great read!

If you enjoy espionage mixed with a splash of family drama then this might be a good pick for you! Give it a try!

I love a chick-lit thriller as much as the next person, but this one just fell so short for me. Trope after trope had me wanting to DNF it was around the 30% mark. I endured and I will say that the writing is nice, but the story was just too predictable for me.

I recommend this for readers who don't read a lot of thrillers and want an easy read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a story about the lengths a mother will go to protect her child while at the same time, stopping them as guys. I was excited to see a book by Karen Cleveland as I loved her last book. I really liked the story and the characters. It is full of mystery and deception. At times I found it hard to follow because it jumped around to different people or a different time with no warning or separation. I’m not sure if the changes will be more clear in the published version.

I love a book that makes me think and Keep You Close definitely did that. It is one of those books that had me wondering what I would do if I was in that situation. If it was one of my children. That alone had me wanting to read on as I was eager to find out what Steph would do.

Overall I did enjoy this book. There were a few moments where I did find myself starting to drift off a little, however, the majority of the book was edge of your seat good!

This is a very slow read for my taste. I'm more into suspense but I still liked the book. It's a story that unravels at a steady pace with a few good twists.

This was not one of my absolute favorites. Still a great author so I wanted to give it a chance. Thrilling in spots bot not enough.

I really wanted to like this book. I really did. But it was just trope after trope for a typical "chick lit" thriller.
Single mother, workaholic, damaged, troubled son, there's more to add but it would be a spoiler.

While the main character is an FBI agent, she is also trying to keep her son out of trouble with the FBI.
Did her son do it? Are they being framed? Will you find the answers? I still feel a bit confused at the end, but it was a quick, fast, read even if it wasn't the best book I've read.

What a great book. Would definitely recommend to it others I no. Great work will look out for this author again

This book is a testament to a love between a mother and child and the lengths we go to protect our children , this isn’t my usually Type of book but it was enjoyable (I received this book free from net galley)

I just couldn’t get into this one and stopped a quarter of the way through. I found the storyline tedious and boring and lacking in character development.

Parents will go to the ends of the earth to protect their children. Steph is an FBI agent and accustomed to dealing with those who break the law. However, what if the person breaking the law is someone close to you? Someone you love and know? Or don’t know. The pace of this book is awesome. There is a myriad of twists and turns throughout, keeping you on your toes, wondering what is going to happen next. This book is a thriller mixed with family drama and has a few conspiracy and espionage notes thrown in for good measure. Don’t sleep on this one! Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to review this book.

You know I almost let this one slip past, I saw the cover and title and thought it was a psychological thriller, which usually I love but fancied a change, but then decided to read it and soooo glad I did
For a start it is a hi octane paced thriller and secondly it is really well
written

FBI Agent Steph Maddox has her suspicions that her son is involved in something he shouldn’t be but when she finds out how serious it is and the implications to not just them but the whole Country she knows she has to stop what her son is planning....but is she too late? Is her son being set up? Just who is involved and has her past come back to haunt her? And what is her first love?, her son? or her Country?

That is just a small synopsis of what is a multi twisty and turny book to satisfy even the most adrenaline junkie seekers of readers, the action never stops and the story evolves as it goes on

The ending is and was unpredictable and left me quite shocked

The author I read after is an ex CIA employee and this really shows in the description and feel given to the parts dealing with the FBI/CIA and their procedures

A really good edgy read that fully enjoyed

10/10
5 Stars

Stephanie Maddox works in her dream job with the FBI. She has a 17 year old son named Zachary who was a product of a rape. She has kept quiet about Zachary's father, who is a very prominent person in a position of power. One day while going through her sons room, she finds a gun. Next thing she knows her son is being accused of planning a violent terrorist attack. Stephanie must try to find out what is going on to save her son and herself.

This story is very fast paced and the story is very interesting, however, I feel that the writing is rushed and a little repetitive and the ending is very unsatisfying and lacks closure.

All in all, a good story, and worth the read. Definitely kept my interest.

This book, KEEP YOU CLOSE, makes one think of some incidents discussed today. Steph must decide what is best. Is her son more important or is her job. Steph knows things are not what they appear. She doesn’t know who is involved and what exactly is going on but is digging too deep. People are getting killed bc she won’t let her suspicions go. Now her mother and son are targets. She has to make a very tough decision. Should she work with the Russians to save her her. It’s too late for her mother

Stephanie Maddox is an FBI agent who lives with her teenage son Zachary. One day another agent lands at her doorstep and accuses her son to be a member of a radical group. Though she denies the allegations, she can't ignore the fact that she had just moments before, found a gun in her son's room. Stephanie moves forward relying on her instinct as an ace agent and is convinced that her son is not engaged with any such group. The plot moves forward as she tries to unravel who is trying to frame her son and sabotage the nation's security.

While the plot races, we get to meet the rest of the cast of characters and get a good glimpse into Stephanie's past- her colleagues, beau and how she came to be a single mom with a strained relationship with her son. The writing and the underlying story are solid but I found it difficult to put this book in a particular genre. There are political aspirations, espionage, murders and quite a bit of action happening. Sometimes all this happens simultaneously that it gets difficult to keep track with what is actually happening that is contributing in taking the story further at the moment.

All in all a one time read for me because I don't much enjoy espionage but if that floats your boat then I am sure you will like this book.

If you like FBI/CIA type books - do I have a recommendation for you. This book keeps you on the edge of your seat, all while wondering " how far would I really go for my kids". This book explores the quintessential mom guilt.... having to work, trying to care for your family...but do you ever really really know someone...even if you raised them? Pick up this book! You'll love it

Karen Cleveland is a new author for me - and wow her book was awesome! A really great plot if you like thrillers. This would make a really good movie in the vein of Enemy of the State of Breach.

The characters were well developed, not particularly likeable but then that wasn't their purpose. Steph is an FBI career agent who has always put her job before family. In doing so she uncovers a Russian spy conspiracy, she becomes fixated with exposing the main Russian agent even as around her friends and family are getting hurt or killed.
As the story progresses we learn more about her colleagues and who she trusts. A CIA agent she encounters is actually one of the characters in Karens' previous book so I can't wait to read that next.

If you like the Bourne Identity. I think you will enjoy this. Many thanks to Netgalley, Random House and the author for the opportunity to read an arc.

Steph is Head of Internal Investigations for the FBI in Washington. She is also a single parent to 17 year old Zachary. Due in part to her commitment to her job, her relationship with Zachary is strained. When she finds a gun hidden in his bedroom and it is alleged he is a part of a terrorist group, she sets out to prove he is innocent.

Having never read anything by Karen Cleveland, but having heard good things about her previous book, Need to Know, I was looking forward to reading this book. There is much to recommend about it. It started off extremely well and I was instantly drawn in to the Steph/Zachary dynamic. As a parent, it raised some interesting questions about how well we really know our children and to what lengths we would go to protect them and uncover the truth. here are plenty of twists and turns as the plot unfolds and it certainly keeps you guessing. It slowed a little for me in the middle as I struggled to keep track of some of the complexities and subplots, and the ending felt somewhat unsatisfactory to me. Overall it was an interesting read and if you are looking for an easy to read, fast-paced thriller I would recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Press for an advance copy.