This is Callie's debut novel and I was gripped.
Claire Arundale is engaged to Nathan Coors and live together. One day Claire decides to surprise Nathan with a takeaway lunch. On arriving at the company where he works, she is shocked when the receptionist says no one of that name works here.
She calls him repeatedly and he doesn't answer. That night he doesn't come home. Claire is distraught. She tries to find him checking out old haunts and is shocked even more when he denies knowing her. The story is told from Claire's pov but over 2 timelines, present and her childhood with her brutal, unloving mother. This is a brilliant psychological novel with a shocker of an ending. Unputdownable and I loved it. A must read!!!!

An enjoyable thriller with a great twist. Characters are a bit thin but plot holds interest and it’s a quick read.

What a storyline and what an ending! I went through a roller coaster of emotions whilst reading this book. I will certainly be looking out for Callie Kazumi in the future. A well deserved 5 stars.

Easy to read, it just flows
Didn't take long to read
I just completely switched off and focused on this book
If you love psychological thrillers this is for you
Completely Unputadownable

Thank you netgalley, Callie Kazumi and Random House

Can a thriller with a “killer twist” be considered good if you can figure out the twist from the first chapter?
This book was fun and very easy to read. It’s been a while since I finished a book in less than 24 hours. Especially the first 200 pages were intriguing and kept me hooked with Claire trying to figure out her fiancés double life and going crazy. The trial got a little dry after a while but I still wanted to know how everything would play out.
But the twist underwhelmed me. Even if you don’t figure it out right away, the book continues to make it obvious. And even the final twist didn’t hit because how can something surprise you if the story already established it as a fact?

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.
Definitely a book to read. I was pulled into the story and it did not let go. The book is well written with a strong character driven story and many a twists and turns
Recommended 4 star read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 stars

The scenario outlined hooked me to read this one.

Abused as a child and believing herself unloveable, Claire has found the love of her life in Noah. She decides to surprise her fiancé, buying him lunch and delivering to his office. However, she finds he hasn’t worked there for months. Then he won’t answer her calls or respond to her texts, doesn’t come home. Why has he decided to ghost her?

An intriguing mystery, told completely from Claire’s point of view, this held my interest throughout, and I liked the surprises revealed along the way.
A promising debut and I look forward to reading more from this author.

An addictively readable story that I couldn’t put down. Claire has grown up with an unstable abusive mother, always being told she’ll never amount to anything. When she meets handsome wealthy Noah, she can’t believe he’ll be interested in her but the two quickly fall in love and get engaged.

A year after they meet, Claire goes to surprise Noah at work, only to find out that he left months ago and is working elsewhere. When she calls him, Noah ignores her calls, blocks her on social media, the works-and Claire has no idea how he has changed so much in such a short period of time. When she discovers something out about what Noah has been doing, it changes everything.

The story flew by although it wasn’t always as light as I had assumed it might be - the sections of Claire’s childhood are heartbreaking to read, and I wanted to give her a big hug at times.


I’ll definitely be recommending this to friends

This is a story about mental heath illness and a daughter being brought up in a loveless home, coping with her mother’s illness and difficulties. Of course the child has no idea that the mother is ill but learns that she is not the same as other parents.
The story revolves around the daughter’s first relationship and her devotion to the boyfriend, followed by her devastating discovery that he is seeing someone else.
The results of her upbringing develop and the mental heath theme continues. I found the first part of the book is irritating and repetitive as there are many entries from her diary, either delighted in the boyfriend or devastated at his betrayal.
Time passes and as the story moves on it is clear that the dreadful experiences in her childhood have led to her behaviour and inevitable consequences.
Recommended

I enjoyed this book. I would have enjoyed it more if there had been fewer words ! Sometimes Claire just went off on a stream of consciousness that quite frankly was a bit boring! I understand that it shows Claire’s damaged psych but I founds it quite tiring.

That’s aside it’s a good story and one that many will enjoy

I found the story quite unsettling and got confused by the fact the timeline was set so far into the future ...
That aside, the main character, Claire, is well presented and I found myself not sure if I was feeling sorry for her for what seemed to be happening, or whether she should just stop be so obsessive about someone who obviously doesn't care about her. BUT as the story progresses all becomes clear, and the way her temperament is tied in with her relationship with her mother is interesting.
As a footnote - I assume this is an unformatted, unproofed version as the text is all over the place with sentences where all the words are joined together which makes it tricky to read!

Well, I wasn't expecting that! I loved the twist and the unexpected ending. I actually gasped.

I found Cuckoo a captivating read, and raced through the book. I was engrossed in the story throughout, although I didn't connect with the character. I found the flashbacks to Mother a little distracting, although the significance of this made sense as the story progressed. I like how the story unfolds during the second half. For that reason, I was thinking this would be a four-star book for me. However, the way this book ends deserves five stars. It's scary ...

I'd recommend this to fans of twisty, pacy psychological thrillers.

This book was absolutely amazing! I loved the twists and turns. The ending was a proper shocker. Love, love, love!

Claire is a young woman with a miserable childhood, bullied at school and constantly tormented by her awful Mother, that has left its mark on her adult life. Claire hadn't even slept with anyone until the age of 30 when she was swept off her feet by handsome high-flyer Noah.
When she decides to give Noah a birthday surprise at his workplace ,she's shocked to discover that he'd left several months previously, more shocked when she does track him down to find that he just ghosts her. Claire's investigations show that she didn't really know her fiance at all and her delving into his secret life leads to life-changing events in the jilted woman's life.

I liked the story but the telling was often convoluted and unbelievable,not least in the courtroom scene that occasionally bordered on the bizarre . There was a constant stream of consciousness style that had me skimming parts and thinking the book would benefit from much tighter editing.
A great idea but I struggled with the telling,

Claire's world is shattered when she visits her fiancé one day at work only to find he hasn't worked there for several months. Over a short period of time she discovers that he has a partner and an entirely different life to the one they were leading together. I won't say more for fear of spoilers.

I ate up this book in a few hours, it was so readable. You can't help but feel sorry for Claire as more and more secrets are revealed, not least the way she has been treated by her horrible mother.. I love the way psychology is brought into the plot and although it was reminiscent of another book (which I won't name as it gives the game away) this didn't detract from my enjoyment.

If you like book where everything is not as it seems, you'll love this. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

I was so excited to read this one and I was not disappointed! It was fast paced and grabbed me from the first page! I love how the twists unraveled slowly throughout the book and I was left gasping over and over! Brilliant debut novel! I’m totally looking forward to her next book! I’m following this author on Amazon and Goodreads!

This was fun! In the beginning I was rooting for Claire, I felt like she had been betrayed and I couldn’t understand why. I won’t go into spoilers, but this book was twisty and the final plot twist was addictive to read, even though I managed to predict the ending. I think the first half of the book dragged a little and Claire became borderline insufferable as the book went on. I also found the last half to be a little boring and predictable, but still an entertaining story.

I couldn’t put this down and ended up reading it in one sitting over the course of an evening. I agree with another reviewer when they say they are of two minds with this book. It’s a thriller but not in the sense you think it is and it doesn’t feel executed fully. I too was left wanting more from the story, from Claire, from the plot, or just having the characters developed a little further. That said it is an incredible debut novel from Callie Kazumi and I’d read more from her in the future.

I’ve spotted on Goodreads that the US copy is titled “Claire, darling” which I personally think works better than Cuckoo, especially given how many times it’s said in the book. Thank you so much to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC copy before it is released!. Cuckoo is out on 13th March 2025, I predict this will be popular!

Cuckoo was an addictive read, I can’t believe that it’s a debut!

I read this book in one go, and I found myself trusting Claire less and less throughout the book, and Noah seemed shady as hell throughout. It’s rare that ai don’t trust any characters in a book, but that’s what made this book so much more interesting! I do like an unreliable narrator, and Claire was very much one.

I found the story really interesting from the start, I felt so many emotions ranging from anger to sympathy to shock. For the first half I felt like I really wanted ti find out what happened and get Claire the information she needed, why did he leave? And then the second half happened. That second half was such a difference, and it explained a lot, but it was so well written, and so well paced throughout.

I’m trying really hard to avoid spoilers, but Cuckoo was honestly so addictive, and if you like psychology in your books definitely check this one out. Overall, I absolutely loved this book, it is so good and so well written! I am giving Cuckoo 4.5 stars.

A really entertaining story that I read quickly and was hooked throughout. Similar ro others stories in this genre, but enjoyable all the same x