This book has me right down the middle…I didn’t particularly like the beginning or the end, but it did give me a few on-the-edge-of-the-seat moments once the Blackout Killer came back to finish what he started. I just hope the power goes out never when I’m home alone. 

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book gave me the absolute creeps! I read a lot of thrillers, but I honestly could not read this one at night time. It was too much! The creepiness of our villain here!

As others have said, you will either love or hate the ending!

I received a free e-copy of Closer Than You Think by Darren O’Sullivan from Net Galley and HQ Digital in exchange for my review.

I enjoyed this quick little thriller for the most part. There were times I caught myself wondering if certain character behaviors were a little over the top, but each time, I made myself consider what I would do in her place, and the answer is, I’m just thankful I don’t know the answer to that question.

I love the support system that Claire has around her, and how much love is present in the book as a whole. There are some really great triumphant moments for her, and reading them was very enjoyable.

I went back and forth a lot on my overall rating for this book. I would think 3 stars, then something would push it to 4, then something else would knock it back down. What finally decided it for me was the ending - I just didn’t much care for it. But still, overall, I did like the book and the story.

Well I have just finished this book and shouted one or two very bad words!! That ending ... For a book that was so in depth and descriptive, that ending was both brilliant and infuriating!
A brilliant psychological thriller that is tense, gripping and will definitely have you jumping at noises!!

I thought I was over my childhood fear of the dark before I picked up this masterpiece by Darren O'Sullivan. Closer Than You Think is one amazing book if you're looking for an excellent thriller!
Compelling, dark and menacing, the plot line of this book is really really good!
I simply couldn't put this one down. Everything about this psychological thriller is so damn good! And that ending!!!
I loved all the characters in this book especially Claire, a survivor who's been through the worst and is still struggling to come to terms with what happened to her over a decade back. Claire is the only surviving victim of a serial killer who terrorized Ireland. The killer seems to have developed an obsession with Claire. His fascination with his only surviving victim leads him to play mind games with her already shattered psyche. The unraveling of this story is a real gripping and addictive read!
I highly recommend this book if you're looking for a blood-chilling & jaw dropping experience. I eagerly look forward to reading more by the author. Thank you Netgalley, Darren O'Sullivan' & HQ Digital for an arc.

*Smacks O'Sullivan round the back of the head for the end of the story* That's just plain old twisted and grisly. Just Saying.

Poor Claire is still traumatised and full of fear, even ten years after being attacked by a brutal killer. She has trouble remembering the events of the evening that changed her life in such a big way. What she does remember is how afraid she was and still is.

Society expects us deal with things, to put traumatic events behind us. Put a brave face on and get on with life. Of course a bystander will always think they are in a position to give the best advice. However, none of them have fear stalking them like a predator in the tall grass.

For Claire nearly every normal daytime situation can turn into a trigger and send her into extreme anxiety and paranoia. The paranoia plays a large part in the story, because Claire thinks the killer is hiding behind every door, noise and face, even the faces of people she loves and trusts.

But that isn't the way the book starts, it starts with an invisible darkness that sits and waits for the right opportunity. The opportunity to create a perfect situation to take a life. The Black-Out killer watches and enjoys the thrill of expectation. He stalks, plans and waits.

You have this bizarre juxtaposition of the victim Claire in fear and pain, and the killer having a load of fun just killing people when he feels like it.

It's a gruesome psychological thriller with a cruel, vindictive vibe and a small glimmer of hope peeking through the curtains. O'Sullivan has this way of creating a character with the feel of a smiling creepy predator, who wants to lure you into the storm drain. You have no choice, but to watch your back.

OMG.... what a book.... could not put it down!!!! This is an excellent read full of twists and turns.. you are taken both into the mind of the victim and the serial killer and just when u think you know Darren hits you with more twists and turns! This is a book that will make you give the kids cereal for dinner so you can snatch a few more minutes! My only disappointment is that I have finished it! Cant wait for the next one Darren!!!!

If you are looking for a cracker of a book, then look no further. You have just found one.....
Book 3 from this author and he has nailed it...
Darren has now become such a firm favourite with me that I will buy his books without even looking at the blurbs as I know they will be fantastic.....
"Closer Than You Think" is brilliant. It's eerie, it's frightening. It grabs you by the scruff of the neck and takes you on such a dark and twisty journey.
I must say it had me on tenderhooks throughout and I turned each page thinking I had it sussed and knew what was going on.
Which of course I didn't......
In this novel we meet the main character Claire Moore.
Claire is trying to rebuild her life after escaping the clutches of a serial killer. She is traumatised and barely able to exist.
She does have the support of her family which she relies on enormously.
How does she move on from what happened to her though? She feels she is being watched....
Is she imagining it?
Then when another victim is found in the same way as before, Claire wonders is there a copy cat killer out there?
She doesn't know who she is able to trust?
This is a brilliant novel, well worth buying.
I bet you will love it ❤

Ever since surviving The Black-Out Killer, Claire Moore has struggled with her new life. Fortunately, her family has served as her safety net— and her support group has certainly helped. She’s even slowly started a relationship with a new man. However, ten years on, her world comes crashing down when there’s another power cut and another victim. Whether it’s the killer or a copycat, Claire’s sure of only one thing … he’s coming for her.

The true success of this book stems from the crafting of Claire Moore. Author Darren O’Sullivan has written a deeply complicated character attempting to navigate the difficult reality that is surviving severe trauma at the hands of a serial killer. Her evolution over the course of the novel is painfully believable, and O’Sullivan expertly explores these sections with tact. The entire book hinges on believing her reality, and O’Sullivan has more than accomplished that.

Because of this, there is a lot of introspection. Scene after scene does not shift by with a bang. Instead, O’Sullivan chooses to let readers understand what’s really going on in Claire’s head at all times. It’s both quiet and effective. Whether she’s mentally preparing herself for a simple walk to the store or tending to her former husband’s grave, readers are given deep insight into a woman healing. O’Sullivan finds the extraordinary in the ordinary, and this story is better for it.

All of this is not to suggest there isn’t action. This is a thriller, after all, and some moments are truly pulse-pounding. O’Sullivan deftly writes from the perspective of The Black-Out Killer. These sections are unnerving especially when juxtaposed against Claire’s own narrative. Dark, unsettling, and occasionally gory, though never gratuitous, these moments are some of the best in the book.

A thriller can usually be measured in how everything is tied up at the end. In that case, thrillers don’t get any better than Closer Than You Think. The final sections are shocking, making this the true definition of a page-turner.

An interesting tale yet devastating for the main star of the story Claire who is a survivor of an evil serial killer....this charming fella hunts his victims, causes a power cut then burns them alive, he starts with just men then goes on to include their partners....Claire saw her husband Owen dead in the bath and managed to escape, but she is scared and scarred, mentally and physically...and who wouldn’t be!
The story then follows Claire as she battles with her daily life and fear and how the killer, thought to be dead, re appears and begins to kill again
The book is tense and you feel Claire’s despair in every page, sometimes this felt repetitive as she struggled to have a shower, go outside, meet people etc but it was important to paint the picture of how she was feeling and coping ( or not ) with her life!
As the story progressed and the killer got closer I did guess who it was ( for me one sentence gave it away mid way through) none the less it was still exciting to get to the finale and see I was right!
The ending was abrupt and quick and in total contrast to the rest of the book and I think it worked, ‘this is it, this is the killer’ the end!, it did leave the book ‘open’ imo
I was surprised when writing this that the book was only 277 pages, I was expecting maybe 400-450 as it felt an involved and longer read
All told a good, different take on a serial killer theme, intriguing and menacing, a chilling read
8/10 4 Stars

The author wrote a thriller that started with a bang and just kept going! The twists kept coming, so I couldn't put it down. I cannot wait to read more from this author!

This book was unputdownable. I am still reeling from the ending. It was fantastic. I love Darren's writing style and his characrers are so compelling. Fantastic book

My thanks to HQ Digital for an eARC via NetGalley of Darren O’Sullivan’s ‘Closer Than You Think’.

Ten years ago in Ireland a serial killer dubbed the Black-Out Killer murdered seven people. An eighth victim, Claire Moore, narrowly escaped though her husband, Owen, didn’t. The murders were attributed to Tommy Kay, a violent drug dealer. However, the real killer had voluntarily stopped and found it convenient for everyone to assume Kay’s guilt.

Claire remains deeply traumatised by the experience and distressed that her experience has made her a celebrity and a symbol of hope. Her struggle to get back a semblance of her previous life is very central to the narrative.

Now the killer has come out of retirement and another victim is murdered in the same fashion in Wales. The police assume this is the work of a copycat. Yet readers are aware that it is the same man. He plans to murder Claire after terrorising her and adding a few more victims to his CV. He also has a twisted message for the wider world.

He is clearly a disturbed individual though quite organised in his crimes. He would be a good case for the BAU (or a U.K./European equivalent).

It’s been a while since I have read a serial killer novel and while this was quite slow to begin with it soon begins to increase the tension. Along with Claire’s narration of her day-to-day struggle with her anxieties the killer’s chapters gives details of his early kills, motivations, and future plans.

I feel quite divided about this novel. I empathised with Claire and it certainly had its moments of nail-biting tension with the usual twists and red herrings. I was confident that I had identified the murderer very early on even though I was thrown into doubt by a viable alternative (or two). I remain somewhat ambivalent about the ending.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

He has waited for a very long time to be sure time is perfect to kill Claire Moore, “the eighth.” He loves the thrill of killing. It is his purpose. To taunt people, he enjoys cutting the power which makes them fearful. Tonight, he will do it again. Then, he will break into Claire’s house, terrorize then kill her and set her body ablaze in the bathtub all before heading home for a nice dinner and the news of what he has done. They call him the Black-Out Killer and when there is a power outage, people and the police panic thinking he has attacked again.

Claire Moore is the survivor of the 2008 attack which killed her husband, Owen, and severely injured her. She is now left with many intense fears and phobias. Ten years later, the Black-Out Killer is still killing people.

The author has perfectly described the fears that Claire lives with to the point it had me looking over my shoulder every few minutes. This clever killer shows us how truly vulnerable we can be. The book is slow, but I assume that’s to build angst in the reader. Claire wants to be stable and takes baby steps to do so, but I think that some of those steps were foolish. Again, I’m sure that’s to build tension. Well done. A mite gory at times, but a good book.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Wow! Grips you from the start and doesn't let go. The suspense and tension is high. You think you know the answer and then comes a shocking twist. Highly recommend this one.

This was an exciting triller that I will not soon forget. Had some difficulty falling asleep having read it. The writer depicts some super stressful situations that have a significant impact on the lives of the characters. I highly recommend this amazing book.

He’s watching. She’s waiting.

Claire Moore was the victim of a serial killer dubbed The Black-Out Killer, she was victim number eight, well she should have been, but she survived.......

Ten years earlier Claire Moore was attacked by a man who tortured his victims in unthinkable ways, she was one of the lucky ones as she managed to escape and then the killings stopped, but she's lived with the horrific memories of that night ever since, struggling to do things alone, but she's a fighter, determined to not let it beat her and, just when things are starting to get better, the killings start again which sends her spiralling back into the black abyss she thought she'd escaped from.

The Black-Out Killer is back. And he’s coming for Claire…

This story gripped me from the start, I was so drawn in by it that I questioned every noise around me while reading it and when I was out and about it played on my mind and made me cautious of the people around me in the street. I loved Claire and was so in awe of how far she had come in her journey to regain some normality to her life since the attack, I was so hoping for a happy ending for her but The Blackout Killer had other ideas.

About half way through I thought I'd guessed who the killer was and the more I read the more I was convinced I was right, but then the author delivered the WTF moment that was like a sucker punch to the gut which left me completely gobsmacked and my chin hit the floor, how wrong was I? This book has tension and spine tingling moments by the bucket load and although it's the first I've read by this author, it certainly won't be the last! I highly recommend. I'd like to thank Netgalley and HQ Digital for the approval and will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

If this isn't on your tbr list it really really needs to be x
😲😲😲
Wow I loved Darrens other books but this one is amazing I don't want to say to much as i don't like spoilers but OMG

Very clever. Scary. A real serial killer story that will have you checking your front door! Claire escaped a serial killer 10 years ago. He was caught and us now dead. Or is he....?

I’ve given this 4/5 on goodreads.

I have been completely surprised and blown away by this story, it drew me in right from the very beginning and kept me truly captivated throughout, right to the very shocking outcome as the story concluded.

The author Darren certainly knows how to get inside ones head when bringing his characters to life, he literally has you doubting as to who to trust and who not too. As for the character of Claire I truly did feel for her, I mean all the things that she had to go through and contend with, whilst trying and struggling to rebuild her life.

This has been one very dark twisty intense tale of a story, and I think if I ever experience a power cut anytime soon, I'm going to be remembering this story and will probably go hide in a closet or somethjng.

I was truly captivated and enthralled with this book and throughout reading it, I kept trying to piece everything together in my head, and figure it all out, and wondering how it would all end. Suffice to say I couldn't have been more wrong if I tried. 

Oh and do not even get me started on the shocking twist at the end, now that left me grasping in shock for sure. It was one hell of a OMG moment. It has left me somewhat speechless.

So final words, if you haven't discovered this book yet then don't delay any further as you won't regret it. Oh and be sure to read his other two books Our Little Secret and Close Your Eyes as they are absolutely brilliant.