Discover the novel praised as a “nail-biting thriller” (Publishers Weekly), a “compelling web” (Kirkus Reviews), “tightly plotted character study” (RT Magazine), and a “dark, twisty tale of lurid secrets, lavish lifestyles, and devastating loss” (Lisa Gardner). A woman who almost had it all….On the surface, Celine Gonzalez had everything a twenty-eight-year-old in Manhattan could want: a … twenty-eight-year-old in Manhattan could want: a one-bedroom apartment on the Lower East Side, a job that (mostly) paid the bills, and an acceptance letter to the prestigious Hollingsworth Institute of Art, where she would finally live out her dream of becoming an antiques appraiser for a major auction house. All she had worked so hard to achieve was finally within her reach. So why would she kill herself?
A man who was supposed to be her salvation….Maggie Sparkes arrives in New York City to pack up what’s left of her best friend’s belongings after a suicide that has left everyone stunned. The police have deemed the evidence conclusive: Celine got into bed, downed a lethal cocktail of pills and vodka, and never woke up. But when Maggie discovers a scandalous photograph in a lock box hidden in Celine’s apartment, she begins asking questions. Questions about the man Celine fell in love with. The man she never told anyone about, not even Maggie. The man Celine believed would change her life.
Until he became her ruin….On the hunt for evidence that will force the police to reopen the case, Maggie uncovers more than she bargained for about Celine’s private life–and inadvertently puts herself on the radar of a killer. A killer who will stop at nothing to keep his crimes undiscovered.
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He Will Be My Ruin is by far my favorite suspense novel by K.A. Tucker. The story sucked me in from start with that chilling prologue, which had me wondering who the hell had Maggie captive and how did she end up in that predicament after her friend supposedly killed herself?
I really thought I had it figured out when Maggie came in contact with one person in particular, and this guy seemed like the perfect fit because of the kind of access he had in Celine’s life, but then another came into the picture and my mind started going back and forth between them. I would snap at Maggie when she couldn’t see something that was so clear to me, but then I’d retract because once the story progressed and got deeper, I realized that it truly could be anyone close to Celine from the life she was secretly living. And if you’re easily turned off by a certain lifestyle in books and the not so sweet or perfect acts carried out by characters, then you might be quick to judge Celine because of what she did to get by. I liked her, in spite of the decisions she made. Celine’s the perfect representation of someone having financial difficulties who resort to unfavorable choices when desperate for a better life. Her mother was ill and she relied on her daughter’s help. I mean, I got mad at Celine several times for not accepting help from Maggie, but I understood why and I got that she just didn’t want her bestfriend’s handouts. Perhaps Celine didn’t want to seem like that needy person and wanted to earn her own, no matter the methods. Or you could say it was pride. Either way, she was a desperate young woman who fell into a life she shouldn’t have and had some emotional issues no one should suffer through.
As for Maggie, she was tough, and I loved that she was so determined to prove that her best friend didn’t commit suicide and that someone else was at play. She started her own investigation and got the help of others that over time became just as determined as she was. I liked that Maggie got to see a different side to her friend by reading the diaries. She discovered how Celine really felt about her and the wealth that she came from. And sometimes when you and your friends come from two separate lifestyles, you never really know how one honestly thinks of the other in their hearts. So the diaries were a way for Maggie and the reader to understand Celine more. And even though it was a surprise and a tad too soon that Maggie had such an encounter with one guy, and then hours later she was having another “interesting” experience with another, I didn’t let those acts sway me from the story and the mystery of what happened to Celine. And I should mention that it was a great thing that the author gave us some chapters with Celine’s POV that coincided with a reveal from Maggie’s chapters. It also made some things clearer to me.
Another thing I enjoyed was the addition of art and Celine’s love for art history. It was almost like a learning experience whenever something involving her collection came up and I’d feel so enamored and want to know if these pieces truly existed. I liked her friend, Hans, and how much he added to that aspect of the story. I could honestly feel his love for these artsy finds jump out of the pages. He was quite a likable character who added a bit of entertainment in his scenes when the story became too intense for me. Ruby was also a wonderful inclusion and it was nice to have another person on Maggie’s team when no one else believed that her friend didn’t kill herself.
Okay, I don’t want to continue any further in fear of giving too much away, but I can conclude with how much I loved the story and the overall element of suspense. K.A. is a superb writer and as usual, her storytelling is on point. She had me seriously second-guessing myself with this one. When I was convinced I had solved the mystery of Celine, the author totally switched it up on me towards the end and I loved how it played out. Such a awesome story filled with intrigued and a lot of twists. I highly recommend.
First off, I adore all that KA writes. However, since I’ve only read her romances, I was curious to see if I’d like her suspenses as much as I usually like her other works. And holy **** did I! From the get-go this book reels you in, keeps you captivated and doesn’t let go until the end! So well-written, the story unfolds with a flawless flow that kept me up on many nights. It’s sexy and smart and sometimes even funny. But every single part of it connects and meshes into one brilliant book! Highly recommend!
* A review copy was provide by the author/publisher via Netgalley *
He Will Be My Ruin is unlike anything I have read before!!!
This book is so different than anything K.A. Tucker has given us in the past. I think her debut novel in the genre of Mystery/Suspense is PHENOMENAL!! She knocked this one out of the park.
This review is going to be very vague and probably on the short side, because I can’t talk about the storyline at all. There are so many twists and turns to this story that I am afraid if I say anything it might spoil even a minor twist, so I would rather just talk about my feelings while I read this story.
I wasn’t too sure about what to expect when I read this book. I have loved all of K.A. Tucker’s previous books, but I knew this would be different. What I wasn’t too sure about was if this was going to be a Romantic Suspense story or a straight Mystery Thriller novel. Well this is definitely a straight up Mystery Thriller novel!!! This story is told in primarily Maggie’s POV, although we do get a couple chapters of Celine’s POV. I thought this was an interesting way of writing this story. Celine’s chapters were all from the past and helped us catch up to the current time that Maggie is explaining.
This book will have you hanging on from the very first page. That Prologue knocked me off my feet. I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat while reading this whole book. I thought I had everything figured out and then BAM!!! We would get another twist or turn in the story and everything I thought was true wasn’t anymore. Let me say K.A. will have you guessing all the way to the end of the book. This is one of those novels you will have a hard time putting down…..I know I did 🙂
I have to say I am loving this new side of K.A. Tucker and I am truly hoping we see more books like this in the future.
So if you are looking to read something different, that is full of twists and turns, and will have you sitting on the edge of your seat all the way to the end, then this is the book to read. This is for sure one of my favorite books of 2016!!! Pick this book up, you won’t be sorry!!! If you are a K.A. Tucker fan you don’t want to miss this book!!!
4.5 “Twisted” Stars
He Will Be My Ruin can be described in numerous conflicting adjectives – twisted, sad, funny, suspenseful, and sexy. It’s a whodunit with the appeal of a maybe/maybe not romance that kept my mind warring with the truth of what was written with what I hoped would happen. Around the 15% mark, I had a hard time putting the book down. At 60%, I had the mystery solved (or so I thought.) At 85%, my mind was blown and I was left to ride it out on the edge of my seat. K.A. Tucker wrote the perfect protagonist in Maggie. She was feisty, independent and embraced her shortcomings making her a great amateur sleuth. I don’t want to ruin the experience for the next reader, so I won’t share much about the antagonists except that the twist and turns involving them were whiplash-inducingly delicious. Throw in a snobby art aficionado, a nosy elderly neighbor/mystery author, a hyper-active P.I. and a stereotypical computer hacker and you’ve got yourself a brilliant mystery with lots of fun thrown in. I can’t be more pleased with this reading experience and hope to see more like this from the author.
A slightly different story from the ones we’ve read before of this author, but with her recently completed Burying Water series I think it was expected. Honestly, I was dying to read it and KA Tucker once again brought us a very good story.
Let’s start with the main characters, as always she created some very good characters, with ups and downs, but we will love them, in my case it wasn’t as much as I did with her other series. Maggie is a strong girl who knows what she wants and works for it without leaving aside what she believes and fights hard to achieve it. I enjoyed reading her; she was not complaining at all or whining, but with the problems she had to deal with it would be understanding if she did. The secondary characters were well written and added a lot to the plot. I liked Rosa, although we didn’t see her, she’s mentioned often, the way the author described her was quite accurate that I was remembering my grandmother, it was good to see K.A.Tucker didn’t based on a stereotype to create her.
The story kept me trapped from the beginning, I couldn’t stop reading it. The suspense is something that was well balanced, not too much nor too little, I think it was enough so the story doesn’t become overwhelming. And the doubts! This author is quite right to use the hashtag #isuspecteveryone, literal that it’s what you should do because things are not as they seem and even though I thought I knew what was happening, all took an unexpected turn. In itself there wasn’t a love story, but what we found is drama and suspense. It wasn’t a detective story either; I feel it have a little bit of everything. I loved the talk about antiques and history; it was a very interesting extra.
I liked the end, I feel if it had ended differently would have been quite the incredible fairytale or would have been utterly devastating and sad. Make no mistake, it was sad! but with everything that happened it didn’t have another way, it wasn’t a happily ever after, which pleased me but left me somewhat crestfallen, often the situations doesn’t develop as we want and there is not always a happy ending, but a light at the end of so many bad things.
I highly recommend it, if you have read a book from this author you already know that it’ll be a very good read. And if you enjoyed the Burying Water series you will like this, but HWBMR with more suspense and drama.
Growing up as childhood friends, Celine and Maggie shared everything…or so Maggie thought. Two people from different walks of life. Maggie was raised with all of the trappings of the wealthy. Celine was the daughter to their housekeeper. Poor but very loved by her mother. These friends couldn’t lead more opposite lifestyles if they wanted. Maggie was currently living abroad, using her non-profit for humanitarian means. Celine was waiting to return to school due to finances and had a unique obsession with ’treasures’. Then an unexpected tragedy brings Maggie home.
Maggie just can’t believe that the friend she has known for most of her life would commit suicide. As Maggie begins to ‘pack up’ the things that Celine left behind, she begins to discover that there was a side of her friend she never knew. Secrets and mystery surrounded Celine’s life. Things that Maggie has know idea were taking place. As the layers were uncovered, Maggie grew more and more determined that this couldn’t have been a suicide.
Mystery, intrigue, and unpredictability combine within the pages of this book for an unforgettable story. This is not the ‘typical’ romance you would expect from K.A. Tucker. In fact, this isn’t a romance at all. Nope….Tucker has gone ‘outside the box’ with this one!! Now don‘t worry- there is some really hot sex!! Just not what you might expect.
What readers will find more fascinating is the dark twists and dangerous turns that Maggie slowly uncovers. The lies, unpredictability, and story plot will engage you from cover to cover. It is a gripping tale that had me staying up late to finish. I love that Tucker deviated from past works!! In fact – I would love to see more stories like this….ones filled with sordid details, unexpected lovers, and a gritty story that leaves you talking about it long after the last page!!!
After reading the prologue, I couldn’t put this book down! I stayed up all night to finish it. I didn’t see the ending coming. Can’t wait to read more of K.A. Tucker’s books.
OMG this book is so freaking amaaaaazing! This was first mystery thriller read since i only read romance genre (from paranormal,fantasy,contemporary romance etc) And since K.A Tucker is one my many favorites authors so i went into this one without any hesitation. And laaawl this book does not disappoint. I read this book in one sitting that turn into a all nighter read. It was twisted and unpredictable. I got into 50% of the story and i no doubt suspect the anti-heroin but boy was i wrong. All in all this book is so freaking good. I loved it and still having a little hard time trying to move on from my book drunkard on this to start on ones of my many to be read list bile of books.