Series: N/A
Book Number: N/A
Read this book for: psychological thriller, unreliable narrator, female lead character, twisting plot, suspense, forgotten past
Quick Review: Unsettling and unexpected, a thriller that will subvert your expectations at every turn and leave you with an experience that you will remember.
Heather Hornne is going home. Haunted by a childhood tragedy and estranged from her family, Heather finds herself back in Hunther, Wisconsin after twenty years running from it. She returns to finally put the past to rest, but uncovers another tragedy and finds herself in the beguiling grip of a young woman who knows more of her family secrets than Heather does. To survive this homecoming, Heather must piece together a toxic history that she long tried to forget.
CONFESS TO ME is a stand alone psychological thriller from author Sharon Doering, following a woman who attempts to unravel her forgotten past when she returns to her hometown after many years.
We have reviewed another of Doering’s thrillers here on the blog: SHE LIES CLOSE was another psychological thriller that involved a woman trying to unravel a mystery as she becomes increasingly erratic in her behaviour. Those elements are somewhat present in this novel as well, but it is definitely a very different story.
One of the best things about that story is that it tends to subvert some of the tropes of the typical ‘finding out about a dark past’ narrative. Without spoiling any of the plot points, nothing is quite as you expect in this novel, and the way the plot twists around itself makes it extremely difficult to guess what the actual explanations will be revealed to be.
This difficulty in guessing in what is happening is really driven by the unpredictability of the characters, as it becomes apparently that not only might the main character have something to hide, but so do several of the other supporting characters. No one is quite what they seem, and no one’s actions seem to be quite what you would expect.
The slightly off actions of the characters help to underpin that feeling of doubt that pervades the novel. Doering has done an exceptional job of creating a particularly unsettled mood throughout; one that will keep you guessing even outside of the plot. The inability to predict how the characters will behave makes this novel a very immersive and slightly disturbing experience, with a pervading sense of paranoia.
CONFESS TO ME is definitely worth the read if you are looking for something that will truly immerse you in an unsettling experience.