Lauren North is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. I love the creeping tension and Jenna's ethical dilemma in this twisty psychological tale of power, obsession.and revenge. Brilliantly written with lots of twists - I couldn't put it down

I really enjoyed this book it was well thought out & written. Enjoyed the characters & the pace. I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys this kind of book.

This book had everything you could possibly want from a psychological thriller! The story was full of twists and turns, many of which I certainly didnt expect, and the plot of the entire book was written to perfection.

The way in which the characters lives all intertwined was also brilliantly plotted. Many of the characters had traits in which I'm sure most people could relate to in one way or another, and the way in which the author brought these people to life in my mind was phenomenal.

To sum it all up in one word.... Brilliant. A definite must read.

I was so looking forward to reading this book, the premise sounded so right up my street. Who doesn’t love a good story, with a bit of mystery/thriller.

But unfortunately for me it just fell a little flat. I wanted to like Jenna an A&E DR who is juggling work with raising two children. The story is very slow for the first half and I really struggled to continue, it does pick up in the second half.

Jenna has been receiving gifts, and emails letting her know that someone is stalking her. Surely if someone keeps leaving gifts etc, the police will do something. That just didn’t make sense especially as there are now laws regarding stalking. But later she meets her stalker when he is a patient, then she decides to take matters into her own hands. I was waiting for something to happen, something that would throw the whole thing completely but the ending was just very deflating.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #RandomHouseUk for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

This is a tense thriller, that slaps you in the face with a terrible situation for our main character, Jenna, as soon as you start reading. For me, I found the constant anxiety a little too much at the beginning, but it soon settled into an intriguing and creepy story.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Jenna. She is a wife and mother and a doctor working in a busy A&E department in the hospital. Jenna is always on guard as she is being stalked by someone who puts dolls on her doorstep. He follows her to almost everywhere she goes and sends emails. She carries on reporting and recording all the incidents but she has lost hope that the police will find who is doing this to her. As Jenna unexpectedly finds clues to who her stalker might be she decides to investigate herself.

The story is told from Jenna’s point of view and another character called Sophie. Sophie’s story is told from her past traumatic childhood and present day. My favourite sub genre to read about in thrillers is stalkers so I was really excited to come across this book. I really enjoyed it but I have to say that it got off to a slow start. I didn’t guess the ending either which is always a bonus.

Jenna is a mother of two and struggling to balance motherhood and her career as a doctor. Her character is very well drawn where the reader identifies with her, and cares about her.

She is also nervous because there seems to be a stalker targeting her with gifts, letters, and emails to her colleagues.

Suddenly something huge happens, and Jenna has to turn into a detective and uncover the truth about what is happening to her.

This is a very interesting thriller with surprising twists and turns which make it hard to put the book down until all is resolved.

Thanks #Netgalley, the publisher and author for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Enjoyable read. Would recommend to friends and family. I could sympathise with characters (important for any fiction novel!) and looked forward to picking it up and reading the next few chapters! Interesting plot line and a good ending. Will look out for more novels by the author. Thank you.

I loved the author’s debut, The Perfect Son. However, this one was incredibly slow and very lacking in twists (almost close to none). There’s stalking and a little bit of psychopathy, which wasn’t thoroughly justified and an ending that I would describe as just...”good”, which made for an okay read.

I loved this book. There were so many twists and even at the very end I was still wondering...........................
This story would make a great film . Highly recommended

This was the first book I had read by Lauren North and I really enjoyed her engaging writing. The character of Jenna was very well painted and I felt invested in her journey. Her job as a doctor in a busy A and E department is busy and demanding and she finds it hard to juggle family life simultaneously. We learn how she has been stalked for over a year and this has left her very anxious.
The story of the other main character, Sophia, alternates between herself as a child and present day and how she is responsible for her adopted brother, Matthew.
I like the way the author resolves all the threads at the end. I suspected Jenna's husband, Stuart was having an affair with the childminder, Christie, so was surprised when it turned out to be with someone else. The identity of the stalker also came as a surprise and the climatic scene where this is revealed was gripping.

I would thoroughly recommend this read and look forward to reading more by this author.
Thanks to netgalley for the advance copy.

Excellently scary. Genuinely wasn’t sure in which direction the book was going ( in a good way).

Recommended

I enjoyed this overall but felt halfway through it lost its way a bit and the main character made some very frustrating decisions! It was a good story though but thought the ending was a bit predictable

Jenna is a doctor and mum of two, trying – and failing – to be the best in all areas of her life. She’s also scared: someone has been stalking her for months, leaving letters and gifts’ at her door, as well as emails to her colleagues that could see her being struck off. But when the unexpected happens – and it really does, it’ll take you by surprise – Jenna is left wondering how far she’d go to resume some degree of normality. How far would you go to have your life back to the way it was? There are plenty of twists and turns in this read but your sympathy does go out to Jenna, who is understandably struggling to be who everyone else wants her to be. You’ll feel a little like a detective too as you uncover the clues and separate from the red herrings.

Never read anything by this author before. Loved it. Lots of twists and turns keeps you on the edge of your seat

This book draws you into the story right from the beginning. Jenna is being followed – she has a stalker. She has no idea why this man is constantly following her. She’s seen him, she can identify him. She knows that he knows where she lives, he knows where she works and she lives in fear of her life. She fears for her children too. The author really brings it home of what it must feel like to be stalked. The constant tension Jenna lives with affects every part of her life. She can’t sleep at night properly, she already doesn’t see her children as much as she would like because she’s an A&E Doctor and she loves her job. Home life is difficult enough without living in constant fear. It’s affecting her relationship with her children, her husband, even her friends.

Imagine then when he turns up in the A&E Department where Jenna works with serious injuries and she has to treat him………..

I can’t really say much more without giving anything away. It does highlight how frightening it must be when anyone ends up in this situation. All the while you know what’s happening but others around you begin to see some of your worries as paranoia. At one point all Jenna wants to do is run as far away as possible, to another country maybe. That is how desperate she becomes.

There are lots of twists to the story and as it heads towards the conclusion the tension is palpable. Real edge of your seat stuff, from beginning to end. I really enjoyed this book – a five star read.

To post to blog on 16 July 2020

Jenna and Stuart are working at their marriage. Their children Beth and Archie are wonderful but the black cloud hanging over them is affecting them all. That black cloud being a stalker who is terrifying Jenna and the children. Jenna is a doctor and one day a man is admitted to the hospital who she is sure is her stalker but something isn’t adding up.
Wow! This is one of those books that I love, it sucks you in and you’re racing through the pages ignoring the world around you! Bloody fantastic read and well worth five stars! Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Wonderful twisty psychological thriller. Jenna a mother, wife and a doctor has a stalker. Who is it , why and what next? I will definitely look out for Lauren North’s books. It is a really old adage but I could not put her book down.

Jenna is an A&E doctor, a mother, a wife and now she is also the victim of a stalker, but why?

Creeping into every part of her life, leaving terrifying dolls, sending threatening emails, taking photos of her children, sending derogatory messages to her place of work, there seems nowhere Jenna can escape him.

With the police seemingly unable to help and her friends and colleagues beginning to turn against her, Jenna's fear begins to spiral out of control.

There were plenty of twists and turns in this fast-paced read to keep me entertained and engaged throughout, and the ending was absolutely captivating.

The characters were strong in depth, especially Jenna, and I felt every moment of fear she experienced as if I was there with her.

Thoroughly recommend this one.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House UK for the opportunity to read this fantastic book.

Thank you to NetGalley and and Random House UK- Transworld Publishers for the Arc of One Step Behind❤️

Also thank you to Lauren North for writing this gripping book!!🥰

Follows a lady called Jenna who is a wife, mother and a doctor! But huge relevation she's a victim.. a victim of being STALKED!!😳😱

He follows her, sends terrifying and horrific emails to leaving creepy objects around including in her house with creepy dolls heads..

But a huge twist.. he is admitted to hospital but she has the awful question should she save his life or not? 😩😱

I really found this book so interesting and gripping and I loved it from start to finish with all the twists and turns and creepiness that comes with it

This was so well written and executed perfectly

Thank you for writing this Lauren North 😍

Definitely recommend ❤️
5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐