What can I say about this book which caused my head to spin, my brain to rattle in my skull trying to figure out what I feel?!!

The story of Connie was a total mind blast. I felt sad at her betrayal, shocked at her actions and absolute anger, burning hot lava spewing out of me, against the man, the husband who was the root cause of evil, the philanderer. He escaped scot free, he got to eat his cake and have it too.

The book starts out as a thriller then gets a bit philosophical with the paragraphs of forgiveness. Connie is in a mental facility awaiting trial, for driving into the river with 2 children, both apparently critical. The shock causes amnesia, and the forensic psychologist, Emma or Dr R, has to then peek into her brain, catch that single thread which would cause the knots of memory to untangle and flow out...

The entire book is the story of Connie both in the facility and in the days months years preceding that. One casual meet in the playground causes the door to open a crack and the snake is left with the temptation to slide right in and make its home. The old residents have to then move out or try to kill the snake. What do you think happens then? Who wins? Read the book to know.

The story has many niggles, description of her life at the psychiatric facility is more than the friendship turned bad. For me the story is too disjointed, not cohesive. There were pages on forgiveness, I am not very sure if that is even possible. My sense of justice did not like that only Connie suffers, the perpetrators escape. The reveals in the story are fabulous, they come in the latter half.

The book captivated me, incited my emotions, not for the narrator but for the infidel husband, who was never the main part of the story... Well, it was an enjoyable read.

An interesting and complex debut which explores a number of themes; love, betrayal, friendship, trust, redemption.

Connie is the central character and we learn of her conflicted past through flashback and psychiatric sessions. She’s in hospital following a domestic tragedy involving a number of people. The main interest lies in what actually happened and why. There are a coup,e of twists and whilst I enjoyed the story, it didn’t quite pull it off as an edge of the seat psychological thriller. I was concerned about some of the motivations and a couple of the characters are a little flat. The mad or bad premise worked well up to a point, but Connie’s relationship with her psychiatrist became implausible and confusing. The end feels contrived. I’d certainly read more by this author and my thanks for a review copy via Netgalley.

I enjoyed reading this book, bit slow to get going, but I did get hooked and wanting to read on and find out more - How and what happened to Connie, to be so unwell? With an interest in mental illness, I felt it dealt with the subject well, and I guess I just wanted to keep reading to hear that she finds a road to recovering.

This book had me gripped from start to finish. I have read over 150 books this year and this is most definitely in my top five.
This book highlights mental illness, how certain events in your life can send you down the road of self destruction. It also shows how you can become Too Close in a friendship.
Absolute brilliant read.

The brilliantly moving story of Connie, whose life slowly spirals out of control when she meets Nell. So well written with shocking twists and turns. I literally could not put this book down. Thank you.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This is a debut novel and although I enjoyed it i would not say it was the best I have read.

I struggled to get into Too Close at the beginning but managed to get into it, Too Close is a great thriller that you will not want to put down, I am so glad I struck with it.

I enjoyed reading this book, I liked how the story was told almost back to front as the main character remembered through therapy. Lots of moments where I couldn't believe what I'd read but in a positive way. The characters were interesting and the author made sure you felt a certain way towards them.

I really enjoyed this book, a slow burn but a great read. Will definitely look out for others by this author.

I absolutely loved this book! A real page turner. Thrilling. Gripping. Tense. Edge of your seat story. You cannot tell this is a debut at all. The story switches back and forth between the past and present.

I did find some of the chapters were very long for my liking and it was a slow start for this story but then it gets good and you’re hooked. The story does highlight the issue of mental health! Enjoyed it. I also love the cover.

I awarded a fair four stars and would recommend. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future.

From the get go I really got into this book. Yes it is slow to start but this just adds to the intensity.
A story about relationship, friendships. It is certainly a likeable book.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Random House for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review

Sometimes a cover really calls to you and this one, showing the everyday normality of two takeaway coffee cups, really did call to me from the first time I saw it. This psychological thriller had all the elements within those pages as well with a darkly atmospheric setting, well drawn and often unlikeable characters and a trail of subtly placed breadcrumbs that lead to a twisty finish!

Women’s friendships can be lifelong and often life SAVING when they work well but often they can turn toxic with accusations of betrayal of those female bonds. So it’s intriguing to watch the burgeoning relationship between Connie and Ness and to try and pick out the clues to what happens to lead to the Connie we see in the present day. Connie is in a psychiatric hospital and psychiatrist Emma has been sent in to help her remember what happened. She’s obviously committed a heinous act but is unable to recall why she is now one of the most hated women in the UK. The reader is able to follow the friendship that develops between Connie and Ness from the moment they meet in a children’s park and how it starts to change as life throws a few curveballs their way. I loved how we saw the developments in hindsight whilst watching Emma bring memories back to Connie, who is a world away from the glamorous “yummy mummy” we first meet.

The plot is very dark and can be deeply distressing at times especially towards the end. But it’s hard to believe that this is a debut novel due to the depths of feelings it evoked in me. The slow build up was perfectly pitched so that the ending was as shocking as it was unexpected. This is one of those books that I guarantee will have you flicking back the pages once you get to the end to reread the last few pages again.

Natalie Daniels has done a great job here with her first psychological thriller and I can’t wait to see where she goes from here!

This book had an interesting synopsis, hence why I requested and accepted this novel.
However while the storyline did offer some suspense I found it slow, constantly going from the present time back to the past and the ending was some what rushed.
I thought this was going to feature a tense stalker scenario but instead the storyline features on the downfall of Connie after her best friend Ness betrays her in the worst possible way. We also learn the back story of Connies psychiatrist which I found offered very little to the story.
I would possibly consider reading another book by this debut novelist but I’d be quite wary.
Thanks for allowing me to read - apologies for the negative feedback - it just wasn’t for me.

This is my usual kind of book so was looking forward to it, the story was easy to get in it and flowed well to begin with but I found it went back and forth alot then. I was eager to get to the end to see what happened but was left feeling the ending was a little flat and boring.
I would read Natalie's next book and thanks for the chance to read this early netgalley!

This was an excellent piece of work by Natalie Daniels as it kept you hooked in right up to the end as just couldn't wait to find out what actually happened. The characters were brilliant with you just knowing enough about them but not enough to spoil it if you knew what they were capable of then you would guess. Looking forward to what comes next from Natalie.

Too Close is Natalie Daniels debut novel - a story of friendship, deceipt, romance, betrayal and mental illness. It's not a thriller because it's quite belieable and tastefully dealt with, but nevertheless it has the underlying tones of a psychological thriller in part with family drama, relationships and romance. We begin with Connie, one of the main characters, in a psychiatric unit - not completely sure how she came to be there. The story jumps between the past and present to compare her life Now with her life Then and all the bits in between that brought her to where she is in the current time.

For me, the ending was a little rushed. It's a fast paced book moving you from scene to scene, and betrayal to betrayal and then the ending just quickly wraps it up and claims it finished. Maybe there's room for another book in all this... and for a debut it was incredibly addictive, gripping and advanced that it is quite hard to believe it's the authors first novel.

The jarring narrative of the book perfectly mirrors the fractures in Connie's mind. Flitting between past and present, the reader learns more about Connie, the chain of events that have led to her incarceration and the horrific accident that has led to her wounds.
Less a thriller, than an exploration of friendship, marriage, betrayal and mental illness, there are still plenty of tense moments that left me on the edge of my seat, desperate to read on to discover what would happen next. It's quite dark in places and shocking and I felt anger towards a few of the other characters in the book.

My thanks go to the publisher and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I loved this book and marvelled at the way Connie unravelled after her best friend, Ness, does the unthinkable. So cleverly done, with the narrative jumping from the present to the past. The characters are so believable and you can feel them edging towards the precipice.

I can’t believe this is Natalie Daniels’ debut novel. I look forward to reading more.

I expected this book to be so much different after reading the synopsis and the first few pages. I thought it was going to be a stalker type situation but I was very wrong.

It was slow going initially and I was desperate to know the events that had led to Connie being in her current situation. It suddenly got going and I couldn’t put it down until the end.

There were moments where I laughed out loud and moments where I felt incredibly sad. I felt angry for Connie, angry with her, even more angry with Ness. It was a read that took me through so many emotions.

I felt it handled mental illness incredibly well. It’s such a taboo subject and so to see more and more books featuring it is a positive move.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

I loved this book and found it intriguing from the outset. It’s well written and deals with some difficult issues sensitively.
We know from the beginning that Connie is in some sort of institution and faces being questioned by the police. Events unfold slowly but I was gripped by them. To say too much about the story will spoil it but it’s set against a background of infidelity and the emotional fallout for all protagonists. There is a sub story involving a psychiatrist that is questioning Connie that adds extra depth. I highly recommend reading it.