What a great read!
At first I thought this book wasn’t for me but it drew me in.
The characters were so skilfully written, especially Connie and Emma and the descriptive narrative was so good

When your best friend takes over your life. I’ve read books along similar lines before but this one has a different dark psychological twist that hooks you.

The themes cover mental ill health and its treatment, as well as female friendship, betrayal and loyalty. The characters are well drawn and there is plenty of drama as Connie's life is revealed.

Connie is currently in a mental hospital after having a breakdown she has no recollection of how she came to be there, and has to rediscover her memories with the help of Emma, a forensic psychologist with whom she forms an unlikely “friendship “

There is also her daughters Annie's diary giving the perspective of a child of what is happening.

An excellent read , would like to read about her full recovery and vengeance in the future!

When Connie wakes in a psychiatric hospital she learns she has been accused of a dreadful crime. She has no recollection of how she came to be there and has to rediscover her memories with the help of Emma, a forensic psychologist, prior to standing trial. She has had a mental breakdown and the story is about the events that led up to it.

The themes cover mental ill health and its treatment as well as female friendship, betrayal and loyalty. The characters are well drawn and there is plenty of drama as Connie's life is revealed. The main characters are middle class Mum, Connie and her friend Ness who meet in a playground with their daughters who become best friends. The two families become inseparable until Ness's partner leaves and Ness takes over Connie's family with disastrous results. In addition, the relationship between Connie and Emma seems to cross professional boundaries as the truth comes out.

One aspect of the book I really liked was the excerpts from Annie's diary giving the perspective of a child of what is happening. Too Close is a very good dark psychological family drama (I wouldn't call it a thriller) and I'm sure it will appeal to readers. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Transworld for the opportunity to read and review it.

Was a little confused when I started reading this but confusion turned quickly to love. One of those brilliant thriller books where you can't put it down until you know how it ended! Connie was a relatable character and really enjoyed her way of talking.

Took a few chapters to get into this book. A good premise but a little bit too long in the hospital for my liking. Some twists and turns to keep me interested. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it

Took a while to get into this book, but once I did I couldn’t but it down. The storyline was a bit strange at times and it felt although some of Dr R’s storyline was just there and served no purpose to the story. On the whole it was an enjoyable reas

Masterfully written and totally intoxicating, I read it in one sitting. A story of love, obsession and despair which does not give anything away until the last pages.I held my breath, laughed and felt deeply for Connie, the main protagonist. One of the best fiction I have read this year if not the best. A must read for fans of psychological thrillers.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. Honestly I just couldn’t get into this book. The storyline was great, it just wasn’t for me.

This book wasn’t really my kind of story. The story has some unexpected twists and turns in it. I liked the main characters, I thought they were interesting, but I felt that the story spent too much time in the hospital..

I was very disappointed in this book it started off good then lost its way somehow, it would have been much more enjoyable if the story would have focused more on the friendship rather than the hospital which became boring couldn’t wait to finish it.

Where to start with this one!
Frantic and Chaotic...I think that sums it up, also incredibly dark and ’raised eyes’ shocking at times!
Connie is in a psychiatric hospital and the story starts haphazardly throwing you in at various angles ie what’s her life like now? what was her life like before? why she is in there and intermingled with experts from
her daughters diary... add to this her psychotherapist Emma trying to get her to open up about things whilst herself having major issues.....its a touch confusing at first but when all this ‘irons itself out’ it really is worth it
What follows is drama, fascinating drama and at times enough to make you pause and take a breath before continuing but utterly addictive as you find out why Connie’s life has spiralled so far out of control, and thats an understatement!!!
The various narratives are unrelenting in their brutal honesty, despair and grimness but then out of nowhere you get a line that had me laughing out loud such was the candour of all concerned
The story led you on to suspect one reason for Connie’s breakdown, cleverly it pointed all the markers for the conclusion...then abruptly with one overheard ‘call’ everything changed and you realised the story was going the complete opposite of what you thought!
The cast were sublime in their realness and got under my skin
Soooo many topics are covered in the book its probably easier to say what isent!!!
I absolutely loved the casual use of irreverence throughout and the authors ability to describe everything as we often think it ( but prob wouldn’t say it!!) I loved all 320 pages of this most unusually honest and challenging book and for that it has to be a
10/10 5 stars

I wasn't too fond of this book when I first started it - it was a bit weird but I persevered and ended up really enjoying it! The characters are really interesting and written well - some of the incidents seem a bit far fetched but it's an enjoyable read - watch out for those yummy mummys!

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC,
This is a clever psychological thriller; you can make assumptions at the start but then you realise everything is not entirely as you might expect.
Connie is in a psychiatric hospital - her body a mess of scrapes and scars, slashed arms covered with bandages, her head had only tufts of hair. She doesn't understand why she's there; she can't remember. Emma is the forensic psychiatrist tasked with assessing her with a view to her standing trial. This story was well-written and completely captivating. Connie continually parries with Emma to the extent that the Doctor starts to re-evaluate her own life and relationships - the dialogue between them blurs between professional and friendship. Connie was found on the riverbank; 2 children are in hospital, her son hates her and she despises her husband. Accidentally her husband had mixed her daughter's diary in with some magazines brought to her on a visit. This she begins to read. The real story is slowly revealed through recollecting her friendship with Ness and her 2 children and reading her daughter's diary. How her family of 4 became a family of 8, of sharing, friendship, lies and betrayal, shocking and mind-destroying truths.
I enjoyed it although some passages were rather lengthy and inconsequential in respect of Emma. Leah - Ness's wife - appeared to be incidental.

An unusual psychological thriller. I cared about the main character Connie and was intrigued with her relationship with Dr R. It was a bit confusing at first but the story was gradually revealed . I liked the writing style as well as the twists in the story.

This book was absolutely magnificent!! It was so fast paced that I couldn’t put it down. I loved the twist and turns throughout, and I was absolutely gripped from start to finish!!!! I can’t wait to read more from this author

Too close by Natalie Daniels.
This was a good read. I liked the story. I liked connie and dr r I wasn't sure why she was in there myself so I kept reading. A sad and moving story. 4*.

I saw this book recommended by a book reviewer I follow on Facebook and it sounded right up my street, so I was delighted when my request to read and review it was granted by the publisher.

Through the back story, we are introduced to Connie and Ness who meet in the playground and bond over their children. They become fast friends very quickly and their lives become intrinsically intertwined. Over a period of six years, they live in each other's pockets, their children playing together and their families holidaying together. Fast forward to the present day and Connie is in a psychiatric ward with no memory of having committed a crime - the details of which we are not privy to yet. We meet Connie's forensic psychologist, Emma Robinson who is trying to get Connie to remember the details of what led to her being in the hospital. We hear Emma's own story running parallel to Connie's telling of previous events.

I really enjoyed this story, it is fast moving, well written and sometimes a bit shocking. I really liked Connie as a character, she's honest - calling a spade a spade, acerbic, sarcastically witty and a normal middle class mum. I absolutely loved Annie's diary entries, some of which made me laugh out loud, but set the scene differently as we read about it from the viewpoint of a child.

However, I didn't really feel like I knew Ness as a character - there wasn't enough in-depth expansion of Connie and Ness's friendship for me to get a feel for just exactly how close they were, and how close their families were, or how they depended and relied on each other. So I didn't feel the shock of certain actions, and I felt a little remote from Ness and what she did in an "eh okay then" sort of way.

I didn't get what the relevance of telling Emma's story (this could have been a plotline for a book on its own) alongside Connie's, other than to create a connection between the characters, and pointing out that we all have some sort of guilt/redemption seeking need inside us?

This book is touted as a psychological thriller. In my view, it is more a book about families, familial breakdown, but mostly a book about mental health. I did enjoy it a lot and would like to read more from this author.

Connie is in a psychiatric unit after an incident with her children and best friend. Connie is suffering from memory loss and doesn't remember what happened so Emma is the psychiatrist sent to find out what really happened. The events are drip fed throughout the novel which means it holds your interest. Too Close is a decent and enjoyable read though not a particular 'stand out' type thriller. I thought the characters were a little flat and you didn't really develop sympathy for them.

Connie and Ness meet serendipitously at the park, and their children become instant best friends.  Before long the two families become inseparable.  When Ness and her wife split up it is inevitable that Ness will spend more time at Connie's house, but how much is too much? Before long Ness is there every day and night, and Connie longs for a little space.  Then Connie wakes up in a psychiatric hospital, with no recollection of how or why she is there, and being accused of a horrible crime.  Her psychiatrist, Emma Robinson, works tirelessly with her to help her remember and establish what actually happened. Did she do the things she is accused of?

I requested this from NetGalley based purely on the blurb, there was only a handful of reviews on the NetGalley site so far, and 2 ratings on Goodreads, so I really wasn't sure what to expect. I took a chance though and am very glad I did, I was very impressed.

The first thoughts I had whilst reading the book were that the author didn't mince her words or beat around the bush.  Within the first couple of chapters we have some very intimate and intense scenes, and really get a feel for the two main characters.  I liked this because it felt like I knew the characters from early on, and meant we could start getting into the nitty gritty pretty much straight away.

The writing is awesome, and really paints a picture.  The memory scenes are written so well you can fully imagine yourself in them, and they evoke some very strong feelings.  The  characters are believable, and by the end of the book I began to really like Connie and to empathise with her.  I don't want to give too much away, but reading about the events that lead to her being in the hospital I could fully see how she could go down the path she did.

 I felt that Daniels got into the heads of the characters incredibly well, and the similarities she showed us between Connie and Emma's lives worked well for the story.  Seeing the parallels play out was interesting, and the dynamic between these two characters is fascinating. To me, seeing that relationship develop was as much of what made the book as the story of how Connie ended up where she did.

Finally I thought the idea of having excerpts from Annie's diary in the book was very clever.  It helped to lighten up the story in places, but also give us a slightly different perspective on what is happening.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this, I was hooked from start to finish.  The depth of connection I felt to the story and characters, and how well Daniels got us into their psyches really took me by surprise.  I'm giving 5*, and will definitely be looking out for more books by this author.

So what's the chance you bump into another Mum an at the park and become so linked that your ID is going to be forever join together.
Something dreadful has happened and Connie has no idea what it is she's done or alleged to have done. Emma the psychiatrist is there to assess her but who is helping Who and why. I'm not trying to sound deep because I'm not but this is one of those thrillers where you will have questions and if you're like me you will be hooked and not able to put it down.
Ness is the friend and Leah is Ness's wife Karl is Connie's husband and Emma is married to Si. Connie has a son and a daughter Ness has two daughters, and all four children are inseparable from one another bit like the adults. Natalie Daniels the amazing author of this book has thrown in some twists that you will never see coming they caught me out she certainly does not take the obvious route and I love that about this Thriller and I hope you do too
I'm grateful to NetGalley and the offer for this copy of "To Close" and how you get to love and hate the right characters.