The first thing that is important to note about Confess To Me by Sharon Doering is that it is a very unique thriller, and it will probably be unlike anything you have read before. For this book, you do NOT want to read the author's note at the back first but reading it afterward will be awesome. I was really happy that Doering included it, and I love hearing where authors get their ideas from. This was a pretty pacy read, and if I would have had the time, I definitely would have easily been able to finish it in one sitting. The audiobook is just under 10.5 hours and is also super easy to finish quickly. I really enjoyed reading from both Heather and her husband Trevor's viewpoints and liked the inclusion of transcript excerpts that are dotted periodically throughout the book. The way Doering slowly brought Heather's past and secrets to the surface was both engaging and mysterious, and it is safe to say I didn't want to put this down.

I did listen to the audiobook which is narrated by Caroline Price & Joe Hempel, and I was perfectly happy with both of them for their corresponding characters. Price felt like she was a good fit to voice Heather, and Hempel aced his parts as well. There were quite a few surprises for me in this one, and it had an ending that I really didn't expect at all. It gets a little wild and crazy which is exactly the way I like my thrillers. It also felt like Confess To Me had a little bit of everything as far as genres go, even though it was mainly a thriller, Doering managed to touch on quite a few different topics including family bonds and how they can be damaged. If you are in the mood for a thriller that is different from the rest, I definitely recommend reading this!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was so good. This book had me from the start to the finish . So many twists and turns, characters you can connect to and ended superbly. It moves at a good pace. I couldnt put this book down.

Thank you to NetGalley, TItan Books, and the author for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I have recently read she lies close and I devoured it. I was over the moon to find this on my kindle from Netgalley
I jumped straight in and was definitely not disappointed!
The book is full of suspense and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat reading it
I read this book I’m one sitting. I was so engrossed
I am looking forward to reading more by this author

"To survive this homecoming, Heather must piece together a toxic history that she long tried to forget." This book grabbed me from the beginning and didn't let go. Being from Wisconsin, I love finding the rare gems that are set there so maybe I'm overly partial due to that. Sharon Doering wrote a compelling, disturbing and twisty read full of malice and darkness. If you enjoyed Sharp Objects, pick this up with no regrets

Thank you to #NetGalley for allowing me to read #ConfessToMe by #SharonDoering
When Heather goes back home to Hunther Wisconsin she knows immediately that she has made a mistake and the secret she has spent twenty years running from is going to overtake her.

It’s not often that I struggle to get through a book, but unfortunately that was the case with this one. I didn’t think the mystery was very compelling and struggled to get excited as I was reading. I don’t know if that’s because of the family aspect which I cannot relate to, because I didn’t have very strong feelings about any of the characters, or because of some overly graphic descriptions which brought me out of the story.

However, I did feel that the author did an excellent job portraying the claustrophobic nature of small-town communities. Everyone is involved in other people’s business with the characters being the perfect balance of nosy yet secretive.

Although the conclusion made sense, I felt like it was unsatisfying. The whole premise of the story seemed to be focused on a long-forgotten murder which then had less of an impact than I was expecting. In general, a lot of the secrets that people were hiding were not dramatic enough to be given so much attention. I’m all for red herrings when they serve a purpose, but in this case it felt like they were just added unnecessarily to make things even more complicated.

I did enjoy the thread of the unreliability of memories. I felt Heather’s frustration as she tries to put the pieces of her past together. But, ultimately I think there was too much going on with different plot lines fighting for dominance.

This was a fast, razor sharp paced thriller by an author who’s writing is captivating. This is one that once you start, you won’t be able to put it down. It is truly compulsively readable!

This was a 4 stars out of 5 stars read for me and highly recommended for anyone who loves a heart pounding inducing, fast paced thriller! I highly recommend you check this out!

Thank you so much to #NetGalley, the publisher and author for an electronic ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Confess to Me
By Sharon Doering

I am a huge fan of Sharon Doering's book and I love her writing style where it just immerses me into the story and just not let go until the very very last page. Doering's books are fun and well written - so exciting and thrilling.

This story is a riveting thriller read about a woman who returns home to her small home town to care for her sick mother. Heather has been avoiding her past for the last twenty years and now she is back and another tragedy strikes, There is no turning back now, and Heather is forced to face what is happening now and her past as they both collide together. In this thrilling and unputdownable read, Doering writes an intriguing story that kept me turning those pages until the wee hours of the night.

I really enjoyed this one.

Loved, loved, loved Sharon Doering's sophomore novel. Sharon keeps honing her craft and delivering addictive, completely unpredictable reads. Not only did I love the characters in Confess to Me, but it's hard to look away from the suspenseful buildup to an explosive finale that I could have never predicted. I already can't wait to see what Sharon's working on next.

This was my first book by Doering and she delivered! I sat down with this novel earlier this morning and just finished it shortly before typing out this review. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Hunther is the hometown shared by Heather and her husband, Trevor. While it has fond memories for her husband, the same can’t be said for herself. Her maiden name Hornne has a history in the town and she soon finds out that back in ‘91, her mother was the prime suspect behind a young woman’s murder. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Having cut contact with her relatives years prior and the unexpected death of her mother, it’s left up to Heather to delve into the past and uncover the truth. In doing so, she unintentionally unearths some buried secrets of the town’s civilians that lands her in harm’s way. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
I honestly believed I had pinpointed the real culprit, but by the end, I couldn’t have been more wrong (in a good way!) I couldn’t be more satisfied with the ending and hope you’ll feel encouraged to pick this one up!

Confess to Me by Sharon Doering was a quick read, ideal for those who like suspenseful books that aren’t too over the top with the darkness and the horror that thrillers sometimes contain (I’m still reeling from Theme Music from a couple of years ago).

Here’s the basic plot:

Heather Hornne is going home.

Haunted by a childhood tragedy and estranged from her family, Heather finds herself back in Hunther, Wisconsin after twenty years running from it.

She returns to finally put the past to rest, but uncovers another tragedy and finds herself in the beguiling grip of a young woman who knows more of her family secrets than Heather does.

To survive this homecoming, Heather must piece together a toxic history that she long tried to forget.

The book is written from alternate points of view between Heather and her husband Trevor. I didn’t trust either of them! Confess to Me includes satanic abuse, cougars, small-town life, and as you might have guessed, secrets.

Out NOW!

Be prepared for a long night of reading! I started Confess to Me at about 5 PM and the only reason I didn't finish it all in one sitting is that I fell asleep! This book is so creepy and just creates a sense of dread so you just keep reading to find out what happens! I don't want to give anything away but Sharon Doering has done it again! Check this one out!

Heather Hornne is going home to Hunther, WI. She is estranged from her family and haunted by her childhood traumas. She is hoping to put her last to rest but ends up befriending and getting hoodwinked by a beautiful young woman how happens to know her family secrets. To survive, Heather must piece together her toxic history even if it’s something she wants to forget.
 
Thoughts: Can we all say Cuckoo for Coco puffs because I feel like I just got off the crazy train with this one. Man do I wish I could spend a day in Sharon Doerings brain. I mean…Multiple Personality Disorder, DID, satanic cults, drugs, alcohol and cougars people?! Freaking cougars! That’s what is going on here. This book 🤯 blew my mind. From the first page you are hooked. Her writing and it’s pacing is perfect. Being a small town atmosphere you would think you would guess the twists but nope-Sharon just puts in some other crazy element and you are thrown! You don’t even see the foreshadowing. It just takes you by surprise. I loved the two narrators as it really just made it harder to figure out. Witty, crazy and edge of your seat fun! I loved it!

Haunted by a childhood tragedy and estranged from her family, Heather finds herself back in Hunther, Wisconsin after twenty years running from it.

She returns to finally put the past to rest, but uncovers another tragedy and finds herself in the beguiling grip of a young woman who knows more of her family secrets than Heather does.

To survive this homecoming, Heather must piece together a toxic history that she long tried to forget the author...

Huge thanks to the team at Titan who accepted my request to read 'Confess To Me', on Netgalley as I was the biggest fan of her debut thriller, the extraordinary,'She Lies Close'.

And this is in the same vein, it explores the relationship between parents and their children, the hereditary nature of 'evil', and the way that memories are not always what they seem, they are dependent on the prism through which they are viewed.

Having managed to shake the surname,Hornne, and the town which villified it, Heather returns home to Hunther, family in tow, to assist her husband in caring for his dying mother.

Anonymous texts have been arriving daily, forcing Heather out of the almost comfort zone in which she exists with her husband and children, and back into her childhood. The fact that only she and her estranged sister,Holly, are left of the 5 Hornne siblings hints at mysterious events in this back woods place. Her family were known as 'the weird ones', and fractured memories peck at Heather's brain as she seeks to establish a truth she isn't even sure she wants to know.

A long forgotten death, for which there was no culprit, a suicide, rumours of Satan worship and the period in which her mother disappeared, then returned, not quite the same, all combine to make a heady mix of past and present. Heather's narrative intersperses with that of her husband Trevor, who has secrets of his own.

As Heather digs deeper into the worn fabric of local history, she risks pulling a thread which could unravel everything.

The sharpness and reality of trying to create a blended family, raising children and acknowledging responsibilities based on blood ties, are so fragile, and spun so thinly that they can look like silk, yet they support such weight. At the heart of this novel, is how you create and maintain a family in safety against intrusions from toxic influences.

But, no matter how hard you work at it, there are influences outside the control of human will.

There is the strange man who lives down the road and keeps randomly turning up, not to mention the fact their neighbour keeps cougars as pets.

Added to that is the lush young woman who prowls the local swimming pool like a naiad, the appropriately named Desiree, who teaches Heather's younger child to swim.

This pool, the first point of contact which Heather has with Hunther, is immensely symbolic as the poorer population of the town are figuratively, and literally, swimming in the tiny percentage of the wealthier parts largesse.

The quasi-philanthropic nature of the community pool means that you could say both rich and poor are tainted alike by obligation and responsibility to each other, one showing their wealth by bestowing it on the other.

'Confess To Me' is a novel of soul searching, a story of a journey into the darkness of a woman's childhood which still has roots that may be rotted, yet stubbornly cling to her legs. If she can manage to shake them free, then she will be able to be the mother that she wishes she had.

Yet again, Sharon Doering manages to subvert the social expectation on women to put up and shut up by presenting women with a veneer covering dark, devious hearts. Beneath the laquer and the make up lie bitter souls...

Can family secrets really stay buried?

Wow…this book was one dark, twisty, wild ride! Heather’s family secrets gave me the chills and I felt as though I was alongside her in Hunther discovering her dark past. I loved how the chapters flipped back and forth between Heather and her husband Trevor’s perspectives. The ending was definitely not what I was expecting — couldn’t put it down until I finished it!

Sharon Doering mastered this thriller — unlike any other I’ve read! Highly recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for this ARC!

IG: @thrillersandcoffee

What a chilling, thrilling, and shocking book and the characters are amazing!! Grab a copy of Confess to Me today!!

This book is WILD! 😧 Once I sunk my teeth in, I couldn’t tear myself away from this story! It is a quick and unique read with excellent characters. Go get your paws 🐾 on a copy today!

(😏 all puns intended. I had way too much fun chuckling at myself while writing this review.)

Happy pub day to @sharondoering’s Confess To Me! This baby it OUT TODAY!

And holy hell…it’s a good one!

“People didn’t pass through Hunther; they were born here and died here.”

This dual-narrative thriller is a must-read, with an easy and addictive flow that keeps the reader turning pages one after the next. I seriously could not stop reading (in fact, I was annoyed when life got in the way and I had to set it down…). It’s fast-paced and witty, with a stunningly suspenseful plot. This book completely and utterly kicked my ass.

I wasn’t prepared for it—the brilliant writing, front and center foreshadowing, and characters that make you question just about everything. If this isn’t already on your TBR, Put. It. There. Now.

Thank you @NetGalley and Titan Books for the gifted ebook in exchange for an honest review!

This was a dark and twisty thriller that left me with some ambivalent thoughts. I didn’t hate it but I also just didn’t love it either and I can’t quite pinpoint why!

I found it to be a slow burn but I did love diving into Heather’s dark past alongside of her and experiencing the twists as she did! It was fun to join her on her discovery back to the town she grew up in and it was engaging to rediscover what she seemed to have blocked out.

I was certainly intrigued throughout and I’ve been seeing some rave reviews out there so make sure to check out for yourself!

3.5 ⭐️ rounded to 4 for goodreads