Cover Image: The Catch

The Catch

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Member Reviews

I haven't read any of T.M Logan's novels before but have heard great things, so I was really looking forward to reading The Catch.

When Ed meets his daughter's boyfriend Ryan for the first time, he gets a really bad feeling in his gut. A darkness in his eyes and the thought that he is hiding something - something bad. The trouble is - only Ed can see it! On paper, Ryan seems like the perfect man - he's tall dark and handsome, he has a successful career, owns his own home, has a solid education, is ex army and volunteers in care home at the weekends. It's all so perfect - but there has to be a catch!

When his daughter Abbie announces that they are engaged to be married, and the wedding will be in just a month wanting to enable her poorly grandmother to make the date. Ed is determined to discover whether his hunch is correct and find out Ryan's secrets. He has a month to figure out whether Ryan is the man that he appears to be.

Written mostly from Ed's perspective, each chapter in The Catch is like a countdown to D-Day, 'X days to the wedding' as Ed starts to follow Ryan and dig into his past, determined to find out the real deal about his future son in law. But is Ed the crazy one? Are his actions going too far? Is the fact he lost a child before blurring his visions and making him become too much of an overprotective father? He didn't act on his instincts before and his child ended up dead. He wouldn't go there again. Will his instincts guide him in the right direction or will he just alienate his entire family in the process??

I really enjoyed The Catch, the book starts with a real hook, grabbing your attention and urging you to read on, and all the way through that scene is at the back of your mind, although you don't know which characters it relates to, or even if its the present day. As the plot thickens, there are lots of twists and surprises and you start to find yourself questioning all of the characters, not just Ryan. Despite Ryan never being a particularly likeable character (I can still almost picture his smarmy arrogant face!) you do find yourself wondering whether its' Ed who is the psychopath, and whether Ryan really IS the nice guy he appears to be on the surface.

Whilst some parts of the plot were a little far fetched (Ed really DID turn his entire life into freewill trying to discover Ryan's secrets), I read this book in 24 hours, desperate to find out the truth about Ryan and his story,

As I read, I could picture the scenes in my mind, with great descriptive narrative and character building throughout, and by the end scene I could almost picture the credits of a movie rolling past - I think this would make a great action thriller for the big screen too.

Overall The Catch is full of suspense, doubt, misinterpretations and lies, and will a definite page turner. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend.

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he doting father
Ed finally meets his daughter's boyfriend for the first time. Smart, successful and handsome, Ryan appears to be a real catch. Then Abbie announces their plan to get married.
The perfect fiancé
There's just one problem. Ed thinks Ryan is lying to them.
Who would you believe?

Thank you so much to the publishers for an advanced copy of this book
T M Logan never fails to deliver a great thriller and he does it again with his new novel!
The book hooks you from the first couple of chapters. I desperately wanted to know what Ryan’s story was
The book flowed from start to finish and I read this book in a couple of days, on the edge of my seat wanting to know what was going to happen
I half worked out the ending, but the book still delivered a shock!
I highly recommend this book and cannot wait for the next book by this author.

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I’ve read and enjoyed T. M. Logan’s previous novels so I was delighted to get a copy of his new one from NetGalley recently. I love the way this author takes ordinary people living ordinary lives and he throws a grenade into those lives and we get to see what happens. In The Catch Ed and Claire meet their daughter Abbie’s new boyfriend Ryan, and he seems very nice. Only Ed is immediately suspicious of this man and is determined to find out more about him. This is another novel where you suspend your disbelief and enjoy the rollercoaster ride that you’re on and I really enjoyed it. There are twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting, it’s hard to see where this novel might go and I loved that. I recommend it!

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I had an excellent first experience with T.M. Logan's writing last year in 29 Seconds, and I have been looking forward to pick up more of his work ever since. I admit that I was sold as soon as I read the blurb of The Catch, and my instincts were not wrong. This newest story turned out to be another scorcher! Trust me, psychological thriller fans will be in for a treat with this one... Because holy smokes, T.M. Logan has done it again!

I was literally hooked from the very first page until those explosive final reveals; both due to the excellent writing and the clever building up of suspense. This story is definitely perfectly designed to draw you right in, and that is exactly what happened once I started reading... I just couldn't stop until I discovered the full truth. A lot of the success of this story is due to the technique of obscuring the truth and letting you in the dark about Ed and Ryan for a long time. Is Ed just seeing things that aren't there? Is Ryan who he says he is? Trust me, The Catch will have more than one shocking surprise in store.

Another reason this story works so well is due to the structure of the plot. We not only have different parts, but also multiple POVs in play. This is used both to make it easier to get a proper feel for the characters, hide certain facts as well as introduce doubt and suspense in the plot. Ed and Claire are initially the main focus, but both Abbie and Ryan are key to the plot too and especially later on. Plot twists, secrets and lies are brilliantly developed and used to maximum effect; there is no doubt that the final reveals will be a total shocker.

As for the characters... I loved how well developed they were; they are realistic, flawed and make it easy to stay invested in the story. Ed himself is a fascinating character with a tragic past and really made this story work. The fact that you keep wondering if he is just being an overbearing father not wanting to see his daughter with any man, or if he is on to something and something is really off with Ryan will most definitely keep you on your toes. This doubt enhanced the suspense and is basically the driving force behind the mayority of the plot and story. Ryan is likewise interesting; not exactly likeable at any point, but the doubt around his character keeps you hunting for clues either way as you keep turning those pages. Both Claire and Abbie were easy to like and were likewise well developed.

In short, The Catch is a brilliantly written and suspenseful psychological thriller with an explosive ending you won't see coming. It's an excellent read for anyone who enjoys the genre and loves stories that are able to mislead you.

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I was really looking forward to this as I loved the Holiday but unfortunately I just couldn't get into this. I felt the pacing was off and I just wasn't engaged at all with the father figure protecting his daughter, it just seemed so old fashioned. Although he was ultimately proved right I just got very frustrated with everyone in this book. . Hopefully other readers will be more appreciative of this story.

It was nice to revisit nottingham though, where I went to university :)

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The premise of this story is so simple, Abbey brings her partner Ryan home but her father Ed feels like something isn’t quite right. How many times has this happened in real life! However what follows is far from normal. It’s dark, twisty, psychological thriller writing at its very best and will have you guessing right until the last few pages.

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When Abbey brings home her fiancé Ryan to introduce him to the family, everyone is completely enamoured with him. Ryan is thoughtful, charming, successful and Abbey is besotted with him. What's not to like? But Abbey's father, Ed, doesn't warm to Ryan at all. Ed feels something about Ryan is off but he's very much alone in that line of thinking. With Abbey and Ryan planning to get married in a month's time, Ed has very little time to start digging into Ryan's past if he wants to stop the wedding from happening. Is Ed paranoid? A massively overprotective dad? Or is Ryan really not what he seems to be?

T.M. Logan always manages to come up with the basics of a realistic scenario, that then spins entirely out of control. The Catch is no different. A father who doesn't approve of his daughter's choice of partner isn't that hard to imagine. In Ed's case, it's not just the close bond between Abbey and himself that is causing this overprotectiveness. There is more to it than that, but that's something you'll have to discover for yourself.

The Catch is a hugely suspenseful story and the tension builds up slowly, as Ed travels down an increasingly darker path. How far will a father go? Throughout, the reader is left to wonder about Ryan. But also about Ed himself. It isn't until the end, when the pieces of the puzzle start to come together, that you realise how cleverly T.M. Logan has plotted this story.

That said, I found some of it a little over the top and it required me to suspend disbelief sometimes. Despite that, I actually thoroughly enjoyed this book though and I flew through its pages. There's always something remarkably pleasing about seeing ordinary characters thrown head first into extraordinary circumstances. It's pretty easy to imagine yourself in Ed's shoes, wondering what you would do in that same situation. And while I did figure out how things would end, the journey to get there was extremely exciting.

So, is there a catch to Ryan, The Catch? Why not find out?

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Was it a page-turner? At 448 pages, the book is not short. Having established that, I can’t explain how I read each chapter in minutes. I was always surprised when I reached the end so soon after starting.

Did the book meet my expectations? The synopsis was right up my street so I knew I would enjoy it. I didn’t expect to enjoy it quite so much though, which is always a pleasant surprise. I loved the way the author made me doubt and second-guess myself every step of the way. And that ending? Chillingly perfect!

Three words to describe it. Chilling. Gripping. Tense.

Do I like the cover? Weirdly, the cover makes me think of Gatsby so it’s slightly distracting. I like it though.

Have I read any other books by the same author? No, but they’ve been on my wish list for a while and now I’m more motivated than ever to get reading!

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The Catch is an excellent thriller which had me turning the pages pretty quickly to find out the ending.Abbie brings home Ryan to meet her parents Ed and Claire,Abbie thinks Ryan is the perfect man and tells them Ryan has proposed and they are getting married in a few weeks time.Claire is immediately happy for her daughter but Ed can't help thinking that Ryan is to good to be true with his story about being in the army and then graduating from uni with first class honours and also his charity work so Ed sets about looking into his past to try to uncover the truth.But he is up against Claire and Abbie who think Ryan is just the perfect man,and when Ed's quest to find out the truth his life starts to unravel with the secrets and lies he starts to tell everyone.T.M Logan has again written a brilliant thriller and although I don't read all his books this is the best book i have read of his.Without hesitation a great 5 star thriller

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After reading and enjoying T.M. Logan's last book The Holiday I was really pleased to come across The Catch. I can certainly say that I loved this one more.

Ed and Claire have one daughter Abbie. They lost another child, a son when he was three. Ed is protective and no boyfriend is good enough for his baby girl. Then along comes Ryan......
To the world he is the perfect future son in law. Charismatic, handsome, well off and a good job. However, Ed doesn't see that. he's seen into his eyes and doesn't believe a word. He doesn't believe him and he wants to stop the marriage to his daughter.
However, what we see is a tormented man on a downward spiral, as he risks his marriage and his job and more importantly his relationship with his daughter to out Ryan.
This is a riveting read. What I didn't realise was that the author lives in my city. The references to places I know in Nottingham. (and the Panthers) made the book even better. I could imagine Ed on his frantic chase across the city. Whilst initially feeling that Ed would 'Get on my nerves' I found I was really drawn to this character. The power of a parents love has no bounds.

So bravo Mr Logan an absolutely brilliant read.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

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Do you ever just have a gut feeling about something? Or in this case, someone? When his daughter brings home her new boyfriend, Ryan, for the first time, Ed takes an instant disliking to him. And when they announce they’re getting married, and in only a few weeks time, Ed resolves to make sure Abbie is not about to make a terrible mistake.

With Ryan not actually having done anything but be completely charming, some of Ed’s actions seem pretty extreme. Is his instinct correct? Or has his past loss led to him becoming an extraordinarily over-protective parent? Either way he seems hell-bent on proving Ryan to be a danger to Abbie, to the detriment of absolutely everything else in his life. While I was horrified by some of Ed’s actions I also found myself feeling sorry for him, as well as for his wife and daughter.

This book is positively crackling with tension the whole way through. I read the second half in just one sitting as I NEEDED to know who was the crazy one (because, let’s face it, it had to be one of them!) – father-in-law or son-in-law?! The ending was a nail-biting one, with one major development that completely floored me.

It got me thinking about how I let gut instincts affect my actions in relation to my children. Do you, or should you, always trust those instincts? And how far would you go to protect your children? Is it really any of your business who they decide to marry? Would you be able to trust their judgement, even if you didn’t take to their partner straight away?

Mine are only 3 and 1 so it’ll be a long time until I have to face these particular challenges but I do put a lot of faith in my gut feelings, and I have usually been right. I’m not sure I would take the risks that Ed does in this book though…

The Catch was the first of T. M. Logan’s books that I’ve read but I’m definitely going to be searching out his earlier novels. A book that kept me guessing right until the end, The Catch is intense and compelling. Would highly recommend.

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The Catch is he new thriller from the best-selling author TimLogan, and one I have been looking forward to since reading his previous, and utterly brilliant, novel, The Holiday.

This time we are treated to a family drama about a man who finds himself over-protective of his daughter, as the fall-out from feeling responsible for the death of her younger brother many years ago. This makes him open to going to what may seem extreme lengths to save her from any perceived danger, especially in terms of the men she chooses to keep company with. and means he has been known to overstep the mark when it comes to her previous boyfriends.

But this time, Ed is sure he is not just acting like the over-protective father his wife and daughter perceive him to be. He is sure there is something very wrong about Ryan and he will not rest until he knows what it is - even if this means letting all other areas of his life slide.

It's hard to say too much about this one without giving away unintentional spoilers, but I can say that this is a fast-paced, page-turner of a novel about obsession, gut instinct and the desire of a parent to do anything to protect their child from danger. I will add that I spent a considerable amount of time while reading this book yelling at Ed to try to get him not to do the things he rushes into - but suffice to say, he did not listen to a word I said!

For me, The Catch lacks much of the complexity and delicious inter-play between the characters that had me spellbound in The Holiday, but this is certainly a book that will have great appeal for the lovers of psychological thrillers and the cat and mouse element is certainly darkly seductive. I am sure T.M. Logan will be notching up another best-seller to his name with this one.

NB. Review reserved for release as part of the blog tour for this title, and will be published on-line on 21/05/2020.

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A Matter Of Trust....
A father, a daughter and a questionable but seemingly perfect fiancée. When father Ed begins to scratch beneath the surface curiosity and suspicion become obsession. A tense and engrossing read from T.M. Logan.

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Ed Collier knew it in his bones that his daughter's dashing new boyfriend is just not what he says he is. A decorated army veteran, volunteer for elderly care, good job, good looks and too charming.. And too good to be true. But none of his family seem to see what he sees in his future son-in-law. Especially not his daughter. So he begins his own search. Search to discover dirt on this mysterious man. Just to protect his daughter. But had he gone too far? Too close to danger?


T. M. Logan's thrillers are filled with tense and suspense that keeps the reader hooked with absolute entertainment. The chapters are crisp, and the drama just heating up as the premise progresses. This one is no different. I loved it how the narrative shifts between the characters before the big reveal and even though the climax comes out a bit over dramatic, it's still written in a pacy way, full of adrenaline pumping and all that. Just the perfect entertainment for a weekend read and Mr. Logan never disappoints his fans.

Many thanks to the publisher for my early copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

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When Ed takes a instant dislike to his daughter Abbey's fiancee Ryan his family start to alienate him. So he decides he needs to investigate further to protect Abbey. He starts to stalk Ryan and dig into his past with dangerous consequences for them all. Absolutely amazing, well written and highly recommended.

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Loved this newest novel by what is becoming one of my favourite authors
This story was full of tension & had you questioning is he isnt he until the end. Read it you wont be disappointed

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Ed finally meets his daughter's boyfriend for the first time. Smart, successful and handsome, Ryan appears to be a real catch. Then Abbie announces their plan to get married. The perfect fiancé. There's just one problem. Ed thinks Ryan is lying to them. Who would you believe? All of Ed's instincts tell him his daughter is in terrible danger - but no-one else can see it. With the wedding date approaching fast, Ed sets out to uncover Ryan's secrets, before it's too late.

Ryan is perfect from the off or so he seems to everyone but Ed who instantly becomes obsessed with trying to out the real Ryan. It reads okay and I did enjoy it but there is no really explanation for why Ed behaves the way he does. You could put it down to gut instinct but there are hints Ed is the way he is because of something and then this is never really explored. There are plenty of possible reasons as to why he is the way he is but it felt like they were not all explained and explored.

As I said I did enjoy this but it felt like it was missing something. There are twists although I do not think there are any shocking twists and unfortunately the latter part of the book felt very rushed, even more disappointing as it was probably the best part. At its heart this is a read about a family and it is relatable and entertaining if not edge of your seat reading.

Logan writes this from different perspectives, I will not detail who as it will ruin the magic of the read but I did enjoy the perspectives and the different explanations and thoughts provided. This style really allows the reader to understand the characters more and begin to question who you should believe. The only thing is sometimes, Ed does some extreme things that just ruin how realistic the read is which was a shame.

'The Catch' is entertaining and I enjoyed the characters but it is lacking twists and thrills to keep it alive.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK for an advance copy.

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I absolutely loved The Holiday last year by TM Logan and so had very high expectations for this, I was not disappointed! The dynamics of the rather protective father and newly engaged daughter give a sense of the lengths the father may go to in order to protect his family. I loved how little clues were dropped in, that lead us to wonder if we are on the right track to understanding what’s occurring. I very much enjoyed the relationship the characters had with one another; the mother who seemed to be the peace-keeper but was fearless too! The twists and turns I was awaiting from this certainly left me guessing and I raced through this to the end. Highly recommended.

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Another great book from TM Logan. I was hooked straight away. You get to know all of the characters very quickly. The ending is excellent. A real page turner.

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When Abbie Collier, 24, brings home new boyfriend of seven months, Ryan Wilson, 33, to meet her parents, her dad, Edward, takes an instant dislike to Ryan after seeing something dark in his eyes. Abbie’s mum, Claire, and nana, Joyce, are smitten though and think he’s wonderful.

Ryan seems a great catch – tall, handsome, caring, kind (charity fundraiser), athletic (marathon runner), intelligent (with a first-class degree in psychology from the University of Manchester), responsible (he was a former lieutenant in the British Army and did two tours of Afghanistan, receiving the Military Cross) and successful (he currently works as a partner at an international recruiting firm) – but, is he too perfect? Ed seems to think so!

After dinner and a game of badminton, Abbie and Ryan announce their engagement, much to Ed’s dismay and he struggles to hide his true feelings, especially when they reveal that the wedding will be taking place in less than six weeks, to ensure that Joyce, who is suffering from cancer, will be able to attend. Abbie will also be moving out of the family home in Nottingham to Ryan’s house in Beeston,

Ed decides to look into Ryan’s background and he goes completely over the top in his investigations and ends up getting into all kinds of bother, not least from his family who think he’s behaving erratically and are concerned for his mental health and try to persuade him to just accept Ryan. Ed is determined to uncover the truth about Ryan and discover exactly what he’s hiding.

Ed is an overprotective father and Abbie feels rather stifled at times but her dad has a good reason to behave the way he does, as we find out later in the story.

But is Ed right about Ryan or is he having a nervous breakdown? His obsession with Ryan grows and begins to affect all areas of his life. Ryan seems a lovely bloke – he even volunteers at the local hospice, where he chats to residents and plays his guitar, and is a special constable with the police!

This book had some great twists and turns and my heart was in my mouth as Ed did one crazy thing after another and put himself in danger! The main protagonists were all hiding various secrets, and I spent a lot of time wondering if any of them were unreliable narrators or not and trying to work out who was telling the truth.

Overall, this was a fascinating and gripping read and I raced through it, desperate to discover how the whole situation was going to end. With plenty of red herrings and misdirection, I was never really sure if I’d sussed things out or not. The book had a great pace and tension to it and it kept my attention throughout, with never a dull moment. Just when you thought things were calming down, something else dramatic would happen!

This is the third of T.M. Logan’s books that I’ve read and I’ve really enjoyed them all. I must read his debut, Lies, soon!

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