Complicit
Two years ago, sixteen-year-old Jamie Henry breathed a sigh of relief when a judge sentenced his older sister to juvenile detention for burning down their neighbor's fancy ...more
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But once a thriller crosses into a more realistic tone, as this one does w ...more

“Complicit” is a dark, messed up intriguing read that will fucked-up with your head and make you question everything you read. It’s a well written YA dark mystery/psychological thriller so you must read it without reading any spoiler-ish reviews.
The narrator here is Jamie Henry a 16 years old boy who as much as he wants to be a ‘normal’ teenager he can’t. He doesn’t want to be associated with his sister Cate. Not because he doesn’t love her, but because ‘Crazy Cate’ like she is called ...more

So this is about ...more

Holy mother of god this book is some kind of messed up! Like, whoa! But it's the kind of disturbing that is really wonderfully brilliant when you turn the last page, sit back and really think about it. It's a story that will make your skin crawl, an ending that made me want to pee myself, and a memorable quality that makes it all unforgettable.
Jamie comes off as someone who is mentally unstable from the very start. Understandably so after learning the tragedy that is his childhood. An ...more


...was pretty much what I felt upon finishing this book.

...was pretty much what I said upon finishing this book.
I first encountered Stephanie Kuehn's work last year with her Charm & Strange, a mystery/psychological heart-rending book that somehow turned my world upside down while reading it. It was a story that was full of pain and anger and sadness, a story that moved me beyond tears. Aside from that, it was also a WTF book. It made me scream internally, my mind goi
...more
"For every truth best left a lie."
What does it say about a book when you can guess the big twist 12% in?
I'm not a thriller genre veteran, but even I could see the direction it was heading in. A "crazy" sister with a secret, a little brother with a record for amnesia, something bad that happened in the past... If you've read at least one or thrillers in the past, you know what the big secret is.

(Amnesia, next to unreliable narrator, is the queen of thriller plots. You have to do something re ...more


Where do I start, I want this be a spoiler-free review! Complicit by Stephanie Kuehn, is the kind of dark read I would have loved during my teenage years! My head would've been clean and clear of all other mind bending reads and I wouldn't have been jaded by all the completely dark stuff I have read. Don't get me wrong I thoroughly enjoyed this book, there was a dark and deep sense of foreboding the entire time I read it!
Jamie, is in high school and apart from having to deal with the general iss ...more

Unfortunately, I can't really talk about any aspects of this novel without completely giving it away, so you'll just have to read it for yourself. If you enjoy psycho ...more



Complicit is the second novel of Stephanie Kuehn after Charm & Strange (3 stars). Complicit, however, is way crazier than Charm & Strange. By crazier I mean, I can't control my emotions that spiked up eventually during and after reading the book and I can't wrapped up my head on it that I'm still pondering on what the hell just happened. Which I did not experience in Charm & Strange so it's a plus.
Complicit is a ...more

Jamie has just found out that his older sister has been released from juvie... and now he can't feel his hands. 2 years ago, Cate went away for starting a fire, but now she's out and apparently she wants Jamie to know some things. Like what really happened when their real mother died... and other things that Jamie can't remember.
Jamie and Cate were adopted by a couple after their mom was shot and killed. Cate was outgoing and fun, Jamie had tons of problems. Through ...more

But I have to say that there were things I didn't like about the narrative and places where I think it could've added just a bit more to give it that extra punch for the aim it was g ...more


I really don't know what to say. I guess I was expecting a mindfuck, and it was a pretty good one in retrospect, but the execution... left something to be desired. God, it's so hard talking about it without giving away anything. Let's just say there must be 50 pages missing from the end because that can't be all.
(view spoiler) ["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]> ...more


I'm not going to try to write some well thought-out review because I honestly can't. I don't even know what thoughts I'm having.
This book had me guessing until the end, and I absolutely love that in a book. I haven't read something that had me so physiologically messed up since I read Gone Girl...so obviously, I loved that.
However I'm a little pissed at that ending, hence why it didn't get a ful ...more


Disclaimer : If you have not yet read the blurb for this book, DO NOT READ IT - It gives away way, WAY too much information. (But if you are of the kind that believes that it's the journey and not the destination, then go right ahead).
If you've already read the blurb then the mindfuck factor of this book lessens considerably, but the ending will still make you gasp and say "What?! What?!" for about 10 minutes straight.
Recommended for those who like works by Gillian Flynn. ...more

Basically, if you want to know what trauma is, you should read Complicit - a teenage girl was sent to juvenile detention for arson two years ago and is now being released; and she’s coming after her brother...possibly with bad intentions.
First of all, Stephanie Kuehn is such an underrated author. After reading Charm & Strange and being absolutely - pardon the pun - charmed ...more

These are dream that hold our most private of truths.
These are the dreams that destinies are made of.”
Charm and Strange still stand as one of the best psychological thriller I ever read. I held that book as a prime example on how Kuehn’s follow up novel would be.
Complicit is another remarkable story. It’s my certain cup of tea. The elegant, enthralling lyric ...more

so it's me.
not Stephanie Kuehn. ...more

It's always those psychological thriller books that have me thinking by the end: What did I just read? Did I even understand what I read? Is my brain comprehending this?? (clearly not.)
For real though, Complicit blew my mind. It's a short and exciting read, one that begs to have its pages flipped quickly. The premise is creepy and unlike anything I've ever read--more importantly, it's told from the perspective of a teenage boy. This is the first that I've read from Stephanie Kuehn, but it ...more

LOVED it. Definitely some similarities to Charm and Strange -- narrated by a teenage boy who has some issues, plus an overall creepy vibe. But Stephanie Kuehn is officially on my auto-buy list :)
And I agree with what others have said: better not to read that blurb before going in. The less you know, the better.
Official thoughts:
If you read Stephanie Kuehn's debut novel, Charm and Strange, you know that she's a talented writer who is a master at creating a creepy and suspensef ...more

And so I loved loved loved this absolute mind fuck of a book. The MC's are unlikeable and cruel and manipulative and so so very much human.
Only a couple of things kept this from being ...more


-Cate
Complicit was a mind boggling book that was not only gripping, but also a heartbreaking and amazingly executed novel. I imagine that the less you know of the story, the more you will love it and find it hopefully intriguing. So, I will try to keep that in mind while I review Kuehn's masterpiece.
Jamie Henry has had a tough life. This doesn't mean that he's had a few ups and downs, but that he lived in a horr ...more

When I read a book and absolutely fall in love with it, I’m one of those that will then run to Amazon and purchase every book by the same author. Such is the case with Stephanie Kuehn; I recently read Charm and Strange and loved it so much I immediately bought the rest of her books. The moment they arrived I dove right in and started reading Complicit and finished it within 24 hours. I loved Charm and Strange so I knew that Complicit had a lot to live up to but luckily I was
...more

Mental illness is used here as a thriller catalyst. The main character has pulling syndrome in answer to his past trauma. For those who aren't familiar with the syndrome, patients usually pull their ...more

Quick & Dirty: An almost psychological thriller type read about two siblings who are so much more than they first appear to be.
Opening Sentence: My phone is ringing.
The Review:
My first impression of Complicit was that it wasn’t as good as the other books about mental issues I’ve read of late. This is probably unfair given that I have read some pretty awesome books such as Bone Gap and Alice and the Fly, so it’s unfortunate for Complicit that the bar had alread ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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Ending?!? | 3 | 38 | Dec 12, 2018 06:00PM | |
4A Independent Re...: Realistic fiction/ Thriller (week 3) | 2 | 2 | Dec 15, 2016 12:00PM | |
4A Independent Re...: Realistic Fiction/ Thriller (week 2) | 2 | 2 | Dec 09, 2016 11:44AM | |
4A Independent Re...: Realistic Fiction, Thriller | 2 | 2 | Dec 01, 2016 12:08PM | |
Henrico Youth Boo...: Complicit | 2 | 8 | Jan 04, 2015 01:07PM |
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Ever.
These are called nightmares.”
These are dream that hold our most private of truths.
These are the dreams that destinies are made of.”