eriktherme – On The Shelf Reviews

Title: I Know You by Erik Therme

Publisher: Bookouture

Date Published: 12^th April 2019

Genre: Psychological Thriller.

Description:

‘I can help you save your sister. But I need something from you …’

Sisters Bree and Alissa Walker share a special bond. Neglected by their parents, they have always looked out for one another. But one day, sixteen-year-old Alissa goes missing. When Bree discovers her green backpack with all her belongings, abandoned on the steps of their run-down trailer, she knows that something bad has happened …

Then she receives a chilling text message. Someone has Alissa. But Bree will have to give up something very precious in exchange.

Desperate to save Alissa, Bree looks at everyone close to their family. She’s sure that Alissa’s best friend is keeping something back about her little sister and a boy at school, and why has their estranged uncle, who they’ve not seen in years, been hanging around again?

It soon becomes clear that the person behind the message knows a lot about the dark truths within the Walker family and will go to any lengths to get revenge. And as the search for Alissa continues, Bree discovers something about her brother Tyler that she wishes she hadn’t, a dangerous secret, which is also the key to bringing her little sister back home …

A gripping and addictive thriller about family secrets and lies and the lengths people will go to protect them. Perfect for fans of Teresa Driscoll and Louise Jensen.

Review:

Bree and her siblings, Tyler and Alissa have had a tough childhood living in a trailer park. Their mum worked two jobs, their dad often drank and took his temper out on those closest to him.

Bree has become hardened over the years but nothing is stronger than her love for her little sister. Then Alissa goes missing.

Someone wants revenge on her family but Bree has no idea who or why but it’s up to her to bring her sister home.

So this is the second book I’ve read by Erik Therme and I have to say his writing keeps getting better and better!

I Know you is a novel all about family and the fraught and difficult relationships that come along with it.

Bree felt so realistic, I just found myself rooting for her. As the oldest, she became the surrogate mum to her siblings which they didn’t always appreciate her for but she still did it anyway.

I can’t say too much more about the plot, like most psychological thrillers, I don’t want to give away any of the twists or turns, and believe me there are plenty in this book!

My only slight issue was the storyline felt a little similar to the other novel I read, Keep Her Close but of course that’s just my opinion.

I Know You is absorbing and emotional read that will have you hooked from that very first chapter.

About The Author:

Erik Therme has thrashed in garage bands, inadvertently harbored runaways, and met Darth Erik Therme (author photo) Vader. When he’s not at his computer, he can be found cheering for his youngest daughter’s volleyball team, or watching horror movies with his seventeen-year-old. He currently resides in Iowa City, Iowa–one of only twenty places in the world UNESCO has certified as a City of Literature.

WEB: http://www.eriktherme.com
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/erik.therme
TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/ErikTherme

Title: Keep Her Close by Erik Therme

Publisher: Bookouture

Date Published: 5^th December 2018

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Description:

Someone took your daughter. And nobody believes you…

Then:
Three-year-old Ally was found alone in a parking lot.
She was barefoot and dressed only in a yellow sundress. In the middle of winter.
What kind of person would abandon their daughter?

Now:
Fifteen years later and Ally has a new family.
But her real father has sent her a letter.

And now Ally is missing.

A gripping twist-filled thriller that will have you looking over your shoulder. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and Teresa Driscoll.

Review:

The book starts with a really heartbreaking scene. A young married couple Holly and Dan find a little girl, obviously neglected and abused in nothing but a dirty dress all alone in a parking lot. She has a little cardboard sign Free to a good home. A dead woman they assume is her mother is found not far away.

Fast forward fifteen years and the little girl that they christened Ally is now a happy eighteen year old, that is until a letter shows up claiming to be from her real father. Unable to stop her curiosity, Ally goes to meet him but now she’s missing.

I found this book quite a quick and easy read with plenty of suspense and mystery, that preys on every parents’ nightmare, a child going missing.

A stand out character was Dan. He works hard to help support Ally, even though Holly and her new husband earn so much more than him. He also has a tendency to lose his temper with often disastrous consequences. He’s very overprotective of Ally even though she’s not his biological daughter and will stop at nothing to find her.

To me, Ally came across as a little spoilt but she has a child-like sense of the world and gullibility that makes you forgive that.

I have to be honest for the most of the book I believed it could happen in real life but the ending was a little out there for me but it was still enjoyable.

Overall Keep Her Close is a solid psychological thriller that will tug on those heart strings as well as keep you on the edge of your seat.

Author Bio:

Erik Therme has thrashed in garage bands, inadvertently harbored runaways, and met Darth Erik Therme (author photo) Vader. When he’s not at his computer, he can be found cheering for his youngest daughter’s volleyball team, or watching horror movies with his seventeen-year-old. He currently resides in Iowa City, Iowa—one of only twenty places in the world UNESCO has certified as a City of Literature.