Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Her Every Fear, by Peter Swanson {ends 10/17}

Guest review by: Erin Krajenke

Her stomach folded again, starting to cramp. When did I last go to the toilet, she thought, and her panic ratcheted up a notch. It was such a familiar feeling: heart speeding up, limbs turning cold, the world sharpening before her eyes. But she knew what to do. Her therapist's voice was in her head. It's just a panic attack, an accidental surge of adrenaline. It can't hurt you, or kill you, and no one will notice it. Just let it happen. Float with it. Ride it out.

But this one's different, Kate told herself. The danger felt real. And suddenly she was back at the cottage in Windermere, crouched and cowering in the locked closet, her nightgown wet with urine, George Daniels on the other side of the door. She felt almost like she'd felt then, cold hands inside of her, twisting her stomach like it was a damp dish towel. There'd been the gunshot blast, then the terrible silence that lasted for hours and hours. When she'd finally been pulled from the closet, her joints stiff and her vocal cords raw from screaming, she didn't know how she was still alive, how the fear hadn't killed her.

I am not typically a fan of suspense/mystery novels, but I enjoyed this book. It took me about 20% of the way to get into this book but once I got into it, I could not put it down!

Official synopsis:

Growing up, Kate Priddy was always a bit neurotic, experiencing momentary bouts of anxiety that exploded into full-blown panic attacks after an ex-boyfriend kidnapped her and nearly ended her life. When Corbin Dell, a distant cousin in Boston, suggests the two temporarily swap apartments, Kate, an art student in London, agrees, hoping that time away in a new place will help her overcome the recent wreckage of her life.

Soon after her arrival at Corbin's grand apartment on Beacon Hill, Kate makes a shocking discovery: his next-door neighbor, a young woman named Audrey Marshall, has been murdered. When the police question her about Corbin, a shaken Kate has few answers, and many questions of her own-curiosity that intensifies when she meets Alan Cherney, a handsome, quiet tenant who lives across the courtyard, in the apartment facing Audrey's. Alan saw Corbin surreptitiously come and go from Audrey's place, yet he's denied knowing her. Then, Kate runs into a tearful man claiming to be the dead woman's old boyfriend, who insists Corbin did the deed the night that he left for London.

When she reaches out to her cousin, he proclaims his innocence and calms her nerves--until she comes across disturbing objects hidden in the apartment and accidentally learns that Corbin is not where he says he is. Could Corbin be a killer? What about Alan? Kate finds herself drawn to this appealing man who seems so sincere, yet she isn't sure. Jet-lagged and emotionally unstable, her imagination full of dark images caused by the terror of her past, Kate can barely trust herself, so how could she take the chance on a stranger she's just met?

As I said, I am not typically a fan of suspense/mystery novels (my nerves cannot take it!), but I enjoyed this book. This novel was probably not as suspenseful as most books in this genre, but it held my interest the entire way through which seems to be a rarity for me these days. The book was told through multiple points of view which I always enjoy in a book since it gives you a different perspective or understanding of the various characters.

With that said, I still feel like Kate was the main character and I really enjoyed her, which I think helped me enjoy the book. There were not as many twists and turns as I expected, but I guess that helped to keep the story more realistic. This book was a nice easy read that I might put on par with The Girl on the Train, but better.

To quote Liz: 3.5 stars out of 5, so I will round up to 4.
{Click here to purchase}

Erin Krajenke is a chatty Virgo. She also likes eating, reading, and petting all the doggos.

---

GIVEAWAY:

Three of my lucky readers will win a copy of Her Every Fear!

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Tuesday, October 17th, at 11:59pm EST, and winners will be notified the next day via email, and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner(s) will be chosen.

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

Her Every Fear book