I’m thrilled today to reintroduce you to a book that I read a few years ago, now brought out by Bloodhound books!!
What they say: A young mother befriends a new neighbour—but soon finds her an unwelcome presence, in this psychological thriller with a powerful twist.
Sharni and her husband have just moved into 24 The Pines, and they appear to be ideal new neighbours to Clare and Chris. Sharni seems especially fond of Clare. She admires her and is always there to help, especially with childcare for Clare’s two-year-old son.
But Clare is starting to wonder whether Sharni just wants to be a good neighbour—or wants something more. Like Clare’s husband. Or her child. Or her life. And her anxiety starts to build every time Sharni comes near.
Is she just being overprotective, or are her worries justified? As Sharni’s influence touches everyone around her, Clare finds herself fighting for both her sanity and her family . . .
What I said: I must say I really enjoyed this book. As you can see it’s the story of Clare, a lady who with her husband Chris, and beautiful son Ben. When Sharni and Tom move in next door they quickly become friends although rather quickly it’s apparent that Sharni perhaps looks up to Clare too much, beginning to seemingly copy her appearance and interior design. It was nicely done that we had in Clare a character who was so nervous and on edge, and this, coupled with her being on prescription medication meant that we weren’t sure if what was real and what was paranoia. Add to this that you’re also getting Sharni’s point of view and it made for a real page turner!
The friendship of the two women, and the trust that was built up was great, with Clare’s questioning and self doubt very believable and I liked that anything time-line wise that people may have questioned was quickly put to bed. I also like how you questioned everything, in particular the husband’s part in the story. My only issue was that the ending seemed rather abrupt, but it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story. I think this is another one for people who don’t read thrillers a lot and want to slip into the genre without having to read anything too tough. All in all I’m beginning to be a big fan of the big switch from rom com to psychological thriller with such a well done ‘debut’ and I look forward to more of same from Ms. Renham.
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