I loved this book! It started out slow but about a third of the way thru it had a nice twist and REALLY got interesring. Lots of twists throughout. The ending was great.

Wow - ALL the stars!
This was such an intense read from page 1, line 1 until the very last word. It was so dark and well written without any lulls in the story. Every page brought something sinister, heart pounding and twisted. It was really unique in the mystery thriller genre and I am so thankful my wish was granted for this book.
The twist was Amazing! I definitely want to read more by Mary Torjussen after reading this book. She is really talented and has a very twisted mind :-)
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review.
5 STARS!

Ruby has an 18-month affair with her boss Harry; they agree to leave their spouses to begin a new life together. Ruby leaves Tom but then Harry doesn’t show up, and she quickly finds herself unemployed and looking for a new home. As she tries to construct a new life for herself, she starts receiving threatening messages and it seems as if she is being stalked. As her fear builds, she debates returning to Tom; he is controlling and psychologically abusive but provides physical safety.

Initially, Ruby is the first-person narrator; later, Emma, Harry’s wife, becomes a second first-person narrator. Having the perspective of both women develops character and explains motivations. And it is important for the reader to understand why they behave as they do. I certainly felt sympathy for Ruby; it is obvious that Tom has had such an effect on her that she doesn’t even know herself. For instance, when she first goes food shopping for herself, she picks up a box of cereal that she never liked but “Tom liked it and used to say there was no point in getting two different cereals, that they’d go stale.” She then wonders, “What should I buy? What did I actually like? My head started to hurt. I didn’t know. I just didn’t know what I liked. It hadn’t mattered what I liked.”

The women do not always behave in a credible fashion. Emma’s reaction to an unfaithful husband doesn’t seem realistic. Likewise, Ruby doesn’t freak out enough when bizarre things start happening to her; her reactions are definitely understated. And knowing what she does know about people, she should be able to figure out who is responsible for the strange and threatening events.

I liked the fact that Ruby proves to be a dynamic character. In many ways, she begins a journey of self-discovery when she leaves Tom. Gradually, she faces the truth about her relationships and gets to know herself. Her decisions at the end had me cheering. Emma too realizes her mistakes and shows personal growth.

There are coincidences which stretch credibility. Two chance meetings between women are especially problematic.

This book about lies and misperceptions is not flawless, but it provides an entertaining read. Certainly, character development is a positive element.

Note: I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is a gripping story of two couple whose lives become entwined. Lots of twists and turns and an addictive read. Highly recommended

This book was the right kind of addictive. I loved how the characters developed. It was a perfect book to read at the end of the day. Highly recommend!

I read the synopsis for 'The Closer You Get' and it certainly sounded like the kind of good psychological thriller that I particularly enjoy. I have enjoyed a couple of Mary's other books in the past, so I knew that I was going to be in for one hell of a read and I wasn't wrong either. I really enjoyed reading 'The Closer You Get' but more about that in a bit.
I can't say that I warmed to many, if any, of the characters but that isn't such a bad thing. It meant that I could remain objective and I didn't favour one over the other.
It didn't take me long at all to get into this story. In fact by the time I had read the first few pages, I knew that I would find it quite difficult to put the book to one side for any length of time. I was intrigued by the story. I had my own suspicions as to what was going to happen so of course I had to keep reading to see if I was on the right track or I had the wrong end of the stick. The pages turned increasingly quickly the further into the story I got. I seemed to race through the latter half of the book, as the level of tension increased. I didn't manage to finish the book over the course of a single day but I finished it within 72 hours, which is still quite good for me. This was a gripping and fairly fast paced story, which had me on the edge of my seat.
'The Closer You Get' is really well written but then I think that to be true of Mary's other books too. She has a way of grabbing your attention, with an eye catching synopsis and then much like an angler landing a catch, she reels you in. Once she has your attention, she will not let you have it back until the moment you read the last word on the last page. She has a way of writing that makes you feel as though you are part of the story yourself. In fact, I was so convinced by her storytelling that I began to 'live' the story as if it were real.
In short, I really enjoyed reading 'The Closer You Get' and I would recommend it to other readers. I will definitely be reading more of Mary's other work in the future. I just know that I will enjoy reading her future work as much as I enjoyed reading this book. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

Edge of your seat reading. The suspense just keeps ramping up until it's explosive ending. Definitely a must read. Now. I love well written taunt thrillers so don't pass this up. Hard to put down. Happy reading!

Entertaining and scandalous!
Buckle up. Mary Torjussen has written a fabulous domestic suspense/thriller that will take you on one-heck-of-a-crazy-ride with her female narrators Ruby Dean and Emma Sheridan. Their lives, their husbands lives, their marriages, are forever changed when Ruby tells her egotistical, emotionally abusive husband Tom “it’s over,” and moves out.
Ruby had been having an affair with her boss Harry Sheridan for 18-months. She was to meet up with him to start a new life. He was to tell his wife Emma he was leaving her too. That was the plan anyway. Harry never showed up. Ruby is now homeless and jobless.
These are only the least of her problems, as I soon found out.
There’s someone stalking and causing turmoil in her life, scared and afraid, she wants to reach out to someone for safety, but has no one, everyone appears to be guilty of something.
Lies, jealousy, secrets, and mind-blowing manipulation cause a catastrophe that ends in irreversible consequences.
The Closer You Get was such a fun and entertaining story that I read it straight through. Great for domestic suspense readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 shiny stars
Okay, this is what I absolutely need in a thriller: stalking, adultery, murder, and first-person narrative.
Ruby is walking away from her 12 years marriage to Tom after she fell in love with her boss Harry. Everything is settled: they will both inform their mutual partners and meet in a hotel. Everything went according to plan for Ruby, but Harry never showed up, not that night, and not for the entire weekend. Despite her anger and distraught, Ruby decided to keep faith in Harry, as that one would definitely have an explanation for his absence. When Ruby shows up for work on Monday, Harry's car was nowhere to be found, then she was surprised to find out that she's been laid off. Did harry simply change his mind or there is more to this?

I think this is brilliant when it comes to exploring the impact of one's toxic relationships. Ruby's entourage is not entirely decent, and she's been facing a multitude of vicious people, for a very long time, and that left her feeling lonely and insecure. I deeply felt for her.
Everything about this novel had checked the box for me. I've read the whole thing in 3 settings, and for the last one, I stayed up until 4 am! The story is dynamic and absolutely catching since the beginning. The plot kept me guessing until the very end (I mean it until the very last page!). the connections between the characters are intense and fierce.
I can't wait to read more from Mary Torjusson
Many thanks to netgalley and Berkley publishing for providing this great copy, in exchange for an honest review

An enjoyable even paced read that definitely had my full attention. I found the main characters, Ruby & Emma entertaining ... though I must admit they surprised me, you shall see!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for mg review copy!

“ Closer You Get” is not really a mystery but reminds me of television shows my Mom would watch like “ Dynasty” or soap operas. The characters in this book were a mess but you can’t help but want to keep reading.
Ruby is married to Tom in a loveless and mentally abusive relationship. She meets Harry when applying for a job and they both felt an instant attraction and they have both decided that they are going to leave their spouses to be together. They plan to go home on a Friday night and tell their spouses they are leaving and meet at a hotel but while Ruby leaves Tom, Harry never shows up. She waits through the weekend unable to get in touch with him because of the rules they had set up during the affair to keep their spouses from finding out. She goes in to work Monday and is told she has been terminated. She contacts a friend from work who tells her that Harry is not in the office- he and his wife have gone off for a holiday to celebrate her pregnancy. Ruby is now without a job, a home and wondering how she misread everything so badly. There is someone who knew about the affair though and they are still watching.

This doesn’t really fit into “ mystery” but it was a fun, messy read that was a welcome distraction in a time when there is do much bad news.

Thank you to #netgalley and Canelo for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.. This will be released April 21st.

I absolutely LOVED this book! I raced through it in 1 sitting. It is very well written and keeps you engaged from the first page!

Choices..... its something we all have but what will happen if we make the wrong ones? How will it change the cause of our life? Can the wrong choices sometimes lead to a happier life? And then there's revenge. How can that backfire on a person......

This is the story of Ruby. She is very unhappy in her marriage and is having an affair with her boss. Together they decide to leave their partners but then Harry is a no show and suddenly her whole life falls apart.

I love the writing style and storytelling. Highly recommended!

Thank you to Netgalley and Canelo for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

OMG. This domestic thriller with its drama and suspense was exactly what I needed to keep my mind occupied. Author Mary Torjussen kept me so focused on the story that I hardly blinked. I just had to know the truth. And wow. Just wow.

With the world crisis and suffering from vertigo today, Siri read out the story for me. I thought this book would work out brilliantly as an audiobook. Ruby and Harry were going to leave their spouses and spend life together. Harry didn't turn up after Ruby bid goodbye to her controlling husband. Later she found some truths about Harry which threw her off.

The Closer You Got, the farther the truths were. I thought the author played me brilliantly when she made me chase after the characters to get to their truths. Each one wore a cloak made of shadows where the truth and lies shone at different times.

The Closer I Got, the more intrigued I was. The author had sprinkled the prose with suspenseful scenes which came just at the right moment to make this book a cut above the routine domestic thrillers. Each character lied, yet spoke the truth.

The Closer I Got, the more I couldn't leave my kindle alone. I had to know the truth at any cost, that was the most fun I had over the weekend. A midnight read/listen that it was, the story was well worth the sacrifice of my sleep. An entertaining read.

Coworkers Ruby and Harry are in love—but they’re married to other people. They decide to tell their spouses that their marriages are over and to start a new life together. Ruby has wanted to leave her controlling husband for a while, so she tells him she’s leaving and waits at the hotel where she and Harry are to meet. But Harry never shows up. .
.
Suddenly, Ruby has lost everything. Harry won’t answer her calls, and she’s fired from her job. She finds a cheap apartment in a run-down part of town, all the while wondering what happened to Harry. .
.
Just as Ruby thinks she’s hit rock bottom, strange and menacing things start to happen—someone is sneaking into her apartment, and someone is following her home late at night—and she is going to have to fight for her survival.
.What a journey this book takes you on!

I literally devoured this one, I absolutely loved how it slowly unfolded and took you to places you were least expecting!

The characters were well executed, believable and both likeable and REALLY unlikeable.

Telling the story of Ruby with her excessively controlling husband Tom and her boss Harry with his wife Emma, you see the story slowly unfold of how these 4 main characters emerge together.

Ii really enjoyed the dual POV' from Ruby & Emma, the wife and the Other Woman. Written fantastically well and showing just how strong and resilient these main character's can be, even after being down trodden for years.

The Closer You Get is Mary Torjussen’s third psychological thriller and a solid and addictive piece of suspense fiction right from the off. Personal assistant Ruby Dean and her boss Harry Sheridan decide to leave their marriages to begin a new life together after an eighteen month long affair. Ruby is relieved having been plucking up the courage to leave her emotionally abusive husband, Tom, for a while. So she informs Tom that it’s over between them and off she trots. However, Harry never arrives at their agreed meeting place, a local hotel, but Ruby holds out hope that there’s a good explanation for it. She plays possible scenarios over in her head. Then she returns to work and finds herself fired and discovers that Harry and his wife, Emma, have embarked on a romantic holiday to celebrate Emma’s pregnancy. Ruby struggles and absolutely everything she tries to do blows up in her face. She even considers retuning to Tom but luckily decides against it. With no job, no stable home and the fact that she is receiving threatening messages can she find her feet again after all of the devastation?

As far domestic suspense novels go this is great with an extremely tense plot, an engaging cast of characters and a twisty narrative with some unpredictable moments. There was never a dull moment and the breakneck pace made this a fun, fast and highly entertaining thriller. The writing style draws you in, captures your interest and never lets you go until the end; this is storytelling at its finest. The icing on the proverbial cake was that it was told from both Emma and Ruby’s perspectives making it fully rounded and riveting to see both women’s thoughts and feelings. There are places where it is a little predictable but for the most part it manages to provide some surprises and I found it flowed so beautifully that it was tough to place down. This is the perfect escapist read for our strange times as it doesn’t require too much brainpower. It’s cleverly crafted and revolves around issues of love, hate, domestic abuse, manipulation, secrets, lies, betrayal, deception and jealousy making this an intense and red herring-filled story. Many thanks to Canelo for an ARC.

A good read with plenty of twists and an ending that I did not see coming. This is a story with a lot of deceit and a lot of lies. Four people in two marriages with secrets and lies of their own.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

A highly addictive, sordid, twisty read that seems obvious enough but just when you think you know what's going on, a new point of view is introduced and now you gotta just keep going and see where this fun read takes you. I highly enjoyed this great story.

This is my first experience of Mary Torjussen and I look forward to reading more. This psychological thriller is gripping from the start and, although the theme of a life-changing event is a familiar trope in contemporary fiction, this story is original and very well written. It would be difficult to discuss the plot without giving away the many twists; suffice it to say that it is engrossing throughout.

This is my second book by this author, but definitely not my last. This book shows her talent of writing a great suspenseful, chilling story, but which is truly realistic and possible. The characters are well developed, which makes the storyline develop in a style that makes you yearn to find out more. There’s thrills, chills, suspense, and shocks, but you do not have to suspend belief to believe it could happen! Absolutely one of the best written books, which will definitely keep you flipping pages! Highly, highly recommend!
Will make sure I buzz it up on all the different platforms!

The Closer You Get by Mary Torjussen will keep you really close to this book until you finish as well as on the edge of your seat. Why is it that we like to read stories of betrayals, deceptions and secrets? Ruby and Harry work together and they fell in love. The madly, truly forever kind of love that wraps you up so tight that all you can think about is each other. So they make an arrangement to leave their spouses on the same day and meet up in a romantic hotel room to start their new life together. Ruby follows through and heads to the hotel, only Harry never shows up. He will not answer her calls or texts and she is left worried and frantic over what happened to him.

She shows back up to work again and gets fired...and someone is a little less tactful than they should have been and slips up about knowing about what happened with Ruby and Harry. She finds an apartment and moves from the house she shared with her husband. Strange things start happening and she does not know who to suspect. Is her husband stalking her? Why won't Harry call her back?

The plot moves quick and this story is told through different perspectives. I do not want to go into too much detail on the plot. The story gets really complicated and the characters are pushed to their limits on what they can and cannot handle. Mary Torjussen is great at building the tension throughout the novel. The more independent Ruby becomes, the stranger her life becomes. Terrific suspense building and viewed from the eyes of two vibrant women.

I highly recommend The Closer You Get and it is definitely deeper than a beach read... my mind is thinking of all the themes that come up in this novel.. but I do not dare mention any more than I already have. The story, the ending, the way that everything circles back in different parts of the book...well done!

Thank you to NetGalley, Canelo publishing, and author Mary Torjussen for the temporary, digital advance review copy for me to read and enjoy. As always, my opinions are my own.