Cover Image: Premonition

Premonition

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Member Reviews

"Premonition" by Wendy Whitman is a gripping and suspenseful tale that taps into the eerie realm of the supernatural, leaving you with a spine-tingling sense of anticipation.

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This book was everything I look for in a book. It was so exciting. The plot was fantastic. It really had me on the edge of my seat, and my heart racing. It was very well written and flowed well.

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The book started with many different pieces to the story and I was having a hard time understanding how they all fit together. But, the author pulled it together and all the pieces came together by the end. I was frustrated with Cary and her careless behavior. I believe the sequel is being written. I'll give it a shot!
⚠️: animal cruelty

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As lover of mystery and of paranormal this book left me wanting. The title is Premonition, but I see little of premonition in it. There was a surfeit of eating going on in the book. Mentioning of eating, going out to eat or drink is fine, but it seemed like the characters were always eating or thinking about eating. Then the main character is killed at the end that doesn’t leave an accommodation for a series. The author was apparently trying to make a point, but I think she missed it.

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I loved the premise, and I loved how it ended! But I didn't like the third person narration at all, it was kinda boring, and I felt like there were a lot of unnecessary details haphazardly placed without any rhyme or reason. Understandable as it is a debut by the author. I kinda had to struggle to push through it, but think it might just be me because I consume thrillers for breakfast, lunch and dinner lol. But it sure has a lot of potential. I think you might really enjoy this one if you don't frequent this genre.

Thanks to Netgalley, author, and publisher for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

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This is a psychological thriller, in the sense that it fits the general definition and, despite its flaws, it does maintain tension throughout. I’ll return to those below.
As regards the plot, the premise is fairly novel. Cary, a forty-something woman with a serious sugar addiction, is confused about her sexuality but seems to be mainly homosexual. She has been made redundant from her job with a True Crime based broadcasting network, but is still occasional employed by a different, but similar, network. Her only real friend appears to be her sister’s dog, Obi. From early childhood, she has had a premonition that she will be murdered, which appears to be the main reason for her employment specialism, and the book is peppered with allusions to famous, mostly mass or serial, killings. One night, having driven out in search of a sweetness fix, she sees a car deliberately mow down two young fawns. The man, otherwise we have no information about the driver, spotted her and decided to stalk her. She does not report this even when, a few days later, two young girls are killed in a similar way and she suspects the same driver was involved. Two psychological misfits for the price of one! Other events cause her to confide in a small group of acquaintances and they start to investigate this possible serial killer, who kills animals and then uses the same methods to kill people.
I have concerns about the writing, which is a bit repetitive, but my main problem is with the logic of the plot. Cary and her ‘team’ just don’t proceed in any sensible way and certainly not with the sort of urgency that one might expect. In fact they spend so much time meeting in restaurants (almost all described as ‘favorite’), avoiding the issues rather than progressing them, that this could be read as a good food guide for Connecticut (they are all fictitious but names are similar to real places). This lack of logical progression would nearly work if it was just Cary but the others behave rationally in every other way except when they interact with the crimes. I didn’t like the ending, although it is consistent with the characters so I can see that others would be happy with it.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

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Cary Mackin, an unemployed TV journalist, has moved to a small town for financial reasons. She still gets a job here and there on shows focusing on crime. Crime stories were her specialty.

And wouldn't you know ... there seems to be a serial killer loose in this small time.

Cary has a secret fear, one she's been fixated on for many years. She believes that she will be murdered.

And now she feels that her premonition will come true ... soon.

The author has a unique background through her decades-long work as an executive and producer for Court TV and HLN, covering almost every major high-profile murder case in America. As such, there is a great deal of credibility within these pages. Also, there are a ton of references to real-life killers over the years.

This is well written, debut novel, with characters that stand out. Twists and turns kept me glued to the pages. The suspense starts on the very first page and maintains through to the very unexpected conclusion.

Many thanks to the author / Post Hill Press / Netgalley for the digital copy of this compelling psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

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Overall I normally like this genre. However it just wasn’t for me.

I found it extremely repetitive, which I know the clue is in the title (go figure). I just think this would have worked much better as a short story.

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Afraid I couldn’t really get into this book. There was nothing there in the first few chapters to draw me in. The story evolves around Cary Mackin who is the main character who has an extremely unusual affliction - she believes that one day she will be murdered. Was one of those books I could put down and not rush to pick up again. Sorry, but this writing style just wasn’t for me.

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Wendy Whitmans debut is truly different to any crime thriller I have ever read.
Cary Mackin is the main character who has an extremely unusual affliction - she believes that one day she will be murdered.
It’s difficult to say much more about the storyline without giving away spoilers.
In my opinion the book could have been written as a short story it just seemed to go over and over the same events and no real police investigation. And the ending was so abrupt and left too many loose ends.
I did like the storyline and the characters were all interesting but I’m afraid I did feel bored at times.

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I downloaded this book right away since it sounded interesting. Unfortunately, it's a DNF for me. The writing style and main character just do not appeal to me.

Many thanks, to NetGalley and Post Hill Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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