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Twenty-five-year-old scrappy Aubrey is fed up with Tom, a married neurologist with two children. When he's not shoving their relationship on the back burner, he's canceling their dates. With a frightening health diagnosis looming over her shoulder, Aubrey concocts a desperate plan to have Tom forever. Kill the wife. Take her place. Befriending Tom's successful, kind wife comes easily to Aubrey. However, the closer they become, the more doubts Aubrey has about following through. Then, a shocking discovery changes everything....
She's my roommate. I know how she takes her tea, how she organizes her closet. I know when she goes to bed each night, what she eats for breakfast, the passcode on her phone. I know she calls her mother on Mondays, takes barre on Thursdays, and meets her friends for drinks on Fridays. But more important than any of that...I know what she did.
From the outside, Essie’s life looks idyllic: a loving husband, a beautiful house in a good neighborhood, and a nearby mother who dotes on her grandchildren. But few of Essie’s friends know her secret shame: that in a moment of maternal despair, she once walked away from her newborn, asleep in her carriage in a park. Disaster was avoided, and Essie got better, but she still fears what lurks inside her, even as her daughter gets older and she has a second baby.
Mark and Melissa Cain are thrilled to have found Jade, a babysitter who is brilliant with their young children. Having seen her own house burn to the ground, Jade needs them as much as they need her. Moving Jade into the family home can only be a good thing, can’t it? As Mark works long hours as a police officer and Melissa struggles with running a business, the family become ever more reliant on their babysitter, who is only too happy to help. And as Melissa begins to slip into depression, it’s Jade who is left picking up the pieces. But Mark soon notices things aren’t quite as they seem. Things at home feel wrong, and as Mark begins to investigate their seemingly perfect sitter, what he discovers shocks him to his core. He’s met Jade before. And now he suspects he might know what she wants.
Kat Grant and Alice Campbell have a friendship forged in shared confidences and long lunches lubricated by expensive wine. Though they're very different women - the artsy socialite and the struggling suburbanite - they're each other's rocks. But even rocks crumble under pressure. Like when Kat's financier husband, Howard, plunges to his death from the second-floor balcony of their South Florida mansion. Howard was a jerk, a drunk, a bully, and, police say, a murder victim. The questions begin piling up.
Kirstie Rawlings is jolted awake by a child crying. Racing upstairs to check on her newborn, she is plunged into every parents’ worst nightmare. She hears an unknown voice in the baby monitor saying, "Let’s take the child - and go." Is someone trying to steal her little girl?
Twenty-five-year-old scrappy Aubrey is fed up with Tom, a married neurologist with two children. When he's not shoving their relationship on the back burner, he's canceling their dates. With a frightening health diagnosis looming over her shoulder, Aubrey concocts a desperate plan to have Tom forever. Kill the wife. Take her place. Befriending Tom's successful, kind wife comes easily to Aubrey. However, the closer they become, the more doubts Aubrey has about following through. Then, a shocking discovery changes everything....
She's my roommate. I know how she takes her tea, how she organizes her closet. I know when she goes to bed each night, what she eats for breakfast, the passcode on her phone. I know she calls her mother on Mondays, takes barre on Thursdays, and meets her friends for drinks on Fridays. But more important than any of that...I know what she did.
From the outside, Essie’s life looks idyllic: a loving husband, a beautiful house in a good neighborhood, and a nearby mother who dotes on her grandchildren. But few of Essie’s friends know her secret shame: that in a moment of maternal despair, she once walked away from her newborn, asleep in her carriage in a park. Disaster was avoided, and Essie got better, but she still fears what lurks inside her, even as her daughter gets older and she has a second baby.
Mark and Melissa Cain are thrilled to have found Jade, a babysitter who is brilliant with their young children. Having seen her own house burn to the ground, Jade needs them as much as they need her. Moving Jade into the family home can only be a good thing, can’t it? As Mark works long hours as a police officer and Melissa struggles with running a business, the family become ever more reliant on their babysitter, who is only too happy to help. And as Melissa begins to slip into depression, it’s Jade who is left picking up the pieces. But Mark soon notices things aren’t quite as they seem. Things at home feel wrong, and as Mark begins to investigate their seemingly perfect sitter, what he discovers shocks him to his core. He’s met Jade before. And now he suspects he might know what she wants.
Kat Grant and Alice Campbell have a friendship forged in shared confidences and long lunches lubricated by expensive wine. Though they're very different women - the artsy socialite and the struggling suburbanite - they're each other's rocks. But even rocks crumble under pressure. Like when Kat's financier husband, Howard, plunges to his death from the second-floor balcony of their South Florida mansion. Howard was a jerk, a drunk, a bully, and, police say, a murder victim. The questions begin piling up.
Kirstie Rawlings is jolted awake by a child crying. Racing upstairs to check on her newborn, she is plunged into every parents’ worst nightmare. She hears an unknown voice in the baby monitor saying, "Let’s take the child - and go." Is someone trying to steal her little girl?
When a child’s scream pierces the night, Mira does what any good neighbor would do: She calls the police. She wants to make sure that Rosie, the little girl next door, is safe. Opening her front door to the police the next morning, Gemma's picture-perfect family is forced under scrutiny of social services. As her flawless life begins to crumble around her, Gemma must fight to defend the family she loves and protect her daughter from the terrible secret she's been keeping. When Rosie disappears without a trace, Gemma thinks she only has herself to blame....
The best-selling author of Close to Me returns with another stunning psychological drama. Full of secrets, obsession and betrayal, Lying to You will hold you in its grip till the final, breathtaking twist. Perfect for fans for He Said/She Said, Close to Home and The Husband's Secret. The lies we tell ourselves are the worst kind, for we have all the time in the world to convince ourselves they are true....
Megan Mazeros and Lauren Mabrey are complete opposites on paper. Megan is a girl from a modest Midwest background, and Lauren is the daughter of a senator from an esteemed New England family. But in 1999, Megan and Lauren become college roommates and, as two young women struggling to find their place on campus, they forge a strong, albeit unlikely, friendship. The two quickly become inseparable, sharing clothes, advice and their most intimate secrets.
Then - In charge of her little sister at the beach, Claire allowed Eleanor to walk to the shop alone to buy an ice cream. Placing a coin into her hand, Claire told her to be quick, knowing how much she wanted the freedom. Eleanor never came back. Now - The time has finally come to sell the family farm and Claire is organizing a reunion of her dearest friends, the same friends who were present the day her sister went missing. When another girl disappears, long-buried secrets begin to surface.
Alison, Julie, Sarah, Heather. Four friends living the suburban ideal. Their jobs are steady, their kids are healthy. They're as beautiful as their houses. But each of them has a dirty little secret, and hidden behind the veneer of their perfect lives is a crime and a mystery that will consume them all.
Cass and Ryan Connor have achieved family nirvana. With three kids between them, a cat, and a yard, a home they built and feathered, they seem to have the modern family dream. Their family, including Cass' two children from previous relationships, has recently moved to Portland - a new start for their new lives. Cass and Ryan have stable, successful careers, and they are happy. But trouble begins almost imperceptibly. First with small omissions and white lies that happen daily in any marital bedroom.
From behind the wheel of her car, Tess Kincaid glimpses a woman walking down a Madison, Wisconsin, street. They've never met, but Tess sees the same features every time she looks in the mirror. Tess introduces herself and discovers that she and her doppelganger, Mimi, have more than appearance in common. They even share the same birthday. Mimi - confident and outgoing where Tess is understated and shy - is convinced they're twins, separated shortly after birth. When a body is discovered in a local marsh, Tess is entangled in a search for the truth....
Laura Cavendish can't wait to meet the woman who's won her son's affection. Despite a successful career in television and a long, prosperous marriage, Laura's world revolves around kind, talented Daniel. She pictures his new girlfriend, Cherry, becoming a close friend and confidante ...one day, even a daughter-in-law. But although Cherry is beautiful and amiable, Laura can't warm to her. There's something about the possessive way she touches Daniel, the little lies Laura detects. Cherry seems to resent Laura, driving a wedge between mother and son - until one day Daniel is injured.
You lost your daughter. You will never forgive yourself. And now someone is determined to make you pay.... Seventeen years ago, something happened to Jess' daughter, Beth. The memory of it still makes her blood run cold. Jess has tried everything to make peace with that day, and the part she played in what happened. It was only a brief moment of desire...but she'll pay for it with a lifetime of guilt.
Emily's instincts tell her that best friend Joanne's new boyfriend is bad news. Emily fears for Joanne. Fears for Joanne's children. But Joanne won't listen because she's in love. So Emily watches and waits...and then she makes a choice. But Emily has a past, and secrets, too. And is she really as good a friend to Joanne as she claims?
When a group of neighborhood women gathers, wine in hand, around a fire pit where their backyards meet one Saturday night, most of them are just ecstatic to have discovered that their baby monitors reach that far. It's a rare kid-free night, and they're giddy with it. They drink too much, and the conversation turns personal. By Monday morning, one of them is gone. Everyone knows something about everyone else in the quirky small Ohio town of Yellow Springs, but no one can make sense of the disappearance.
On a train with her husband, miles from home and their four-year-old son, Ben, Sophie receives a chilling phone call. Two boys are in hospital after a tragic accident. One of them is Ben. She thought she could trust Emma, her new friend, to look after her little boy. After all, Emma’s a kindred spirit - someone Sophie was sure she could bare her soul to, despite the village rumours. But Sophie can’t shake the feeling that she’s made an unforgivable mistake and now her whole family is in danger.
You'll have your deposit within seven business days, just like it says on Getaway.com. I've put through a refund to your credit card for the full amount, minus $200 to replace the stained sheets.
Miranda
When 30-year-old Dawn reads Miranda's email, she sees red. People have always told Dawn she's beautiful, and she just hopes they don't see beneath - to how she grew up, to what she's always tried to outrun. She revels in her getaways with her perfect (maybe too perfect) husband, the occasional long weekend in luxurious homes, temporarily inhabiting other people's privileged lives. Miranda's email strikes a nerve, with its lying intimation that Dawn is so dirty you need to throw out her sheets.
Beware of your "host"
I wouldn't have left a review at all if I didn't feel it was my civic duty to warn others.
Fifty-seven-year-old Miranda thought she'd seen it all, but she can't believe her eyes when she reads Dawn's review. She's a doctor's wife but she needs that rental money desperately. People might think her life is privileged, but they don't know what's really going on. They don't know about her son. She won't take this threat to her livelihood - to her very life - lying down.
Two very different women with this in common: Each harbors her own secret, her own reason why she can't just let this go. Neither can yield, not before they've dredged up all that's hidden, even if it has the power to shatter all they've built.
This is not over.
This is so not over.
Yes, this book is literally about an online review from a guest to the host of a vacation rental property. And somehow the author is able to create twists and turns and develop complex characters. I really like how I was never led on to think the story was going a certain way -- all the elements in the story are very relevant and concise. I very much appreciate the way the story constantly kept coming together and every detail was meaningful all the way to the end. It maintained my interest the entire time and I do recommend this book.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I would absolutely recommend this book to a friend. It was different from most books I have read, and I read 3-5 books a week. This fictional story is about how misunderstandings effect lives.
Who was your favorite character and why?
This question is hard to answer. Both women were people I loved and hated at the same time. I saw both sides and became aggravated at them both. Comparable to the soap opera stars, the one everybody loves to hate, maybe.
Which scene was your favorite?
When one figures out her husband wasn't who she thought. Nothing more to say, or I would give too much away.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
There are a couple of parts that were sad for me, as a mother.
Any additional comments?
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but have been trying to branch out from the genres I usuallly read. (Lots of romance for many years, now mostly thrilllers and horror.) I'm so glad I gave this book a try. I can't really explain why I enjoyed it so, but I found it drew me in and I didn't want to stop listening.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
This book was hard to put down. Start to finish. I enjoyed it very much.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Listened for Fun (Audible)
Overall Rating: 3.25
Story Rating: 3.50
Character Rating: 3.00
Audio Rating: 4.50 (not part of the overall rating)
Quick Thoughts: This is a hard book for me to review. I listened to it in one day but there were points I thought about DNFing it. The characters really were hard to take and I think they were supposed to be. I couldn't sympathize with either of them (even at the end). That being said, the idea that a negative review could lead to this kind of thing absolutely made sense to me. In that essence, the characters were spot on. It would take two incredibly narcissistic people to take it as far as these two did. Did I like the book? Hard to say. Did I find it fascinating? At times. Would I recommend it? Maybe it would depend on the reader.
Audio Thoughts:
Narrated by: Madeleine Maby , Donna Postel /Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
The narrators nailed this. I honestly think I stuck with the book because of how well they did. They really brought out every little thing about the characters. This was great audiobook casting.
Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It, DONE! Reviews
5 of 7 people found this review helpful
I cried because there are so many life lessons in this book.
I listened in one sitting. There is loss, revenge, hope and ultimately redemption. Extremely well written with very very well fleshed out characters. This is one I will be thinking about for a while.
I liked this selection mainly because the plot was so different then most on the thriller credits. Well written although not a huge shock thriller, the story moves well and is enjoyable to listen to.
hi as always there will be no spoilers in my reviews
I went on an adventure with this book. up down and sideways. I laughed, I gasped, and really connected with characters ( thanks to the narrator I got a good feel for each person).
the back and forth isn't something I normally prefer however a lot of authors are working with that style and I am starting to like it.
no disappointments with this book
I had to take a break from this book because of all the anger and hatred spewing from one email to the next. Don't get me wrong, I loved it! The book was so intense. However, as you continued reading, and really getting to know the women at the other end of the emails, your perception starts to change. Excellent book, Holly!
I enjoyed this story. It was easy to follow, held my interest and was something different, a nice change.
The story itself is nothing amazing in a literary sense, but the characters had a certain truth to them that I liked. I related to them in an odd way.
Any additional comments?
Wow! Brilliant execution.
The first indication that this isn't going to be one of those drippy, cliche filled thrillers with gut wrenching circumstances that don't have the tone or punch to back it up, is the quote on the front by Mary Kubica, a master of psychological depth and suspense herself. "A Master storyteller and an expert of suspense," Kubica says. I almost missed this one, as it wasn't recommended to me like all the others I see on my Audible queue. I found it because I typed the authors name in, and found this book, which appears to have not garnered that much attention. (And it deserves more than most of the recommendations/suggestions I'm offered on kindle.)
Swerving from one disillusioned pov to the other, these two women in very different circumstances encounter each other online through trivial coincidence, and somehow become embedded in each others thoughts until they're total enemies. A lot of the chapters begin with letters written or reviews from one to the other, followed by the characters thoughts. I really like the way Brown started out with such a superficial premise, the kind of thing you'd expect to see in a Jane Green or Sophie Kinsella book that's light and comic, but that superficial premise was just one guise to draw you into the tumultuous depths of these two women's lives.
Holly Brown delivers both povs with unflinching individuality. I sided with one voice more than the other (Miranda's) but I'm sure there are probably just as many people who sided more with Dawn. I'm in awe of the way the author was able to grow a faint grudge into a war with casualties on both sides, and the way these two women kept misinterpreting each other at every turn. That was the brilliant part: Brown really captured those insightful psychological details of what goes on when you're misunderstanding someone else's motives.
However, if you're the type of reader that needs to really root for a character, to have a hero that is going to inspire you with their moral clarity, this isn't your type of book at all. While the characters do find a way to overcome their circumstances and their biases, the trip is filled with rocky moments of moral grey, incidents that might might make you hate the characters before you reach any satisfaction. (I'm guessing if I read other reviews there will be complaints like "the characters were unlikable" which seems to be a complaint I hear a lot in plenty of the books I tend to like.)
This is the second Holly Brown book I've read, (The first was "Don't Try To Find Me") and I have not been disappointed yet. I hope that the next one I read (A Necessary End) is as good.