The first half was enjoyable but by the time they got to the trial I didn't feel as invested. It's a great concept for a psychological thriller and the story read well but I didn't like Claire enough to really care about what happened to her

After an enjoyable evening with her fiance Noah, Claire decides to surprise him with lunch at his office, only to discover that he hasn't worked there for months. And for some unknown reason he's also not answering his phone to her. With the aid of her friend and colleague Sukhi she discovers he has another life that she was unaware of.
The plot becomes more mysterious and darker as the novel continues.
Told from the perspective of Claire with extracts from her diary we get a picture of Claire's life, from her abusive mother and time at school leading to her life with Noah.
This is such a great read, you wonder if Claire is a reliable narrator throughout the novel. All she wants is to be loved.
It's fast paced, with plenty of twists, some I guessed others left me blindsided. A terrific debut novel
I will leave my review on Goodreads, storygraph, Bookmory and Fable now and on Amazon on publication day

I am not sure where you start with this.

Claire surprises her finances at work and discovers he no longer works there. He has disappeared. As Claire tries to uncover the truth, we are taken back to her childhood, which is full of abuse.

You are never sure about the truth, and even when you think you might be there, the book leaves you with a massive cliffhanger that questions everything you have read.

Brilliant from start to finish.

Amazing debut book adored this book and would highly recommend it , many thanks to net galley and publishers for opportunity to read this book

It is apparent early on in the story that the main character is delusional and so there is an agonising wait for the reader for this to come to a head. Once it does, though, the pace rapidly picks up and the story becomes much more engaging with a completely unexpected twist at the end.

Really enjoyed this, a classic psychological thriller that works really well and is an extremely entertaining read.

It is twisty and tackles some interesting topics in an intelligent way which is a plus but honestly the best thing about it is the pure readability. One of those easily devoured in one sitting.

I like it.

Rating: 2.9/5

Penning a debut novel is never easy, but when you are writing in a genre that has so much competition, then the prospect is even more daunting. While she may not have launched herself straight to the top of the class, author, Callie Kazumi has at least succeeded in producing a decent debut.

The premise is not the most original, but the author does make a good job of holding the reader's attention and not allowing the pace to become stimied. The flashbacks to Claire's relationship with her mother are well-handled and engaging, As such they give an effective insight into the character of the central protagonist. The court case in the second part of the book does take a few dramatic liberties, but, for the most part this is forgiveable and a necessary requirement of developing the plot along the desired track.

Overall, I wouldn't say that I will definitely be signing up to read Callie Kazumi's next offering, but if my TBR list isn't too overloaded then I certainly wouldn't be averse to sampling more from this author.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

Oh my goodness- i loved this book so much. I really couldn’t work out what was happening and the eventual reveal was fantastic. Claire’s mother was a horrible character and I felt sorry for Claire but it gradually begs clear that all was not as it seemed. Highly recommended.

Wasn’t sure what to expect from this book but it did draw me in from the start. Good characters and the plot is full of twists and turns, including a rather unexpected one right at the end!

What a book! I absolutely loved it! This mystery thriller had me hooked from the very first page, and I could have easily devoured it in one sitting—if only I didn’t need to sleep! The twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat, and the book pulled me in so completely, I couldn’t put it down.

The dual timelines were expertly crafted and easy to follow, adding a layer of depth to the mystery. Every chapter brought something new to the table, and by the halfway point, I thought I had it all figured out. I was convinced I knew the story and the lies… but then, just when I thought I had it all figured out, the author masterfully made me question everything again and again and again... This is what I call a true mystery thriller—it keeps you on your toes until the very end.

I absolutely adored the main protagonist, Claire. Her troubled childhood and the painful, dysfunctional relationship with her mother were heartbreaking to read, but it made her journey all the more compelling. The emotional depth was spot on. I also loved Claire’s friendship with Sukhi—she’s the kind of support everyone wishes they had.

A huge thanks to Net Galley and Random House UK for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

What a fantastic debut! Had me hooked from beginning to end. Noah and Claire's perfect relationship comes crashing to an abrupt end when he goes out and doesn't come back! Claire tries to phone him and text him but is getting no response she even goes to his workplace and is told he doesn't work there and hasn't done for six months! Just what else could Noah be hiding and will Claire find out the truth?
This would make a great movie!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this. Can't wait for another novel by Callie!

Firstly I have to say that I was so engrossed that I read this in one day. Fairly early on I had Claire and Noah sorted out in my mind as the story line made this very clear, but still left twists to cause doubt. The diary entries from Claire that were interspersed made her situation very clear and were excellently written, - just as a younger girl would write in her diary detailing the things that were happening and her feelings. Claire's mother was depicted as a real nasty piece of work that was evil to Claire and so set her emotional future. The story was paced so that the start was much slower but part 2 picked up and the final part depicting the trial was correctly paced to keep the reader totally engrossed. The trial was illuminating and I felt very sorry for Claire at this point and di now not know what to believe any more.
I do not classify this as a psychological thriller but it certainly very suspenseful and had me thinking and doubting my thoughts all the way through.
I read this in one day as I just wanted to know more details all the time and I found that the ending was totally unexpected and a superb way to end the story. This is my first book by this author but I look forward to reading more.

Claire has met Noah the man of her dreams and after one year they become engaged. One day Claire goes to Noah’s office to drop some lunch off as he mentioned that he would be working through due to meetings. Her new office friend decides to tag along. When she gets there the receptionist tells her that nobody called Noah Corrs works there. Claire immediately tries to call him but he doesn’t answer. Claire goes into shock but decides to fight for her man.

Interspersed throughout the story are diary entries. These include Claire’s thoughts on her relationship with her mother. Her mother was emotionally abusive and controlling. I quickly guessed where the story was going which I felt was a shame as I would have given this a five star review had it gone in a different direction. I was also left with questions. Throughout the last quarter of the book there was one mystery in particular that was keeping me reading. It was never addressed which left me frustrated. I’m inclined to class this more of a contemporary read rather than psychological thriller.

An interesting read which took some time to get into but cleverly written. The ending was not unsurprising but it was gripping to see if the trial meant Claire was telling the truth or not.

The childhood trauma and development of psychosis into adulthood is terrifying and that’s what makes the storyline so compelling.

All of the characters were believable and I was rooting for Claire’s life with Noah to have been true!

What a brilliant read ! nothing is as it seems .Claire thinks she has found the man of her dreams until one day he just doesn't come home and won't answer her calls or texts ,he just disappears from her life. Claire decides to try and find him and that is when her world comes crashing down .This is a gripping ,fast paced book with a very unexpected ending, a brilliant debut book .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

This kept me so hooked I read it in one sitting!! You are led through a confusing situation throughout this book and are constantly wondering who is lying and who is telling the truth! Definitely best not to read the blurb or any reviews going into this so you get the full twisty experience. I was fully shocked by the epilogue and didn’t expect that at all. It is a tense thriller and I really recommend to anyone who likes books with psychological twist. I could not stop reading as I was desperate to know the truth as much as Claire did. Thank you to NetGalley for this arc!

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an early copy in exchange for an honest review!

In hindsight, I would say that this book needs a new title however, I felt completely stupid because the twist did actually get me!

I found parts of this book boring and though I understand the importance of Claire speaking about her past, it was so frequent and happened mostly in the middle of exciting parts of the ordinary story so I just found it to be boring and it took me out of the actual main timeline.

Part 1 of the book was quite repetitive and was a slow read but part 2 was very fast and as soon as I hit part 2 the book was finished very quickly! I do feel that part 2 was maybe slightly rushed but I enjoyed it nonetheless

Claire is living the perfect life, with the perfect fiancé, what more could she ask for. Until it all starts to crumble away from her and she then has to do her own little detective work to find out where Noah is and what he has been doing.

I was hooked with this book from the very beginning. Straight in, we know the backstory of Claire, and her “relationship” with Noah. There was so many twists and turns and I was left wondering how is this happening.

I’ve not read a book with this type of storyline before but I am glad I did.
I enjoy the way it went back to the past and how Claire’s relationship was with her mother and so on.

A very good read and thank you for the approval

When Claire decides to surprise her fiancé at work for their anniversary, she’s shocked to discover that Noah left the company nine months ago. And now he’s disappeared…

Cuckoo takes the reader on a suspenseful and surprising ride as Claire sets out for answers about the man she was going to marry—but will she want to know the truth?

Callie Kazumi’s debut is a beautifully written, tense rollercoaster ride that also delivers on twists. Highly recommended!

I received a free copy of, Cuckoo, by Callie Kazumi, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Claire is lucky in love or so she thinks, she went to surprise her fiance Noah, at his job, and he has not worked there in almost a year, and Noah is now ghosting Claire. Claire has not turned to stalking Noah and his partner Lilah. This book went past how normal people deal with, issues in their life to she should be locked up for everyone's protection, pretty quickly. I did not care for this book, Claire is way too psycho for me.