Book Review: Closer | Kim L Slater

The most gripping psychological thriller you’ll read this year from the Kindle top five bestselling author K.L. Slater. If you love The Girl on the Train or Gone Girl, you’ll be absolutely hooked.

I just wrapped up Closer and the ending completely shocked and delighted me!!! K. L. Slater certainly knows how to leave me paging backwards, trying to make sure I read what I thought I just read. This ending is deliciously twisted and shockingly salacious–I love the way the best writers in the psychological thriller genre keep a seasoned reader like myself on my toes. I never in a million years would have guessed the story would wrap up this way. To say I loved this ending is an understatement! My jaw is still on the floor!

About the Book

My ex-husband Shaun and I are still friends.
We would do anything for our beautiful little girl, Maisie.

Emma and Shaun were happy once. But somewhere along the way, things fell apart. Sure, they still love eachother, but they aren’t in love. They’ve become ships passing in the night, trading off care of their beautiful, precocious daughter Maisie. Emma is a bit too focused on her career goals, and Shaun is a bit to unreliable. And then there is that terrible incident from the past… Best not to think about that though.

But now Shaun has moved in with someone and suddenly, Maisie has a brand new family.
And there’s something not quite right about it…

An arrangement that is best for Maisie, they say. Shaun and Emma stay in the house separated, keeping things as consistent as possible. But things aren’t working. Shaun has met someone else and he is moving in with her. And then the trouble really begins… Emma is sure that something is off about Shaun’s new girlfriend. Everyone says she is being bitter and paranoid, but Emma can’t shake the feeling she gets about this new woman in her daughter’s life.

I need to discover what she’s hiding.
Because if I don’t, my daughter will be in terrible danger.

Alone and with everyone turning on her, Emma must uncover the truth. She sees Maisie, and sees her daughter changing slowly. She isn’t the young girl she was a few months ago. And Emma is certain it has to do with her. With things spiraling out of control, Emma needs to protect Maisie. But how does she prove it?

Reflection

I want to absolutely gush about this book! How is this my first K. L. Slater read? I’ve been following her work since I became active in the book community about a year ago. But this is the first book I of hers I read and it absolutely will not be the last. I already added three more to my Amazon shopping cart! This book is a slow burning build to a conclusion that will absolutely leave you breathless. This ending was audible-gasp-out-loud good!

I hate when reviewers say they can’t talk about the book because of spoilers, but honestly I feel that way with this one. This one really should be experienced with little knowledge of what to expect! Of course, there are plenty of non-spoiler things I want to say, so let’s focus there. What is so masterful about this book is that if you didn’t know the genre outright, you actually might forget this is a thriller when reading it. The story captivated me, but the suspense and twists creep up on you. You’ll find yourself reading a book about a mother and her worry for her daughter. You’ll find yourself frustrated with her ex-husband for not prioritizing Maisie the way he should. You’ll find yourself outraged on Emma’s behalf.

And then when you least expect it–when you have entirely forgotten you are in the middle of a thriller–BAM!!! Slater will knock you off your reading chair! It was a true delight to be surprised in this way. This book is a study in the slow unraveling of a life. It shows the way everything can be completely different before you even realize it has begun to change. I cannot wait for readers to experience this book! I loved it!

Thank you so much to Bookouture for my copy to review. Please stop by these other blogs for some more outstanding reviews of this wonderful book!

About the Author

Kim is the bestselling author of psychological crime thrillers ‘Safe With Me,’ ‘Blink,’ ‘Liar,’ ‘The Mistake’ and ‘The Visitor.’ Her latest thriller, ‘The Secret’ was published by Bookouture on 27th July 2018 and her new thriller CLOSER will be published 24th October 2018 and is now available for pre-order. Kim’s titles are soon to be published in paperback by Sphere in the UK and Grand Central in the USA.

For many years, Kim sent her work out to literary agents and collected an impressive stack of rejection slips. At the age of 40 she went back to Nottingham Trent University and now has an MA in Creative Writing. Before graduating in 2012, she received five offers of representation from London literary agents and a book deal which was, as Kim says, ‘a fairytale … at the end of a very long road!’

Kim is a full-time writer, has one grown-up daughter, Francesca, and lives in Nottingham with her husband, Mac. She also writes award-winning YA fiction for Macmillan Children’s Books, writing as Kim Slater.