
Member Reviews

OKAYYYYY....i loved this one!
the fact that we were following claire throughout the book as to why her fiancé noah had completely ghosted her, and had what seems to be a completely different life, really hooked me because i just HAD to find out what was happening. why was noah ignoring her? acting like she had no idea who she was?
cut to the ending....WHAT!! i did not see that coming from a mile away, but i am in love. the way the story was written from start to finish was amazing, hooked me in, made me feel what the fmc was feeling, and i just had to know what happened next.
I think i read this book within 2-3 days!!
if you haven't read this one already, please please do! :D
thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the early copy in return for my review.

This had me hooked from the very start. Following Claire as she tried to come to terms with her fiance Noah disappearing from their flat to him completely ghosting her. It was intriguing and kept me turning the page for the latest twist. I definitely did not see the ending coming.Well written,pacy and very contemporary. Will be looking for Callie's next book

This was a very strange story of the obsession of a young woman, partially associated with her up bringing. Very open ended conclusion.

Not the novel I thought it was going to be! Follows Clare young woman who is engaged to Noel a banker in a posh London bank Clare works as a publicist in a company in London too but not as posh as Noel’s
They meet in a supermarket she recommended a bottle of wine to him and to say thanks he takes her for coffee and next thing you know he’s moving his stuff into her tiny studio flat,makes more sense as she lives right near tube station and they can use money from sale of his flat as deposit on their together home
So romantic, he takes her to Italy on holiday and she loves it
She tells her friend at work all about him they have tried meeting as a foursome but Noel got stuck at work!
But she seen pic of him on her phone and knows everything about him so when Clare goes to take him lunch at work she asks her friend along they get to his office Clare dropped him lunch only the other day. She goes into reception and says to the lady hi can you let Noel Coors know his fiancée is here with his lunch please ? The woman then tells her no he wants nothing to do with you stop coming here security will remove you.. Clare is completely shocked and immediately tries ringing Noel but no answer he won’t reply to her texts either. Shakil what’s happening? I don’t know but let’s get you home
Once there shakil starts doing some digging on her laptop and soon all starts to become clear Noel is living a double life he has another girlfriend called Lilah omg no Clare can’t believe it! But this is just the start of Clare’s nightmare

Cuckoo was a debut thriller centred around Claire, who surprises her fiancé, Noah, at work for their anniversary; but on her arrival she learns that Noah hasn't worked there for 9 months! Claire is shocked, even more so now he won't answer her calls or reply to her messages - he's ghosted her. Claire's world falls apart as she comes to terms with what is happening and then things take an even stranger turn...
I really enjoyed this book and felt that it was an incredible debut for this author. The story was written across two timelines and flicked between the present day and back to Claire's harrowing childhood with her abusive mother. I empathised with Claire straight away and felt a real bond with her throughout the book, wanting the absolute best for her.
There were twists and turns along the way and I found it hard to determine what was real and what was just in Claire's mind - no wonder she found it hard too! I can't wait to see what Callie Kazumi writes next.
My thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for sending this ARC in return for an honest review.

I highly recommend this brilliant debut novel where everything is not as it seems and ending with an unforeseen twist. Questionable relationships result in possible stalking.

Claire decides to surprise her fiance Noah at work only to find he no longer works there. She then can't make contact with him. Its as if he's disappeared but then she starts putting thing together and maybe her life isn't as she thought.
As a big fan of thriller stories, I quickly recognised this type of story and figured out what might be going on. That being said it was still a good read. Its an easy thriller that you can just sit and read. The ending was good and i did like the very final diary entry. That was cleverly done. The book is told by Claire in the present and her diary entries plus flashbacks to her past with her mother. That was a little tough reading at times but added depth to the story and Claire. Its a short cast of characters and you only really get to know Claire. An easy read thriller.

A story of obsession, love and murder - and not the one you're expecting... Discover a gripping new thriller with a killer twist at its core.
When Claire surprises her fiancé, Noah, at work for their anniversary, she's the one who ends up being shocked to her
core...
Because Noah left the company nine months ago, and she had no idea. How can she not have known?
Now he isn't answering her calls. He won't respond to her messages. He's disappeared.
As Claire desperately tries to find her fiancé, her world begins to shatter as the truth about who Noah really is starts to emerge.
And things are about to spiral dangerously out of control...
This was a first book for this author. Sometimes I get nervous reading new authors BUT I really enjoyed this book. It’s a really good book with twists, explanation of characters so readers can bond. I would t have known this was a first book.
Thanks netgalley, Random House and of course the author.
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This book started off well so I was hooked early on and the need to discover what was happening kept me reading. My guesses were way off so I commend the author for that. It did feel a bit repetitive at times but overall a good easy read.

Cuckoo is definitely a novel of two halves. I found the first section very slow, did not enjoy the structure and felt that it lacked originality. However it was definitely worth persevering as the second half is gripping and compelling and I raced through it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.
3.5 stars

A dark and twisty debut that had me hooked from the first page. I devoured this in a single sitting.
The effort put in to building up Claire’s childhood through the series of flashbacks woven through the book gave this novel an extra level of intrigue and fed beautifully in to Claire’s unravelling.
Although I suspected the twist, the journey of getting there was twisty and fast paced that never allowed me to look away. The last page had been audibly gasp!
I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing what comes next from this author.

I unfortunately did not like this book. Claire was insufferable and her excessive flashbacks or diary entries were too boring for me. I also found her to be strange and it was weird the relationship with her ex and current husband.

Cuckoo by Callie Kazumi was a bumpy ride especially as it was full of brilliant twists and turns that will have you hooked from the very first few pages.
When Claire surprises her fiancé, Noah, at work for their anniversary, she’s the one who ends up being shocked to her core. . . . . . . WoW. . . . . . . .
Because Noah left the company nine months ago, and she had no idea.
How can she not have known? He goes to work everyday at the same time. . . . . . .
"How can she be so blind!!!!!"
Now he isn’t answering her calls. He won’t respond to her messages. He’s disappeared.
Claire desperately tries to find her fiancé, her world begins to shatter as the truth about who Noah really is starts to emerge together.
WoW. . . . . . . . This book was excellent I loved reading Cuckoo especially as Callie Kazumi is a new author to me.
I highly recommend it.
Big Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone | Penguin for my ARC.

I was a little bored by the main character’s obsession and found the first half slow. This bit could have been written differently, but that’s just my opinion, given so many people thought differently. The second half of the book was definitely more interesting, once the court drama began.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book!

When Claire surprises her fiance, Noah, at work for their anniversary, she's the one who ends up being shocked to her core.... because Noah left the company nine months ago, and she had no idea. How could she not have known? Now he isn't answering her calls. He won#t respond to her messages. He's disappeared. As Claire desperately tries to find her fiance, her world begins to shatter as the truth about who Noah is starts to emerge.
when Claire is ghosted by her fiance Noah, she is determined to get to the bottom of it all. The story starts with a murder case. We learn of all the things Noah did to embarrass Claire and we get flashbacks telling us how her mother abused her. This is a well-written debit novel with lots of twists, but it is a bot predictable. The story is told from Claire, an unreliable narrators, perspective.
Published 13th March 2025
I would like to thank #NetGalley #RandomHouseUK #Cornerstone and the author #CallieKazumi for my ARC of #Cuckoo in exchange for an honest review.

Claire decides to surprise her fiance Noah by turning up to his office with his favourite lunch, only to be told that he left the company nine months earlier and she knew nothing about it. To make matters worse he's not answering her calls and then, with the help of her work friend Sukhi, she discovers that he's blocked her on social media and he's living a lie. The events that follow reveal who Noah really is and things are about to get very messy...
Cuckoo is the debut thriller from this author and I was drawn in from the start. Told from Claire's perspective, as well her present life with Noah, we hear about her childhood, which wasn't very pretty, she didn't really fit in at school and life with her mum was awful. Her past is all laid bare within the pages of her diary and it's very grim, so you can see why Noah is everything to her and why she desperately wants to be loved. As the story progressed, I started to suspect that things weren't as straightforward as they first seemed and I began to wonder whose truth i could believe. This is a compelling debut thriller, with some great twists and an unexpected ending and I can see great things for this author.
I'd like to thank Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for inviting me to read this. I will post my review on Goodreads and Amazon.

Cuckoo is a great debut!!
Claire is the main character as we follow her life, when we meet her she is happy and in love with Noah. They are engaged to be married and apart from Noah working too hard their life is on the up. That is until Claire and a friend decide to drop him some lunch off at his office and here things don’t go quite to plan and Claire’s life spirals like she had no idea it would.
This was a really good read, I don’t want to go into the storyline too much as it will definitely spoil it for you. The book weaves a very twisty tale and left me not knowing who to believe. The characters were all likeable apart from one!! The book is split into two parts which makes for a better read having got all the background knowledge of characters you will need to help enjoy this book. The ending wasn’t what I thought it was going to be like at all and enjoyed the added twist!!
I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone, Penguin for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun page turner that was well written and enjoyable.. The author managed to make characters who, although flawed, had understandable emotions but, for me, there was too much of Mother..
The ending was predictable, but always good as a reader, to be proved right! I will be looking out for more by this author.
Thank you to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book.

Cukoo really did take me on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster throughout!
following the story of Claire, who is counting down the days until she gets to marry the love of her life Noah... however, she quickly comes to realise that everything is not as perfect as she first believed.
When she decides to surprise him at work one day, she is utterly shocked to be told that Noah no longer works there... and hasn't for the past nine months. This sends Claire's mind spiralling as to why he would infact lie to her about this, and when he wont take her calls she is left reeling and fearing what has truly happened here.
This book really did keep me guessing throughout! from those first impressions of a perfect romance, to suddenly uncovering that there's a deep secret that will shatter everything in Claires life, it truly was a brilliant read.
*Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin Random House and Callie Kazumi for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for my honest review.*

It took me a bit to get into this - but it was worth the wait.
Claire can't wait to marry her fiance, Noah - she talks about him all the time. When she pops round to surprise him at his place of work she is utterly shocked to find that he no longer works there - and hasn't for nine months! So where is he working - and why didn't he tell her? He won't answer her calls, he won't respond to her messages - what on earth is going on?
I thought, to begin with, that this was going to be quite a light-hearted read but, boy, was I mistaken! I felt such sympathy for Claire and couldn't wait to find out exactly what was going on. A riveting read from start to finish and, for me, four stars.
My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley.