Release Date: April 1, 2018
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Adult Fiction, Women's Fiction, Mystery & Thriller
Source: eARC provided by publisher and author via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Amazon | BN | Indiebound
In a novel of mounting psychological suspense, a young mother follows a dangerous path to find her missing husband.
Veronica Cavanaugh’s grasp on the world is slipping. Her latest round of fertility treatments not only failed but left her on edge and unbalanced. And her three-year-old daughter, Elizabella, has a new imaginary friend, who seems much more devilish than playful. So when Veronica’s husband fails to return home from a business trip, what’s left of her stability begins to crumble.
Given her family’s history of mental illness, and Elizabella’s insistence that her daddy is dead, Veronica starts questioning herself. Every move she makes is now suspect. Worse still, Veronica is positive that someone wants her and her daughter dead, too—unless it’s all in her mind…
Somewhere beneath her paranoia is the answer to her husband’s vanishing. To find it, she’s led to a house in the Florida Keys. But once there, she isn’t sure she wants to know the truth.
Review:
Does anyone else think that thrillers this year just keep getting better and better? Honestly, I think each one I read is better than the last, and Brandi Reeds's Trespassing only proves this further in my opinion.
Trespassing is not good, not great, but EXCELLENT! I made the fatal mistake of starting this at 10 pm at night. Silly me...I thought I could read a couple of chapters and put it down for the night, but of course that's not what ended up happening. Before I knew it 3 am rolled around and I had read Trespassing from start to finish without taking a single breather. Was I tired the next day? Yes. Did I end up sleeping in way longer than I had anticipated? Yes. But was it worth it? OF COURSE!
At first, I was worried this was going to turn into Baby Teeth #2 due to Veronica's struggles with her daughter Elizabella. Luckily, that wasn't the case. Trespassing is its own thrilling story. From the first page, everything is a whirlwind. Brandi quickly sets the scene, introduces the major players and then dives right into the mystery of Veronica's husband's disappearance. What made me especially happy with this was that the action and twists didn't mean that character and plot development suffered one bit; instead, Trespassing was a well developed novel. The disappearance storyline was my favorite part. There were so many layers to it, and every twist and turn had me fully shook. I don't think I've been this frightened from a book in a long, long time, and even though I had to leave the lights on and double check that my doors were locked, I couldn't get enough of it.
Additionally, I came to love Veronica as the book progressed. When Veronica's first introduced she's incredibly naive. She never questioned her husband on their bank accounts, their property, and his job, and now she's paying the price. Suddenly, everything in their world is turned upside down, and what she thought was a idyllic life is anything but that.
One part of me couldn't believe that Veronica didn't demand to know more, but another part of me could understand why she could've become so complacent over the years. She put her focus on Elizabella and getting pregnant again, trusting and loving her husband enough to take care of them and make the right choices. As the book progressed, Veronica took control of her life, and I couldn't have been happier. Suddenly, she was taking names and starting her own investigation of sorts. She gained courage as well as fearlessness. I also appreciated that Brandi included Veronica's struggles with IVF. I fell like it's a topic that no one seems to want to talk about; however, that's not the case here. Veronica many ups and downs are a central part of the novel, and it was eye-opening. My heart broke for her. I couldn't even begin to imagine going through something that was so uncontrollable, so uncertain.
Besides Veronica Brandi also introduces several other key players. Elizabella, for one, was an interesting little girl. There were so many times at which I didn't understand what was going on with her. She spoke with such certainty of what her imaginary friend was telling her. Like Veronica, I began to wonder if ghosts were a possibility. The sweet neighbor of Veronica's in Florida was also a high point. I couldn't get enough of him, and I loved that he brought lightness and fun to Veronica's life.
Overall, Trespassing is suspenseful and wonderfully crafted thriller. This may be Brandi's first foray into adult psychological thrillers, but I certainly hope it won't be her last.
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At first, I was worried this was going to turn into Baby Teeth #2 due to Veronica's struggles with her daughter Elizabella. Luckily, that wasn't the case. Trespassing is its own thrilling story. From the first page, everything is a whirlwind. Brandi quickly sets the scene, introduces the major players and then dives right into the mystery of Veronica's husband's disappearance. What made me especially happy with this was that the action and twists didn't mean that character and plot development suffered one bit; instead, Trespassing was a well developed novel. The disappearance storyline was my favorite part. There were so many layers to it, and every twist and turn had me fully shook. I don't think I've been this frightened from a book in a long, long time, and even though I had to leave the lights on and double check that my doors were locked, I couldn't get enough of it.
Additionally, I came to love Veronica as the book progressed. When Veronica's first introduced she's incredibly naive. She never questioned her husband on their bank accounts, their property, and his job, and now she's paying the price. Suddenly, everything in their world is turned upside down, and what she thought was a idyllic life is anything but that.
One part of me couldn't believe that Veronica didn't demand to know more, but another part of me could understand why she could've become so complacent over the years. She put her focus on Elizabella and getting pregnant again, trusting and loving her husband enough to take care of them and make the right choices. As the book progressed, Veronica took control of her life, and I couldn't have been happier. Suddenly, she was taking names and starting her own investigation of sorts. She gained courage as well as fearlessness. I also appreciated that Brandi included Veronica's struggles with IVF. I fell like it's a topic that no one seems to want to talk about; however, that's not the case here. Veronica many ups and downs are a central part of the novel, and it was eye-opening. My heart broke for her. I couldn't even begin to imagine going through something that was so uncontrollable, so uncertain.
Besides Veronica Brandi also introduces several other key players. Elizabella, for one, was an interesting little girl. There were so many times at which I didn't understand what was going on with her. She spoke with such certainty of what her imaginary friend was telling her. Like Veronica, I began to wonder if ghosts were a possibility. The sweet neighbor of Veronica's in Florida was also a high point. I couldn't get enough of him, and I loved that he brought lightness and fun to Veronica's life.
Overall, Trespassing is suspenseful and wonderfully crafted thriller. This may be Brandi's first foray into adult psychological thrillers, but I certainly hope it won't be her last.
5 stars!!
