Welcome to Litsy!

From the blurb this story sounded like my worst nightmare. First third, nope, can‘t do it. Mother is up in the night with young kids, husband not there, realises there‘s someone else in the house. No, not 300 pages of a house invasion with kids in the mix. Yet then the story changes, we go back into various parts of the narrators life, stories slowly evolve. A third in I was suddenly so invested I read the rest almost in one sitting.

Well, this was yet another tough decision for which October read would be one of my #12BooksOf2024! But, I had to ultimately go with the scariest and the most tense (a very close runner-up was SOMEONE IN THE ATTIC which had me just checking on our own attic before taking my review picture!🤣) which was this listen. Not only did it scare me, but my gasping out loud while walking our dog passed along the scares to him! So this one even scared him!

The suspense really grabbed me in this thriller. The tension was written quite well. I was actually scared. I'm never scared.

I started reading this after work yesterday and cannot out it down. It is so creepy. One of those books that you can feel your breathing get faster as you read and can barely wait to turn the page.

Yikes!! This was the scariest, tensest listen that I‘ve encountered in a while. I‘d heard the hype, but still found this to be an electrifying debut with such immediacy that it‘s hard to stop listening for any reason! The book opens with a mother of two young children startling awake at the sound of a person in their house in the middle of the night. The tension & horror begins there… and between this fresh horror, we learn the family‘s backstory.

This book and I have had quite a ride in our journey to finish. I started it months ago and, after the action stalled for almost 100 pages I put it to the side to try again later. Earlier this week I thought to pick it up again and was pleasantly surprised when the action picked up! Then it was over and we were back to rambling along. There was one more spike of adrenaline before it petered out for the end. Nice writing but not much else. 🌟🌟🌟

4-4.5 Stars

I selected this #audiobook by random on Libby, having never even heard the title in passing. It was a total gamble. I couldn't stand the main character. And then I kinda did. Then I hated her with a passion. But then again found myself going over to her side. I have no how the author kept me so indecisive about her, but in the end I think I actually kinda liked her. ⤵️

Totally gripping and absolutely terrifying!

(Finished 31.05)

A semi interesting thriller.

Read for reading challenges.

3.75/5

This was a pretty good book. Every scenario I had in my mind, I was wrong.

When this book won Jimmy Fallon‘s summer read through his March-madness show-down I placed a Libby hold (audio, of course, because. If you know you know 🤣). I liked it and enjoyed how tense the first half was. The second half of this story is the aftermath of part 1. That said, I wish the flashbacks would have been told in part 2 so that nothing broke up the tension in part 1.

And finally…my summer reading stack! I thought making a physical stack would help me prioritize the books I want to read this summer, so we‘ll see 🤣. This doesn‘t include #botm picks or anything preordered but I‘m hoping to make it through all of these by the end of August!

A debut novel a 5 star read. Night Watching a brilliant debut thriller by Tracy Sierra so well written so chilling kept me guessing from first till last page.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Now THIS is a thriller!! I can‘t remember the last time a book had me on the edge of my seat like this one! It‘s propulsive without being a mindless popcorn read; the plot was layered and had a lot to say. The tension was agonizing and I was riveted. If you were moved by the “American Nightmare” docuseries, I think you would love this.

⭐️blech! Frustrating, unlikeable characters, unbelievable nonsense! I hated that no one had names and that not one single person believed her. One of the most frustrating characters I ever read in a long time. I expected some cool twist which much would save this book for me. Nope! Lots love it. Good for them. Not for me.

This is an intense debut novel, not just because of the mystery intruder aspect, but because of the way the mother is treated by the authorities, the public, and her own family after it is all over. You get the high tension of the actual event, occurring second by second within that small space, but then you get the second act that actually felt more terrifying to me as a woman.

An Amazon book haul from earlier this week! Some of these are from the”Buy 2 Get 1” sale. Also, I already have a BOTM copy of The Women but the regular copy is just so pretty 😍!

Excellent month! #BookSpinBingo
☘️ #BookSpin✅
☘️#DoubleSpin✅
☘️5⭐️✅✅✅ (tagged book, The Sweet Spot, One Woman Show)
☘️4 library books
☘️2 #BOTM

Finished two 5⭐️ read!! The tagged book is a terrific psychological thriller, intense! What a debut! The Sweet Spot is my kind of lovely book with charming, quirky characters and a great setting. #WeekendReads

While checking on her kids one night, a woman sees a man in their house. She hides with them in a hidden room (it‘s an old home), trying to keep them quiet as they hear him move about. Initially I didn‘t find this scary (though I purposefully listened to it outside during the day), but as it unfolded, I definitely said “oh shit!” out loud a couple of times. Really good suspense writing with some infuriating bits.

Yessss!!! It‘s excellent! I heard a couple of podcasters recommend this one, and they weren‘t wrong. I‘m not big on the suspense/thriller ones, but this is a win. A mom has to protect her children (in the scariest of situations) and justify her decisions to others over and over. Interesting portrayal of how women are doubted, labeled, and mistrusted. Really good stuff! Is this getting buzz?! Sure should be!

This book was crazy good! The review on the cover does not lie. It was non-stop suspense, and non-stop 'is she crazy or not'?! The ending may be a touch rushed, but the ending isn't the point to this book at all. Good stuff!

4.5⭐
The action starts right from the gate with this one with a mother trying to protect 2 children from an intruder in the house in the middle of the night. The action is broken up with flashbacks to the family‘s past. The possibility of an unreliable narrator is introduced early on, so I didn‘t think I was giving away too much with that one…but I‘ve deliberately omitted a lot of what happens because this one is best when going in mostly blind.

UNPUTDOWNABLE! This one started off with a bang from the get go - a psychological suspense, horror, nerve-shredding page-turner that keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole way through!!
Mom sees danger. Mom rushes to protect her children. Mom spends the whole time struggling to protect her children and just be heard by e everyone that should be listening. And it was maddening but made for a great read!