I did not like anything about this book. The characters the plot all quite frankly dull. Clearly I don't recommend it.

It started slow for me, but picked up at about page 45. Supposedly a psychological thriller, but I'm not quite sold on the thriller part. Interesting plot, even though the characters aren't likeable. It's well-written and the style reminds me of Ruth Rendell's. Bottom line, once it picked up for me, I couldn't stop reading it.

I joined the "Book of the Month Club" as a way of finding new titles without getting overwhelmed by so many book choices. This was my first selection. It is a fast read, and a page-turner. Not forever memorable maybe, but a good one for vacation or for a long flight.

An engrossing and tight (under 300 pages) stand-alone thriller. The momentum builds slowly but it's worth sticking around for the end. Recommended.

Really disappointing execution of a predictable concept. I found Lasdum’s writing to be wordy, his characters unlikeable and noncompelling and far too much discussion of what was for dinner. For a novel with a blurb that claims “uncontrollable passions,” it was about as exciting as the color beige.

A new author for me, and a great introduction to his work, as The Fall Guy, resonates with a feel of Patricia Highsmith, and kept the Raven hooked in its clutches…
As is natural with an intense character driven psychological thriller of this kind, the synopsis above is all I am going to give you in terms of plot reveal. Like me, I would urge you to read this largely in a vacuum of unknowing, as the tension both in personal relationships, and the air of deceit and disloyalty, gradually builds and builds. With such a finite group of characters, I felt like I was almost observing a stage play, and for some reason I had an echo of Albee’s brilliant  Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf tickling in the back of mind throughout. I thought the relationship between the three main characters and the dips, ecstasies and growing dislike and distrust were beautifully played out, against the backdrop of a sultry heat that seemed to add to the tension of the piece even more. There is an increasingly poisonous relationship building between married couple Charlie and Chloe and cousin Matthew, and be warned your sympathies will be toyed with, and your allegiances shifted along the way…
Lasdun shows his perfect control of pace, as slight reveals and little moments of trickery, lulling us into the feeling that we know exactly what’s going on, and how this will all play out. Wrong tiddly wrong wrong. I was sucker punched by the ending, and was just so, so pleased that it caught me completely off guard. Beautifully paced, a brilliant escalation of tension, and great characterisation. Highly recommended.

great summer pot boiler