Double Deceit

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

I really enjoyed this book. From the very first chapter it just drew me in. At times it read like a good novel, and then it suddenly surprised me again with thrilling elements and intriguing events..The flow of the dialogues were fast and very natural.

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

During lockdown #1 I became hooked on mystery/thriller/cosy murder books, and now I can’t enough of them!

This novel is set in Amsterdam, where Jennifer and Oliver, and their toddler son Tim, have gone away to a holiday park for the weekend. The little boy briefly goes missing and his parents are panic-stricken, then when he’s found Jennifer is so relieved that she unleashes her anger on Oliver, blaming him for not watching Tim properly. Oliver then goes off for a walk to calm down but he doesn’t return.

Oliver’s body is found nearby but the police aren’t doing enough for Jennifer’s liking, so she starts digging and ends up finding out too much. She has a sort of friendship with Sandra along the way, and that’s all linked in with the reason for Oliver’s death.

A brilliant, well-written story that I didn’t want to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

Double deceit is a crime/thriller novel written by Julienne Brouwers. The novel follows the story of Jennifer Smits, when tragedy strikes on a family weekend away. Oliver, her husband dies in a terrible accident leaving Jennifer and her 2 year old son Tim to pick up the pieces back at home. The police are putting it down to a tragic accident but not everything is as it seems.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Double Deceit. It kept me intrigued and had enough twists and turns in the storyline to keep me wanting to know more. What really happened to Oliver, was it an accident or was something sinister at play.

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

My first review was that I could only read the first chapter, so I was then sent a copy from the publishing company. I finished it in just a few days and I loved it! I know I like a book when it's hard for me to put down.

The story and the characters were well written, and there was a perfect amount of twists and turns in it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book!

You can find my other review here:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3655144367

A high profile lawyer and his doctor wife, along with their two year old son take a small vacation from their life in Amsterdam. It is mainly to fix their once-perfect to ambiguous and boring married life. But things don’t go as planned, do they? Jennifer soon finds that her husband Oliver is missing and all her fears come true when he’s found dead. But is it just an accident like the police say? What secrets did her husband keep hidden?

The plot is typical for a psychological thriller where a spouse dies and the partner is left to grapple with all the secrets and unpleasantness that comes to the surface. The book handles the elements of mystery well enough, though the basic premise and the story idea are fairly predictable. But where the author wins is in details - especially the grief that Jennifer goes through due to Oliver’s death and all the horrors that appear after. Infidelity. Secrets. Blackmail. Scams. Poor woman!

But Jennifer keeps a strong front and fights for the truth. Even when she’s crumbling inside. In the process, she finds a lot more to finally give her acceptance. I loved how the story pushes her as a woman suffering yet ready to keep her head. The writing is clear and engaging. The characters are really well developed.

The few things that didn’t work for me are the been-there-seen-that plot (honestly, it’s not unique at all) and twists, and how some situations seem way too convenient. But hey, three cheers for the leading lady!

P.S. Jennifer, you are awesome! But please don’t believe that infidelity is “just a blip” in your marriage. You deserve better! But you are golden, because you fought for justice for Oliver anyway❤️

Good book with plenty of twists and turns. Good book that keeps you in anticipation of what is going to happen next.

Double Deceit by Julienne Brouwers is a thriller at its heart, but also a really meaty whodunit, set in Amsterdam.

Oliver Smits is a lawyer at a prestigious law firm, Mason & McGant and married to Jennifer. The couple have a young son, Tim and one day Oliver is found dead at a holiday park during a much needed family weekend getaway. The police are satisfied that Oliver's death is an accident, yet Jennifer has her doubts, believing that the police have failed in their investigation. She embarks on a desperate quest for the truth - but as she digs she becomes embroiled in a web of lies.

A cracking read, I had misgivings about every character involved. I thought I had everything sussed from quite early on, but no... I was barking up the wrong tree. Unexpected twists put me on a roundabout of doubt in an impeccably crafted plot that was compelling and jam-packed with surprises and reveals. The Amsterdam setting was a real bonus and the main reason I chose to read this compulsive thriller. The snippets of romance added a further layer to the story.

Overall, a fantastic, totally absorbing, razor-sharp mystery-thriller that I recommend very highly.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from BooksGoSocial via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. A nail-biting thriller! Jennifer Smits is a family practice doctor, while on a weekend getaway, her husband is found dead. Although ruled accidental, something nags at Jennifer and details are revealed that convince her something sinister was going on.
There are a few things that I think may not have been translated well, but if you ignore that it's a very enjoyable thriller. The characters were well developed and I was invested in the story from the very first chapter. There are some chapters that are a bit slow but I felt that only added to the suspense. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who love international thrillers and mysteries.

First off I want to say huge thank you to the publisher BooksGoSocial, the author Julienne Brouwers , and to NetGalley for letting me read it as well as review it.I do have to say that it does start off with a ban and that its non stop from the very start of it, its the kind of book that makes you set and read as well make you ask the question do we really know anyone as well as we think we do.Its full of twist and turns that also keeps you wanting to know more about the characters as well as finding out who done it and why , or if Jennifer really did have something to do with the murder of her husband . Plus it also makes you question just how good is use of forensics and are there ways to make it better, so if you like a who done it, then you need to cheek this out for yourselves.

This was a quick page turner ...

I imagine that readers who like reading about lawyers and their dirty “little” secrets (not so little in this concrete story), will like this book.

I liked the unexpected “friendship” (better said, cooperation) between two women, who weren’t supposed to know about each other. I also liked some cynical remarks the main character made through the book 😄

I really enjoyed this book. It builds the tension and you do feel for Jennifer as she had a row with her husband just before he dissappeared so she will feel guilty and it's her fault he hadn't returned. She manages to get a few people involved in her trail to find the truth about what happened to Oliver. There are lots of twists and turns along the way and will certainly keep you gripped.

I love a good thriller and this book was exactly that! It grabbed me from the very first page and I finished it in just two days. It was fast paced with a good storyline that kept me guessing until the very end. I had a few theories along the way and there were a few characters I didn't trust, but I totally got it wrong and didn't expect the ending at all!

I wish to thank NetGalley and JB Publishing for providing me with a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

#DoubleDeceit #NetGalley

What a fantastic book, full of little surprises. Normally find it hard to get a book that has be guessing but this i could not put my finger on! Each time I thought I had worked something out, BAM! We where thrown another twist! Well done author, amazing job.

I really really enjoyed this book. It had enough unexpected twists and turns and different characters to keep me interested from start to finish. Not your usual murder mystery. Recommended.

If you are looking for a book to make your mouth drop open several times, that is going to be Double Deceit by Julienne Brouwers. This was a slow burn that kept me guessing and I didn't see the end coming at all. The first chapter immediately hooked me, and I couldn't put the book down, basically until I finished. Or at least I would have read it in one sitting if time had allowed, but I ended up reading it in two. There were so many twists and turns, and the end comes at you from left field, but totally in a good way.

It is kind of hard to talk about Double Deceit without giving anything away, but know that this book abounds with red herrings, and I thought Brouwers did a great job of misdirecting the reader. Some of it was a bit unbelievable and clearly wouldn't happen in real life, but I like books like that since I read fiction to get AWAY from real life. So before reading this do keep in mind you will have to suspend some disbelief, and you might not always agree with the main character's choices. But if you want a crazy ride then that is exactly what you will get, and I can't wait to see what Brouwers comes up with next!

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My thanks to Netgalley for my Kindle copy of Double Deceit. I did not enjoy the opening chapter, it seemed so forced and unnatural and reading on I was not taken with this book. To me the conversations didn't flow in a normal manner, it felt like it had been translated from Dutch and were not quite true to life.

However, almost against my will I was drawn in, never knowing where the plot would take me next; and there were some real shockers! I was never any more sure than Jennifer who I should trust. The suspense just kept me hooked, right up until the end.

This book really kept my interest with the many twists in the story. At every turn I was expecting the book to take a traditional path with certain tropes that appear in thrillers like this but I ended up being pleasantly surprised at what those twists ended up being. Like initially I thought this would be a missing child story but it wasn’t (not a spoiler). I thought one of the men in the story would turn out to be a villain but that person’s story took an unexpected turn. I liked that Jennifer was very self aware and honest about her flaws. She’s quick to judge and has a temper. I liked that she wasn’t perfect and I liked that most of the characters were sympathetic to what she was going thru even if she was hard on herself. I wish I lived in Amsterdam so I could recognize the places mentioned!. The only not so great thing about this book is the ending seemed really rushed. It was literally 3 pages at the end where everything was all of a sudden resolved.

Mild spoiler ————
And I didn’t like that the book description made me think the story was about Jennifer being framed for a murder when that plot development didn’t happen until very late in the book! I kept waiting and wondering when that would happen. ——end of mild spoiler

Otherwise it was an entertaining read! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and BooksgoSocial for the arc of this book.

4 star read ⭐⭐⭐⭐- This follows Jennifer and her husband Oliver whom decide to take their child away for the weekend to a holiday park. Oliver is a lawyer so he works long hours which puts strain on their relationship.. One day afyer arriving at this holiday park Oliver is found dead.... Police are determined that his death was an accident but his wife Jennifer isn't so sure about that......

Very compelling, thrilling, gripping and a page turner! I loved this book recommend to all!

This was such a thrilling, captivating read that had me hooked from the start.
The characters are well developed and intriguing, and the ways in which they interacted with one another was wonderful.
The setting was brought to life by the author and their unique, refreshing writing style and I found myself well and truly immersed in the world in which they created. The
The storyline itself was full of twists and turns throughout that really did keep you captivated to the end and I found myself unable to tear myself away from this incredible book.
A definite must read.

Wow, I’m absolutely amazing at how Mind blowing good this book was! Very well written, with superb character develop! Fast paced and unputdownable! Definitely one that grabs you from page one and hangs on intriguing you until the final page! Lots of fun twisty turns, chilling chills, thrilling thrills, and gasp worthy shocks! Highly, highly recommend, but must say I recommend clearing schedule prior to starting and not starting when trying to sleep!

Jennifer is a general practitioner living in Amsterdam with her husband Oliver and young son, Tim. Her marriage is on the rocks and a vacation to a holiday park seems like a good idea to work on their relationship and get some quality family time.

Tim goes missing whilst Oliver is supposed to be watching him. Jennifer is frantic with worry searching for him, she fears Tim has fallen into the swimming pool. After finding him she argues with Oliver, resulting in him storming off.

Oliver doesn't return and as hours pass Jennifer worries. Then she is informed by the local police that Oliver has been found dead. The the woods surrounding the holiday park.

The story follows Jennifer as she tries to prove her husband didn't die from a fall but was murdered. Oliver lead a secret life which Jennifer discovers bit by bit. The twists and turns of this book kept me on my toes!

Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Loved this one! So easy to read and lots of twists and turns along the way. Definitely a quick read and one I recommend.

Jennifer is a young mom who loses her husband in a brutal murder. She tries to uncover the truth but just continues to be told you are crazy and those facts aren’t true. The author did a great job of keeping me guessing until the end. I did not know who the murderer was. This was the first book I read by this author. I will definitely read more of hers. Thank you to netgalley for the advanced copy.

Double Deceit had me sucked in from the beginning and kept hold of my attention till the end. I would recommend this book to you if you like crime thrillers or just thrillers in general.

An intriguing, fast-paced story and enjoyable writing style. A good mystery with plenty of suspicion and doubts cast on characters to keep the reader hooked.

This book was very well written and very original compared to other books that I have read in the same genre

After an argument near the pool, when Jennifer’s husband failed to keep an eye on their child, her husband goes missing. The police do not take her serious and it is left to Jennifer to find out exactly what happened to her husband

Jennifer was such a likeable character and I just wanted to help her on her search

On her search, Jennifer uncovers so many secrets

The book is full of twists and turns and truly gripping.

I highly recommend this book

There is no words that can really describe this thrilling read. Nothing is as it seems, and just as soon as you think you have it figured out, the author surprises you again! I will definitely read more by this author in future.
TB

Great plot to get yourself lost in. This book has everything. A real fast paced thriller. Will get your heart racing on more than one occasion. Very well written. Highly recommend this book

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. If you love murder mysteries this book is perfect for you. Great for Halloween Month 🎃.

I was scared that this book was going to fall through the cracks of another just okay thriller but this book had me hooked from the second I started reading and I was surprised at how twisty it actually was

Thank you so much for this ARC I was hooked from the start and couldn't put this down.
This really is a must read and is highly recommended.

This only contained the first chapter. However, it premised to be a dark and mysterious read. Keen to read the full book.