A very clever read that had me constantly on my toes, never quite sure what direction it was going to go.

not a gripping book. not terrible but not the best thriller i've read. the reviews for this is all over the place. it's something to read inbetween books.

Such a good book, great twists. Really good author.
Will be looking for more books from the author
5*****

Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#DenyMe #NetGalley

'Deny Me' is an absorbing and tense psychological thriller from the eminently talented Karen Cole. Though a bit of a slow-burner to begin with, I was utterly gripped after the first few chapters. The question posed in this book is a simple one: when an Alzheimer's sufferer tells you they have witnessed a murder, can you believe them? It is up to Jessica to decide whether her mother's Alzheimer-addled mind really witnessed a woman being pushed off a balcony, or, whether this was the imaginative product of an inherently unreliable mind. Jessica, herself a woman with problems of her own, including mental health issues, is tentative at first to believe that her mother witnessed a murder. But as she investigates further.... well, let's just say she begins to believe there is some truth to the allegations of murder. The more Cole gets into her storytelling stride the more the reader is presented with a fascinating, suspenseful mystery. All is not as it seems in a narrative that thrives on the proverbial opaqueness of literary smoke and mirrors. I loved every page. Tautly-plotted, wonderfully executed - a true psychological thriller that lives up to its billing.

4.5 stars

I thought that this book took a while to get into and that it got better the more I read. There is a lot to this story and it takes Jessica a while to work out the secrets in her family and how her neighbour died. Dementia is a debilitating and sad condition and it is good to see it talked about in this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

After reading Karen Cole’s ‘Deliver Me’ and enjoying it i was very much looking forward to reading this latest book. This, once again, is a great psychological thriller with plenty of twists to keep you guessing until the final pages.

Jessica has just moved back to England, after her life fell apart in Spain. She left her job and her partner after a mental health episode and returned home to be with her Mum and Dad. Jessica’s mother, Jean, is suffering from Alzheimer’s and her condition is gradually worsening. On her return Jean tells her daughter that she saw her neighbour kill his wife, but is it true ? Or is the Alzheimer’s causing her Mum to become confused ?

Jessica decides to investigate her Mother’s claim about their neighbour but will Jessica discover more than she bargained for ?

This is a great twisty psychological thriller that kept me hooked throughout. Jessica battles her own demons whilst also trying to find the truth about a number of events affecting not only her family but also her friends. This is quite a quick read that you really won’t want to put down - one to definitely add to the TBR pile !!

Thank you to Quercus Books and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

5 Stars!! What a thrill ride!! Lots of twists and turns!!

We have an unreliable narrator, Jessica, who has just had a traumatic episode in Spain, home to regroup. Her mom is battling with dementia and claims that the neighbor pushed his wife to her death out the window.

As to not give too much detail, Jessica goes on an adventure to find the truth, and what an adventure it is!

This was my first reading of Karen Cole and it certainly will not be my last!

Thank you to NetGalley, Quecus Books, and Karen Cole for providing me with an ARC,

Jessica has mental health issues. She was living in spain but has returned home to help care for her elderly parents. Her mother has Alzheimer's but she's convinced she saw her neighbour push his wife from the balcony. The woman died and Jessica is ow wondering if her other had witnessed the woman being pushed. Jessica needs to find out the truth, but what will she uncover?

This is a very twisty quick read. The pace is steady and it grabbed my attention from the start. It's packed full of secrets and lies. I loved the epilogue. I did guess correctly somewhere this story was heading but there were still some surprises along the way. A really enjoyable read.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Quercus Books and the author Karen Cole for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was super interested to read this book. My grandfather had Alzheimer’s, so I was excited to read about an MC with it. It’s an awful disease, but I wanted to see how Karen Cole would spin the character. I thought Jean was very believable. I saw parallels to what my grandpa went though. You never know what to believe in those early to mid stages. Sometimes they seem fine, and sometimes they aren’t. It was heartbreaking.

Jessica was a great protagonist. She was smart, questioned everything, trusted the wrong people. It made for a very compelling story. I was gripping my seat at the end! There’s a surprise hero and a ton of action.

I was a little disappointed that the beginning mystery ended up not being the mystery that was investigated. The one that was investigated was compelling, but I wanted closure on the first mystery! I was left with questions and was a little disappointed.

The mystery that was investigated was full of family drama and secrets, one of my favorite things in a thriller. You were left questioning everyone and everything. The ending shocked me! I think I audibly gasped when I realized who the villain was! I did not see it coming.

I would definitely recommend if you are a thriller lover! I was invested from the get-go..

Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own.

2.5 stars. Not a bad book but a bit slow for me. I struggled to get into it but I enjoyed the ending which surprised me.

Actually 4.5 stars.
Well, this book took me all round the houses and back again as I, along with MC Jessica, tried to cut through all the secrets and lies and piece together all the pieces to reveal the whole truth.
Jessica is recently divorced and has moved back home, both to try and make a fresh start and also to assist her father with the care of her mother, Jean, who has been diagnosed with dementia. Shortly after she arrives, there is a tragic accident ending with the death of one of her neighbours. Jean thinks she saw something and is convinced it was murder. But is she just confused in what she thinks she saw. Jessica is torn between writing it off as the ramblings of a confused woman and wondering if there is any truth there. As she starts to investigate she realises that there are many people in her close circle with quite a lot to hide.
Wowsers... this book really has it all! Maybe a little too much when all laid out in the finale but it was all delivered in a really rather credible way. Jessica really does bite off way more than she can chew when she takes the lid of what ends up being a rather juicy can of very active worms. All very cleverly plotted and with misdirection aplenty along the way. If you like your books jam packed full of secrets, lies and served with a generous dollop of duplicitous behaviour then you're really going to love the journey this book will take you on.
Pacing is good and the characters all act according to their roles in the whole. It's hard to single any out as to do so might inject spoilers but I did take to Jessica early on and that really helps me connect to a book.
All in all, a good solid read that held my attention throughout and which left me satisfied at its conclusion. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Well they weren’t kidding about the killer twist!

Deny Me is a quick read but don’t let that put you off! Explosive, fast paced and like nothing I’ve read before. Very rare a thriller can keep me guessing to the end!

This was a very quick read - it took about 3 hours to read the whole story but I think that was perfect as there was no unnecessary padding. I really liked Jean's character, I think the author portrayed a character with dementia very well.

The story kept me guessing, it was fast paced and although I had an idea of where it was leading, there were still some surprises at the end.

A solid 4 star thriller for me

Very good book portraying a mother with dementia who tells her daughter about a murder and how she takes it from there. The psychological aspect of all the characters are well dealt. The childhood of the daughter could be more detailed. The conclusion is fitting and satisfactory. Must read for fans of psychological thrillers. Enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jess has just returned home from an ill-fated stint of living with her boyfriend and teaching in Madrid. She is temporarily living with her parents. Her mother Jean has dementia. Jean tells Jess that the neighbor across the street, Ajay, whose wife died as a result of falling out the third story window, was actually responsible for his wife's death. Jess believes her mother knows something but her father and her brother blow it off, telling her that Jean's dementia is causing her to think she saw things that never really happened. Jess investigates anyway and uncovers many lies that have transpired over the years.

I thoroughly enjoyed this quick read. I liked Deliver Me and thought Deceive Me was one of the top 5 of the 120 books I read last year. So I was planning to like this one. And I obviously did. The mystery quickly goes from what happened to the neighbor to what went on in Jess's own family. It was quick moving and the ending was quite suspenseful. All of the tails tied up nicely. Can't wait for the next one from this author.

Overall, a good, quick read. The plot twists and pace kept me engaged for the most part. I thought I had worked it out early on so I was losing interest but turns out I was wrong!

this is the story of a newly divorced woman returning home after spending some time in spain. it seems that jess finally has time to get herself together but no chance!
her mother is drifting off into dementia more and more, she is enstranged to her brother and her friends and last but not least a crime might have just happened in the neighbourhood...hold on...might have?!
bit by bit karen cole reveals what is going on in an empathetic but also very very thrilling way.
in my opinion this story is multilayered but you will not get lost in all that is going on.

a great joy to read!
thanks #netgalley and #Quercus Books for a ARC of this book

I’d like to thank Quercus Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Deny Me’ by Karen Cole in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Jessica’s mum Jean is suffering from dementia and gets confused and when she says she’s seen the neighbour opposite pushed out of her window Jessica decides to uncover the truth. But is what she learns the truth, or is it her mum’s illness causing her to imagine things?

‘Deny Me’ is an addictive psychological thriller and I’ve been gripped from page one. It has a well-written storyline, tension, drama, suspense and plenty of twists and turns, and it has an ending that I wasn’t expecting. I like Karen Cole’s style of writing which makes for easy reading and I can certainly recommend this novel.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre, I’m more into romance stories and girlie books therefore am extremely pleased and grateful to them for opening up my mind to something totally different.

I enjoyed this very much. 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I liked this book pretty well. maybe a 3.75. I expected it more to be the mother's story instead of the daughters but it was an interesting way to present a current and a past mystery. I liked the main character and the resolution was satisfying. I didn't want it to be the first person they suggested in the second mystery, just didn't fit so was glad they didn't switch the direction that drastically