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Rebound
Rebound is a dark and gripping psychological thriller from debut author Aga Lesiewicz.
I'm not a bad person, but maybe I did a bad thing . . .
Life is good for Anna Wright. She's a successful media executive working for one of the UK's largest TV corporations. She's got a great boyfriend, some close friends and a lovely home. She adores her dog, Wispa, and she loves to run to help her de-stress.
But Anna's perfect life starts to crumble from the moment when, out jogging on the Heath one day, she meets a handsome stranger. She takes a route into unfamiliar territory, and then she has to face the consequences.
There's a dark, growing creepiness as the atmosphere becomes unsettled and, as Anna's professional life becomes increasingly pressured and poisonous, her obsession with the intriguing stranger intensifies.
I'm not a bad person, but maybe I did a bad thing . . .
Life is good for Anna Wright. She's a successful media executive working for one of the UK's largest TV corporations. She's got a great boyfriend, some close friends and a lovely home. She adores her dog, Wispa, and she loves to run to help her de-stress.
But Anna's perfect life starts to crumble from the moment when, out jogging on the Heath one day, she meets a handsome stranger. She takes a route into unfamiliar territory, and then she has to face the consequences.
There's a dark, growing creepiness as the atmosphere becomes unsettled and, as Anna's professional life becomes increasingly pressured and poisonous, her obsession with the intriguing stranger intensifies.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 14, 2016
17 people are currently reading
769 people want to read
About the author
Aga Lesiewicz
4 books31 followersAga Lesiewicz has lived in London for over thirty years. She worked as a radio presenter, voice-over artist, interpreter, screenwriter and a TV producer and director. A freak knee injury in 2013 led to a change in her career and prompted her to write her first psychological thriller ‘Rebound’. Her second London-based psychological thriller, 'Exposure' is out now.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews
February 7, 2016
*** 5 Stars ***
Brilliant debut novel.....
This one gripped me and would not let go.It's one of those where you think,just one more chapter and before you know it an hour has gone by....I could not put it down.
Anna is in her thirties.She has a highly successful job in Television,a beautiful home and a gorgeous,attentive boyfriend.
James,however,is starting to irritate her so she ends their 3 year relationship.She's warned by her best friend,Bell,not to jump straight into another relationship.
As a stress reliever,she regularly goes running on Hampstead Heath and it is here she encounters a gorgeous stranger....
On one occasion she sees 2 men going into the bushes to have sex and is turned on and decides to indulge in a fantasy of her own....
Something that is about to have a devastating effect on her life.
Around the same time a series of rapes take place on the Heath.
Add to that a series of disturbing events in her life and you have all the makings of a great psychological thriller.
Brilliant secondary characters,especially in her two best friends,Bell and Michael..
Neighbours with issues all make this an intriguing story.
The story is told in an unique way.The days count down in chapters before 'the event' and continue in the same way after 'the event'.
Towards the end I think I suspected nearly everyone....it's a truly gripping story.
Highly recommended.........
I'm not a bad person,but maybe I did a bad thing...
Brilliant debut novel.....
This one gripped me and would not let go.It's one of those where you think,just one more chapter and before you know it an hour has gone by....I could not put it down.
Anna is in her thirties.She has a highly successful job in Television,a beautiful home and a gorgeous,attentive boyfriend.
James,however,is starting to irritate her so she ends their 3 year relationship.She's warned by her best friend,Bell,not to jump straight into another relationship.
As a stress reliever,she regularly goes running on Hampstead Heath and it is here she encounters a gorgeous stranger....
On one occasion she sees 2 men going into the bushes to have sex and is turned on and decides to indulge in a fantasy of her own....
Something that is about to have a devastating effect on her life.
Around the same time a series of rapes take place on the Heath.
Add to that a series of disturbing events in her life and you have all the makings of a great psychological thriller.
Brilliant secondary characters,especially in her two best friends,Bell and Michael..
Neighbours with issues all make this an intriguing story.
The story is told in an unique way.The days count down in chapters before 'the event' and continue in the same way after 'the event'.
Towards the end I think I suspected nearly everyone....it's a truly gripping story.
Highly recommended.........
February 22, 2018
I'm not a bad person, but maybe I did a bad thing.
Plot:
Anna, a career woman has just broken up with her pleasant boyfriend. She has a remarkable job in television and near-perfect life - which she feeling weary and disinterested about. Searching for some adventures, she falls prey to a stranger's claw.
His countenance and glamour is enough to enrapture Anna. Soon follows an avalanche of disturbing episodes leaving Anna contemplate harder. What is the link between these mysterious occurrences and the stranger?
Writing:
Rebound is a detailed in specific contents yet a concise novel. To some it might bug why the protagonist does what she does. For some, it can be an open discussion. One cannot prevent himself from digging the entire book just to catch the culprit.
Aga Lesiewicz has essayed charming characters. Specially the Dog and Anna relationship has been described profoundly.
Other characters don't provide you their backgrounds which the author deliberately assigns you for your own fascination. Apt cover intensifies the curiosity. Satisfactory thriller with a keeping-you-at-the-edge story makes it a certain check-out.
Plot:
Anna, a career woman has just broken up with her pleasant boyfriend. She has a remarkable job in television and near-perfect life - which she feeling weary and disinterested about. Searching for some adventures, she falls prey to a stranger's claw.
His countenance and glamour is enough to enrapture Anna. Soon follows an avalanche of disturbing episodes leaving Anna contemplate harder. What is the link between these mysterious occurrences and the stranger?
Writing:
Rebound is a detailed in specific contents yet a concise novel. To some it might bug why the protagonist does what she does. For some, it can be an open discussion. One cannot prevent himself from digging the entire book just to catch the culprit.
Aga Lesiewicz has essayed charming characters. Specially the Dog and Anna relationship has been described profoundly.
Other characters don't provide you their backgrounds which the author deliberately assigns you for your own fascination. Apt cover intensifies the curiosity. Satisfactory thriller with a keeping-you-at-the-edge story makes it a certain check-out.
February 7, 2017
“Like some wines our love could neither mature nor travel.”
----Graham Greene
Aga Lesiewicz, a British author, has penned a terrific and gripping debut psychological thriller, Rebound that revolves around a young career-oriented woman who has a perfect life with perfect boyfriend and a cute pet dog, but not long before she calls it off with her boyfriend, and one day she meets a total random stranger in the park while walking her dog but an encounter with the man makes the woman pay heavily for her perfect life and career. An obsession she can't let go, yet the obsession is eating her up like a slow poison along with the gradual increase in the body count of random women in that very same park.
Synopsis:
Rebound is a dark and gripping psychological thriller from debut author Aga Lesiewicz.
I'm not a bad person, but maybe I did a bad thing . . .
Life is good for Anna Wright. She's a successful media executive working for one of the UK's largest TV corporations. She's got a great boyfriend, some close friends and a lovely home. She adores her dog, Wispa, and she loves to run to help her de-stress.
But Anna's perfect life starts to crumble from the moment when, out jogging on the Heath one day, she meets a handsome stranger. She takes a route into unfamiliar territory, and then she has to face the consequences.
There's a dark, growing creepiness as the atmosphere becomes unsettled and, as Anna's professional life becomes increasingly pressured and poisonous, her obsession with the intriguing stranger intensifies.
Anna Wright has a successful career in a media house with an equally perfect life that consists of a perfectly handsome boyfriend. But Anna is not happy in her personal life thus she breaks her relationship with her boyfriend, James. And soon she falls into the trap of rebound one day after the breakup when she goes to a park in Heath to run her dog where she encounters an extremely sexy and intimidating stranger. Gradually her encounters become sexual and her job becomes a nightmare for her, followed by the death of random women who visit that park. Anna questions on whether she should tell anybody about that total random strange man she met in the park. But the murder of someone close to her, shakes Anna up, and that makes her doubt anybody and everybody close to her. Will she become a victim or a pawn to this game?
While reading the book, I couldn't guess that this is the debut book by the author, as the story is highly absorbing enough that kept me hooked on to it till the turn of the very last page. Right from the very beginning itself, the story pulled me into an unpredictable and extremely complicated universe of the protagonist, Anna whose constant wrong-doing feels right at every step of the way and the more she indulges herself, the story turns more darker and irresistible.
The concoction of the mystery in this book is done quite strikingly as the story mystery gradually deepens and darkens with its course. And the darkness is so addictive that even though the readers get lost in such a complex maze yet somehow they will find it intriguing enough to not to dare to turn away their heads from the book. The mystery is tightly packed under layers of unforeseeable twists and turns that will come out of nowhere through out the entire length of the story and that will keep the readers anticipating till the very end.
The author's writing style is perfect and extremely polished laced with both emotions and deep mystery that gives an intense edge to the overall story line. The narrative is equally engaging although at times, it felt like they lost momentum, thereby making it difficult for me to stay focus to the story. The pacing is really fast and edgy as Anna's life take a downward spiral course o destruction.
The characters in the book are extremely well developed although at times their demeanor felt a bit superficial. Anna is a mentally strong woman who then falls for a stranger, and the author has vividly captured Anna's distressed and confused mind. The readers will feel the strong desire to stick with Anna and the mystery surrounding her. The dog, Wispa plays an excellent role in the backdrop of the story line, that makes the story delectable. The rest of the characters are not so memorable as they are not created with so much depth, especially the stranger in the park.
In a nutshell, the story is a brilliant and captivating enough to keep the readers glued to the pages of this book till the end, and a mystery so well developed that even the seasoned crime-readers won't be able to figure out the whodunit easily.
Verdict: A promising debut psycho thriller!
Courtesy: Thanks to the publishers from Pan Macmillan India for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.
----Graham Greene
Aga Lesiewicz, a British author, has penned a terrific and gripping debut psychological thriller, Rebound that revolves around a young career-oriented woman who has a perfect life with perfect boyfriend and a cute pet dog, but not long before she calls it off with her boyfriend, and one day she meets a total random stranger in the park while walking her dog but an encounter with the man makes the woman pay heavily for her perfect life and career. An obsession she can't let go, yet the obsession is eating her up like a slow poison along with the gradual increase in the body count of random women in that very same park.
Synopsis:
Rebound is a dark and gripping psychological thriller from debut author Aga Lesiewicz.
I'm not a bad person, but maybe I did a bad thing . . .
Life is good for Anna Wright. She's a successful media executive working for one of the UK's largest TV corporations. She's got a great boyfriend, some close friends and a lovely home. She adores her dog, Wispa, and she loves to run to help her de-stress.
But Anna's perfect life starts to crumble from the moment when, out jogging on the Heath one day, she meets a handsome stranger. She takes a route into unfamiliar territory, and then she has to face the consequences.
There's a dark, growing creepiness as the atmosphere becomes unsettled and, as Anna's professional life becomes increasingly pressured and poisonous, her obsession with the intriguing stranger intensifies.
Anna Wright has a successful career in a media house with an equally perfect life that consists of a perfectly handsome boyfriend. But Anna is not happy in her personal life thus she breaks her relationship with her boyfriend, James. And soon she falls into the trap of rebound one day after the breakup when she goes to a park in Heath to run her dog where she encounters an extremely sexy and intimidating stranger. Gradually her encounters become sexual and her job becomes a nightmare for her, followed by the death of random women who visit that park. Anna questions on whether she should tell anybody about that total random strange man she met in the park. But the murder of someone close to her, shakes Anna up, and that makes her doubt anybody and everybody close to her. Will she become a victim or a pawn to this game?
While reading the book, I couldn't guess that this is the debut book by the author, as the story is highly absorbing enough that kept me hooked on to it till the turn of the very last page. Right from the very beginning itself, the story pulled me into an unpredictable and extremely complicated universe of the protagonist, Anna whose constant wrong-doing feels right at every step of the way and the more she indulges herself, the story turns more darker and irresistible.
The concoction of the mystery in this book is done quite strikingly as the story mystery gradually deepens and darkens with its course. And the darkness is so addictive that even though the readers get lost in such a complex maze yet somehow they will find it intriguing enough to not to dare to turn away their heads from the book. The mystery is tightly packed under layers of unforeseeable twists and turns that will come out of nowhere through out the entire length of the story and that will keep the readers anticipating till the very end.
The author's writing style is perfect and extremely polished laced with both emotions and deep mystery that gives an intense edge to the overall story line. The narrative is equally engaging although at times, it felt like they lost momentum, thereby making it difficult for me to stay focus to the story. The pacing is really fast and edgy as Anna's life take a downward spiral course o destruction.
The characters in the book are extremely well developed although at times their demeanor felt a bit superficial. Anna is a mentally strong woman who then falls for a stranger, and the author has vividly captured Anna's distressed and confused mind. The readers will feel the strong desire to stick with Anna and the mystery surrounding her. The dog, Wispa plays an excellent role in the backdrop of the story line, that makes the story delectable. The rest of the characters are not so memorable as they are not created with so much depth, especially the stranger in the park.
In a nutshell, the story is a brilliant and captivating enough to keep the readers glued to the pages of this book till the end, and a mystery so well developed that even the seasoned crime-readers won't be able to figure out the whodunit easily.
Verdict: A promising debut psycho thriller!
Courtesy: Thanks to the publishers from Pan Macmillan India for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.
December 16, 2015
**3.5-4 stars**
I really enjoyed Rebound it has to be said – it had a strange but highly addictive vibe to it and whilst it was not without its faults for me as a reader, it did have huge readability factor in the “Just one more chapter before I go to sleep” stakes. Yes it kept me up at night…
This book is all about Anna really. A strong independant woman who makes some strange choices then has to go with the consequential flow so to speak – her life gets turned on its head and everywhere she looks odd things are happening.
The author has written a psychological thriller with a twisty dark heart and somehow managed to make it read slightly differently to the norm even though a lot of the standard tropes are in here. I admired that and it made for a great story. I’m loathe to tell you too much about the plot lest I give things away – but Aga Lesiewicz throws everything and the kitchen sink into the suspect pool, making Anna’s state of mind and slow spiral into a dark place the reason for it. It is very cleverly done.
It fairly bangs along at an alarming rate as Anna faces fallout from her impulsive actions – occasionally (and this is where the slight fault was for me) it headed into extreme annoyance at the character territory in the one or two times that a little cliche was used. Why for example, do people NEVER answer their phones when that most important call comes. They answer every call ever. But not that one. Either the phone has just died (having never died before) or they have an argument in their own head to ignore the obvious or whatever, there are various standard plot uses that can be applied- there was a little of that here which I shook my head at but for the MOST part it was terrifically compelling and a fascinating character study.
It is dark, sexy, unrelenting and has a plethora of well drawn characters for you to suspect, love, hate and the rest – all the hallmarks of a top notch bit of storytelling in a novel sitting inside rather overcrowded genre right now. The resolution was well applied and fit in nicely with the rest and overall I’m quite happy to recommend this as one of the good ones. I’ll look forward with interest to what this author comes up with next.
Happy Reading Folks!
I really enjoyed Rebound it has to be said – it had a strange but highly addictive vibe to it and whilst it was not without its faults for me as a reader, it did have huge readability factor in the “Just one more chapter before I go to sleep” stakes. Yes it kept me up at night…
This book is all about Anna really. A strong independant woman who makes some strange choices then has to go with the consequential flow so to speak – her life gets turned on its head and everywhere she looks odd things are happening.
The author has written a psychological thriller with a twisty dark heart and somehow managed to make it read slightly differently to the norm even though a lot of the standard tropes are in here. I admired that and it made for a great story. I’m loathe to tell you too much about the plot lest I give things away – but Aga Lesiewicz throws everything and the kitchen sink into the suspect pool, making Anna’s state of mind and slow spiral into a dark place the reason for it. It is very cleverly done.
It fairly bangs along at an alarming rate as Anna faces fallout from her impulsive actions – occasionally (and this is where the slight fault was for me) it headed into extreme annoyance at the character territory in the one or two times that a little cliche was used. Why for example, do people NEVER answer their phones when that most important call comes. They answer every call ever. But not that one. Either the phone has just died (having never died before) or they have an argument in their own head to ignore the obvious or whatever, there are various standard plot uses that can be applied- there was a little of that here which I shook my head at but for the MOST part it was terrifically compelling and a fascinating character study.
It is dark, sexy, unrelenting and has a plethora of well drawn characters for you to suspect, love, hate and the rest – all the hallmarks of a top notch bit of storytelling in a novel sitting inside rather overcrowded genre right now. The resolution was well applied and fit in nicely with the rest and overall I’m quite happy to recommend this as one of the good ones. I’ll look forward with interest to what this author comes up with next.
Happy Reading Folks!
February 21, 2016
I genuinely have no idea what I just read. The way that Prologue turned out was ridiculous, and not even anything bad, so you like get excited thinking "Ooh, who's chasing Anna?" and it's not anything like it should be. The book just read like this: Anna works, Anna runs on the heath, Anna talks about her dog. Anna works, Anna runs on the heath, Anna talks about her dog. That was it. There was no tension in the novel, no thriller aspect, I don't understand what this book was meant to be. It wasn't scary in the slightest, and I only finished it to see who the culprit was, and even then it wasn't really surprising, but it kinda was because there was literally zero background as to why that character would do that. There should have been more time spent explaining that character, because it was just random, or that's how it came across anyway.
A disappointing read, entirely disappointing. Anna was very unlikeable, too. Very high and mighty. In fact the only redeemable aspect of the whole novel was Wispa, the dog. THAT'S IT. The dog was the best bit. Otherwise, this book really wasn't worth my time unfortunately.
A disappointing read, entirely disappointing. Anna was very unlikeable, too. Very high and mighty. In fact the only redeemable aspect of the whole novel was Wispa, the dog. THAT'S IT. The dog was the best bit. Otherwise, this book really wasn't worth my time unfortunately.
April 11, 2017
Meet Anna Wright, a thirty-something successful and confident media executive working for a major TV corporation and living a financially comfortable life in Hampstead Heath. She has a fantastic job, several close friends and despite a habit of over-thinking she appears stable. Now watch as all this unravels before her very eyes in the space of just thirty-six short days and the trigger is nothing more than too good to be true boyfriend, James, sending a teddy bear to her office...! Well, the tasseled loafers he sports were reason enough in the eyes of Anna because she demands the whole package. Her rather subsequent risqué behaviour and out of character indiscretion with a mysterious man - christened Dior Man - on Hampstead Heath smacks of a midlife crisis! Best friend, Bell, cautions about Anna's seeming inability to spend any length of time without a man and warns her about ricocheting into anything new. Best to stick with what works; namely running on the Heath with the unconditional love of her chocolate-Labrador, Wispa, good wine and glorious food.
Despite James taking being dumped well, over the next thirty-six days a series of unfortunate occurrences come to fruition and Anna finds herself thinking how easy it would be to have his comfortable presence back in her life. Firstly, the window of her BMW X5 is broken and the teddy bear sent by James is stolen, but this is only made odder by the sighting of an identical toy in the window of a nearby charity shop. Simultaneously, the restructuring and streamlining of her workplace has left Anna is the unfortunate position of instituting many of the contentious changes. The subsequent sighting of an unknown hunk running sees Anna eschewing all of her previous morals and doing something contrary to her sensible and level-headed life to date that she is loathe to admit to, for fear of judgment and the minefield of double standards that it touches upon. Introduce a series of rapes on Hampstead Heath, a continual feeling of being watched, the red roses on her doorstep, the return of her dog by slightly over-friendly local neighbour Tom, a psycho ex-husband and a prang in her car, and shake well for Anna to be reduced to fearing for her safety and looking over her shoulder.
The police request any assistance from women joggers on the Heath with information to progress the course of the investigation and as the rapes become more brutal, Anna Wright is soon wondering if her own behaviour was the trigger. This run of extremely bizarre bad luck all comes rather out of the blue and the compounding feeling of subsequent events felt a tad unrealistic. A business trip to Paris sees Anna return to face the consequences of her moment of madness on the Heath and wrestle with her own guilt, conscience and a jury of her peers. In the days following Anna's return events reach a head, but is it too late for Anna to get her life back on track and face the ramifications of her own behaviour? As everything heads towards uncovering the identity of the serial rapist on the Heath, enter the frequent house calls of DCI Vic Jones and DS Navin Kapoor.
I can't deny that Rebound kept me entertained, mainly because it seemed like such a random assortment of occurrences until about halfway through the novel and I had no idea where it was headed. Readers awaiting the pay-off will need to be in for the long haul as despite several eyebrow-raising moments, the story hinges on a pivotal incident at the halfway point. Up until then I had no idea how the seemingly random parts of this jigsaw fitted together. This messy first half never really sets a seriously ominous tone, despite being supremely creepy largely due to readers making their own inferences and seeing the worst in every situation. Aga Lesiewicz keeps the surprises galloping along and a sassy sense of humour makes Rebound all feel rather tongue in cheek. Although the ending didn't resolve every loose end it did address the most salient questions. I found Anna an interesting lead character but found her frequently contrary behaviour made her a difficult character to sympathise with and I found it hard to equate with a no-nonsense career woman. The surrounding cast were all rather caricatured and played to stereotypes, making this all feel like a sitcom and designed to amuse. The readers ability to empathise with main character, Anna, will hinge on one's propensity to tempt fate and continue to go running across an area being frequented by a prolific rapist.
Rebound never really fitted into the psychological thriller genre for me as it lacked the brooding intensity that is essential to keep readers invested in the story. Largely unrealistic and airy in feel, Rebound comes across as more humorous chick-lit and less unsettling psychological thriller. Humorous and action-packed, Rebound is trifling amusement but never quite lives up to its billing. Still, I shall be interested in seeing what the second psychological thriller from Aga Lesiewicz brings.
Aside: For less green fingered readers, myself included, tree pollarding (the subject of dinner party conversation) means to cut off the top and branches of a tree to encourage new growth at the top.
Despite James taking being dumped well, over the next thirty-six days a series of unfortunate occurrences come to fruition and Anna finds herself thinking how easy it would be to have his comfortable presence back in her life. Firstly, the window of her BMW X5 is broken and the teddy bear sent by James is stolen, but this is only made odder by the sighting of an identical toy in the window of a nearby charity shop. Simultaneously, the restructuring and streamlining of her workplace has left Anna is the unfortunate position of instituting many of the contentious changes. The subsequent sighting of an unknown hunk running sees Anna eschewing all of her previous morals and doing something contrary to her sensible and level-headed life to date that she is loathe to admit to, for fear of judgment and the minefield of double standards that it touches upon. Introduce a series of rapes on Hampstead Heath, a continual feeling of being watched, the red roses on her doorstep, the return of her dog by slightly over-friendly local neighbour Tom, a psycho ex-husband and a prang in her car, and shake well for Anna to be reduced to fearing for her safety and looking over her shoulder.
The police request any assistance from women joggers on the Heath with information to progress the course of the investigation and as the rapes become more brutal, Anna Wright is soon wondering if her own behaviour was the trigger. This run of extremely bizarre bad luck all comes rather out of the blue and the compounding feeling of subsequent events felt a tad unrealistic. A business trip to Paris sees Anna return to face the consequences of her moment of madness on the Heath and wrestle with her own guilt, conscience and a jury of her peers. In the days following Anna's return events reach a head, but is it too late for Anna to get her life back on track and face the ramifications of her own behaviour? As everything heads towards uncovering the identity of the serial rapist on the Heath, enter the frequent house calls of DCI Vic Jones and DS Navin Kapoor.
I can't deny that Rebound kept me entertained, mainly because it seemed like such a random assortment of occurrences until about halfway through the novel and I had no idea where it was headed. Readers awaiting the pay-off will need to be in for the long haul as despite several eyebrow-raising moments, the story hinges on a pivotal incident at the halfway point. Up until then I had no idea how the seemingly random parts of this jigsaw fitted together. This messy first half never really sets a seriously ominous tone, despite being supremely creepy largely due to readers making their own inferences and seeing the worst in every situation. Aga Lesiewicz keeps the surprises galloping along and a sassy sense of humour makes Rebound all feel rather tongue in cheek. Although the ending didn't resolve every loose end it did address the most salient questions. I found Anna an interesting lead character but found her frequently contrary behaviour made her a difficult character to sympathise with and I found it hard to equate with a no-nonsense career woman. The surrounding cast were all rather caricatured and played to stereotypes, making this all feel like a sitcom and designed to amuse. The readers ability to empathise with main character, Anna, will hinge on one's propensity to tempt fate and continue to go running across an area being frequented by a prolific rapist.
Rebound never really fitted into the psychological thriller genre for me as it lacked the brooding intensity that is essential to keep readers invested in the story. Largely unrealistic and airy in feel, Rebound comes across as more humorous chick-lit and less unsettling psychological thriller. Humorous and action-packed, Rebound is trifling amusement but never quite lives up to its billing. Still, I shall be interested in seeing what the second psychological thriller from Aga Lesiewicz brings.
Aside: For less green fingered readers, myself included, tree pollarding (the subject of dinner party conversation) means to cut off the top and branches of a tree to encourage new growth at the top.
January 14, 2016
I have been desperate to get my hands on a copy of this book since I heard about it back in the summer. Members of THE Book Club had copies in their goody bags from Harrogate so I knew this book had to be one I needed to read. And now I have and its one of the best books I have read this year! If I could pick a book that encompasses everything I want in a psychological thriller then it would be Rebound. It has a strong, independent female character, a cute dog and red herrings galore. I also liked the fact that I had absolutely NO IDEA where it was heading till it got there and that's quite unusual for me!
Anna is a career girl with a great job in television, her own house, complete with Wispa her chocolate lab (loved this dog and loved her name even more!) and a handsome devoted boyfriend. But she's a bit bored with the nice guy boyfriend and dumps him. Her bestie, Bell, warns her about her tendency to "rebound" but a chance encounter on her morning jog in the park leads to Anna having rough, casual sex with a stranger. Around the time of this encounter, a series of rapes take place in the same park. Is there a connection to Anna's mystery man and if so does this put Anna in danger?
This is going to be one of the top reads of 2016. It will certainly be one of those books to engage people in discussions about the morals of the main character, Anna but I loved her. Her relationships with her friends, but above all with her dog, made her a more likeable person and even if you don't understand the way she seeks out "Dior Man" you have to admire her honesty in doing what she wants with her life. The plot builds up with so many male characters that you really don't know who is genuine and who may be a rapist or worse. There is no gratuitous sexual violence here but some of Anna's encounters could be a bit graphic for some people.
This was well written with great research and lots of local details used in the locations. The plot sailed along smoothly, never dipping, until a perfect denouement. A gripping, edge of your seat debut from a writer that I am very keen to see more from. Loved, loved, loved this!
I received a copy of the book via netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
Anna is a career girl with a great job in television, her own house, complete with Wispa her chocolate lab (loved this dog and loved her name even more!) and a handsome devoted boyfriend. But she's a bit bored with the nice guy boyfriend and dumps him. Her bestie, Bell, warns her about her tendency to "rebound" but a chance encounter on her morning jog in the park leads to Anna having rough, casual sex with a stranger. Around the time of this encounter, a series of rapes take place in the same park. Is there a connection to Anna's mystery man and if so does this put Anna in danger?
This is going to be one of the top reads of 2016. It will certainly be one of those books to engage people in discussions about the morals of the main character, Anna but I loved her. Her relationships with her friends, but above all with her dog, made her a more likeable person and even if you don't understand the way she seeks out "Dior Man" you have to admire her honesty in doing what she wants with her life. The plot builds up with so many male characters that you really don't know who is genuine and who may be a rapist or worse. There is no gratuitous sexual violence here but some of Anna's encounters could be a bit graphic for some people.
This was well written with great research and lots of local details used in the locations. The plot sailed along smoothly, never dipping, until a perfect denouement. A gripping, edge of your seat debut from a writer that I am very keen to see more from. Loved, loved, loved this!
I received a copy of the book via netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
July 9, 2019
Rebound is a must buy must read. This is Aga Lesiwicz's first novel and so very addictive that you will not be able put this novel down. I am really pleased that Aga is working on her second book. This edge-of-your seat is about Anna Wright who has a powerful job as Head of On-Air, programming for a creative major TV Company. But that is it professionally. And then there is her personal life. She has just ended her relationship with James. Strange things start to take over Anna when she meets a stranger while out jogging on the Heath. Anna Wright is not a bad person but maybe she did do a bad thing. Her Neighbour Tom seems to be taking an interest in Anna and her loveable dog. It's Frightening Anna has quite a few men that appear in Anna's perfect life. But things take a terrible turn for Anna Wright bringing her many bad things to happen to upset her perfect life.
March 16, 2016
Anna Wright may have recently broken up with her boyfriend, but life is going well. And then it’s not. An incident that occurs while she’s out jogging on the Heath one day changes her life forever.
The opening chapter had me hooked. The concept of the story was original,however I found the plot became unbelievable. It also became a bit boring,Anna shopping,having lunch,going out with the dog called Wispa The book constantly describes unimportant details about what food she is eating, names of wines, designer names etc and she is such an unlikeable person that you cannot empathise with her at all. The relationship that Anna has with Wispa is a beautiful one, and I liked the dog the best of all.
What happens to Anna is for me unbelievable,the men she meets eg. Would you go jogging in a park where women have been raped/attacked ?
I felt no empathy with any of the characters and all in all it was not thrilling for me. The ending was unbelievable. An ok read with an interesting concept which did not take off.
The opening chapter had me hooked. The concept of the story was original,however I found the plot became unbelievable. It also became a bit boring,Anna shopping,having lunch,going out with the dog called Wispa The book constantly describes unimportant details about what food she is eating, names of wines, designer names etc and she is such an unlikeable person that you cannot empathise with her at all. The relationship that Anna has with Wispa is a beautiful one, and I liked the dog the best of all.
What happens to Anna is for me unbelievable,the men she meets eg. Would you go jogging in a park where women have been raped/attacked ?
I felt no empathy with any of the characters and all in all it was not thrilling for me. The ending was unbelievable. An ok read with an interesting concept which did not take off.
December 25, 2015
With thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.
A new author to me this book drew me in from the beginning. Anna is a lovely character, working within the film industry she comes across as a strong willed woman who knows her own mind and where she wants to be. After being in a relationship with James for three years she comes to the conclusion that he's not the man for her. An amicable split and Anna is single again focusing on her career and her dog Wispa, a rather overweight Labrador who shows nothing but love and affection and is her running partner on the Heath close to her home.
Anna is surrounded by her forever friends, those people who are always there when you need them, Soon after her split from James strange things seem to be happening, flowers and teddy bears arriving on her doorstep, no cards to announce who they're from....then the attacks begin. A rapist on the Heath sends panic through Anna, this is her safe place, the place she comes to unwind and now it's been tainted by this evil.
The story unwinds to so many twists and sub plots that keep you guessing who the rapist is and what happens next, is there more evil to be unleashed and what has it got to do with Anna?
I loved this book, keeping me guessing to the end who and why, a must read for all lovers of psychological thrillers this will have you hanging on to the edge of your seat.
A new author to me this book drew me in from the beginning. Anna is a lovely character, working within the film industry she comes across as a strong willed woman who knows her own mind and where she wants to be. After being in a relationship with James for three years she comes to the conclusion that he's not the man for her. An amicable split and Anna is single again focusing on her career and her dog Wispa, a rather overweight Labrador who shows nothing but love and affection and is her running partner on the Heath close to her home.
Anna is surrounded by her forever friends, those people who are always there when you need them, Soon after her split from James strange things seem to be happening, flowers and teddy bears arriving on her doorstep, no cards to announce who they're from....then the attacks begin. A rapist on the Heath sends panic through Anna, this is her safe place, the place she comes to unwind and now it's been tainted by this evil.
The story unwinds to so many twists and sub plots that keep you guessing who the rapist is and what happens next, is there more evil to be unleashed and what has it got to do with Anna?
I loved this book, keeping me guessing to the end who and why, a must read for all lovers of psychological thrillers this will have you hanging on to the edge of your seat.
November 24, 2015
Rebound, by Aga Lesiewicz, is a tense and tightly written psychological thriller set in and around Highgate in London. Its protagonist, Anna, is a thirty-something, single female who enjoys a successful career in the media. With no partner and no children she offers the reader a refreshing glimpse of a woman living a life of her choosing, whose only real tie is her much loved dog. This is not a book that relies on gender stereotypes or cliché. Its characters are varied and rounded, as in life.
When the story opens, Anna is on the verge of breaking up with her boyfriend of three years. James is handsome, loving and successful but Anna has had enough. His previously endearing habits now irritate. When she meets with her best friend, Bell, to drink and discuss what she has done, Bell advises her to stay single for a time, not to rebound into the arms of the first available replacement as she has been wont to do in the past.
Anna unwinds by running, usually on Hampstead Heath which is close to her home. When she observes two men enjoying an assignation in the bushes she starts to fantasise about such an encounter.
She follows an habitual route on her runs and starts to notice a handsome stranger running the same paths. She shocks herself by playing out her fantasy. When the local news outlets report details of rapes on the heath she worries that she has somehow triggered these awful events. Her rational side recognises how unlikely this would be but nagging doubts remain.
Anna has good friends in whom she confides. She also starts to meet neighbours when one returns her dog, found wandering in the road despite being left secured in her garden. There are other unexplained occurrences: her car is vandalised; roses are left outside her front door. With the added pressures of overseeing major restructuring at work she has little time to consider her continuing interest in the handsome stranger.
Anna is required to travel to Paris on business. While she is away tragedy strikes and she returns home to find herself implicated in a murder investigation. Her personal space has been invaded; nowhere feels safe.
The darkness of the woods, emptiness of the heath, and the pounding of Anna’s feet as she runs, provide a dark and tense backdrop to this fast paced tale. As the reader tries to guess which of the characters may be capable of the heinous crimes being committed, a brooding fear seeps in.
The denouement does not disappoint. The darkness is exposed with minimal contrivance.
A deftly put together thriller that benefits from the inclusion of Anna. It is rare to be offered a fictional woman who makes her own choices – professional, sexual and personal – without regrets. Woven around Anna is a compelling plot that avoids condemning her chosen lifestyle. She is allowed to be female and independent whilst enjoying liaisons and relationships on her own terms.
This was a highly enjoyable read; a fine thriller, well written, that I devoured in a sitting. Recommended.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Macmillan.
When the story opens, Anna is on the verge of breaking up with her boyfriend of three years. James is handsome, loving and successful but Anna has had enough. His previously endearing habits now irritate. When she meets with her best friend, Bell, to drink and discuss what she has done, Bell advises her to stay single for a time, not to rebound into the arms of the first available replacement as she has been wont to do in the past.
Anna unwinds by running, usually on Hampstead Heath which is close to her home. When she observes two men enjoying an assignation in the bushes she starts to fantasise about such an encounter.
She follows an habitual route on her runs and starts to notice a handsome stranger running the same paths. She shocks herself by playing out her fantasy. When the local news outlets report details of rapes on the heath she worries that she has somehow triggered these awful events. Her rational side recognises how unlikely this would be but nagging doubts remain.
Anna has good friends in whom she confides. She also starts to meet neighbours when one returns her dog, found wandering in the road despite being left secured in her garden. There are other unexplained occurrences: her car is vandalised; roses are left outside her front door. With the added pressures of overseeing major restructuring at work she has little time to consider her continuing interest in the handsome stranger.
Anna is required to travel to Paris on business. While she is away tragedy strikes and she returns home to find herself implicated in a murder investigation. Her personal space has been invaded; nowhere feels safe.
The darkness of the woods, emptiness of the heath, and the pounding of Anna’s feet as she runs, provide a dark and tense backdrop to this fast paced tale. As the reader tries to guess which of the characters may be capable of the heinous crimes being committed, a brooding fear seeps in.
The denouement does not disappoint. The darkness is exposed with minimal contrivance.
A deftly put together thriller that benefits from the inclusion of Anna. It is rare to be offered a fictional woman who makes her own choices – professional, sexual and personal – without regrets. Woven around Anna is a compelling plot that avoids condemning her chosen lifestyle. She is allowed to be female and independent whilst enjoying liaisons and relationships on her own terms.
This was a highly enjoyable read; a fine thriller, well written, that I devoured in a sitting. Recommended.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Macmillan.
March 6, 2016
I would like to thank Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for this advance copy in exchange for an open and honest review. 2016 looks set to be a good year for psychological thrillers and Rebound is one of them.
Anna Wright has the perfect life, she has a successful career in television and owns her home with her 5yr Labrador called Wispa. She has a lovely caring boyfriend called James and best friends Bell and Michael. Anna has been with the devoted James for 3 yrs but she becomes bored with him and dumps him. Bell warns Anna of her tendency to 'rebound' and advises her to stay single for a while.
On one of Anna's regular jogs on the heath she sees 2 men having sex in the woods, which she sounds intriguing. Shortly afterwards she meets The Dior Man who is always jogging on the heath when she is. She sees this man but the never speak and Anna becomes obsessed and starts looking our for him whenever she is out for a jog. The next time they meet they have rough casual sex in the woods, afterwards The Dior Man gets up and runs off. Then the rapes on the heath start... Anna cannot believe that her Dior Man is a rapist, but then her life starts to unravel. Bell is murdered on the heath walking Wispa and someone breaks into Anna's house without stealing anything. My favourite character in this book Anna's loyal and faithful friend dog Wispa.
This book is actually worthy of more then 5 stars, if you only read one book this year read Rebound.
Anna Wright has the perfect life, she has a successful career in television and owns her home with her 5yr Labrador called Wispa. She has a lovely caring boyfriend called James and best friends Bell and Michael. Anna has been with the devoted James for 3 yrs but she becomes bored with him and dumps him. Bell warns Anna of her tendency to 'rebound' and advises her to stay single for a while.
On one of Anna's regular jogs on the heath she sees 2 men having sex in the woods, which she sounds intriguing. Shortly afterwards she meets The Dior Man who is always jogging on the heath when she is. She sees this man but the never speak and Anna becomes obsessed and starts looking our for him whenever she is out for a jog. The next time they meet they have rough casual sex in the woods, afterwards The Dior Man gets up and runs off. Then the rapes on the heath start... Anna cannot believe that her Dior Man is a rapist, but then her life starts to unravel. Bell is murdered on the heath walking Wispa and someone breaks into Anna's house without stealing anything. My favourite character in this book Anna's loyal and faithful friend dog Wispa.
This book is actually worthy of more then 5 stars, if you only read one book this year read Rebound.
April 11, 2017
Pretty ridiculous. This started off as a slightly jarring psych thriller with a typical chick-lit female protagonist (wealthy and successful, ballsy yet vulnerable, somehow a functioning human being despite never making a rational decision - emotionally bouncing from one crisis to the next) but quickly it dissolved into a ludicrous and unbelievable mess. A cast of gay best friends, every piece of clothing, food/drink, North London scenery, travel all described in excessive detail, dull dull introspection which never leads to an informed choice being made, pages about a fucking dog. Every man encountered is evil, gay and/or stunningly attractive and a potential love interest. When the 'thriller' aspect develops and it turns out our protagonist is into having random rough sex with a strange man on Hampstead Heath, despite there being a spate of rapes and killings there.. well let's just say it's a bad thing in a book when you start to want the heroine and her irritating pooch to get killed and dismembered for acting like such feckless bitches. Alas they find the killer and everything basically works out OK in the end. Damn.
January 22, 2016
Wow! This book was everything I look for in a good psychological thriller and then some!
It hit the ground running, took my breath away and kept me gripped the entire time I was reading it.
Anna has just split up with James. She feels the relationship has run its course and that he is a little too "safe" for her. This new found freedom seems to unleash a monster within her and she finds herself doing things that she previously wouldn't have considered doing, regrets soon after but repeats. We've all been there - maybe not doing exactly what she is doing but in our own ways it's a familiar pattern to most. Then her actions start appearing to be the catalyst for other unspeakable things that happen and Anna starts to notice more weird things happening in her life. Are these things really all connected or is her hyper-vigilance just running into overdrive and making connections where there really are just coincidences.
I do have to admit that I didn't really like Anna. I found her to be a bit shallow and needy, especially with her friends but, she does have an awesome dog Wispa, so she can't be all bad. The other characters are all very well defined and just as easy to emote with. There were red herrings thrown in aplenty with regard to some of the characters' behaviour which made for an exciting journey reading the book and guessing who the stranger was, who was stalking Anna and were they the same person!
The story goes along at a fair lick and keeps the intensity high throughout. There is not much respite for the poor reader along the way which left me exhausted when I finished but, that said, I was also very satisfied too!
There is enough description in the book to complement the narrative but not too much that it is distracting which also adds to the tension generated. The format of the book was also very intriguing. We started X days before the event and counted down to the "event" and then switched to X days after, counting up until the end of the book.
I find it very hard to believe that this is a début novel, such was the overall quality which in my opinion is better that a lot of well established authors I have read. I will definitely be adding this author to my watch list.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
It hit the ground running, took my breath away and kept me gripped the entire time I was reading it.
Anna has just split up with James. She feels the relationship has run its course and that he is a little too "safe" for her. This new found freedom seems to unleash a monster within her and she finds herself doing things that she previously wouldn't have considered doing, regrets soon after but repeats. We've all been there - maybe not doing exactly what she is doing but in our own ways it's a familiar pattern to most. Then her actions start appearing to be the catalyst for other unspeakable things that happen and Anna starts to notice more weird things happening in her life. Are these things really all connected or is her hyper-vigilance just running into overdrive and making connections where there really are just coincidences.
I do have to admit that I didn't really like Anna. I found her to be a bit shallow and needy, especially with her friends but, she does have an awesome dog Wispa, so she can't be all bad. The other characters are all very well defined and just as easy to emote with. There were red herrings thrown in aplenty with regard to some of the characters' behaviour which made for an exciting journey reading the book and guessing who the stranger was, who was stalking Anna and were they the same person!
The story goes along at a fair lick and keeps the intensity high throughout. There is not much respite for the poor reader along the way which left me exhausted when I finished but, that said, I was also very satisfied too!
There is enough description in the book to complement the narrative but not too much that it is distracting which also adds to the tension generated. The format of the book was also very intriguing. We started X days before the event and counted down to the "event" and then switched to X days after, counting up until the end of the book.
I find it very hard to believe that this is a début novel, such was the overall quality which in my opinion is better that a lot of well established authors I have read. I will definitely be adding this author to my watch list.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
May 24, 2016
I have mixed feelings about this book,there was parts that I liked and parts that i didn't.
I liked - The story was gripping in places,there was quite a few danger elements and the reader was made to believe that the rapist/killer could have been any one of the male characters that were introduced as the story unfolded.I loved the opening chapter,which was gripping and pulled the reader into the story which was written in two parts,the first part counting down to the event that happened in the opening chapter and the second counting up again after the event had happened.I loved Wispa the dog,what a clever name for a dog after all most people love chocolate.
I disliked - The story is told by Anna who is a television producer,she is also very selfish,self centered and for a so called highly intelligent woman does some really stupid things.She has some really good friends who she only calls when she needs something or whats someone to make her feel better about herself and she seems to think that every male that she meets finds her attractive and is going to fall in love with her,She has a very high opinion of herself and I couldn't connect or feel any sympathy for her.
The Author must really like running,wine and fine food because they are mentioned quite a lot during the story which did get a bit tedious at times especially the amount of times that Anna went running which didn't make sense especially considering what was happening at the heath where she went running.
There is a mixed bag of characters a few of which were likeable but you didn't learn enough about them to form any attachment.
The book is well written and I did enjoy the mystery element of the story,I just felt certain parts were unrealistic and I didn't feel a connection with any of the human characters.
Many thanks to Macmillan for a ARC of this book via netgalley
I liked - The story was gripping in places,there was quite a few danger elements and the reader was made to believe that the rapist/killer could have been any one of the male characters that were introduced as the story unfolded.I loved the opening chapter,which was gripping and pulled the reader into the story which was written in two parts,the first part counting down to the event that happened in the opening chapter and the second counting up again after the event had happened.I loved Wispa the dog,what a clever name for a dog after all most people love chocolate.
I disliked - The story is told by Anna who is a television producer,she is also very selfish,self centered and for a so called highly intelligent woman does some really stupid things.She has some really good friends who she only calls when she needs something or whats someone to make her feel better about herself and she seems to think that every male that she meets finds her attractive and is going to fall in love with her,She has a very high opinion of herself and I couldn't connect or feel any sympathy for her.
The Author must really like running,wine and fine food because they are mentioned quite a lot during the story which did get a bit tedious at times especially the amount of times that Anna went running which didn't make sense especially considering what was happening at the heath where she went running.
There is a mixed bag of characters a few of which were likeable but you didn't learn enough about them to form any attachment.
The book is well written and I did enjoy the mystery element of the story,I just felt certain parts were unrealistic and I didn't feel a connection with any of the human characters.
Many thanks to Macmillan for a ARC of this book via netgalley
February 19, 2016
Rebound is a debut novel from Aga Lesiewicz, although she has a long career in television which set the scene for a middle age change to writing. Aga moved to England from her native Poland to study English literature but somehow got sidetracked into a 30 year television occupation. So, in some ways, Rebound capitalises on her media experience and also her familiarity with her favourite walking venue, Hampstead Heath.
Anna Wright is a high level successful media executive with everything she could wish for. Boyfriend, beautiful home, good friends, and especially her adorable dog Wispa. All that changes one morning when she has an erotic encounter with a stranger while at jogging on Hamstead Heath. Their unplanned assignations escalate but then the focus changes as firstly rapes and then murders occur on the Heath. One of the murders involves Anna's best buddy Bell, the other the mystery man she has been carrying on with. Anna's life disintegrates as she doesn't know who to trust and how to share her secret liaisons with the police.
Rebound is fast paced and leaps from one stunning event to another. Anna's character is superbly constructed, and the plot truly remarkable for a first-time thriller writer. Put simply Rebound is un-put-down-able.
Anna Wright is a high level successful media executive with everything she could wish for. Boyfriend, beautiful home, good friends, and especially her adorable dog Wispa. All that changes one morning when she has an erotic encounter with a stranger while at jogging on Hamstead Heath. Their unplanned assignations escalate but then the focus changes as firstly rapes and then murders occur on the Heath. One of the murders involves Anna's best buddy Bell, the other the mystery man she has been carrying on with. Anna's life disintegrates as she doesn't know who to trust and how to share her secret liaisons with the police.
Rebound is fast paced and leaps from one stunning event to another. Anna's character is superbly constructed, and the plot truly remarkable for a first-time thriller writer. Put simply Rebound is un-put-down-able.
January 5, 2016
Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book, received in exchange for an honest review.
Wow, this was a rollercoaster ride through a woman's life after she decides to break up with her reliable, caring boyfriend after she decides he is perhaps not exciting enough for her.
Set in London, Anna has a great professional life, lovely house and good friends. She has started to integrate into her community more and likes to run as a way of destressing. When strange, disturbing things start happening to her at the same time as a series of rapes begin in her local park, she questions whether she has been the catalyst for events or whether she needs to protect herself from danger.
I loved the slow build up of disturbing events, of Anna not knowing who to trust or who her real friends are, a real creeping feeling of unease is prevalent all the the book. I also love the relationship between Anna and her faithful dog Wispa! Would definitely recommend.
Wow, this was a rollercoaster ride through a woman's life after she decides to break up with her reliable, caring boyfriend after she decides he is perhaps not exciting enough for her.
Set in London, Anna has a great professional life, lovely house and good friends. She has started to integrate into her community more and likes to run as a way of destressing. When strange, disturbing things start happening to her at the same time as a series of rapes begin in her local park, she questions whether she has been the catalyst for events or whether she needs to protect herself from danger.
I loved the slow build up of disturbing events, of Anna not knowing who to trust or who her real friends are, a real creeping feeling of unease is prevalent all the the book. I also love the relationship between Anna and her faithful dog Wispa! Would definitely recommend.
January 19, 2016
The best way to sum up this book for me is it was good at the start and rapidly went downhill after the first few chapters and just flopped X
October 15, 2016
Boring. Very hard to have sympathy for main character.
September 10, 2016
Anna is a successful executive for a TV company, who lives near Hampstead Heath, has a dog called Wispa and doesn’t seem to like many people. She splits up with her boyfriend within the first couple of chapters (he bores her), encounters a stranger (who she christens Dior Man) on the Heath as she’s running and becomes embroiled in an odd sexual relationship with him, meets the neighbours (who are odd), sees old friends and finds her workplace overtaken by consultants who are looking for optimise. As a drama, this would work quite well but the thriller aspects (the blurbs, the “I’m not a bad person but maybe I did a bad thing” byline) take a long while to kick in and almost feel tacked on at times. Anna is a difficult character to warm to - apart from her feelings about Wispa and her two gay best friends, she doesn’t come across as very sympathetic - and some of the situations she finds herself in (I won’t spoil them but they’re obvious) feel very unlikely. I did have an issue with the ‘grabber’ prologue (which counts as a date stamp, as subsequent chapters are x days before or after that day) as it’s a bit of an anti-climax when you discover the mystery stalker is exactly who you know it’s going to be - it felt like a cheat. Things do improve once the nastiness sets in - a series of rapes on the Heath that may or may not be tied up with Anna or Dior Man (she spends a lot of time whittling about that) - and the pace picks up, with a couple of decent tangents (the funeral arrangements for one best friend) leading to a briskly told finale that depends on coincidence to make it work (and the culprit is the person you think it will be, if you ignore the glaringly obvious red-herring). Decently told, with a measured pace and a good sense of location, this isn’t bad at all but I think this works better as a drama than a psychological thriller.
October 23, 2019
Ok so one thing that struck me ,is .............
She fancies everyone! All the men she finds bar he one gay friend ,she sees as handsome, stubbly,mysterious,subtly sexy,it must be a great town this where nearly every man from the copper to the neighbour all fancy her and she them ,even if just fleeting
Was funny,I actually giggled a lot at this lol,and Jesus her poor dog whisper ,she takes whisper everywhere ,even when whisper meant to be resting she takes the poor pooch on a run around a Heath where rape an murder are rif and she keeps going bk there .
I understand reclaiming ones happy place but not when there's been a good few rapes an couple of murders ,she jogs feels isolated freaks out goes home then returns over and over and over again ,feeling the same feelings .
Oh I did enjoy the rampant stranger sex by a tree ,that was rather good .
On the whole a bit of a jolly jaunt of a mystery ,made me smile though not sure if intentional ,could almost be a spoof book based on psychological thrillers and she soooo could have done that,
sadly she didn't run with that and I think she's trying to be serious
Was worth a read as I did enjoy it ,there is no depth though or realism really it's just a fun commute read where everyone fancies the main character an they are all attractive
Ending I agree rushed ,very dull and no twist really ,good few characters ,an no real surprises.
Not bad for a first novel ,but nowhere near good ,an there are many better debut attempts out there in this genre ,I hope though she does progress an develop .
She fancies everyone! All the men she finds bar he one gay friend ,she sees as handsome, stubbly,mysterious,subtly sexy,it must be a great town this where nearly every man from the copper to the neighbour all fancy her and she them ,even if just fleeting
Was funny,I actually giggled a lot at this lol,and Jesus her poor dog whisper ,she takes whisper everywhere ,even when whisper meant to be resting she takes the poor pooch on a run around a Heath where rape an murder are rif and she keeps going bk there .
I understand reclaiming ones happy place but not when there's been a good few rapes an couple of murders ,she jogs feels isolated freaks out goes home then returns over and over and over again ,feeling the same feelings .
Oh I did enjoy the rampant stranger sex by a tree ,that was rather good .
On the whole a bit of a jolly jaunt of a mystery ,made me smile though not sure if intentional ,could almost be a spoof book based on psychological thrillers and she soooo could have done that,
sadly she didn't run with that and I think she's trying to be serious
Was worth a read as I did enjoy it ,there is no depth though or realism really it's just a fun commute read where everyone fancies the main character an they are all attractive
Ending I agree rushed ,very dull and no twist really ,good few characters ,an no real surprises.
Not bad for a first novel ,but nowhere near good ,an there are many better debut attempts out there in this genre ,I hope though she does progress an develop .
January 16, 2016
Thanks to Francesa Pear, Pan MacMillan and Netgalley, I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.........
I'm not a bad person, but maybe I did a bad thing .........
Anna Wright is a very successful person, she's got a great job as a media executive working for one of the UK's largest TV corporations. She had a great boyfriend whom she's recently split from, some close friends and a lovely home. She adores her dog Wispa, and she loves to run on the Heath to help her de-stress.
But Anna's perfect life starts to crumble from the moment when, out jogging on the Heath one day, she meets a handsome stranger. She takes a running route into unfamiliar territory, and then she has to face the consequences as her obsession of this handsome stranger becomes dangerous the riskier and longer it goes on........
This is Aga Lesiewicz's debut novel and I really enjoyed it, it had me gripped from the first few pages right through to the end. I really liked the psychological and mystery element also and it was full of twists and turns too. I liked the way the narrative was written, in two parts, i.e. XX days before the event and XX days after the event, I know it kept me hooked. I felt that the ending was a little too rushed but apart from that I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from Aga, (no pressure though).
I'm not a bad person, but maybe I did a bad thing .........
Anna Wright is a very successful person, she's got a great job as a media executive working for one of the UK's largest TV corporations. She had a great boyfriend whom she's recently split from, some close friends and a lovely home. She adores her dog Wispa, and she loves to run on the Heath to help her de-stress.
But Anna's perfect life starts to crumble from the moment when, out jogging on the Heath one day, she meets a handsome stranger. She takes a running route into unfamiliar territory, and then she has to face the consequences as her obsession of this handsome stranger becomes dangerous the riskier and longer it goes on........
This is Aga Lesiewicz's debut novel and I really enjoyed it, it had me gripped from the first few pages right through to the end. I really liked the psychological and mystery element also and it was full of twists and turns too. I liked the way the narrative was written, in two parts, i.e. XX days before the event and XX days after the event, I know it kept me hooked. I felt that the ending was a little too rushed but apart from that I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from Aga, (no pressure though).
January 20, 2016
NB: I received a free uncorrected proof copy of this book via Goodreads Giveaways.
I did not like this book. I didn't find it a "psychological thriller" or even a very good crime novel. Instead I found it 300+ pages of internal monologue from a character who I hated. She was selfish, inconsistent and it appears learns nothing by the end of the novel. Every single straight man she encounters instantly becomes obsessed with her - something she seems to expect. Her lifestyle (while I'm sure it exists for some) was so pretentious that it bordered on the unbelievable for me.
I actually enjoy some books where I dislike the main character - to me it's a good sign that the character is well rounded - good and bad traits. I kept hoping I'd find some redeeming feature for Anna in this but no.
I think the underlying story of the events on the Heath were good and could have improved this novel a lot if they had been moved forward in the plot. One saving grace was that it was a quick and easy read and leaves no book hangover!
I did not like this book. I didn't find it a "psychological thriller" or even a very good crime novel. Instead I found it 300+ pages of internal monologue from a character who I hated. She was selfish, inconsistent and it appears learns nothing by the end of the novel. Every single straight man she encounters instantly becomes obsessed with her - something she seems to expect. Her lifestyle (while I'm sure it exists for some) was so pretentious that it bordered on the unbelievable for me.
I actually enjoy some books where I dislike the main character - to me it's a good sign that the character is well rounded - good and bad traits. I kept hoping I'd find some redeeming feature for Anna in this but no.
I think the underlying story of the events on the Heath were good and could have improved this novel a lot if they had been moved forward in the plot. One saving grace was that it was a quick and easy read and leaves no book hangover!
January 23, 2016
I really wanted to like this book but it just didn't quite do it for me.
I was lucky to win a copy of Rebound via the Goodreads giveaway and, having read a few reviews, was looking forward to a page-turning psychological thriller.
Whils the book is quite a page-turner, I really disliked Anna, who seemed incredibly narcissistic, exercised poor judgement throughout the book and learned nothing. I found I skipped quite a lot of the text that related solely to her work as it just didn't interest me.
I was, however, keen to learn who the Heath rapist and murder was and this is what kept me reading. The ending was a disappointment though. I found it totally unbelievable that, of the three men she had some kind of relationship with, one was a rapist, one was a murderer and one was tracking her via a GPS signal he'd attached to her dog's collar.
Whilst I thought the basic premise of the book was good, it just failed to deliver for me.
I was lucky to win a copy of Rebound via the Goodreads giveaway and, having read a few reviews, was looking forward to a page-turning psychological thriller.
Whils the book is quite a page-turner, I really disliked Anna, who seemed incredibly narcissistic, exercised poor judgement throughout the book and learned nothing. I found I skipped quite a lot of the text that related solely to her work as it just didn't interest me.
I was, however, keen to learn who the Heath rapist and murder was and this is what kept me reading. The ending was a disappointment though. I found it totally unbelievable that, of the three men she had some kind of relationship with, one was a rapist, one was a murderer and one was tracking her via a GPS signal he'd attached to her dog's collar.
Whilst I thought the basic premise of the book was good, it just failed to deliver for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2016
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
I was totally blown away by this debut novel from Aga Lesiewicz. It was the perfect psychological thriller which kept me guessing and changing my mind several times throughout the story. Sometimes a little far-fetched, but it never claimed to be based on real life...! I really enjoyed the flow and the style of writing. Lesiewicz really has a flair for getting inside people's mind and conveying thoughts and feelings, because this was a real rollercoaster ride of a story. I felt the fear, the loss and the bittersweet relief. One thing which did ruin the story for me was my absolute dislike of the main protagonist. I wonder how someone who was so self-absorbed and egotistical managed to draw so many people into her life. I found her quite a repugnant person, but maybe that was just me.
Loved it. Looking forward to more from this brilliant writer.
I was totally blown away by this debut novel from Aga Lesiewicz. It was the perfect psychological thriller which kept me guessing and changing my mind several times throughout the story. Sometimes a little far-fetched, but it never claimed to be based on real life...! I really enjoyed the flow and the style of writing. Lesiewicz really has a flair for getting inside people's mind and conveying thoughts and feelings, because this was a real rollercoaster ride of a story. I felt the fear, the loss and the bittersweet relief. One thing which did ruin the story for me was my absolute dislike of the main protagonist. I wonder how someone who was so self-absorbed and egotistical managed to draw so many people into her life. I found her quite a repugnant person, but maybe that was just me.
Loved it. Looking forward to more from this brilliant writer.
February 29, 2016
This was not as good as I thought it was going to be.
Described as a "stunning psychological thriller" I thought that it was only average.
Anna Wright is a thirty something media executive who lives in the ultra-fashionable London suburb of Hampstead, drives a 4X4 BMW and owns a chocolate labrador. She seems to have everything, but decides to dump her boyfriend of the last three years.
Rebound is all about what happens next. That proverbial rebound. Anna takes an uncharacteristic and unconvincing step with a stranger on Hampstead Heath. From that moment on nothing will be the same and Anna's life will go from good to bad to worse.
There are plenty of twists to the plot but really it comes down to which of the small cast of characters is a stalker, thief, house breaker, dog poisoner and eventually murderer. The plot is peppered with little clues, brief appearances by mysterious men in hoodies, some of which Anna notices and thinks about and others of which merely flash past.
Described as a "stunning psychological thriller" I thought that it was only average.
Anna Wright is a thirty something media executive who lives in the ultra-fashionable London suburb of Hampstead, drives a 4X4 BMW and owns a chocolate labrador. She seems to have everything, but decides to dump her boyfriend of the last three years.
Rebound is all about what happens next. That proverbial rebound. Anna takes an uncharacteristic and unconvincing step with a stranger on Hampstead Heath. From that moment on nothing will be the same and Anna's life will go from good to bad to worse.
There are plenty of twists to the plot but really it comes down to which of the small cast of characters is a stalker, thief, house breaker, dog poisoner and eventually murderer. The plot is peppered with little clues, brief appearances by mysterious men in hoodies, some of which Anna notices and thinks about and others of which merely flash past.
February 7, 2016
I would like to thank NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest and open review.
This is a new author to me so I wasn't sure what to expect.
What I got was a tense psychological thriller that had me hooked from the start.
Anna is a successful media executive with a handsome boyfriend and a chocolate labrador called Wispa.
When she meets a new man strange things start to happen.
This is a book of two parts. The first about Anna and her new man and the second is concerned with trying to solve the mystery of the strange happenings.
I thought I had worked out who was responsible but I was totally wrong.
This was a very impressive debut novel and I will certainly look out for more by this author.
This is a new author to me so I wasn't sure what to expect.
What I got was a tense psychological thriller that had me hooked from the start.
Anna is a successful media executive with a handsome boyfriend and a chocolate labrador called Wispa.
When she meets a new man strange things start to happen.
This is a book of two parts. The first about Anna and her new man and the second is concerned with trying to solve the mystery of the strange happenings.
I thought I had worked out who was responsible but I was totally wrong.
This was a very impressive debut novel and I will certainly look out for more by this author.
September 8, 2016
Advertised as an 'edge of your seat ride', I couldn't wait to get started, and then after the first few chapters, couldn't wait to finish - not because I wanted to see how it ended, but because I just wanted it to end.
The main character is to me, unlikeable - too self centred and wrapped up in her little world. Even after the spate of rapes she still continues to take her runs on the Heath - who would do that?
And as for the amount of times the food/meal choices are mentioned, and drinks - who cares what it is - we all know that people eat - we don't need an in-depth run down.
The ending felt like it was rushed - and as for the 'baddie' - it felt like the author had lost track of who she wanted the killer to be and just picked him for ease.
The main character is to me, unlikeable - too self centred and wrapped up in her little world. Even after the spate of rapes she still continues to take her runs on the Heath - who would do that?
And as for the amount of times the food/meal choices are mentioned, and drinks - who cares what it is - we all know that people eat - we don't need an in-depth run down.
The ending felt like it was rushed - and as for the 'baddie' - it felt like the author had lost track of who she wanted the killer to be and just picked him for ease.
January 30, 2016
I received this book as a Giveaways winner, thank you.
It was an excellent read, I was gripped by it from beginning to end.
I was a bit disturbed by the idea that a woman would go beyond the fantasy of stranger sex and instigate the reality. Are there women who are so reckless? I thought this was mens idea of what women desire.
Putting that aside, the plot was interesting, different and complex enough to keep me guessing without loosing me completely.
Thanks Aga for a great read!
It was an excellent read, I was gripped by it from beginning to end.
I was a bit disturbed by the idea that a woman would go beyond the fantasy of stranger sex and instigate the reality. Are there women who are so reckless? I thought this was mens idea of what women desire.
Putting that aside, the plot was interesting, different and complex enough to keep me guessing without loosing me completely.
Thanks Aga for a great read!
February 4, 2016
I was sent this book as part of a bookclub online. I would never pick something like this so i may not be the perfect person to review it if you like semi erotic thrillers. I found the heroine really irritating and selfish. I guessed who did it in the first chapter. Found it all a bit silly.
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