Under the Skin

by Susanna Rogers

She survived the attack—but the real danger is just beginning. Starting over has never been more deadly than in this mind-bending psychological thriller.

A year ago, Kate Mamotte fought back. Her husband died. She lived. Yet escaping isn’t the same as moving on. Desperate for a fresh start, she returns to Perth, where a housesitting gig, a temperamental cat, and a too-helpful neighbor, Ryan, offer a distraction.

Then the flowers arrive. From her dead husband.

The police think she’s unraveling. But as Kate digs into the past, she uncovers an affair, a child, and a deadly secret worth killing for. The threats escalate. And someone is watching.

She thinks she’s pieced it all together—until the real killer steps out of the shadows . . .

362 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 28, 2025

About the author

Susanna Rogers is the author of rock star romances for adults and kick butt books for young adults. Inspired by her very own in-house rock star and years of going to gigs, she penned the Mosh Series after writing and releasing several young adult novels. She’s also a kickboxer and dreams of empowering girls and guys around the globe to believe in themselves, to take care and follow their own dreams. She has a soft spot for romantic suspense, also with kick butt heroines, so you never know what might be coming up next.

She would love to hear from you – susannarogers.com.

Reviews

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Domestic Thrillers, Psychological Thrillers
Release date: 07-29-25
Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
Narrated by Tegan Bourke

A year ago, Kate Mamotte's husband Charlie died. Kate fought back. She lived. Desperate for a fresh start, she returns to Perth, where a housesitting gig, a temperamental cat, and a too-helpful neighbor, Ryan, offer a distraction from the tragedy. Kate is still grieving for her husband and slowly healing from her wounds. But someone isn't letting her forget the past tragedy and strange things start to happen, that make her question everything she knew about her husband, their marriage and so much more...

This is new to me author, so I didn't know what to expect from this story. To my surprise I was drawn into the story right from the beginning. There was something about Kate that made me root for her although she made so many questionable decisions.

[Carole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel divided over this novel, I didn't hate it but neither did I love it.
I thought it was well written and the characters were developed, but it was just too long and it felt like an age to get to the end.

Kate was one of the unluckiest people around to have those she loved gaslight her in the way her husband and mother did, to have her husband murdered, be stalked with sinister intentions by two people and then be the object of unwanted attention. It's no wonder the police didn't believe her.

Thank you Bloodhound books for my ARC copy of this novel.

[Caroline 'relaxing with my rescue dogs' · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was full of drama and a different read to my normal genre. there were enough twists to keep entertained but perhaps a bit over long

[Yvette Salmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what a book . Plenty of twists and turns and lots of good story telling. It hooked me in from page one and I read it in just over a day , it’s so fast paced with good characters and a very good storyline this is the first book I’ve read by this author and it won’t be the last. Would recommend a read.

[Jillian Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read.
I really felt for Kate after the murder of her husband and who would blame her for wanting to move cities.
Unfortunately a year after the event which blew apart Kate’s life, she still cannot move on as she wants to as things keep happening which make Kate question who her husband really was, who she has become and which if any of her friends and family (new and old) she can actually trust.
Compelling and an excellent ending

[Diane Elizabeth Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twists and turns galore!
This is a compelling read that had me turning the pages into the wee small hours.
All Kate wants is to mourn her husband and try to make the best of the life she has. She moves away to try and fill the void left by Charlie's death.
The tension soon ramps up when Kate realises there's much more to Charlie than she ever knew.
Who can Kate trust? As things become more dark and sinister, Kate doesn't know which way to turn.
This book has it all. Drama, tension, twisty layers, and as for Kate's mum - wow! she certainly doesn't help.
The ending is all wrapped up neatly and I'd highly recommend giving this one your time. You won't regret it.
My thanks to Bloodhound Books for the ARC.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has so many twists and turns that keeps your attention from beginning to end and have you suspecting everyone.
The plot is so good and the pace of it so fast that you just have to keep reading until you reach the end and figure out who the "bad guy or girl" is.
I enjoyed reading this book a lot.

[Pasquina Santina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not keep me engaged, and did not have a solid ending. A lot seemed far fetched. Random characters were introduced.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am really conflicted with how to review Under the Skin, on one hand it is a well written book with good characters but on the other, it is to me, a bit of a weird read as it very obvious what is going on but the main character Kate doesn't realise this. For this reason I found it a bit convoluted and with too many twists that took too long to be resolved.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read, how much bad luck can Kate experience? After her Husband was killed in front of her she moved back to be near her Mum but things just keep happening to her. Are they all linked or just a run of bad luck.

[Fizzie Heseltine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was brilliant. Lots of twists and turns that were not easy to get before they occurred. I recommend this

[Lesa Beach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Background:

The year before, Kate and her husband Charlie were attacked and Charlie died. Kate fought and killed their attacker.She was understandably devastated. A year later, she has moved back to where she grew up and has taken on a house sitting job. She works as a freelance copywriter but hasn't much work. Her husband was a doctor and preferred her at home.

The opening story: Kate is at the bar looking for a hook up. It's been a year. She has a taker and they go back to his place. After they're done he takes her home. A car comes a long and runs him down. Whoever hit him meant it. Kate calls for help and he's rushed to the hospital. He does live. So-

Kate had a rough upbringing. Her dad left early in her life, her older brother took to drugs and has been MIA for some time. Her husband was her salvation, although that will be proven false. Now it's just her, her crazy mother, her husband's friend Noah- who has the hots for her-and Noah's sister Laura and family. Plus the guy next door, Ryan. There's her mother's friend Renata, and the brother of the man who attacked them moves to town.These last 2 play a part in the story also.

There are a lot of twists to the story. Kate's still a mess from the attack, mentally. She has some blackouts, loses time. The author goes overboard with Kate's constant thoughts and feelings, making it repetitive. I skipped over chunks of that. Kate's mother also gets in the picture way too often and Kate is way too nice to Noah. Throughout the book I thought Kate should still be in counseling, why was she not going?
As the story unfolds, its obvious Kate should've been seeing a counselor years before but she wasn't able to see how messed up she was.
I liked the story but it needed some work. It wasn't terrible. The author went overboard with Kate's mental state. I felt Kate a little unbelievable as a fighter with her people pleasing, co dependent personality.As the story went on I could see more and more of that.

I received an advance copy of this book for my review.

[Jacqueline Moxon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great novel. A mixture of suspense and romance, he kept me reading until late in the night. Kate and her husband, Charlie, were the victims of a seemingly unprovoked attack, which she survived, but he didn’t. Kate, a martial arts expert, is filled with guilt, both for failing to save her husband, and for the doubts she suffers about whether o4 not she used excessive force in defending herself. Was it self defence or revenge for the killing of her husband? Her aggressor’s brother clearly thinks that it was the latter and bears a massive grudge against her. This puzzles me somewhat, as surely any reasonable person would accept that her innocent husband was killed first by the aggressor, so how could Kate be blamed for desperately fighting for her own survival? Apart from this anomaly, the book is convincing and gripping. The reader is never quite sure where the threat to Kate lies. Indeed, is she herself delusional? There were some powerful themes within the book; friendship, family, betrayal, cohesive control, guilt and forgiveness. I really enjoyed it and recommend it highly.

[Alison Cairns · Rating 5 out of 5]

We meet Kate in a singles bar in Perth, Australia where she's looking for a hook up. Which goes badly wrong. Kate's husband was killed in a knife attack in Melbourne and she still feels guilty that she couldn't save him. His best friend Noah has also moved back to Perth and makes it clear he'd like a relationship. Kate is housesitting a beautiful house and cat. But so many incidents keep occurring. The knife attacker, who Kate killed during the attack, 's brother is living nearby and harassing Kate. Is Noah all he seems? And should she get together with neighbour Ryan? I found myself doubting everyone. Add a very toxic mother to the mix, along with the realisation that her marriage wasn't all she thought it was, and this is a cracker of a story. #bloodhoundbooks #undertheskin

[Sallie Greenhalgh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic novel with plenty of twists and turns. Kate has returned to Perth following the death of her husband in an horrific attack that she witnessed. She strikes up a friendship with her new next door neighbour as well as her husbands best friend. After a series of strange occurrences - including the running over of someone she is on a date with - the police think that Kate is making things up - but is she?

[Rhian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A year ago Kate survived an attack in which her husband died.
To try to rebuild her life she moves back to Perth. But a neighbour who seems too friendly and a hit and run attack on a man she meets on a date convince her that their attacker is still out there and looking for. And it becomes apparent her husband was not who she thought he was.
The plot twists and turns as Susanna Rogers ramps up the tension - after a slow start I didn't want to put it down.

[Rock Chick Fee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had not read any of the books by this author I will definately read more in the future.

Fast paced and action packed. the storyline is based on things that happened in the past but flows well and is a good read. I enjoyed this book very much. If you like Psychological Thrillers then this is a must read.

I received a free ARC and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Under the Skin by Susanna Rogersc was a brilliant book that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat and it will have you turning the pages to your kindle to find out what happens next! It was fast paced which was full of great twists and turns, the characters were excellent.

This is the first book I have read by Susanna and it will not be my last.

[Lianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This really could’ve been a 5 star book. It was a well developed plot. I was entertained, I was engaged, I was trying to put clues together throughout, however, the author didn’t know when to stop. Out of 58 chapters, the last 5 were unnecessary. Although another plot twist happens in those last few chapters, it wasn’t so good that I needed the extra.

[Ann Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unnecessarily long read that struck me as fairly easy to decipher, perhaps I watch too many mystery thrillers. It was fairly obvious what had happened to Charlie and why.
Thank you Bloodhound ARC Books.

[Emma Ounsworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read but not great in my opinion.
The book itself was well written and the characters had plenty of back story but the plot unfolded too slowly to keep me really interested.
There were plenty of twists though some were a bit predictable but overall a decent mystery.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main character, Kate, is a sympathetic character who makes questionable choices that to the reader will end up have obvious bad consequences. The plot has plenty of twists and turns that keep you guessing. I voluntarily reviewed an advance readers copy of this book.

[Shobana Krishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable book and I love the setting in Perth. Engaging plot and I like that there were good men and not so good men and the same for women. I didn’t feel like you had a political agenda which is refreshing.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can't help but feel for Kate. She is trying to move on after life dealt her a raw deal, but things are easy for her. She misses her deceased husband very much. Her mother really isn't all that helpful, so she turns to her best friend for support, but her brother is in love with Kate, and she doesn't feel the same about him. But she can't shake the feeling she is being watched. There are other not so nice surprises coming her way also. A good story. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.

[Anitra Mansson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book with lots of plot twists to keep you involved. Kate does make some questionable choices throughout the book where you just want to yell at her "no, what are you thinking??".

[Svetlana Kva · Rating 3 out of 5]

средненько

[Barondestructo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoiler alert: The kill the cat.

[Tyra Simons · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover but when it’s this beautiful how can you not? Counting down to the 25th of June! Cannot wait to read this!