I received this book for free from the TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Psychological Suspense, Suspense
Pages: 368
Format: ARC
Source: TLC Book Tours
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"Sarah Pinborough is about to become your new obsession."—Harlan Coben
Lisa is living a lie and everyone is about to find out.
Lisa lives for her daughter Ava, her job and her best friend Marilyn.
But when a handsome client shows an interest in her, Lisa starts daydreaming about sharing her life with him, too. Maybe she’s ready now. Maybe she can trust again. Maybe it's time to let her terrifying secret past go.
But when her daughter rescues a boy from drowning and their pictures are all over the news for everyone to see, Lisa's world explodes.
As she finds everything she has built threatened, and not knowing who she can trust, it's up to Lisa to face her past in order to save what she holds dear.
But someone has been pulling all their strings. And that someone is determined that both Lisa and Ava must suffer.
Because long ago Lisa broke a promise. And some promises aren't meant to be broken.
Suspense and thrillers are my escape, and one that keeps me guessing while the tension just ratchets up while the story slowly unfurls are particular favorites. Sarah Pinborough has cast a dark net of characters in Cross Her Heart, featuring three women protagonists that have much to hide yet they rely on each other every day. Lisa and her daughter Ava live a tight-knit life, enjoying their small social circles as Ava has grown into a smart, talented, 16-year old swimmer. But single mother Lisa hovers and sometimes smothers while Ava wants to spread her wings causing the usual teenager angst, and that leaves Lisa turning to her best friend/colleague Marilyn to round out the small family they’ve built together.
Lisa is constantly looking over her shoulder, and she’s clearly paranoid that something will popup and spell doom for her and Ava. Ava should be worrying about exams and boys, but she has much more adult things on her mind. Marilyn seems happily married and put together, but the cracks are starting to show. She doesn’t know who long she’ll be able to keep the charade of her broken marriage intact.
Each woman is harboring secrets–some big, some small–and those facts that haven’t been spoken are full of danger to all three of them in different ways. Told in the alternating points of view of all three of the women and one extra person later in the book, you get a firsthand peek at what’s going on in each of their lives and what they’re keeping from each other. But can you really trust what they’re saying? Because they aren’t even sure if they can trust each other until they know that they’re the only ones they can trust…
The characters were engaging in Cross Her Heart for me, and I could empathize with Lisa, Ava, and Marilyn. I found myself not wanting to put this one down. I just needed to get to the end to see how it wrapped up and I read most of it in one day. This was my first book by Sarah Pinborough, and her writing was tight and not overly descriptive, with characters that sounded unique.
I give Cross Her Heart a 4.5 out of 5. This intricately plotted suspense kept me guessing while the story moved forward, and I really enjoyed understanding Lisa’s past as it was revealed over the second third of the book in flashback chapters. The chapters are clearly marked by character and time so it’s easy to keep track of, especially when flashbacks occur later in the book–and I really appreciate that. The pacing was perfect, starting off a bit slow to set the scene and characters and building to a fever pitch when everything comes to a head. There are some quite heavy topics covered in this book, like abuse–sexual, physical, and emotional–but it isn’t described in detail. Overall, I definitely enjoyed this fast paced psychological suspense with enjoyable, unpredictable characters.
Find CROSS HER HEART
Amazon | Harper Collins | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
About Sarah Pinborough
Sarah Pinborough is the number one Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of the psychological thriller Behind Her Eyes, and more than twenty other novels and novellas, including The Death House and a young adult thriller, 13 Minutes. She has also written for the BBC. She lives in England.
Find out more about Sarah at her website, and connect with her on Twitter and Instagram.
Connect with Sarah Pinborough
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads
Sarah Pinborough’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS for CROSS HER HEART:
Instagram Features
Tuesday, January 14th: Instagram: @kraysbookclub
Wednesday, January 15th: Instagram: @the.magicalpages
Thursday, January 16th: Instagram: @jess_reads_books
Friday, January 17th: Instagram: @jessicamap
Saturday, January 18th: Instagram: @throneofshatteredbooks
Sunday, January 19th: Instagram: @allthebooksandchocolate
Monday, January 20th: Instagram: @what.jenny.reads
Tuesday, January 21st: Instagram: @aprilsbookshelf
Wednesday, January 22nd: Instagram: @bookishanki
Review Stops
Tuesday, January 14th: Always With a Book
Wednesday, January 15th: Girl Who Reads
Thursday, January 16th: Write – Read – Life
Friday, January 17th: Openly Bookish
Monday, January 20th: Thoughts On This ‘n That
Wednesday, January 22nd: Books and Bindings
Thursday, January 23rd: PhDiva
Friday, January 24th: Instagram: @beritaudiokilledthebookmark
Monday, January 27th: Stranded in Chaos
Tuesday, January 28th: Bewitched Bookworms
Wednesday, January 29th: Instagram: @myreadingchronicles
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I am so glad you enjoyed this one! Thank you so much for being on this tour. Sara @ TLC Book Tours
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