Thief River Falls

by Brian Freeman

Harrowing loss, psychological trauma, and a deadly mystery test the human will to survive in this electrifying novel from award-winning author Brian Freeman.

Lisa Power is a tortured ghost of her former self. The author of a bestselling thriller called Thief River Falls, named after her rural Minnesota hometown, Lisa is secluded in her remote house as she struggles with the loss of her entire family: a series of tragedies she calls the “Dark Star.”

Then a nameless runaway boy shows up at her door with a terrifying story: he’s just escaped death after witnessing a brutal murder—a crime the police want to cover up. Obsessed with the boy’s safety, Lisa resolves to expose this crime, but powerful men in Thief River Falls are desperate to get the boy back, and now they want her too.

Lisa and her young visitor have nowhere to go as the trap closes around them. Still under the strange, unforgiving threat of the Dark Star, Lisa must find a way to save them both, or they’ll become the victims of another shocking tragedy she can’t foresee

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Crime, Ebooks

314 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2020

About the author

Brian Freeman is a New York Times bestselling author of psychological thrillers, including the Jonathan Stride and Frost Easton series. His books have been sold in 46 countries and 22 languages. He is widely acclaimed for his "you are there" settings and his complex, engaging characters and twist-filled plots. Brian was also selected as the official author to continue Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne series, and his novel THE BOURNE EVOLUTION was named one of the Best Mysteries and Thrillers of 2020 by Kirkus.

Brian's seventh novel SPILLED BLOOD won the award for Best Hardcover Novel in the annual Thriller Awards given out by the International Thriller Writers organization, and his fifth novel THE BURYING PLACE was a finalist for the same award. His novel THE DEEP, DEEP SNOW was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original.

His debut thriller, IMMORAL, won the Macavity Award for Best First Novel and was a nominee for the Edgar, Dagger, Anthony, and Barry Awards. IMMORAL was named an International Book of the Month, a distinction shared with authors such as Harlan Coben and Lisa Unger.

All of Brian's books are also available in audiobook editions. His novels THE BONE HOUSE and SEASON OF FEAR were both finalists for Best Audiobook of the Year in Thriller/Suspense.

For more information on Brian's books, visit his web site at bfreemanbooks.com or find him on Facebook at facebook.com/bfreemanfans or Twitter and Instagram (@bfreemanbooks).

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just okay

Throughout this book,I felt like everything was so contrived and people did and said things that were illogical. by the end I understood why that was but the twist did not really make up for the story before it. In trying to make the end a surprise, the main character wasn't developed enough for me to feel like I knew her, or more importantly to like her. Or to feel the connection she had with the boy. Yes who wouldn't want to help a kid in need, but I wasn't feeling the extreme devotion that was written....I read it but I didn't feel it if that makes any sense. On the plus side, it did keep my attention and I did want to keep reading to find out how it ends, but I also felt like I wAs wishing it would just get done already. The author is great at describing settings, but I didn't want all the time it took to put me in the place - I just wanted it to be done.

[S.W. Hubbard · Rating 1 out of 5]

I want two days of my life back. This started off with a bang, so I kept reading. Soon I got annoyed that the heroine had so many Too Stupid to Live Moments. Who stops at a diner for French toast when she's supposedly on the run from bad guys? But luckily for her, the bad guys seemed equally dumb, as they never thought to look for her in the most obvious places. And the coincidences! Every time she needed to know something, a new character would pop up and deliver the info. Personally, I try to limit myself to one coincidence per book. But then we arrive at the "twist" ending and understand why the heroine was so dumb, but now her adversaries look even dumber. If you think about it too long, the whole thing falls apart. So if you're prone to think too much, don't read this.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creepy. Haunting. This Amazon first reads book is a well-paced thriller that will completely give you the shivers. Lisa writes thrillers, set in her former hometown. Bad things have happened there. And the people she should be able to trust… can’t be trusted.

When an injured boy shows up at her house with no memory of who he is and claims the police tried to murder him, Lisa is duty bound to protect him. And now they’re both in danger in her isolated home in rural northern Minnesota. The cops are creeping outside their door. There was a murder. Someone tried to bury this boy alive and now they’re going to silence him and Lisa for good. You can’t trust anyone . The author did an excellent job of setting the atmosphere of cold, isolated rural Minnesota, of really making you feel every scene. If you like being scared, this is a good thriller! And I completely didn’t predict the way the end twisted things up… totally an awesome surprise!

[Ceecee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

Lisa Power is a successful author with one of her books to be dramatised by Reese Witherspoon’s company. However, in the year of Dark Star she has suffered much tragedy. Her life is placed in danger when she finds a young boy who she names Purdue on her property. He is suffering memory loss but gradually a dark tale emerges and they both go on the run. Who to trust? This is an intriguing story which builds well with plenty of false trails, hints of menace and tension, there are car chases, guns and at times feels a bit ‘Wild West-ish’. The setting in remote N Minnesota is atmospheric and provides a good backdrop to the drama. The story falls a bit flat in the middle but then builds again to an unexpected conclusion. An enjoyable quick read.
Thanks to Amazon for this Prime First Read for January.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lisa Power is a bestselling thriller author who must confront demons from her past after the loss of her entire family.
Then on a rainy night a runway nameless boy shows up on the front lawn of Lisa's house who Lisa names Purdue.
Purdue remembers nothing about his past or where he comes from.
Lisa needs Purdue just as much as Purdue needs Lisa. But is Purdue real or a figment of Lisa's imagination?
What is Purdue running away from? And will Lisa come to terms with her past?
An excellent psychological thriller. Kept moving at a steady pace all the way through. Highly recommended. An easy five stars.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly well written with a twist. 6 of 10 stars

[Kirsty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Edit: 13.6.20
There appears to be a few upset readers who don't like the fact I don't like this book and Dnf'd it. If you read this book and enjoyed it, congratulations I'm pleased you enjoyed it. But I didn't and I didn't finish it because I didn't enjoy it. Life is too short to read a book you don't enjoy, there are 1000's of other books out there for me to enjoy. I don't need you throwing your snobbery and your attitude at me because I didn't like it. I write reviews based on MY enjoyment factor, not yours! You write your own review based on YOUR enjoyment factor. If you don't like the fact that someone doesn't like a book you do then perhaps goodreads isn't a site for you. Have a nice day.


DNF at page 80 (28%)

Theif River falls was a January first reads from amazon. To be honest I wished I selected a different book.

The whole story is ridiculous, the character relationships contrived but mostly the characters are illogical and unrealistic. The writing style basic and lacking connectivity to the reader.

What happens. Well. Lisa is an author she lives by her self and has a knock at the door late at night by two police officers. Lisa doesn't open the door excepts she hides from them and spying from the window.

Errr.... Hello... Why wouldn't a normal perfectly innocent person with nothing to hide (like Lisa) open the door to police? That's the first thing that stuck me as odd.

Later that night she finds a small boy hiding in her barn. The boy can't remember anything about how he got there or even his name.

What would you do first. Ring the police/ hospital/ child services? Yep any of those three is acceptable in this situation. What did Lisa do you ask.... Well she decided to wash the boys clothes and clean him up!!! *Face-palm* oh my for goodness sake woman what is wrong with you? She makes up some story in her head that this kid is in danger ( he may very well be but its not your job to save him, THAT'S WHAT PROFESSIONALS ARE FOR !

Anyway fast forward to morning ish time and Lisa gets her friend to come round for advice. Forgot friends name - it's not important anyway. Let's call her "Thingy"

Thingy visits and after discussing whether to go to the police or hospital with Lisa She leaves having not convinced her. Thingys role is pointless, thingy is an idiot too. What sort of friend allows their friend to essentially kidnap a child--because that's what this is Kidnap!!!

Anyway I left the story with Lisa stumbling with her bank card at the ATM. I gave up. I don't care what happens to Lisa or the boy. They could live on a yacht in the Mediterranean Sea happily ever after for all I care.

1 very disappointing star from me 🌟

[April Myers · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm glad this book was free. Very contrived and predictable. Characters were so stereotypical that I thought I was reading a Hallmark Christmas movie script. All the 'twists' were telegraphed chapters in advance. Way too much descriptive text. I love a good psychological thriller but it can't just be that the main character is crazy and none of the story happened. Ugh. I found myself skimming pages because I knew what was going to happen (and I was right).

[Linda Strong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lisa Powers is the well-known local author of a bestselling thriller Thief River Falls, named after her hometown.

Lisa has lost her parents, three brothers, her fiancee all within several years. Her twin brother still lives, although they haven't spoken in over a year.

One night she finds a young boy standing in her yard ... he says he doesn't remember his name, where he's been, how he got there, or where he was hiding. The one thing he does remember is that he witnessed a murder... one that involved cops.

Lisa becomes obsessed with the boy's safety ... she can't turn to the cops because they are involved. While trying to keep the boy under cover, her best friend betrays her. They want the boy and will stop at nothing to get him ... he is a witness that needs silencing.

BOOK BLURB: Lisa must find a way to save them both, or they'll become the victims of another shocking tragedy she can't foresee.

WOW! This is a powerful story that reaches all emotions. It had me gripped from the very first page ... it's a real page-turner. This is one of my favorite authors and I love his Stride series ... but he has upped his skill in story-telling. There are twists and turns leading to an unpredictable ending.

Many thanks to the author / Amazon First Reads for the advanced digital copy of this psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

[exploraDora · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had an interesting premise, but the dialogue between characters seemed off, so much that it made the whole reading experience a little unpleasant for me. If I hadn't checked to see if the author had written other books, I would have thought that it's his debut novel (I would have been more understanding of the terrible dialogue if that were the case).

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay, but I did do some skimming in the middle of the book. I didn’t really care for Lisa for a long time, and then it was almost too late when the gist of the story was made clear.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Thief River Falls" is a story about an author, Lisa, who by chance has Also written a book called "Thief River Falls." So it's a story within a story where reality and fiction meld. Set in the rural lands of Minnesota, this story features a lost child nicknamed Purdue, who has people looking for him, people who will never stop, people who will never forget that Purdue saw something he shouldn't have. It's a story of a woman on her own with this lost kid and everyone turning against her. In that respect, it felt very much like Koontz's Jane Hawk series, which somewhat more successfully captures the aspects of being alone and hunted with a huge bureaucracy against you and all your technological toys turned against you.

It's fast-paced, although the believability doesn't always hang together. The writing style was quite good and smoothly written. It is just that this reader was never fully engulfed in the story. There was something of a jump between a writer in her prairie home annoyed by all her fans who seem to recognize her everywhere and the point at which this woman does not open her door to deputies and takes the lost boy around town without being spotted. That and the sudden betrayals simply did not feel authentic. Putting that aside, it is not a bad read. Just not as good as it could have been.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thief River Falls is a standalone psychological thriller by Brian Freeman. Since I am a long-time fan of his Jonathan Stride series and also his newer books, I was excited to read this new venture. I was also curious about the title, since the Stride series is mainly set in Duluth, Minnesota, and this is set across the state in the northwest corner a mere 70 miles from the Canadian border and about 50 miles from Grand Forks, North Dakota. The closest I have ever been to TRF is Crookston, which I had been to numerous times back in the 1970s when I was a college student in Bemidji.

Freeman’s protagonist, Lisa Power is a thriller writer from Thief River Falls. The story opens with a video book group in which she is asked if she is ever concerned that one of her thrillers might inspire someone to commit a similar crime and whether that would make her feel guilty. Cue Twilight Zone music.

Later that night, Lisa spies a young boy alone in the dark in her yard. When she catches up to him, he tells her that he doesn’t know his name and does not remember what happened to him. He recalls riding in a truck. He does not want to go to the hospital because, “people die there.” Since he needs a name, Lisa calls him Purdue, after the character in her book, which was titled “Thief River Falls.” Eventually, the boy remembers enough to tell her that he is in grave danger and that he fears law enforcement. Lisa is determined to learn who he is and to keep him safe. The result is a high-risk game of cat-and-mouse. People she thought were her friends turn out to be threats. Whom can she trust? She is estranged from her only remaining family member, her twin brother. The phrase that ran through my was, “just because you’re paranoid that doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.”

The writing wasn’t Freeman’s usual 5-star performance. Something was missing, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Perhaps the plot felt a bit contrived. Nevertheless, I was hooked. And even as the action picked up and the end drew near, I was caught by surprise by the twist at the end. Brian Freeman, you got me good.

4 stars

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

And just like that, the streak is over. After 2 really good books from Amazon Kindle First Reads (free monthly book choices), here is one to break the good luck. This one started out really promising, but then faded out into some weirdness. Started getting paranormal/supernatural, characters hallucinating, twins communicating telepathically; towards the end it almost seemed like a dream, and just overall was not to my taste.

Sometimes a man can write from a female perspective and do it so well that you never would guess it's a male; not in this case. Lisa 'took her wallet out of her pocket.' What woman carries a wallet that can fit in her pocket? That would be a man's wallet. Women's wallets are usually much larger and require a purse or at least a strap to be carried along. And she just happened to carry around a key to her parents' old, empty house? Also in her pocket (big pockets, I guess), rather than on a key chain like the rest of the population would do for a key with any importance.

And this guy obviously doesn't know much about kids (Lisa was always leaving Purdue, a 10-yr old child, alone for hours at a time, with instructions to keep everything dark and hide in the crawl space in the basement if needed). I couldn't believe how stupid Lisa was, really, in that EVERY TIME she left Purdue alone, he got into some kind of trouble. Didn't she ever learn?

I was suspicious of Purdue in that he could just tell too much for a kid his age, read too much into faces, sense too much about the future. There were other clues throughout that made me subconsciously uneasy that in hindsight clearly pointed to the 'big twist.'

[Constantine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Genre:
Thriller

Lisa Power is the author of a bestselling thriller "Thief River Falls". This is the name of her Minnesota hometown. Lisa tries hard to come over her sadness and misery after she lost all her family members one after another except for her twin brother Noah. One day a boy shows up at her door and he has witnessed some horrible things. She bonds with this boy to know who he is and reveal all the mystery.

This thriller was enjoyable but unfortunately somehow around 25% of reading it I figured the twist. For no specific reason, I was 100% sure about the identity of the boy. I think some people will be able to unfold the mystery here especially those who read lots of thrillers and mystery books. I liked the relationship between Lisa and the boy, it kept growing and getting stronger as you progress in the book. Of course, that was very intentional by the author until the big reveal was done.

I enjoyed the beginning of the book and the end of it more than all the slow down that happened in the middle. I felt there were lots of unneeded fillers in the middle that did not help the story but only made it drag longer. Despite predicting the story/twist I still enjoyed this one. Yes, it is not among my favorite thrillers but it is among the decent ones that I have read so far this year. The idea of the book you write becoming a reality is still cool for a story!

Available on Kindle Unlimited

[Molly Heineman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give it 3.5 to 4 stars... The beginning was really good.. then it fizzled out in the middle....but the ending was 🤯. Wow. But overall a good thriller.

[Murph · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are tropes that pop up in fiction that aren’t exactly deal-breakers, but could be warning signs that I'm not going to enjoy the book. If too many of them show up at once, it’s going to be rough going. And this book was rough going. For a "thriller", the tension is low, the pacing crawls and there is a twist that comes late and it is not earned.

The main character, Lisa Power, is a best selling novelist, living near but not in her hometown, when she finds a child hiding out on her property who can't remember his name. Right away, the main character as an author thing always feels like a cop out to me, but where I really started to check out was that her famous book’s title is the same name as this book, and it’s also the name of her hometown, where the book spends a great deal of time. This was all almost too much right off the bat. Then, when Lisa finds a young kid in trouble who can’t remember his name, she gives him the name of a character in her book, which is just... ooof. On page 6, we find out Lisa’s book is being made into a movie by Reese Witherspoon (and she only refers to her as Reese from that point on), and it started crossing into "too unbelievable" territory. The weird, meta blending of fiction and real life details was just took me a step further outside the story. Don’t get me started on the whole, “twin telepathy is real” thing.

Additionally, everyone in this town is OBSESSED with Lisa. They accost her in the street, squealing about how they’ve read all her books and they feel like they KNOW her. Her books are their FAVORITE BOOKS. They love that she used their hometown!!! I'm not kidding, this must have happened upwards of 5 times in the book. I rolled my eyes quite a bit. All the pontificating on being a "famous" writer was so stale and predictable. Take this thing Lisa says to this kid she just met, about her writing:

“I don’t look at the world the way other people do. I live somewhere else.”

Eye roll at the pretentiousness.

“Writing is a mirror. If someone doesn’t like what you write, maybe it’s because they don’t like what they see in the reflection.”

I almost lost an eyeball at that one.


In retrospect, almost everything else that annoyed me about Lisa’s behavior was probably done in service of “the twist” but the problem here is that the trick is not sold leading up to the moment you find out what is going on.

The word that kept coming to mind while reading this is “heavy handed”. I almost DNF’ed this book 20%, 40%, 50%, and 70%, when the twist finally comes. I limped over the finish line. This was my second Amazon First reads, and both were on the disappointing side.

[Karl Jorgenson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoiler alert. You are about have the plot of this book spoiled.
Really.
This book is a Freeman experiment in the 'unreliable narrator' trope, but his execution is flawed in several ways. The point to an 'unreliable narrator' is to add a layer of mystery: the reader has suspicions about the narrator and her involvement in the crime, or is not suspicious but discovers later the narrator has protected herself by lying, misleading, or omitting parts of the story. The first key to the type of mystery is that the narrator is in first-person. Thus the narrator is telling us her story and at some point realize she isn't telling us everything, or is shading the truth.
In this book the unreliable narrator is in third person, as are narrations from several other characters. Freeman (or the like-minded) might defend this choice by saying third-person narrators are just as much trustworthy or not, as discoverable by the reader. A fair argument, but the counter argument is that with multiple third-person narratives, they are assumed to all be equal. We consider each of their motives and judge their honesty. And we have to assume the protagonist is truthful; this is who the story is about.
Everything in this narrative is upside down. The protagonist is as crazy as a Minnesota Loon and everything she says is fantasy. All the man bad guys are actually good guys, and Freeman has to go through incredible and excessive gymnastics to make their words and actions appear sinister, so we can be fooled into thinking they're bad guys. Like, instead of saying, 'I'm afraid she'll hurt herself. We have to find her,' the not-bad guy says, 'Find her now. You know what's at stake.' A little of this is okay, but a whole book-full feels like a big cheat.
And the biggest cheat is that there is no murder, no crime of any sort. It's all a fantasy of the troubled protagonist. At least half this novel reads like a typical Freeman thriller: the protagonist being pursued by well-equipped, motivated bad guys for an unknown reason. But in the end we learn there was no danger, there are no bad guys, and nothing happened except that the protagonist had a ridiculously detailed, extended fantasy. Who shot J.R.? Who cares?

[Ellie Midwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first discovered Brian Freeman through his Frost Easton series and quickly became a fan of his thrillers. He’s one of the writers who I know to rely on for a riveting, unputdownable story, so as soon as I saw his newest creation, I not only picked it up at once but read it literally in one sitting. Yes, it was that good.

This time, the central character is female and one that I connected with instantly. More than anything I love level-headed protagonists, who don’t lose their presence of the mind even in the most extreme situations and don’t make it even worse for themselves through rushed decisions, and Lisa Power was just that kind of a protagonist. When she has just discovered an injured boy on her property, she could have taken the easy way out and called the police despite the boy’s protests (I mean, how many adults in a similar situation would have believed a child claiming that the police are the ones who would harm him?); yet, Lisa decides to listen to the boy and investigate his claims about the police being involved in something sinister. What starts off as an innocent inquiry, soon turns into a veritable cat and mouse game with Lisa and little Purdue (as she nicknamed him) in its center. From that point on, I couldn’t turn pages fast enough - the deeper Lisa was digging, the more she realized that the boy wasn’t imagining things and some tragedy indeed occurred which he had the misfortune to witness. The creepiest part about this entire mystery was the fact that what happened to the boy basically imitated what Lisa described in her latest bestseller - seriously, I couldn’t imagine suspense getting better than that!

The small town full of secrets; the ghosts of the past that come alive to haunt Lisa; the murderer who could be someone familiar; a totally unexpected ending that you'll never see coming - all this made “Thief River Falls” a truly fascinating read! Dark and haunting, this psychological thriller/suspense is a perfect choice for all fans of the genre. Highly recommended!

[Paula Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book. I stayed up late to finish it as I had to find out how this ended. I was so totally shocked by the ending. This books so full of twists and turns and corruption and no one to trust.

My first book my this author but it won't be my last.

[Cari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thief River Falls by Brian Freeman was my second kindle first read pick for the month of January 2020

I am so beyond glad that Amazon so generously gave their Prime customers a second free early release book this month because otherwise, who knows if/when I would have gotten around to reading Thief River Falls. I've read just one other book by Brian Freeman (the first in his Frost Easton series) and while I liked it, I felt that this one was leagues above it.

I really feel like I need to warn you guys (without spoiling anything) so let me just say that you should maybe have a box of tissues ready for this one. I dont know about you, but I don't typically expect a thriller to bring me to tears; however, this one surprisingly got the water works going in full force. In this review I'm going to completely forego any discussion of the plot and just suffice it to say that:
A) I was unable to put this book down as it held no shortage of suspense and
B) I was so invested in the characters that it was like their fear/pain/grief became my own and
C) I'm giving this five stars. ☆☆☆☆☆

[P.K. Abbot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thief River Falls has a lot to recommend it as a thriller. The good guys are all likable and the bad guys are intriguing. And the pacing in this book is outstanding. I could not put the book down and thought that it was one of the best thrillers I had read -- until I got to the last 15% of the book. Without spoiling the book, let me say that the ending turns everything on its ear -- so much so that I felt lied to and cheated by the time I finished reading. If I were to accurately rate this book, I'd give 5-stars to the the first 85% and only 1-star to the ending.

My opinion is not shared by most readers. Since most reviewers really loved this book, perhaps you should take a chance, read it, and make up your own mind.

[CYIReadBooks (Claire) · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, you think, oh wow! How can this woman be so crazy to take in a strange boy? The boy doesn't even know his name, let alone where he's from. All the boy knows is that he'll die if the woman tells the police.

What develops is an intriguing psychological thriller with an ending that will probably surprise you.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 -- in between liked it, and really liked it.

An Amazon First Reads.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

I’m not going to lie, I only read this psychological thriller because of the title. I literally judged the book by it’s cover. My mom grew up right outside Thief River Falls, in the even smaller town of Red Lake Falls. I’ve never seen a book set in that area so I was intrigued. Luckily, there’s as more to the book than just the title so it earned 4 stars from me.

SUMMARY
Lisa Power is a former nurse who found fame as an author. Her latest book, a thriller called “Thief River Falls,” is her biggest hit yet, not only did it receive critical acclaim, it is being made into a movie. Although her professional life is going exceptionally well, Lisa’s personal life could rival a Greek tragedy. In a short period of time, she lost her fiancé, her mother, father and brothers. She was at a very low point when a little boy shows up at her house in the middle of the night in desperate need of help. This child cannot remember anything; his name, where he came from or how he ended up at Lisa’s house. One thing is clear though, he needs her and she needs to be needed. As Lisa tries to figure out who this child is, her personal story seems to be strangely similar to the plot of her book, “Thief River Falls.” Is someone recreating her plot or is it a coincidence?

WHAT I LOVED
The twist is what actually made the story. Until the twist, I considered this a pretty solid 3 Star. It was okay, but just not unique or special. Then the twist happened and it was fantastic. I’m not saying any more because I don’t want to ruin it.

I loved the location.

The weather played a big role in the story which I also loved.

WHAT I DIDN’T LOVE
There were a couple parts where I thought Lisa made weird decisions. She didn’t follow what I considered to be the logical path or choice. Also, there was one part where a seven year old child was watching Elmo or playing with an Elmo, I can’t remember which way it was but that was completely off base. One and two year olds like Elmo. It’s a minor point but it was so wrong that it completely distracted me from the plot.

OVERALL
It’s worth reading for the holy crap plot twist moment alone. Not that the twist was the only good part but it was the best part.

[Lesli · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was going to pick a different first look book and then this one had such great reviews I switched. That will teach me! Figured out the “twist” in like the first few pages. The “book” pages meant to be clever were annoying. It just went on and on and on. There were so many opportunities where it could have been improved. Dark Star? Really, couldn’t think of a better name? Blue period, black period...anything? Waitress with AK 47? I mean REALLY! GIVING HER THE CAMERO!!!! Who would do that???? Who would have that “in the garage”?? I won’t beat a dead horse, but I could!! KNOCK OUT MY Husband and then I’m just cool with it??!!! Writing this I can’t believe I didn’t just STOP READING IT!! 🙄

[Karen Wrobel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book frustrated me. It was a freebie through Amazon first reads, which helps some. The first 3/4 of the book is painfully slow, complete with a protagonist who makes breathtakingly foolhardy decisions and runs around in the dark a lot. One of my main issues however, was upon the revelation of the big twist which explains why Lisa behaves as illogically as she does - it turns out her doctor’s decisions are even more ridiculous than hers. I mean, come on already, she sends a woman who has clearly lost the plot, the imaginary child she’s ushering around, and her husband up in a small plane?? What? There are so many plot holes here. I spent way too much time trying to reconcile what went on pre and post-twist than should ever be required. I’m still not entirely sure what was real and what was ‘all in her head’. And then, after that dreadfully slow start, the ending felt forced and rushed, complete with a happy families reunion that suddenly made everything all better. Nope.

[Ewan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was OK. Felt more like an exercise in writing around the big twist - at the expense of character and plot in my opinion. just wasn't for me - I'll be back for more Jonathan Stride or Frost Easton though.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the name of the book.
This is a psychological thriller with paranoia/hallucinatory tendencies.

I was taken in at the very start by the main character and the story until some little stupid things would surface here and there and confuse me (and not in a good way). Like, am I dumb or what? Now I realize it wasn’t MY issue. This “Dark Star” thing was an oddity, to describe her overly dark times of her family’s death. And that her estranged twin, Noah, and her were able to telepath messages to each other?

I was on board through mostly the whole book, until the end where there was a standoff with Lisa and the police outside a church and then there was also a violent rewrite ending to Lisa’s “best seller story.” It all comes to the reader realizing and understanding the power of a persons physical and mental response to overwhelming grief. And the little boy, Purdue - gah - what just happened here? I didn’t quite get it until I read some former readers questions and answers on the book site. Grisly.
The end with a family reunion by all the “good people and bad people” was absolutely ridiculous to me.

The book reveals one persons life of tragedy and its effects on the mind. Since the majority of the book was good, I have to give it 3 stars.

[Marina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know many people have enjoyed this book and it was only their references to the amazing twist that kept me reading a story that I found boring and unbelievable. The twist, when it came, was the kind of ending that GCSE English students are warned not to write. I should have gone with my instincts and abandoned it earlier on.

[Gatorman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, what an incredibly lame book. Stilted, cliched writing, one cardboard character after another and an ending with a twist you see coming twenty miles away. It reads like a first draft of a first novel. Nothing thrilling about this one. Couldn't wait for it to end. This book is a thief for stealing my time. And who names a character Purdue? Really?