Off the Deep End: A Thriller

by Lucinda Berry

From the bestselling author of The Best of Friends comes a heart-stopping psychological thriller about the shades of truth and the power of lies in the wake of one mother’s unspeakable loss.

Therapist turned stay-at-home mom Jules Hart’s idyllic suburban life shatters when she crashes her car into an icy lake. Her son and another teenage boy plunge into the water with her, but Jules can only manage to save one—the wrong one.

Reeling from the death of her son, Jules spirals into a violent and unstable mental state. Ten months after the accident, she’s still trying to reckon with the fact that she rescued Isaac Greer, another woman’s child, when Isaac suddenly vanishes.

Jules finds herself at the center of a massive police investigation. While she harbors her own dangerous secrets, Jules is adamant that she didn’t take Isaac. But then who did? Is Isaac the victim of a dangerous killer who’s been targeting boys in the Midwest? Or is someone else pulling the strings in this deadly game?

• ISBN10: 1662506201
• ISBN13: 9781662506208
• Publish Date: 10 January 2023
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Thomas & Mercer
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[Jeff Sexton]

Weird Book But Nothing Technically Wrong. Ever read a 5* review that is probably going to read like the reviewer actually rated it 1*? Well, if you haven't... you're about to. Because let me be clear up front: There was nothing from a technical/ objective-ish standpoint to hang a star reduction on here. There weren't any clear technical/ editing mistakes, the story is at least plausible within the context of the world/ situation set up, etc. Thus, with my subtractive system where every book starts at 5* and I have to have objective-ish describable reasons to deduct stars... there simply weren't any here.

AND YET... this book kinda sucked, y'all. I hate to say it, but it did. I'm down with a slow burn, I've defended a LOT of slow burn books over the years and even as recently as this week. What I can't defend is a book that is just so *boring* and completely disjointed. Someone once said (paraphrasing) that if you show a red phone on Page 23, it better be used somewhere in the finale - and this... doesn't happen. There *is* a massive twist at the end of the book, but it comes completely out of left field with absolutely zero foreshadowing *at all*. Instead we get all kinds of irrelevant details such as kid sister sleeping in the bed with her parents over fears of the "rampaging kidnapper/ serial killer", among other completely irrelevant details that are never really explored or shown why they are crucial to the story being told. As at least one other reviewer pointed out, this story could likely have been told much better from different perspectives - maybe the two boys (even the one who dies in the opener - maybe in an "if i stay" type manner?), particularly given the twist at the end.

Overall though, this *is* a five star review, so I'm going to recommend you read this book - if for no other reason than maybe I'm wrong and there was genuinely a great tale in here that I just didn't pick up on? Let me know in the comments wherever you may find this review, or on social media somewhere if that isn't possible. Recommended.

[Travel_thru_books]

Just finished this ARC thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture.

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