Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the eARC.
As a Dutch American I was looking forward to reading this book that's set in Amsterdam, a city I love. Unfortunately I didn't like it. I didn't like the protagonist and the repetitive thoughts in her head. Also, she left her toddler with her parents a lot, due to her obsessive need to prove her husband was murdered. The beginning was good,but then it became unrealistic and frankly, boring. Sorry!

Double deceit by Julienne Brouwers

3 ⭐️/ 5
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Julienne Brouwers’ Double Deceit, is a twisted thriller set in the heart of Amsterdam. When Jennifer’s husband, a hotshot lawyer is found dead at a holiday park, she life is turned upside-down. She decides that the police have failed their investigation and she begins on her own quest for the truth. The deeper she digs though, the more she gets entangled in a web of lies.
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The book had an interesting premise and is a classic “who done it” story. Right from the beginning we can tell something is not right with the death of Oliver. However the book got off to a slow start, descriptions were often lengthy and unnecessary and clues/secrets were dragged out and uncovered slowly.

Throughout the book the writing was very clever, I had my doubts about every single character and their role in the death of Oliver. The author succeeded in making readers question ever detail. I felt strong emotions for Jennifer and found myself getting annoyed that no one would listen to her or take her seriously. Her friends were plain mean??

The ending of the book pulled it back for me, I didn’t guess the ending and the twists were interesting and enjoyable. One thing I will say is that I absolutely hated the way Tim spoke. Why was it always in 3rd person and as if he’d just learnt to speak? He was at the age where he should have been able to form half decent sentences.

I have read mediocre books before, but this one really takes the cake. Who uses expressions like "righty ho" in dialogue? I can give you hundreds of examples of dialogue in this novel that is cringe-worthy but let me cut to the chase, This is without a doubt the most ridiculous book I have ever read--nonsensical dialogue, characters that are unrealistic and eye-rolling, and a plot that is so ludicrous I have to award the author one star for her imagination, Basically, STAY FAR away. There are many wonderful suspense/mystery/thrillers out there that will leave you breathless. This is not one of them.

So, I decided to read a book that hasn't read by anyone I know on Goodreads. I checked Netgalley and luckily, this book was available for download. The title and the cover enticed me and when I read the synopsis, I concluded that this must be it.

Even when the story was fast-paced, the characters were well-established. It was hard for me to guess what would happen next and became doubtful with everyone related to the main character, Jennifer, even Jennifer herself.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. It was entertaining, engrossing and made me want to pedal to Amsterdam.

Thank you Netgalley, BooksGoSocial and author Julienne Brouwers for the ARC.

It wasn’t my favorite book so far, it was so hard to get into and left juvenile the way it was written. It just didn’t start off with a bang and was so slow even from the start I appreciate NetGalley providing me a copy of this book to read.

Only the first chapter available. A great start to what looks to be a good novel, with a disappearing husband and a mystery of how and why

This is only the first chapter review of Double Deceit by Julienne Brouwers. The book starts off quickly, Jennifer and her husband are on a holiday. While she's relaxing in the sun, her boy Tim goes missing. Her and the husband search everywhere for him and fear the worst, but they find him safe playing alone.

As her husband storms away claiming that he needs some time, Jennifer is awash with desperation about her son and their marriage.

This book looks like ti will be a really good read!

Thank you Netgalley for the advance copy. Jennifer's life starts to fall apart when her husband died following a accident during a family weekend away. She is left grieving, caring for a toddler and trying to work as a GP. First she uncovers evidence her husband was having an affair. When she confronts the other woman they uncover evidence her husband was secretly investigating his law firm for corruption. Was it an accident or was he murdered. A real page turner full of suspense, twists and turns. This thriller is very highly recommended.

This story follows Jennifer and her husband Oliver, who are having a few marital problems. In the aim to save their marriage, they go away with their young son for a weekend away to spend some quality time together. However, after a disagreement Oliver decides to go for a walk for some time alone and does not return and Jennifer is soon made aware by the police that Oliver is dead. The police are certain that this was down to a tragic accident, but Jennifer is adamant there is more to it. Is Jennifer right?

Overall, this is a good book and I did enjoy reading it. I think throughout the book I felt some sort of doubt towards every character. The author did a great job at giving readers a valid reason to think that every character had some form of hidden agenda. I felt a strong connection to Jennifer's character: a strong, independent woman who's struggling with the sudden death of her husband but still finds the determination and fight everyday to find out what really happened to her husband. At some stages I felt like it was me who had just lost their husband?

The plot was gripping and very interesting, but for me I felt as though the story dragged out in some places. I felt as though I was waiting too long for the next twist and turn as they were uncovered pretty slowly. However, this did not take the full enjoyment away from the book and I can't wait to read another Julienne Brouwers novel!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and Julienne Brouwers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I had never read a book sent in the Netherlands before or anything by this author so I was really intrigued, I really did enjoy the book and will read more by this author, The premise was interesting.

I just had a few niggles - re the motivation by the husbands but it did not spoil my read of the book.

All in all a great read.

I was given a free advance copy of the book by netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review which I have done so.

I enjoyed this first chapter of what will be an incredible story. I would love to read to the entire book when it’s released.

This first chapter was promising, I'd look to read more of the book based on it. Unfortunately, as it's only 1 chapter I can't comment on the story, plot twists, character development.

This is a review of ONLY the first chapter.

It starts off with a bang. Jennifer is startled awake from a short nap taken at a holiday park during a weekend getaway. She looks up to see her husband playing games on his phone or checking his emails.

Her first thought .. when is their 2-year-old son? Her husband was supposed to watching him....and the boy has seemingly disappeared.

They eventually find him ... and Jennifer's husband states that he needs to be alone .. and he leaves.

That's all there is in the first chapter. Without any spoilers here, it looks like it might be a really good read. The book blurb will give you more information. It's hard to review when you're only given a few pages, so my rating will be a 3 ... right in the middle. Will I get the book ... yes, I probably will. My appetite to see what happens to this family intrigues me.

Many thanks to the author / BooksGoSocial Netgalley for the digital copy of the beginning of what seems to be a really good thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

ADDENDUM: The author and Publisher were kind enough to send me the entire digital copy of DOUBLE DECEIT.

Starting where I left off .... After Jennifer's husband storms out, she's almost relieved. But when he doesn't return home that night, she begins to worry... especially as his car is still in the driveway. Calling the police, she's told he hasn't been missing long enough to file a report. She has no choice to wait just one more day ... and then the police show up at her door.

It's a well-written page turner with twists and turns that rival a roller coaster ride. The characters are deftly drawn in this story of a wife discovering deep, dark secrets that her husband has hidden for years. A good storyline that you can sink your teeth into.

I received an advance copy of, Double Deceit, by Julienne Brouwers. This book was good, I dont really like books with lies, cheating, drugs, and deceit in it, but this book was really well written.

I'm afraid I just couldn't get through this book. Too many pat phrases, contradictions, too predictable. That said other's may enjoy it,

Only the first chapter but I was definitely intrigued by this story. I would definitely read this book

I won't post anything on social media or book store sites, only here. No mention in the description that this is only the first chapter, which never even gets far enough in to the story to judge how well it works as a thriller or suspense. Misleading at best, amazingly disappointing.

This is only one chapter so just a sampler. This wasn’t mentioned in the blurb. So it is difficult to review this book on just one chapter, I did enjoy what I read.

As another reviewer had written, i didn't know that this is the first chapter only of the book. I'm sure that this book would be a good read, but hard to form a real opinion on just a few pages.

I didn’t know all I would be reading was the first chapter. Honestly wasn’t that exciting - child lost, child found, and an upset marriage. Not really sure how this story can turn into a double deceit. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.