We start with Claire and Noah celebrating their anniversary. They are engaged to be married and Claire can't wait. Until that is, she goes to surprise him at work with a special lunch only to find out that he no longer works there. He never told her and she can't understand why. What is even more worrying is that he is no longer answering her calls, texts, messages. She is so confused... and, understandably, upset. Her friend from work, Sukhi, who was with her when she went to deliver his lunch, is very supportive and covers for her at work as she is in no fit state to return. She also starts to help Claire work out what is going on, and finds his facebook page, which shows him with another woman, with another life. A facebook page that he has obviously blocked Claire from seeing.
Meanwhile, we go back in time to two further timelines, one showing how Claire met Noah, and how that relationship developed. We also witness Claire growing up with a rather overbearing mother...
And that's all you are getting from me as you really need to witness the horror that Claire goes through as the author intended. As she tracks down the other woman and tries to get answers from Noah.
The twist in this book isn't that hard to work out. But that's OK as this is not a book that relies on this - hallelujah - rather, it is a well written, absorbing, story that has just the right level of confusion and voyeuristic nature to be completely compelling and hard to put down. It's also quite emotional in a harrowing way for Claire. You'll see why when you read it, I can't explain here.
Characterisation is excellent, again for reasons I can't explain, but I took to Claire right from the off, and really cared about what happened to her. Other characters all played their parts well, especially Noah and Sukhi. And then, that ending.... chef's kiss... sublime!
And a debut to boot... well... I'm definitely excited to see what the author serves up for her second course... My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This debut novel from Callie Kazumi is described as "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."

Naturally I was really looking forward to reading it! The book is split into two parts and as chapters unfold they are interspersed with both Claire's diary entries and flashbacks to her childhood memories. Claire is thrilled to be celebrating her first anniversary with her fiancé, Noah. Claire is a little awkward; she was bullied at school and raised by a controlling mother who cared more about men than her. So Claire is completely enamored and all in with her relationship with Noah.

She decides to surprise him with a special lunch at his office, but when she arrives, he doesn’t seem to be on the system. In fact, he hasn't worked there for nine months! A confused Claire tries to reach him, but Noah won't answer her calls or messages – he's vanished. #FindNoah.

Ok so we know there is a twist coming from the book's description and I did guess it very early on. However, this didn't take away any enjoyment from reading. Cuckoo was really fun – full of characters you hate to love and love to hate (Sukhi FTW) – and it was great to see the story unfold. I won't mention the contents of part two as I don't want to spoil it. If you enjoy domestic thrillers then this is for you.

A solid debut – I look forward to seeing what Callie writes next!

This is a thriller that escalates in unexpected and quite unbelievable ways after a slow start of Claire discovering her fiancé has been lying to her. I found that the diary entries and rememberings used to reveal Claire’s past slowed things down, although I understood their relevance by the end. A solid but not breathtaking debut novel.

‘Cuckoo’ by Callie Kazumi is a thriller in which office worker Claire’s world is turned upside down when she swings by her fiancé Noah’s office and discovers that he hasn’t worked there for three months. The novel explores how she reacts to finding out that he has been living a lie and features a number of jaw-dropping twists, courtroom drama and disturbing flashbacks.

It’s a difficult book to review without spoilers, so this will be short, but I appreciated how the author built up Claire’s backstory, chronicling her relationship with her mother. I also found some of the early seeds planted very satisfying when things were later revealed, and always love courtroom scenes.

Overall though, while I was entertained as I read the book, I was left feeling a little short-changed, perhaps expecting more from the ending. It’s worth a read and easy to race through because of the short chapters and sharp writing style but isn’t the best thriller of its kind I have read recently.

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Random House UK via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

*"Cuckoo"* by Callie Kazumi is a haunting and intricately woven psychological thriller that delves into themes of identity, obsession, and the fragility of the human mind. Kazumi masterfully builds suspense as the protagonist grapples with unsettling events, blurred realities, and the creeping suspicion that nothing is as it seems. The novel’s eerie atmosphere, complex characters, and slow-burning tension create an immersive reading experience that keeps readers questioning every twist and turn. With its sharp prose and psychological depth, *Cuckoo* is a gripping and unsettling read that lingers long after the final page, perfect for fans of dark, mind-bending thrillers.

When Claire decides to surprise her fiancé Noah at work, it is her who ends up surprised.
He doesn't work there anymore, hasn't done for nine months.
Now he seems to have disappeared.
When Claire starts to delve deeper her life starts to fall apart.

Well, talk about a book of two halves! If the first half doesn't reel you in and have you up all night reading it, then the second half definitely will!

We meet Claire, who has just celebrated her one year anniversary with fiance Noah. When she goes to take him lunch at work, Claire is told that Noah hasn't worked there for months. Through some sneaky detective work on social media by friend Sukhi, Claire finds out that not only does Noah have a different job, he also has a blonde fiancee and lives in a very posh house!

Interspersed with diary entries and memories from Claire's frankly horrible childhood, we follow Claire through her search for the truth. What is Noah hiding? As a reader (and watcher of many TV dramas) there are many paths that the story could go down, but I wasn't prepared for the eventual outcome. It's new, it's fresh and it's a cracker of a debut.

This is an absolute thriller of a debut novel. Claire goes to deliver lunch to her fiancé, Noah, on the first anniversary of their meeting, to find that he no longer works where he used to. He’s not answering the phone, and he doesn’t come home. Helped by her lovely friend and colleague, Sukhi, Claire tracks Noah down, and we find that all is not as it seems.
Interspersed with Claire’s narrative about Noah, we get some flashbacks to her childhood, being raised by a cruel mother, and bullied at school. This book starts to show a sort of unraveling of Claire, which ends in a trial.
I can’t reveal too much - it seems to me that the not knowing will make this book more fun to read. It’s safe to say that I read it with a growing understanding of what was happening, but was still horrified at the ending.
This is a really gripping read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Claire works in a boutique PR company. She’s been dating Noah, who works in banking, for the past year, and recently the couple has become engaged. Life couldn’t have been more perfect.

One day, Claire decides to surprise Noah at his workplace by leaving him his lunch, however, she discovers that he hasn’t worked there for months.

When she tries to message him and phone him, he doesn’t reply.

With the help of Sukhi, Claire’s work colleague, she discovers that Noah has blocked her from his social media. What is going on?

Claire won’t stop until she finds her fiancé…

This book is INSANE! I devoured it in two sittings as I literally became obsessed with it.

I loved the dual timeline, written in the present when Claire is trying to find Noah, and the past in the form of diary entries, when we discover how Claire and Noah met.

Claire’s upbringing by her vicious mother was truly shocking. I was appalled at the mind games and the emotional blackmail that Claire has suffered.

The ending of the story has left me speechless. I had to pause so the truth could sink in and that is a sign of a fabulous story. I can’t believe that it’s the author’s debut. I haven’t been excited by a book in quite some time and this one has left me wanting more.

I can’t wait for the author’s next book.

I definitely recommend it.

Many thanks to Penguin for approving my NetGalley request to read and review this title.

After a rocky childhood, adult Claire has finally found happiness & is engaged to fiancé, Noah Coors. Everything is almost perfect, until the day that Claire decides to take lunch to Noah's office only to find out he no longer works there. Her calls to him go unanswered & he won't respond to her messages - in fact he seems to have disappeared. As Claire looks for her missing fiancé, the truth about him starts to emerge.

This is a fast-paced read that keeps the reader's attention glued to its pages. The narrative is told from Claire's point of view, both in the present & via flashbacks & diary entries. It's difficult to review this without giving anything away, but I will say that about halfway through I started to wonder about certain things & after that the ending was not a surprise. It was in fact quite predictable if you're a regular reader of thrillers & suspense, but that didn't detract from my reading experience. 3.5 stars (rounded up)

TWs: child abuse (physical & verbal), death of a parent, infidelity.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Random House UK/Cornerstone/Penguin, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

This was such a twisty read overall, it had me invested and it was one read that I just couldn't put down.

I really enjoyed this debut novel. It was gripping and I couldn’t put it down. It’s quite difficult to review fully without spoilers but I was very invested in Claire and her life and found the twist beautifully executed. I look forward to more from this author.

Unfortunately II wasn’t keen on Claire and so from the off was not invested in the story or what happened
I did think the writing was good and would read further books by this author
There was an annoying grouping together of words formatting issue so you got say 3 or 4 words together which stopped the flow of reading

An interesting read, which was well written and a good read. Quite compelling at times, and difficult to put down once reading!
The suspense level was good, but I would have liked to be caught out by a twist. There were some good twists, but nothing was unexpected for me, I could see what was going to happen. There again, I do this with quite a few books, and others may enjoy the twists more than me.

Claire decides to surprise her fiancé Noah at work for their anniversary. However is shocked to learn that Noah has not worked at the company for months and now he is ghosting her. Soon Claire finds herself desperately seeking why he would have done this to her.

I really liked the sound of this debut and I enjoyed the mystery behind the disappearing fiancé. This ended up being a fun, frantic thriller told in compulsive, short, sharp chapters that have you needing to read just one more and before you know it the book has ended. I don’t want to say too much overall as to not spoil the story, however you are in for a crazy ride.

The author did a great job at developing characters, especially that of Claire, you really get a feel for her thoughts and feelings. Some characters were hugely unlikeable which while made me angry, I found compelling to read. The story is told in two halves and I personally found the first half more interesting, although the second half ties it all together well. I have to admit I did know where this was going early on but this did not detract from my enjoyment and I will certainly be reading more by this author in the future. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

This book starts well and has a good pace. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me, I didn’t care about what happened to Claire and the story wasn’t credible enough. Other fans of psychological thrillers will probably enjoy it more than I did.

How would you feel if you found out that your fiance left his job months ago without ever telling you? This is what Claire finds when she went to Noah's place of work one day to take him a surprise lunch.
She tries to ring and text him, but he is completely ignoring all her attempts to contact him. She just can't understand it. The night before they had had an amazing evening, celebrating their anniversary, and all was well this morning. This has come out of the blue.
Noah doesn't come home that night, and Claire is frantic.
This is just the begining of a nightmare time for Claire, and the only good thing in he life is her new friend Sukhi, from work.

I absolutely loved this story, it was a real page turner, and I was eager to find out what Noah had been up to, and why he would treat Claire in such a manner.
The ending is a real surprise, and thought provoking. An A1 read

An interesting story, seemed straightforward to begin with and then you start to wonder whose side of the story you can trust.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

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.....

Cuckoo is a compelling and well written psychological thriller debut from Callie Kazumi and I look forward to reading more from this talented author.

I think this is a good debut novel for Callie Kazumi but it wasn’t great! I enjoyed her writing style and I liked the main character which is a big deal breaker for me! I thought the characters were all well rounded and I enjoyed the pace. I think marketing this as a thriller with a “shocking” twist is misleading as I guessed incredibly early on how the novel would panned out. Overall I enjoyed it even if predictable and I would look forward to their next work.