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Behind Closed Doors
A chilling psychological thriller for fans of Gillian Flynn, Nicci French, Sophie Hannah, S.J. Watson and Elizabeth Haynes, that will haunt you long after you’ve finished reading... Olivia Taylor is distraught after the break-up of her marriage and believes she has suffered the worst life can throw at her. Full of hope, Olivia leaves her marital home and begins to build a new life with her nine-year- old daughter, Ellie. But meeting her new neighbour, Michael Crossman, is the beginning of an unspeakable nightmare for Olivia. As Olivia struggles to hold her life together and shelter her daughter from further pain, decisions driven by lust, loneliness and ignorance finally catch up with her, with horrifying consequences. It is only through the re-telling of her story that we piece together what has led her to become a mere shadow of the woman she once was.
363 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 13, 2013
326 people are currently reading
1528 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 198 reviews
November 16, 2019
I really enjoy reading Kathryn Croft novels but for me this one didn't hit the usual high standard of writing I have become accustomed to.
A psychological thriller about Olivia Taylor, a woman whose marriage has recently finished and is hoping to start a new life with her nine year old daughter, Ellie. But unfortunately things are about to get worse when she meets Michael Crossman.
From reading other peoples reviews it appears I had the same experience as many others, good start and a page turner but then a feeling of disappointment and anti climax.
Honestly I can't expect to enjoy every book I read by my favourite authors and will gladly read her next book.
A psychological thriller about Olivia Taylor, a woman whose marriage has recently finished and is hoping to start a new life with her nine year old daughter, Ellie. But unfortunately things are about to get worse when she meets Michael Crossman.
From reading other peoples reviews it appears I had the same experience as many others, good start and a page turner but then a feeling of disappointment and anti climax.
Honestly I can't expect to enjoy every book I read by my favourite authors and will gladly read her next book.
April 17, 2017
Started off really well thought this book was going to be great.a story of a break up of marriage she has a young daughter and falls for a neighbour.but not as it seems.just lacking and dragged in alot of this book and didn't like the ending.going to read another of her books hope it's better.
October 12, 2015
all i can say about this book is that it was disappointing & had a very predictable ending
November 20, 2017
I really like Croft's writing style but this simply felt way too long...and too strange. I don't know whether she is trying to attempt a new writing style but the entire book is written in such a way that it feels long letter to from Olivia to her love interest Michael. It was bit jarring reading experience in my opinion -
A small random snippet
I try to find Chloe but she is nowhere to be seen and you are by the window taking it in turns to puff on a cigarette with Andrew. It surprises me that you're a social smoker but not that you're making him smoke it out of the window.
Here being 'you' is Michael...
Any physiological thriller fan can guess the culprit and all red herring signs which our naive protagonist Olivia, failed to pay attention to. But the book flows easily and I can see beatific writing of Croft -
Whatever love is, it can never be the same feeling with different people. It can never be one emotion that's easy to define, a glove that fits everyone no matter what size they are.
Though this one failed to impress me as others, I have already purchased most - which are not available in KU- Kathryn Croft's novels so this is not the last I'd reading of her.
A small random snippet
I try to find Chloe but she is nowhere to be seen and you are by the window taking it in turns to puff on a cigarette with Andrew. It surprises me that you're a social smoker but not that you're making him smoke it out of the window.
Here being 'you' is Michael...
Any physiological thriller fan can guess the culprit and all red herring signs which our naive protagonist Olivia, failed to pay attention to. But the book flows easily and I can see beatific writing of Croft -
Whatever love is, it can never be the same feeling with different people. It can never be one emotion that's easy to define, a glove that fits everyone no matter what size they are.
Though this one failed to impress me as others, I have already purchased most - which are not available in KU- Kathryn Croft's novels so this is not the last I'd reading of her.
August 31, 2023
This is a book that I've had on my kindle for a long time but never got round to reading it. I was delighted when
It was selected as our book of the month for an online book club I belong to.
I have to be honest and say I don't know if I really enjoyed this book. There were times when I couldn't put it down and then parts of it I wanted to skip forward. If I could have got into the book I would have reached out and slapped Olivia. I felt she needed a good shaking . Her character I found quite annoying. She seemed to have no self respect for herself.
The ending for me wasn't a massive wow and personally a bit of an anticlimax.
It was selected as our book of the month for an online book club I belong to.
I have to be honest and say I don't know if I really enjoyed this book. There were times when I couldn't put it down and then parts of it I wanted to skip forward. If I could have got into the book I would have reached out and slapped Olivia. I felt she needed a good shaking . Her character I found quite annoying. She seemed to have no self respect for herself.
The ending for me wasn't a massive wow and personally a bit of an anticlimax.
February 17, 2016
Terrible book. Three separate plots, none of which went together and an ending which did nothing to explain the preceding events. Coupled with a very awkward narrative style in main character's retelling, poor character development and an ending that made me want to smash my beloved Kindle, this was a colossal waste of time.
August 15, 2017
I have never been so disappointed by an ending in my life. I was completely enthralled by the story, all of its parts, and could not WAIT until Olivia found out the truth about everything. I figured it was a weird relationship of some sort between Michael and Chloe. I was waiting for a very elaborate explanation of exactly what had been going on - why did Ellie hate Chloe so much (what had she seen/heard?) Why was Michael crying in the basement and hitting his head against the wall? Why did Michael have these 'rape' tendencies? Why did Chloe arbitrarily warm up to Olivia? What exactly led to the texts being sent to Olivia's phone? What purpose did Johnathan reappearing after a year serve? What was the lead-up to her being put in the hospital...?
I read the book on my Kindle, so as I was reading, I had no idea how many pages remained. I checked towards the end, and there were 10 pages left, and nothing had yet been explained. I said to myself, "no. No that isn't possible." I continued to read, and sure enough, the weeks I had wasted on this book were 'wrapped up' in about 2 pages at the end, leaving me with about 6,000 unanswered questions.
Don't bother writing a book and getting your readers invested if you aren't able to provide a satisfactory ending. Incredibly disappointed.
I read the book on my Kindle, so as I was reading, I had no idea how many pages remained. I checked towards the end, and there were 10 pages left, and nothing had yet been explained. I said to myself, "no. No that isn't possible." I continued to read, and sure enough, the weeks I had wasted on this book were 'wrapped up' in about 2 pages at the end, leaving me with about 6,000 unanswered questions.
Don't bother writing a book and getting your readers invested if you aren't able to provide a satisfactory ending. Incredibly disappointed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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January 19, 2015Unsatisfactory
Umm...just finished Behind Closed Doors. I am surprised that I actually read this book until the end; a horrible ending at that. I feel that Kathryn Croft owes me for the time I wasted on this book. First, this novel dragged on far too long with uneventful nonsense. Secondly, this novel had three totally different plots in one book. The book unsuccessfully alternated between depicting the dysfunctional romantic relationship of Olivia and Michael to Olivia's life in a mental health facility to Olivia being stalked. The separate plots were annoying; and the ending did a poor job tying them together. The title of the book is "Behind Closed Doors" and I think Kathryn Croft should have kept the idea to write this book behind the closed recesses of her mind.
Umm...just finished Behind Closed Doors. I am surprised that I actually read this book until the end; a horrible ending at that. I feel that Kathryn Croft owes me for the time I wasted on this book. First, this novel dragged on far too long with uneventful nonsense. Secondly, this novel had three totally different plots in one book. The book unsuccessfully alternated between depicting the dysfunctional romantic relationship of Olivia and Michael to Olivia's life in a mental health facility to Olivia being stalked. The separate plots were annoying; and the ending did a poor job tying them together. The title of the book is "Behind Closed Doors" and I think Kathryn Croft should have kept the idea to write this book behind the closed recesses of her mind.
March 18, 2016
Awful. It drug on for hundreds of pages with 3 completely separate plots, first there is Olivia's dysfunctional relationship with Michael, then there is her time in a mental facility, and last Olivia's stalker. All 3 of 3 are supposed to be summed up in about 2 pages at the end of the book. The narrative was highly annoying, and all the main character does throughout the entire book is ignore her daughter, allow herself to either abused or ignored, and whine about everything, the only characters with any redeeming qualities are Carl and Kiera. Sex scenes are horrible and feel way too much like condoning rape to make any part of the book even slight enjoyable. Yuck!
January 19, 2016
There seem to be so many good reviews on this book that I cannot reconcile with. I struggled to finish Behind Closed Doors and almost wish I hadn’t bothered. Page after page wondering when something was really going to happen. Olivia and her daughter Ellie move into a flat in London after the break up of Olivia's marriage. And frankly Carl (husband) I am not surprised that you strayed beyond the bounds of fidelity. And Olivia gives up on ten years of marriage after your single misdemeanour and then embarks on a particularly unpleasant relationship with her moody neighbour Michael. A control freak who soon manages to turn you into a hapless nymphomaniac and all this with your daughter Ellie hovering in the background. Michael’s sister Chloe is another nasty piece of work.
A complete melodrama that lacks any endearing qualities. The only character I had any empathy with was Carl who at least showed some redeeming qualities. The book struggles to a pointless ending with a ‘twist’ that became all too obvious.
Time to move on....
A complete melodrama that lacks any endearing qualities. The only character I had any empathy with was Carl who at least showed some redeeming qualities. The book struggles to a pointless ending with a ‘twist’ that became all too obvious.
Time to move on....
December 1, 2015
I started with Kathryn Croft's first novel and ended up reading all her novels. I have recently developed this habit. I get either attached to the style of writing or to the author itself. This one was so gripping that I couldn't wait for it to end. I kept wondering what was wrong with Michael or Chloe for that matter. You keep on turning pages but still don't get a single clue that would reveal something. Her protagonist are usually troubled characters not the kind of troubled as in Murakami's novels but normally troubled characters who sometimes end up either in prison, asylum or escape death by couple of seconds. That's what makes you keep turning the pages. You know that feeling...ok, come on speak, tell me, explain it to me at once but no, you gotta read 300 pages to get there and you just can't help. I want more Kathryn Croft. I want to read every darn thing written by her. I bet even her grocery list at the bottom says 'be careful' anything could happen in the store.
Go read the thrillers. Last, she's underrated. I found all the novels more interesting than Gone Girl (yes, it's a genre now)
Go read the thrillers. Last, she's underrated. I found all the novels more interesting than Gone Girl (yes, it's a genre now)
December 14, 2015
I had previously read a book of Kathryn Crofts and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am afraid I found this one quite disappointing, just slow and drawn out.
September 24, 2018
Kathryn Croft is one of my new favorite authors! This book is an extremely nail biting psychological thriller. The characters are deliciously flawed, the reader wants to continually scream out "RUN!!" Or "DON'T DO IT!!". Sadly, the character never listens.
You'll keep turning the pages and biting your nails the closer you get towards the end. This was an amazing read and I highly recommend it .
You'll keep turning the pages and biting your nails the closer you get towards the end. This was an amazing read and I highly recommend it .
June 13, 2018
Actual rating - 3.5
February 14, 2019
This book starts with Olivia moving out of her husband Carl's house as she discovers that he has cheated on her, she refuses to accept his apology, moves out and rents an apartment where she meets Michael - post that they start seeing each other (and of course there's a lot of forced sex between them [another point I didnt understand throughout the book]!
Throughout the book I was unable to understand why Olivia was ok to put up with Michael's rash behavior!
At first I really didnt like this book, I started reading this in May 2016, it didnt catch my attention - i had borrowed this using my kindle unlimited membership and still had a lot of time to return it, so I gave it another go in Aug 2016, somewhere this caught my attention despite of having lengthy dialogues by Olivia as if she is writing a letter to Michael.
What I liked - there are some twists after this book crosses about 30% and it keeps getting better almost until the end
What I didnt like or dont want to like - this book is very very slow, just takes a lot of energy and attention time! Also towards the last 2 chapters, IMO the author could have ended better - it seemed a lot rushed, doesnt tell us what exactly happens to Michael, Chloe (this was bad because they are a part of atleast 90% of the book!)
I re-read this - most of my review remains the same but I really want to know what happened to Michael and Chloe in the end and why was Olivia institutionalized and where?
Throughout the book I was unable to understand why Olivia was ok to put up with Michael's rash behavior!
At first I really didnt like this book, I started reading this in May 2016, it didnt catch my attention - i had borrowed this using my kindle unlimited membership and still had a lot of time to return it, so I gave it another go in Aug 2016, somewhere this caught my attention despite of having lengthy dialogues by Olivia as if she is writing a letter to Michael.
What I liked - there are some twists after this book crosses about 30% and it keeps getting better almost until the end
What I didnt like or dont want to like - this book is very very slow, just takes a lot of energy and attention time! Also towards the last 2 chapters, IMO the author could have ended better - it seemed a lot rushed, doesnt tell us what exactly happens to Michael, Chloe (this was bad because they are a part of atleast 90% of the book!)
I re-read this - most of my review remains the same but I really want to know what happened to Michael and Chloe in the end and why was Olivia institutionalized and where?
did-not-finish
February 13, 2016DNF.
I really enjoyed The Stranger Within and The Girl With No Past by this author, and the blurb to Behind Closed Doors made it sound just as good, but how wrong can you be? So slow, so dreary, it refused to get going and instead dragged on and on and on; I finally gave up at 30%.
I really enjoyed The Stranger Within and The Girl With No Past by this author, and the blurb to Behind Closed Doors made it sound just as good, but how wrong can you be? So slow, so dreary, it refused to get going and instead dragged on and on and on; I finally gave up at 30%.
March 1, 2016
It went on and on and on and on FOR THAT?!?! Majorly disappointed. That ending was horrid. I was enjoying the suspense even though it bounced around very oddly. But the whole thing is ruined by that ending!
March 19, 2020
One of the most boring books I've read this year
March 30, 2019
I borrowed the audiobook from my library forgetting I own a copy on my kindle. Although I think the audiobook worked better for me.
This was an uncomfortable listen.
Olivia was the typical woman, I've seen in many books, who doesn't catch on to all the red flags until it's too late.
Her relationship with Michael was toxic. In my opinion the way his actions towards her were brushed over annoyed me. Felt kind of condoning rape. Olivia always had to find a way to make an excuse to herself everytime it happened.
The book itself has three main plot points
1: Olivia and Michael's toxic relationship
2: Olivia in a mental institution
3: Olivia being stalked.
All three of these had to be summed up within the last two chapters. Both not enough time to really get into the truth. Although I was kept interested the whole time.
The writing style felt like I was listening to a letter to Michael from Olivia. Which I didn't mind. It sort of worked for me.
This was an uncomfortable listen.
Olivia was the typical woman, I've seen in many books, who doesn't catch on to all the red flags until it's too late.
Her relationship with Michael was toxic. In my opinion the way his actions towards her were brushed over annoyed me. Felt kind of condoning rape. Olivia always had to find a way to make an excuse to herself everytime it happened.
The book itself has three main plot points
1: Olivia and Michael's toxic relationship
2: Olivia in a mental institution
3: Olivia being stalked.
All three of these had to be summed up within the last two chapters. Both not enough time to really get into the truth. Although I was kept interested the whole time.
The writing style felt like I was listening to a letter to Michael from Olivia. Which I didn't mind. It sort of worked for me.
October 1, 2025
This wasn't as dark as a psychological thriller as I'm used to. Yes it had alot of elements, but they just seemed tamed compared to fiction. Like, I could imagine Maureen at work telling me the same story about her friend's daughter or something. But I suppose, that means it held a lot of realism.
some thing(s) I liked:
✅well written
✅wanted to know what happened, so I did finish
✅2nd person pov was a change from the usual
some thing(s), not so much:
⭕Micheal was a monster however you spin it and Olivia made excuse after excuse for him. in the end, I wondered how she was able to do that when she left her husband for cheating on her once. why didn't she afford Carl - the man she was married to for more than 10 years and spent much of the book telling the reader about what a great father and man in general - the same courtesy? that didn't make any sense.
⭕as soon as Chloe introduced herself, the "big" twist was obvious and it was difficult to believe Olivia didn't see it.
⭕poor Ellie
some thing(s) I liked:
✅well written
✅wanted to know what happened, so I did finish
✅2nd person pov was a change from the usual
some thing(s), not so much:
⭕Micheal was a monster however you spin it and Olivia made excuse after excuse for him. in the end, I wondered how she was able to do that when she left her husband for cheating on her once. why didn't she afford Carl - the man she was married to for more than 10 years and spent much of the book telling the reader about what a great father and man in general - the same courtesy? that didn't make any sense.
⭕as soon as Chloe introduced herself, the "big" twist was obvious and it was difficult to believe Olivia didn't see it.
⭕poor Ellie
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2022
Weird book. The first 20% was sloooow and boooring. I almost gave up but kept plugging along and then, all of a sudden, I’m staying up past 2am to keep reading. The main characters are not likeable, and the second person point of view is odd, but it kept me guessing for most of the book, and the plot is unique.
November 16, 2017
I want to say initially that having seen some of the really bad reviews of this book on Goodreads, I really cannot understand them. I get that everyone's entitled to their opinions but it's really lost on me, how, if you're a fan of psychological thrillers you couldn't enjoy this book.
Now that's out of the way, I want to say a little something about Kathryn Croft. I was first introduced to her when I read her novel While You Were Sleeping last year. Kathryn started out as a self published author but was soon snapped up by publishers Bookouture, and there's a reason for that. Kathryn is a really good author and writes fantastic psychological thrillers. She's also a really great person and you can read my interview with her here: https://lifehasafunnywayofsneakingupo... well as my positive reviews of the other two novels I've read by her here:
While You Were Sleeping: https://lifehasafunnywayofsneakingupo... Stranger Within: https://lifehasafunnywayofsneakingupo..., Behind Closed Doors is one of the novels Kathryn wrote as a self published author which means she wrote, edited and marketed that book herself. Which frankly to me makes it even more amazing! I really enjoyed it start to finish and couldn't put it down!
Olivia has just got divorced from her husband and moved into a flat with her 10 year old daughter Ellie. Soon after moving in, she befriends and becomes close to their upstairs neighbour Michael. But things start going downhill from there, Michael can be a little strange at times and Ellie hates his sister Chloe. To top it off, Olivia is having to deal with an ex-husband who doesn't want to let her go, and now she's got a stalker as well. As things start to get even weirder, Olivia doesn't know where to turn or who she can trust anymore. Who is really out to get her?
This novel was a real page turner. What baffled me most was that a lot of previous reviewers said the ending was obvious. I simply cannot agree, there were plenty of red herrings thrown in and just like our first person narrator Olivia, I didn't have a clue who to trust, no sooner did I think I'd worked it out, I became suspicious of someone else. I did start to work out who it was eventually but not until about 95% of the way through, and even then I wasn't expecting that ending! I'm still reeling and pretty certain I'll have a book hangover for a few days while I try and process that!
Well done Kathryn on another suspenseful, psychological thriller!
April 22, 2022
My Review:
Loved!!!!! I don’t know what it is about this author but I sure do love her books. I’m not sure if it’s her writing style or her story lines but I’m hooked on her. Once I start one of her books I can’t put it down for the life of me so I make sure I have everything done before I even start. Now on to the book. All I have to say is you definitely don’t know what goes on behind closed doors. This title was perfect for this book. This book was so sick and twisted but you didn’t realize how much so until the end of the book. I was so shocked and speechless at that ending. All of it finally made sense. Every single thing clue you were given came in clear view by the end. Kathryn Croft always delivers when it comes to her endings and that is one of reasons I love her so much. I can’t wait to read more of her books.
In conclusion, the plot, the characters and all the twists in this book made this book an enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Loved!!!!! I don’t know what it is about this author but I sure do love her books. I’m not sure if it’s her writing style or her story lines but I’m hooked on her. Once I start one of her books I can’t put it down for the life of me so I make sure I have everything done before I even start. Now on to the book. All I have to say is you definitely don’t know what goes on behind closed doors. This title was perfect for this book. This book was so sick and twisted but you didn’t realize how much so until the end of the book. I was so shocked and speechless at that ending. All of it finally made sense. Every single thing clue you were given came in clear view by the end. Kathryn Croft always delivers when it comes to her endings and that is one of reasons I love her so much. I can’t wait to read more of her books.
In conclusion, the plot, the characters and all the twists in this book made this book an enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
May 11, 2015
After reading some reviews which suggested the ending was 'stupid' or didn't make sense I still had to read this book, and I'm so glad I did.
This is another self-published book I'll enjoy reading again and again. I have one minor suggestion though: I find it more of a psychological thriller than suspense, and that's a good thing, because it kept me guessing until the very end. I kind of thought just before the final pages (after several wrong idea's) what might happen but when the ending came I thought it fit perfectly.
This is one of the best Psychological Thriller's I've read and it's self-published which made it even better knowing that the author (Kathryn Croft) had edited, proofed and published it herself- well done!
This is another self-published book I'll enjoy reading again and again. I have one minor suggestion though: I find it more of a psychological thriller than suspense, and that's a good thing, because it kept me guessing until the very end. I kind of thought just before the final pages (after several wrong idea's) what might happen but when the ending came I thought it fit perfectly.
This is one of the best Psychological Thriller's I've read and it's self-published which made it even better knowing that the author (Kathryn Croft) had edited, proofed and published it herself- well done!
September 8, 2015
I found this book very disturbing but definitely wanted to continue reading to find out the conclusion which I didn't guess. Although the sexual violence wasn't too graphic I can't imagine anyone putting up with such sexual and physiological abuse, I presume Olivia's need to be loved and wanted out weighed any pride she had in herself.
August 13, 2016
Horrible Book
T he book took forever to get anywhere interesting. I almost gave up 3_4x. It wasn't till about 3/4 away through the book did it peak my interest and then it was a horrible ending. Truly a waste of time
T he book took forever to get anywhere interesting. I almost gave up 3_4x. It wasn't till about 3/4 away through the book did it peak my interest and then it was a horrible ending. Truly a waste of time
September 23, 2015
I liked the plot and narrative well enough but really did not care for the raunchy sex stuff.
November 17, 2015
The book was quite good but thought it was building up to a way better ending. The ending is abrupt and doesn't round off the story well.
January 19, 2016
Took a little while to get in to but well worth it. I wanted to slap Olivia for being so weak but the ending was brilliant.
January 24, 2016
Very good read
A well written book ,with a thought-provoking content about domestic abuse ,some good twists and turns,about half way I had guessed part of the ending .
A well written book ,with a thought-provoking content about domestic abuse ,some good twists and turns,about half way I had guessed part of the ending .
Displaying 1 - 30 of 198 reviews