An “insidious, suspenseful tale” (J.T. Ellison) with a “shocker of an ending you won’t see coming” (Michele Campbell), Because You’re Mine by Rea Frey, the author who “brings to mind Jodi Picoult” (Booklist) and “will appeal to readers of Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen” (Sally Hepworth) is a novel about how the truth will set you free.But it’s the lies that keep you safe.Single mother Lee has … the lies that keep you safe.
Single mother Lee has the daily routine down to a science: shower in six minutes. Cut food into perfect squares. Never leave her on-the-spectrum son Mason in someone else’s care. She’ll do anything—anything—to keep his carefully constructed world from falling apart. Do anything to keep him safe.
But when her best friend Grace convinces her she needs a small break from motherhood to recharge her batteries, Lee gives in to a weekend trip. Surely a long weekend away from home won’t hurt?
Noah, Mason’s handsome, bright, charismatic tutor—the first man in ages Lee’s even noticed—is more than happy to stay with him.
Forty-eight hours later, someone is dead.
But not all is as it seems. Noah may be more than who he claims to be. Grace has a secret—one that will destroy Lee. Lee has secrets of her own that she will do anything to keep hidden. And what will happen to Mason, as the dominoes begin to fall and the past comes to light?
Perhaps it’s no mystery someone is gone after all…
Because You’re Mine is a breathtaking novel of domestic drama and suspense.
Prepare to stay up all night.
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BECAUSE YOU’RE MINE is an edge-of-your-seat voyage that swirls around the sudden death of a young mother. From the opening scene to the final, surprising reveal, I was lost in Grace, Lee and Noah’s story and the way their lives intersected. Each of them is holding a deep, dark, secret, but only one of them is hiding their true self. Who that person is is the answer to the riveting mystery at the core of this novel.
An insidious, suspenseful tale full of lies and twists, Frey is a great new talent to watch.
Lulls you into a false sense of security and then pulls the rug out from under you―more than once…will appeal to readers of Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen.
Rea Frey always offers great stories! I loved this one! She writes on such a personal level of frightening things….and things that can really happen, you can’t help but keep flipping the pages!
I received a copy of this book from The publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Fantastically unputdownable!!One of the best domenstic suspense novels I’ve read this year! There is nothing predictable about Rea Frey’s Because You’re Mine! An engrossing novel of deep secrets and betrayal with so many twists and turns! Just when you think you’ve got it figured out she throws out a little nugget that completely changes the game! Absolutely loved reading Rea Frey’s second novel and will be sure to grab her debut Not Her Daughter!
She got me 🙂
I read a LOT of psychological thrillers, and I was surprised at the ending of Because You’re Mine. The story unrolls in multiple POV and shifts in the timeline, which keeps you on your toes. I read the ebook, and I had a few moments of confusion, but it could have been due to formatting for the media. Overall, the characters were interesting and had depth/flaws that made them believable, and the plot worked beautifully.
Riveting, utterly unsettling […] you’ll think you know who masterminded the ultimate revenge plot. But you’ll be wrong.
Dark, intense and gripping, full of secrets and lies, with a shocker of an ending you won’t see coming.
Lee is devoted to her son Mason, who is on the spectrum, and attracted to Noah, the occupational therapist recommended by her best friend Grace. But from the beginning, as an unnamed woman plunges to her death before the story moves back in time to a week “before the fall,” it is clear that someone is lying and that secrets are being kept.
Interspersed between the chapters titled with the character it focuses on, diary entries reveal that someone has a plan in place, leaving the reader to suspect the reliability of each narrative viewpoint. And as secrets are slowly revealed, the twisted truths lead to a surprising end.
Reading Because You’re Mine was a much different experience from Rea Frey’s debut novel, Not Her Daughter. While the writing is quite good, I had a sense of dread going in and I was never able to really engage with the story or the characters, and was a bit put off by some of the more adult portions of the book. What I found of greater interest was the structuring of the story and the authorial choices in the timing of events and revelations.
If domestic suspense dramas are your cup of tea, then Rea Frey is definitely an author to try. For me, I’m finding that authors from the mid 20th century are a bit more my speed (and reading stress level) in this particular genre.
This review refers to a temporary digital galley I voluntarily read via NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. A positive review was not required and all opinions expressed are my own.
This was one of those books that has you sitting on the edge of your seat wanting to know what is going on and where the story will end. Though there are some unbelievable things that happen which play into the story, you still want to know the truth As the story is told through various characters and you are certain that at least one of them is not being truthful.
What a wonderful twist at the end! I love a book that has me gasping in shock as I’m turning the pages as fast as I can. There are clues sprinkled throughout the story and you’re positive you’ve figured it out. But hold on! Are you correct?
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
This is a must read. Tough subject matter, but a really good read. There are 4 main characters. All are flawed, but real. Lee is a single mom to Mason, a highly functioning child on the spectrum. Brilliant, truly brilliant, lovable, adorable beyond belief and the love of her life. He’s a wonderful child, but it is all that Lee can do to support him financially, educationally and most importantly emotionally. She is exhausted before she gets out of bed each and every day. She works from home to create a stable safe environment for Mason and every penny that doesn’t go to overhead and basic necessities goes to pay Noah, Masons tutor. He is all about structure and continuity. For the first time since the birth of Mason Lee decides to go away for the weekend with her best friend Grace and leaves Mason home with Noah. Two left and only one comes back. Who murdered her? Will the truth come to light and how? Who hasn’t heard or read that before, but this is different. Lots of intrigue, twists and turns. It is written from various points of view in the past and present. It is a great read you will start reading and then not realize that hours have passed and you’re done. It is worth losing track of your time. I know I should give more details, but don’t want to ruin the read for anyone.
Very well written, great characters. Kept me up late reading!
LOVED IT! I wAs so invested in this story because of the kids! The adults and secrets and yes TWISTS! I want another REA FREY book, please!
narration was great
I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this book, but I knew it would be good since so many of my friends have been raving about it. They definitely weren’t wrong. It’s a hard one to write about without giving away spoilers. The story starts out feeling safe and comfortable, more like women’s fiction than thriller. But as the story progresses, things become more and more unpredictable and off kilter. None of the three main characters can be trusted. They all harbor secrets that they want to keep hidden at all costs. The last few chapters are a wild ride. You’ll never predict the crazy ending!
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Avid Reader –
3.5 stars
M/F Thriller
Lee is the mother to Mason. Mason has some form of autism, but we are not quite sure how severe. He is able to function day-to-day but cannot attend a formal school. Then, in walks Noah. He is a tutor who specializes in kids on the spectrum.
Lee owns her own business but has a checkered past. While she tries to find a good balance between her life as a mom, life as a business owner, and a friend, she finds that she’s often struggling.
Her best friend Grace is also someone who has a past. However, she wants her friend Lee to find happiness. But the secret that Grace has is one she fears will change her friendship forever.
This is a story about finding out what is behind everyone else’s facade. I enjoyed the twists and turns. I did find some of the parts fairly predictable but enjoyed the story regardless. I think my biggest negative for the story was the ending. It felt unfinished and very abrupt.
Reviewers received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
I went into Because You’re Mine really wanting to like it. The key elements are there, it’s dark, and everyone has a secret. It’s also way too slow for my liking, and it requires more suspension of disbelief than a story like this should. The only way this one works is if you go in thinking everyone is unreliable, and everyone has something to hide. That, in itself, wouldn’t be a bad thing, but the only character I liked was Mason. He’s adorably obsessive about his interests, and being a parent of a child on the spectrum, his lack of impulse control and the things he said felt real to me. The problem is the sheer amount of filler surrounding Mason. There are some things I just don’t need to know and having page after page give me every detail of those things was more yawn-inducing than interesting. I would’ve much preferred a shorter story than all that filler. In the end, this story had promise, but it just didn’t deliver.
Kudos to Rea Frey for a shocking ending that literally made my jaw drop! I really enjoyed how the author laid this book out, alternating between the viewpoints of Lee, Grace, and Noah as well as alternating between the current time period and past events that are applicable to the current events. The result is a puzzle that slowly comes together as you progress through the book (which made the ending all the more spectacular for me because it is not at all what I was expecting…).
This was the first book I’ve read by Rea Frey – after my experience with this one, I will definitely look forward to reading more of her books in the future!
Because I enjoyed Rea Frey’s debut novel, Not Her Daughter, I chose to read her second. Told in three points of view (Lee, the mother of Mason, a spectrum child; Noah, Mason’s tutor; and Grace, Lee’s best friend), this book is a read-in-one-sitting page-turner. All the characters are well-developed, including Mason, but all except Mason have deep dark secrets. None are who they seem to be, and the plot draws readers in with its twists and turns. By the time the book climaxes, three people are dead, and the killers(s) are those you’d least suspect. While in Not Her Daughter a bad thing was done for a good reason, here in Because You’re Mine, bad things are done for sociopathic reasons.
I loved the depiction of Mason. Frey does a superb job showing how the delightful quirky, yet devastatingly honest Mason fits into his mother’s world.
Read this book for its characterization and for the surprise ending that will leave you understanding all the clues and wondering why you didn’t see it coming.
Because You’re Mine by Rea Fey will keep you at the edge of your seat! A wild ride with secrets and surprises at every turn! Lee’s life revolves around her son Mason. Mason is on the spectrum and finds comfort in his routine. When Lee’s friend Grace talks her to take a weekend to herself, Grace asks Mason’s tutor Noah for help. All seems well until it isn’t and somebody is dead. Told in different point-of-views, we see the secrets that are being hidden and how things slowly unravel! A suspenseful read with surprising twists that will captivate you from beginning to end.
Happy reading!
[A] tautly suspenseful and wickedly twisty thriller that will have the reader guessing until the very last pages.