A gripping psychological thriller- well written and very atmospheric. Fern and her husband move house hoping life will improve for them, but it Fern states she is hearing and seeing her dead twin sister. Fern is heavily pregnant and both her husband and mother- in- law are very concerned about her as she also feels strange things happening in the house.

Free courtesy of Netgalley

A new author for me to read, I found it was a book of two halves. The first half was very slow, and I was going to give up lots of times, but I thought if I hadn't got into it by 50% (kindle reader) I would stop but it did pick up as soon as 'the mother-in-law' arrived, and the rest of the book was amazing.

A pregnant young couple are buying a house out in the countryside, but all is not what it seems, this should be a happy time for them but Fern has recently lost her twin sister in a road accident, through her grief, she keeps seeing her sister everywhere and her husband his at his wits end with how to deal with it. He thinks this move will be a fresh start, but it's anything but.

When Fern is viewing the house, she meets the homeowner, Marte, who is also 5 months pregnant and she shows her around the house. Later Fern finds out that the homeowners are an elderly couple, so who is Marte?, and why was she in the house?

After Fern and her husband Paul move in, Fern starts questioning the neighbors to try and find out who Marte is, but they start to clam up. Paul thinks that Fern is having a breakdown and calls his mother to come and stay, to try and help. After another "episode" Paul leaves and Fern and her mother in law are left to deal with the strange events unfolding around them.

For a debut novel, the story is good, and I would recommend that people persevere if they find it a bit slow and repetitive to start with. It's. Mixture of a ghost story and a thriller.

Fern and her husband, Paul move into an old house soon after Fern’s identical twin sister passed away. The couple thought this might be a good opportunity for a fresh start and a change could help Fern start to move past the grief of losing her twin, Linny. When viewing the home for a second time, Fern meets and bonds with Marte (the presumed homeowner) over their pregnancies. After moving into the house, Fern learns that Marte was not the person she seemed to be. Racked with nightmares about Marte and Linny, Fern starts trying to unravel the mystery of Marte’s identity and the house’s past.

This was an interesting read. I really felt a lot of sympathy for Fern and everything that she was going through. She really had a lot of pressures piled on her! I also found myself getting a little disoriented on her behalf between the nightmares and the creepy happenings around the house. I think that’s a sign of good writing when you can cause the reader to feel what the character is feeling.

My favorite part of this book was the relationship progression between Fern and her mother-in-law, Tina. This relationship ended up warming my heart and I’m glad that Fern had someone that she could trust and rely on throughout the story.

Part mystery and part ghost story - The ending was a bit abrupt, but I actually liked how it was left and hope for all the best for the characters in the future.

Thank you to HQ and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fern and Paul are looking for a new home, and as Fern has a second look round, a mysterious woman called Marta shows her around.
Fern had recently lost Linny, her twin sister in a devastating accident, and grief stricken, has been seeing her everywhere. She seems to be losing her mind as strange things happen in her new home, music playing, messages in mirrors, which no-one else sees or hears. Determined to find out who Marta is she questions neighbours, seeking information.
This is a gripping, atmospheric novel which draws you in from the first page. You begin to question whether the characters are being as truthful as they seem, or whether there are ulterior motives for Fern’s irrational behaviour. Paul, Fern’s husband has little sympathy with her, making things worse, and is a weak character. Mostly, the main characters are well drawn, bringing tension and suspense to the plot. I especially liked Tina, the mother in law – a gutsy lady, bringing in a touch of humour.
However, I feel there are too many characters involved, with Fern searching for both her sister and Marta, and various neighbours becoming involved, the plot begins to lack pace and becomes confusing.

Fern and Paul are a young couple expecting their first baby. Fern is struggling with the tragic loss of her twin sister, Linny. Paul feels that they need a new start. They find a house that he likes very much, but Fern is not too sure. However, after a second viewing with “Mrs Rochester”, the owner, she agrees to the move. From the very first, there are mysterious goings on in the house involving Fern, which Paul gets frustrated and dismissive about, as he knows Fern is still missing her sister and worries about her mental health.

This story was a bit of a slow burner but did get going eventually. The plot was good and held great promise, but there were loose ends that never quite became sorted and too much padding and repetition. If the book was edited if would flow better. The ending was good, but I feel the paranormal storyline outcome was disappointing.

3.5* rounded up to 4*

Thank you NetGalley.

This had me intrigued right from the start, I found that I needed to read more and more as I felt just as invested as our main character Fern in finding out what was happening. Really well written and kept me in suspense.

Fern has lost her twin sister in a tragic accident. She is also pregnant and moving house. Her level of stress is exceedingly high and made more so by her conviction she is seeing her dead sister. When she goes to a second viewing of the house she is shown round by a woman called Marte who claims to be its owner. When she discovers this isn't the case, she becomes consumed with discovering who Marte really is and why she was in the house. Fern's obsession grows when she and her husband move into the house and strange and unsettling events occur.

This is a clever psychological thriller laced with elements of the supernatural. Fern is a conflicted and confused character who finds her main support in her mother in law rather than her husband. The supporting characters, in the form of her neighbours, are well drawn and all harbour their own secrets. The elements of suspicion and menace thread nicely through the plot. The pace of the action is just right. This novel develops into a real page turner. I recommend it as a quick, addictive read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ Stories for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to #netgalley for another debut arc.

This was a fab little housewife read. Really good theme and plot behind it. It was a slow burning type of book that gently lead you to discovering the whodunnit. I guessed some parts of the twist but not the actual villain so I liked that about this book. As I’ve said before, it can be hard to fool a person that reads and reads continuously. Technically I was fooled today. 😂 Well done!

I liked how the author didn’t make this book to easy to guess. There were a lot of clues but it continually lead you to change your mind throughout the book so you couldn’t have a sure bet on who you thought was the villain. I did guess some aspects as I’ve said before but it didn’t take away from the book or twist at all. It was fab. You truly did feel Ferns grief as well. Such a shame to lose a twin. It showed how badly she was struggling with her loss throughout this book.

I really loved the relationship between Tina, Ferns mother in law and Fern also. What a lovely heartwarming character who made Fern feel safe and loved at a time she felt quite alone. I love to see characters coming together when previously they may not have got on. It was lovely to read as their jobs progressed.

Great little book! Glad I was able to read it before release. 😊 Thank you.

I loved this book so much and read it practically in one sitting. The story centres on Fern who is in mourning for her twin sister Linny who has recently died. Fern has moved to a new house in the middle of a pregnancy in a bid to move on in her life. Once she arrives at the house strange things start to happen and her husband thinks she is going mad. She keeps seeing a mystery lady that none of the neighbours seem to want to talk about and with the help of her mother-in-law she has to solve some scary goings on and save her marriage before it is to late.

I struggled to get into this and had a few false starts but eventually found my feet. I found it a bit slow and it just didn't have that tension I'd have liked. It's quite predictable if you've read a lot of domestic noirs but it wasn't terrible in any way! There a lot of characters so you need to pay a lot of attention to keep up and it doesn't have anything much really happening but if you're more into books which are a slow burn and focus more on building the tension rather than being action packed then you'd probably enjoy this

Messy writing, messy characters, messy plot.

Overall, this book could do with some editing. It's been done before.

PASSSSSS.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I have to admit that I struggled to get into this book. I was intrigued by the premise but struggled with how it was executed. I found myself bored at points and also felt disconnected from the characters. I struggled to tell the neighbourhood characters apart at times! Overall I found this rather disappointing, but I appreciate the publisher giving me access to this ARC.

Such a good read, twisty and unpredictable, it left me on the edge of my seat and guessing the whole way through. I loved it.

I really couldn’t get into this book at all , I found it very slow . I did manage to get to the end of it hoping for a bit of tension but the ending was a let down too . Sorry not for me

Wow! What a creepy domestic thriller! Great read that was packed with well developed and naughty characters. The thrills and chills just kept coming with this one!
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

Not bad at all! A little predictable but overall I loved it! I would definitely recommend to friends!

This good. The character development was okay considering there were so many neighbors and suspects it got a big confusing at times. I assumed one thing, then damn something totally different. Got to love books that keep you guessing. The ending was nice, again thankful for a clean finish to the book.

I would give it 3.5 out of four if that was an option. The book was good, but I'm stingy with my stars, haha

Thank you to netgalley for this Arc.

A really great story keeping you guessing for a lot of it as to where it is going to go and is Fern losing the plot or is something else going on....

Such a good, fast paced physiological thriller - I loved it! I was totally addicted to this book as soon as I picked it up and I completely devoured it in only a few sittings. The main character was really relatable. I loved the various story lines and how they interacted and finally came together at the end. A perfectly chilling book with a great story line - it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time!

Great read. A bit of a twist on your normal psychological thriller, but still interesting and intriguing! Would recommend for anyone who is a fan of this genre.