Gretchen

The new tenants have a terrible secret. So do the landlord and his daughter...

Ever since Lucy was two, she's been on the run alongside her mother. She's never understood the reason for a lifetime of paranoia, aliases, and lies. All she understands are the rules: never lock eyes with strangers, never let down your guard, and always be ready to move on.

Finally, after thirteen years and eleven states, their next hideaway seems perfect. An isolated, forestlike, place in the New Hampshire woods is the new home they share with its owner, a gentlemanly pianist, and his lonely daughter, Gretchen. She's Lucy's age and soon becomes Lucy's first real friend.

But Gretchen and her father have secrets of their own--- and an obsession with puzzles that draws Lucy into a terrifying new game of hide and seek. Lucy's dark past is about to come calling. And this time, for her and her mother in the house on the hill, it might be too late to run.

I recieved an ARC of Gretchen to read a while back, and have recently finished it. I love thrillers, so I knew that I would enjoy reading it before I even started. The story is really unique. It's not something that I have ever seen or heard of before, especially the parts with the puzzles. I thought it was really intricate and felt like all of it went together perfectly, just like puzzles pieces. The characters were really well thought out, and were ones in which you so desperately wanted to love... and hate. When I met Jerry and Gretchen for the first time, I was bombarded with opinions of them just after reading a few sentences. So much can be said about them in such few words, which is really interesting and cool.

Something else I really liked about the book was how the chapters were written in different points of view. As a reader, I got to see how Lucy was feeling throughout everything, as well as her mother. The back and forth between the two really allowed for me to see both sides and understand some of the events leading up to why these two were on the run. I think it really added to the suspense and overall thrill of the novel.

The novel was very quick-paced and very easy to follow. The chapters were also nicely spaced out and a really good length. I sometimes find it difficult to read books with longer chapters, so Gretchen also satisfied me in that respect as well. It definitely kept me wanting more and it was pretty hard to put down at times. It's like once you get into it, you become so entralled that you can't stop. I felt as though I was in the story at times. The book was written in a way where I could completely visualize the setting and the different events happening throughout, that I could almost see myself watching everything unfold. You know a book is written well, when you can experience it, rather than just read the words on the pages.

I really enjoyed reading this and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes creepy stories or a good thrill. It's definitely worth reading for those who are into the whole psychological aspect of thrillers.

Gretchen is expected to be released on July 23, 2019 so makle sure you grab your copies and show Shannon some love. I can promise you that this book will be one that you will never forget and will make you question everyone in your life who likes "puzzles."

Thank you for sending a copy of Gretchen out to me, Shannon. It was wonderful. My beautiful bookworms, thanks so much for reading and I will see you here again soon.