Grieving photographer Hannah Davenport is still recovering from a vicious home invasion that stole her husband John, and her memory. Moving to a new city, she is desperate to put the past behind her, and rebuild her life.
But sometimes the past doesn’t want to be buried.
When she keeps seeing John’s face in new places, Hannah starts to question everything about her previous life. And when tidying away his possessions, she uncovers a memory stick with a video file John left for her on the night he died. His chilling message suggests his death may not have been as straight forward as the police previously determined.
John’s brother Patrick warns her not to go digging into matters that no longer concern her, but Hannah has never been one to avoid conflict. Returning to the home she fled, Hannah comes face-to-face with people who paint a different picture of John, leaving her in no doubt that she can’t trust anything she recalls of the events before that night.
Then she finds a photograph that confirms nothing is as she remembers…
Who can you trust when nobody wants you to know the truth?
Stephen Edger is the Amazon bestselling author of psychological and crime thrillers, including Little Girl Gone, Snatched, and the Kate Matthews series. Born in the north-east of England, he now lives in Southampton where most of his stories are set, allowing him to use his insider knowledge to deliver realistic and unsettling suspense on every page.
With books published by Harper Collins, Bookouture, and Endeavour Media, you wouldn’t believe that writing is still only a hobby for Stephen. A hobby that has seen him write more than twenty novels in the last decade, whilst balancing a full-time job with a young family.
Away from writing, Stephen loves to read anything that will keep him awake at night. He’s also a passionate advocate for contemporary cinema and binge-watching the latest offerings from streaming services. He is married with a son and a daughter, and two dogs. Stephen is a member of the International Thriller Writers (ITW) Association, the Crime Writers Association (CWA), and loves to engage with his readers on his Facebook author page and Twitter.
SNAPSHOT is a dark and twisting psychological thriller from the bestselling author of Little Girl Gone and Dead To Me, Stephen Edger.
Hannah Davenport wakes to the shrieking smoke alarm, with pain flooding her whole body. She couldn’t remember anything. She must have fallen, when she noticed thick black smoke coming from the kitchen.
John, her husband had messaged her to say he’d be home by seven, and she had cooked an elaborate dinner, which was now burnt to a crisp.
But she was still in a tremendous amount of pain. What had happened?
On close inspection, she realized someone had been in their home, with all the damage. In their bedroom, she discovers her dead husband in the center of the mattress brutally stabbed…before she passes out.
Her home was now a crime scene.
“There was someone at the door, the bell had rung and then no memory until the smoke alarm woke her at the bottom of the stairs.”
One year later, grieving photographer Hannah Davenport is still recovering from the home invasion that stole her husband John, and her memory. She has moved to a new city, bought an apartment to renovate and adopted a rescued bearded collie she named Barney to provide companionship, in path to rebuild her life. Being a dog-lover, I loved reading the passages about Barney.
But sometimes the past doesn’t want to be buried. Hannah keeps having nightmares since her husband was murdered. And while tidying up, she uncovers a memory stick with a video file John left for her on the night he died. His chilling message suggests his death may not have been as straight forward as the police previously determined.
John’s brother Patrick warns her not to go digging into matters that no longer concern her. Returning to the home she fled, Hannah comes face-to-face with people who paint a different picture of John. She no longer knows who to trust.
Nothing is as it seems…
Snapshot is a well written novel with memorable characters and an intense ending which I didn't see coming ending in a cliffhanger. Looking forward to touching base with the characters in the future.
Many thanks to the author and The Book Club Reviewer Request Group (FB) for my digital copy.
I have to say that I am bit of a fan of Stephen Edgers. There has not been a book of his that I have read and not enjoyed. I jumped at the chance to read an early copy of Snapshot, knowing that it would be another twisty psychological thriller.. and I was not wrong. Wow, Snapshot is not a book to pick up and just read a few chapters. Make sure you have plenty of time to read because you will not want to put it down. I read this in 2 sittings, completely caught up in everything that was happening.
Hannah’s life turned upside down almost a year ago when her husband was murdered in a home invasion. She has moved away to Southampton for a fresh start and to escape the reminders. But she is still having nightmares and seeing her dead husband around town. When she starts to go through his things she finds a mobile she has never seen before and a memory card. She returns to Manchester and begins with to learn that her husband was not the man she believed him to be.
Thanks to Stephen Edger and TBC on Facebook for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased
Hannah Davenport lost her husband a year ago. She was assaulted and found her husband stabbed to death. She shortly lost her unborn child.
She's made a lot of changes since them .. she sold the house, moved to a different town in a new apartment, has a new job. It's been hard .. but she's getting there.
She does, however, imagine she sees his face on occasion, but when she went to clean out some of his things, she found an audio message he recorded shortly before he died.
His chilling message suggests that his death was not what anyone thought it was. Then she finds a photograph that confirms nothing is as she remembers…
This is a well written psychological thriller with enough twists and turns to run a roller coaster. The well-paced suspense starts on the first page and doesn't stop until the very end. Characters are deftly drawn and no one seems to be who they say they are. The ending, unpredictable, seems to be a cliffhanger for a future book.
Many thanks to the author / THE Book Club Reviewer Group (FB) for the digital copy of this thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
Stephen Edger is one brilliant author, and I am a complete fan of his books. Though this was the second of his books for me, I have bought his other titles. I can't resist his books, it seems.
Hannah lost her husband John a year back due to a home invasion and gruesome murder. The shock of seeing her husband dead along with a head injury caused her to lose her memory. Now she was in a different place and different job, but a memory stick found in her husband's belongings made the whole trauma alive again. And now she wanted to get to the truth.
Having read his previous book, I knew I was in for a ride. The suspense in the book built up slowly. I loved knowing how Hannah was coping with her life and her nightmares. There was something vulnerable in her which touched my heart. I knew life would make her grow up soon. The author did just that.
The book went into the investigation and unearthing the truths. The story became fast paves as secrets were revealed. Each one took me by surprise. I loved the pulse spike I felt when the main character went digging. There were times I wanted to prod her on faster, but she moved at her own pace... The characters never understood that I needed to know the truth NOW!!
Eagerness to get to end reveal was the emotion that stayed with me right through the book. Tap.. Tap... Went my finger on the kindle. The ending too left me gasping, highly excited by the sheer talent of this author's writing. A fun read, indeed.
Woah! When is the sequel?! Surely it can’t end like that!!! Where’s the closure?!
From the get go, this was a page turner. Thoroughly enjoyed the what happens next feeling. It was like a Netflix series...play next episode...in this instance, it’s: let’s read one more chapter, right now to see what happens next. Compulsive reading. Very easy to follow but not in a dead giveaway kind of easy, just had a good flow. Often asking the reader to question - why the segue? Where does this fit in? Just so you know, you’ll never guess.
I couldn’t foresee any of the events coming, which is what made it a real page turner for me. All is revealed for the time being, however, I really hope there is a sequel...please make it so.
If there is one thing you can rely upon from a book by Stephen Edgar it is that from the very beginning it is going to take you on one heck of a journey - Snapshot is no exception to that rule!
Stephen creates a cast of very believable characters as well as building a marvelous sense of atmosphere – the hairs on the back of my neck were on end during more than one paragraph, and that ending - WOW!
A well-deserved 5 stars from me, this book is gripping and intense; I simply couldn’t put it down.
I absolutely loved this book, cracking storyline and characters, easy to get into. I didn't find it hard going, it was easy to concentrate on the whole way through. I had absolutely no idea where it was ending!!!
Having read a few books before from Stephen edger I knew to expect to be surprised and this was no different. A psychology thriller which is my favourite kind will take you on a rollcoatser of emotions! With this author you can't always trust what you think will happen will be. Hannah has her life turned upside down and she starts again. But a message from beyond the grave shows that everything she thought was true wasn't! Definitely recommend
This is my first book by this author and I loved it. I loved the characters, the style used to tell the story and the story itself. The story starts with the main character Hannah suffering the traumatic loss of her husband, John, following an attack in their home during which she was also injured. The story then jumps forward a year to a newly relocated Hannah starting to find her feet but with little to no closure, although a man has been convicted, due to her memory loss of the events surrounding that night. She has nightmares and Edger uses these to look at various possible scenarios for the night in question and also to implant in the readers mind red herrings or possible truths, who knows which. Hannah has to return unexpectedly to Manchester and her life starts to unravel as allegations are made that her husband wasn't the man she thought nor remembers. This throws her into a tail spin. The whole book is set over a very compact week or so with Hannah and the reader introduced to quite a few different characters all playing a fairly significant role in either her previous life in Manchester or her new one in Southampton, but who do we trust and who should Hannah believe. I'm happy to admit, I didn't see the final twist re the murder of John coming. And I also really want to know what's happening to Hannah after the cliffhanger at the end. You may not be surprised to hear this was an easy 5 stars for me to give out and I don't give them lightly. A fast paced, gritty and thrilling read.
Wow, superbly written and some big punchy surprises at the end. Hannah is trying to patch her life together after her husband was violently taken from her a year ago. The circumstances of his death were somewhat unknown but a local man has been charged and imprisoned for the crime, details of which remain sketchy but forensic evidence places him firmly at the scene. Hannah is suffering nightmares and is seeing a therapist and starts to try and put a new life together, having moved away and finding herself a new pet dog and a job. She makes some friends but learns that a woman that used to live in her new home had mysteriously gone missing a few years prior and one of the neighbours is determined to find out what happened. The secrets then begin to reveal making her doubt whether she really knew her husband at all. I loved the fast paced and twisty nature of the story, also that there were several compelling stories all unravelling in parallel to become distinctly entwined for the exciting finish. The writing style is very easy to read and really draws you in and makes you question where your empathies and trust lies. Absolutely brilliant, happily recommend.
This is the first book I have read by Stephen Edger, but I enjoyed this rollercoaster of a psychological thriller so much that I will definitely be searching out more from him. The book is unputdownable and while I had predicted part of the ending, the last chapter was definitely a surprise with an unexpected cliffhanger, and I’m hoping there will be a sequel.
There are several threads to the plot but they are easy to follow as they weave throughout the book. The characters are very well written, even if most of them were not particularly likeable people, and the plot is believable. The suspense is fast paced throughout the book, and at one point I had to stop myself from skimming through it because I was so desperate to know what happened next!
Definitely a book to set some time aside to read, as you won’t want the ride to stop! 4.5*
Thank you to the author, publisher and The Book Club Reviewer Group for the advance copy in return for an honest review.
This is the first book I have read by Stephen Edger, and can confidently say I will look for more!
Hannah is trying to rebuild her life after the violent death of her husband, and loss of their unborn baby. As she settles into a new apartment in Southampton, approaching the 1 year anniversary of her husbands death, she see's his face everywhere. Is this related to the upcoming anniversary or an unacknowledged guilt as she meets a handsome, charming man in the park?
I enjoyed many parts of this book, particularly the roller coaster effect of the story once Hannah receives a message on facebook from an old friend that she had lost touch with, and the surprise visit from her brother in law. Whilst I had predicted part of the ending, I did not expect how the book ended. My next task is to search for a sequel!
Thank you to the author, and facebrook group the Book Club Reviewer for a copy in return for an honest review.
Starting off with a woman waking up to find herself wounded and her husband murdered in their bedroom, this one is a dark thriller where a lot happens. Hannah Davenport moves away to restart her life and put the incidents of a year ago away from her mind. But a new neighbor insisting there is something sinister about the disappearance of another young woman from the same building years ago draws her reluctantly into another mystery. Unable to recall what happened the night her life imploded, Hannah keeps getting nightmares that suggest the man imprisoned for the crime may not be the one responsible. And then her brother in law Patrick seems to want something from her and is behaving weirdly so Hannah is forced to dig into the past and see if things really are how she remembered them to be. An interesting read with the end suggesting a sequel.
This is one of those books that grabs your attention from the very first page right until the very last. I couldn't put it down, just when you think you've learnt all the twists more come ending with a cliffhanger! Hannah is a strong character knocked by the murder of her husband, she moves house to try and rebuild her life but things around his murder show not all was what she thought, his brother Patrick needs her help but can she trust him. A seemingly random side story about a missing girl who lived in her apartments becomes clearer at the end how it ties in with the story. When Hannah re explores her marriage and the murder the truth slowly unravels about what really happened that night.
Thank you to THE Book Club Reviewer group for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Around the World in 52 Weeks Challenge: A book with a geometric pattern or element on the cover
I really hope there is a sequel to this because that ending just blew me away and I NEED to know what happened. I did not see that coming at all and literally yelled at my Kindle after reading the last couple pages.
I read the book in one sitting, during a cold, rainy day. It was the perfect book for that and I could not put it down. There were some great plot twists and all the different stories tied together well. It's very well written and I could really visualize the character. I will definitely look for more books from this author
One year after a vicious attack in which Hannah was injured and her husband is killed she is getting her life back on track. When her brother in law Patrick contacts her about her husband's business Hannah realizes that the attack that killed her husband might not be such a clear cut case of home invasion after all .
Snapshot by Stephen Edger is a fast paced psychological thriller with lots of twists and turns. Even though I am not very fond of books that end in a cliffhanger, it worked well in this book . Overall an enjoyable entertaining read which I would recommend to people who love this genre
I would like to thank The Book Club Reviewer Request Group for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.
A thriller like this is all about the twists in the story, and this book has lots. The action starts right from the first sentence and continues right through the book. Hannah wakes up in her house, in pain, smelling smoke with no memory of what happened to get her there. Her husband is dead. She's injured. What happened? Who did this? Almost a year later we pick up her story again, just as she's picking up the pieces of her life. Her brother in law contacts her in a panic about his and her husband's business. What was John up to before he died? Was all quite as it seemed?
I received a copy of this book from TBC Reviewers request- Thank you I absolutely love anything Stephen writes, he has such a knack of creating the darkest psychological thrillers that make you question everything you know and sleep with a light on for weeks! (hopefully not just me) Another page turning thriller that genuinely gripped me from the first page. My only disappointment? The fact it ended- I cannot wait for the next book surely Stephen won’t leave the readers hanging without something to follow up this excellent read! Thank you
Great pace and a very readable writing style that does keep you turning the pages. An excellent premise and some great plot twists and reveals although there were a couple of instances for me where timings and events came together a little too conveniently. An interesting range of characters and the author very successfully keeps the reader guessing as to who can be trusted and indeed whether the main protagonist is a reliable narrator. All in all, an enjoyable psychological thriller.
I enjoyed snapshot, the characters were well developed and the plot had some great twists. I thought the booked flowed nicely and all in all a easy read. The main character Hannah wakes up after a fall, to the smell of smoke and her dead husband in their bedroom. The story then follows a year later when Hannah is getting her life back on track. Two plots run side by side and come together in a good cliffhanger. This is a new author for me and I look forward to reading more.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book via The Book Reviewer Club on Facebook. If you are looking for a book that will suck you in from the first page and keep you wanting to keep "turning" the pages then this is the book for you. The main character, Hannah, is a dynamic character that relies a lot upon others to help her create a new life. Suspenseful, dark at times, and plenty of plot twists will keep you reading late into the night.
I understand why this book has a lot of high ratings. I read it very quickly and really wanted to find out what happened but I found the main character so irritating. She seems to allow other people to dictate her every move, even when she barely knows them. I enjoyed the plot and the pace is great but ultimately I was disappointed, particularly by the ending. I think that's maybe just me though. My thanks to TBC on FB and the author for this copy.
Hannah lost her husband John a year ago and still has no memory of that fateful night. The nightmares come but are they glimpses of reality or purely her dreams? Hannah can’t understand why her memory hasn’t returned, but as time moves on she suspects that there is more to John’s death than she realises. An entertaining read with lots of twists and turns and an ending I didn’t see coming.
I really enjoyed this book. It’s a well written psychological thriller with a twist I didn’t see coming & the pace keeps you turning those pages. I’m looking forward to reading other books by this author
@StephenEdger just finished #snapshot - that ending has absolutely floored me! You think when you get to the last few pages that everything is going to be tied up nicely with a bow.. not this time! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I love Stephen Edgers writing. This one is a rollercoaster of a thriller. Keeps you guessing all the way through. Good and story and characters that make it so you don’t want to put it down. Would recommend Stephen Edger books.
Look closer. I took a while to warm to this book. At first it didn't seem to grab my attention and I almost gave up on it. However, I'm very glad I persevered, as it became clever thriller with many twists and turns, the ending being very clever indeed. All in all, a good read.
I enjoyed this book. Its a thriller, with an ending I didnt see coming. It is my first one by the author, but wont be the last one. many thanks to TBC group for allowing me to review the book.