‘Intricately plotted, beautifully written…with great pace, truly sympathetic characters, and a great twist at the end’ Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange Shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger award Whatever you do, don’t open the door… By day, Ellie Power has a normal life. She has a stable home, a loving boyfriend, a future. But at night, she suffers from a sleep disorder. She …
But at night, she suffers from a sleep disorder. She becomes angry, unpredictable, violent. Her mother locks Ellie in her bedroom every night, to keep them both safe.
Then one morning, Ellie wakes up, horrified to find the lock on her bedroom door smashed from the inside. She is covered in injuries, unable to remember anything about the night before.
And her boyfriend Matt is nowhere to be found…
Praise for Lock Me In
‘This ambitious and wide-reaching novel had me hooked from the very first page’ S. E. Lynes, author of The Women
‘One of the best debuts I have ever read’ Clare Empson, author of Him
‘A flawlessly written, jaw-dropping, chilling and twisty psychological thriller’ Sam Carrington, author of Saving Sophie
‘A disturbing psychological thriller’ Rachel Sargeant, author of The Perfect Neighbours
‘A five star, unputdownable thriller that had me gripped from the very first page. Both chilling and heart-wrenching, I read it in one sitting!’ Caz Finlay, author of The Boss
‘The characters are fresh, the dialogue sharp’ G. D. Abson, author of Motherland
‘A stunning debut. Gripping, compelling and skilfully crafted’ N J Crosskey, author of Poster Boy
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4.5 stars
Ellie Power had been living in fear as far as she could remember. When it’s dark, she had to stay vigilant or risk losing control. This living nightmare forced her and her mother to move around for safety reason. Now with her boyfriend Matthew, she hoped to settle and start living a normal life. But being comfortable came with a risk that she was not willing to pay.
I love books with psychological issues so naturally I was drawn to this one, especially with the intriguing blurb and cover. This book also covered a condition I’ve always been fascinated with so I definitely loved that aspect of the story.
I also liked discovering the characters’ drives and motivations. However, I wished I felt them on a deeper level. There were bits and pieces of it scattered but could have intensified the story with more of it. Even though I partially figured out the direction of the story, I still enjoyed the story overall and how the plot unfolded.
Lock Me In is a story of facing fears and taking back control. It would appeal to fans of psychological thriller.
OMG, what a debut book. This read was incredible. I was immediately drawn in and completely devoured the book from start to finish. The characters were immense and the world-building was exquisite. I never knew what was happening from one minute to the next. A fantastic page-turner.
4.5 Emotional, Clever and Unpredictable ‘s for this debut thriller!
Thrillers and mental illness are the perfect match! Like the PB&J of books! When I’m skimming through a book blurb, certain phrases pop out…Psychopath, Sociopath, DID (Split Personality), Multiple Personality, Serial Killer…the list goes on. I’m sure it’s not normal to get so excited about this stuff.
At 60% in, I didn’t want to stop, but unfortunately it was my birthday. Horrible timing! My husband had plans to take me out to dinner. Wonderful gesture, but I wanted to read! I did enjoy the evening out, once I pulled myself away from my book . By 75% I had to finish, so I could find out what the hell was going on! OMG…I was not prepared for those twists and never saw them coming!
There were several main characters that I really liked. I hope we read more about Ben and Kit! They all had their flaws and personal issues, which added to the story, but Ellie’s were the most tragic. Her illness dictated every aspect of her life. It was heart-wrenching to read about how lonely and vacant her life was. And scary! To think that there is another personality inside you, that could take over at any time…terrifying!
This was an emotionally-charged debut with a clever and unpredictable plot. Loved the short chapters. It makes it so easy to find a stopping point when you have to put the book down.
An interesting coincidence…the previous book I read also had a character with two different color irises. I’ve only known one person with this same issue and I thought it was so cool looking!
“I stared at myself in the eyes in the mirror: one green, one blue. One for me, one for Siggy.”
Thank you to NetGalley, Killer Reads and Kate Simants for a copy of this digital ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion.
My Rating: 4.5 ’s (rounding up to 5)
Published: Published October 3rd 2019 by Killer Reads
Pages: 400
Recommended: Yes
@katesboat #LockMeIn #NetGalley #BookReview #DebutThriller #MustRead #PsychologicalThriller
4.5 Stars
or most of her life, Ellie Power has lived with secrets and a certain condition. Now that she is enjoying a bit of independence, Ellie wants to experience more, but her past is a constant reminder of the harm she can cause. After her boyfriend goes missing, Ellie remains close to those she can trust.
“There are experiences that have shaped her: moments that she’s hanging on to because of how crucial they are to her identity.”
Told in dual POV, the narrative shifts between Ellie and Detective Sargeant Ben Mae. Familiar with her past, Mae is sensitive to Ellie’s plight, but he must also investigate all leads to get answers. Of course, everyone seems to have something to hide, which makes getting to the truth a bit complicated and serves to create building tension.
“He’s called it the push factor, I remembered then. Sometimes people leave where they are, to get away from something dangerous.”
Despite her vulnerabilities and fears, Ellie proves to be a worthy and strong character. I liked how Ellie continually moves forward no matter how painful it may be. Though Ellie experienced life-changing trauma, Mae brings his own challenges but also his stamp of humanity. Overall, I enjoyed the range that each character brings to the storyline.
Lock Me In is a psychological thriller that feels like a police investigative. It will appeal to those who enjoy analyzing clues and identifying suspects in order to get to a painful truth.
Ellie is a dangerous person, no, wait …. it’s Siggy who is dangerous. Siggy lives inside Ellie and usually only takes over when Ellie is sleeping.
Ellis suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder , which has been called having multiple personalities. It’s been this way her entire life and her mother has dragged her to numerous doctors looking for a cure. Ellie has been poked and prodded with no relief.
At night, Ellie’s mother locks her in her room so they both will be safe. While Ellie might be a fairly normal teenager with a stable home, a loving mother, and a boyfriend … Siggy is not.
Siggy is angry, violent, unpredictable …. dangerous.
One particular morning, Ellie wakes with cuts and blood and mud on her hands. She is covered in bruises and her whole body hurts. And even worse …. the lock on her bedroom door has been smashed and the door is open.
Both Ellie and her mother are horrified …. this happened before and it cost the life of a childhood friend. Ellies first thought .. where is her boyfriend?
This is a fabulous debut novel with twists and turns and red herrings around every corner. The characters are finely drawn and have come to life under this author’s pen. The book takes place in the here and now .. and the past. There are memories of dealing with a therapist. The ending is unexpectedly
I think this is a promising start for this talented writer and I look forward to see what she does next.
Many thanks to the author / Harper Impulse and Killer Reads / One More Chapter / Netgalley for the digital copy of this intriguing psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
A five star, unputdownable thriller that had me gripped from the very first page. Both chilling and heart-wrenching, I read it in one sitting!
A disturbing psychological thriller.
A flawlessly written, jaw-dropping, chilling and twisty psychological thriller.
One of the best debuts I have ever read.
Intricately plotted, beautifully written… with great pace, truly sympathetic characters, and a great twist at the end.
It was different than what I expected. I enjoyed it.
You ever see what’s coming. Great psychological thriller
3.5 stars
This was good for me. It started off slow but that may just be my mood lately. I knew almost from the beginning some of what was going on but there were still some twists in there. Had a lot of sympathy for almost all the characters by the end of the book. Was a very creative idea from the author.
I was given this book by netgalley and publisher for a honest review.
With a loving mom and boyfriend, Ellie Power appears to anyone from the outside to be a perfectly normal young woman. But hidden within is a secret so terrifying, Ellie must be locked up to keep everyone safe from Siggy…
Reviewing mystery/thrillers is tricky. Everyone has an opinion on what glues them to the pages…what terrifies them…and what just didn’t make the cut. Lock Me In hooked me with the line “Whatever you do, don’t open the door…” The problem is, this story became so wordy and dragged on for what felt like an eternity, I forgot why the door had to be locked. This book could have easily been cut in half and been way more enjoyable for this reader. Lock Me In had so much potential, and when I came across this quote in the book, it totally summed up how I felt after losing hours of my life I’ll never get back…“Mistakes get made, life goes less than perfectly, and you cope. Sh*t happens and you move the f*ck on.”
If you are a fan of psychological thrillers, you may enjoy. It just didn’t make the cut for me.
**Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.**