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The Off Season
For fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware, a destination thriller about a woman who accompanies her new husband to a remote hotel during the off season to do renovations—and uncovers deadly secrets behind every door, from the author of the “endlessly entertaining and fiendishly clever” (Christina McDonald, USA TODAY bestselling author) thriller Last One Alive .
The Venatura Hotel desperately needs a facelift. Too bad renovations are murder on a marriage.
While recovering from a professional setback, documentary filmmaker Jane Duvall stays at a remote hotel during the off season with her new contractor husband, Dom, and his daughter, Sienna. Surrounded by an immense forest and the mighty Fraser River, Jane wants nothing more than to bond with her new family. But she’s unsettled by the cold, quiet presence of the hotel’s owner, Peter, who is overseeing Dom’s renovations. When she starts asking questions, Dom grows distant and Sienna becomes belligerent. Undeterred, Jane uncovers secrets that make her question exactly who she married, including a series of strange disappearances at the hotel in previous seasons. When a rainstorm of epic proportions threatens to flood the banks of the river and claim the Venatura Hotel, Jane must solve these mysteries if she’s to survive the off season.
The Venatura Hotel desperately needs a facelift. Too bad renovations are murder on a marriage.
While recovering from a professional setback, documentary filmmaker Jane Duvall stays at a remote hotel during the off season with her new contractor husband, Dom, and his daughter, Sienna. Surrounded by an immense forest and the mighty Fraser River, Jane wants nothing more than to bond with her new family. But she’s unsettled by the cold, quiet presence of the hotel’s owner, Peter, who is overseeing Dom’s renovations. When she starts asking questions, Dom grows distant and Sienna becomes belligerent. Undeterred, Jane uncovers secrets that make her question exactly who she married, including a series of strange disappearances at the hotel in previous seasons. When a rainstorm of epic proportions threatens to flood the banks of the river and claim the Venatura Hotel, Jane must solve these mysteries if she’s to survive the off season.
368 pages, Paperback
First published May 14, 2024
45 people are currently reading
7858 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 198 reviews
May 1, 2024
I don’t even want to talk about it 🤦🏻♀️
April 23, 2024
2.5 rounded down
I was immediately drawn in by this cover—I love how bold it is, super eye catching. I didn’t know the author, but was down to buddy read this with my some of my faves @readingwiththechoob and @roshlite.
Unfortunately this was a big miss for me. Jane Duvall jumps into a marriage with a man she barely knows after suffering a massive career set back and public cancelling (for what we don’t find out for ages) and moves to rural BC for the winter to live in a deserted hotel while her husband does Renos on it and she gets bullied by his mean teenage daughter. There, she uncovers a mystery of missing people and suspicious deaths.
This was giving some fun tension and The Shining vibes for awhile but the writing was a bit confusing and messy; the characters felt shallow and I questioned their motivations; the dialogue was so so rough they just didn’t talk realistically it was more just there for info dumping and plot-revealing. And the twists were super antic-climactic. About half way through this it became a hate-read for me just to finish it.
As for the others—I don’t know if @readingwiththechoob plans to finish it I think she might DNF and @roshlite ended up feeling the same as I did with 2.5 stars.
I liked the premise of this thriller it just did not follow through and I probably won’t be picking up another of her books anytime soon. 😕
Thanks to @netgalley and @simonschusterca for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
I was immediately drawn in by this cover—I love how bold it is, super eye catching. I didn’t know the author, but was down to buddy read this with my some of my faves @readingwiththechoob and @roshlite.
Unfortunately this was a big miss for me. Jane Duvall jumps into a marriage with a man she barely knows after suffering a massive career set back and public cancelling (for what we don’t find out for ages) and moves to rural BC for the winter to live in a deserted hotel while her husband does Renos on it and she gets bullied by his mean teenage daughter. There, she uncovers a mystery of missing people and suspicious deaths.
This was giving some fun tension and The Shining vibes for awhile but the writing was a bit confusing and messy; the characters felt shallow and I questioned their motivations; the dialogue was so so rough they just didn’t talk realistically it was more just there for info dumping and plot-revealing. And the twists were super antic-climactic. About half way through this it became a hate-read for me just to finish it.
As for the others—I don’t know if @readingwiththechoob plans to finish it I think she might DNF and @roshlite ended up feeling the same as I did with 2.5 stars.
I liked the premise of this thriller it just did not follow through and I probably won’t be picking up another of her books anytime soon. 😕
Thanks to @netgalley and @simonschusterca for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
March 24, 2024
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read The Off Season by Amber Cowie.
Jane Duvall met Dom on her vacation and had a whirlwind romance that quickly turned into a marriage. When they returned home in Vancouver
Dom took a job for his friend at The Venatura Hotel to do some renovations in the off season. Jane thought this was a great opportunity to get to know her new husband and his daughter Sienna better.
She quickly found out that her husband has a lot of history with this hotel with his former wife who tragically died here. There have also been a few disappearances in the area as well. Jane is a documentary filmmaker and thought while she is there she can investigate more into the disappearances, but when she asks her husband and his friend about it they do not want to discuss it. They shut her down and try to get her to stop digging.
The more Jane digs around the more she feels that her husband has something to hide. His daughter is impossible to deal with and Jane starts to feel unsure of who she married. A storm hits making the hotel more isolated and Jane has to try to figure out what really happened here and how to escape before it's too late. After all, she has some secrets of her own.
This is my first time reading a book by Amber Cowie and I was not disappointed. The premise intrigued me so I was excited to jump into this book and quickly devoured it. The first 20% was a little slow but it was just setting up the story and then quickly takes off from there . I loved the setting, a big hotel in the off season, a storm raging through, mystery after mystery. You will not be able to put this one down! 4 stars from me.
Jane Duvall met Dom on her vacation and had a whirlwind romance that quickly turned into a marriage. When they returned home in Vancouver
Dom took a job for his friend at The Venatura Hotel to do some renovations in the off season. Jane thought this was a great opportunity to get to know her new husband and his daughter Sienna better.
She quickly found out that her husband has a lot of history with this hotel with his former wife who tragically died here. There have also been a few disappearances in the area as well. Jane is a documentary filmmaker and thought while she is there she can investigate more into the disappearances, but when she asks her husband and his friend about it they do not want to discuss it. They shut her down and try to get her to stop digging.
The more Jane digs around the more she feels that her husband has something to hide. His daughter is impossible to deal with and Jane starts to feel unsure of who she married. A storm hits making the hotel more isolated and Jane has to try to figure out what really happened here and how to escape before it's too late. After all, she has some secrets of her own.
This is my first time reading a book by Amber Cowie and I was not disappointed. The premise intrigued me so I was excited to jump into this book and quickly devoured it. The first 20% was a little slow but it was just setting up the story and then quickly takes off from there . I loved the setting, a big hotel in the off season, a storm raging through, mystery after mystery. You will not be able to put this one down! 4 stars from me.
May 11, 2024
**2.5 Stars**
First I’d like to thank Simon & Schuster for the ARC.
So let me start by saying that I wanted to love this book. The atmosphere, the Canadian setting, and the idea all appealed to me. And while I didn’t hate it, it was a struggle for me to get through it. I just did not want to pick it up.
I’ll start with the pros:
•the atmosphere was creepy and unsettling, Cowie did a great job in setting the scene and she made you feel like you were there
•the chapters were short (which I love)
•the writing style was great - Cowie is definitely a talented writer, I can’t deny that. It’s direct and really immerses the reader in the story
Now the cons:
•I could see the big twist from a mile away, it wasn’t that shocking
•the side story of the main characters past fell flat for me. There was a lot of buildup to it and I found it was a let down.
•none of the characters were likeable. The main protagonist was irritating at times and just not believable. Her husband and step daughter were equally annoying and I just couldn’t root for any of them.
•the ending seemed rushed. It was a lot of buildup and then all came together really quickly that it didn’t make sense.
This was my first time reading Amber Cowie and I will definitely give her another try but this book was just not for me.
First I’d like to thank Simon & Schuster for the ARC.
So let me start by saying that I wanted to love this book. The atmosphere, the Canadian setting, and the idea all appealed to me. And while I didn’t hate it, it was a struggle for me to get through it. I just did not want to pick it up.
I’ll start with the pros:
•the atmosphere was creepy and unsettling, Cowie did a great job in setting the scene and she made you feel like you were there
•the chapters were short (which I love)
•the writing style was great - Cowie is definitely a talented writer, I can’t deny that. It’s direct and really immerses the reader in the story
Now the cons:
•I could see the big twist from a mile away, it wasn’t that shocking
•the side story of the main characters past fell flat for me. There was a lot of buildup to it and I found it was a let down.
•none of the characters were likeable. The main protagonist was irritating at times and just not believable. Her husband and step daughter were equally annoying and I just couldn’t root for any of them.
•the ending seemed rushed. It was a lot of buildup and then all came together really quickly that it didn’t make sense.
This was my first time reading Amber Cowie and I will definitely give her another try but this book was just not for me.
June 11, 2024
OK BUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CATS!!!!! What the fuck!!!!! And why was Chilboyz listed as a collaborator on Rascal's youtube channel?????
A semi-interesting plot with heavy-handed Shining references and a cast of almost entirely unlikable characters. The second half was better than the first. I don't understand whether Jane is still with Dom and Sienna at the end, or how I'm supposed to root for any of these people. Mickey was the only sane one in the book.
2.5
A semi-interesting plot with heavy-handed Shining references and a cast of almost entirely unlikable characters. The second half was better than the first. I don't understand whether Jane is still with Dom and Sienna at the end, or how I'm supposed to root for any of these people. Mickey was the only sane one in the book.
2.5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2024
Canadian author and queen of psychological suspense, Amber Cowie, returns with her fifth novel, THE OFF SEASON —the stunning front cover draws you into this atmospheric and intense domestic suspense riveting psychological crime thriller. #CoverCrush
An off-season stay at a remote grand hotel becomes a filmmaker's nightmare. No one is as they appear, and everyone is hiding dark secrets. Skeletons from the past rise to the surface. MURDER.
Jane is married to her new husband Dom —on the heels of a disastrous breakup and a devastating professional blow, her holiday was meant to be about recovery, not romance.
There were many red flags.
~They had known each other for less than six months.
~He is thirteen years older.
~This is his second marriage.
~He has a teenage daughter.
~She had never been interested in having children/
~He was rebounding from a bad breakup.
~Her last film had nearly killed her career.
Dom loved that she was a documentary filmmaker (true crime) and owns a production company called Ember. Dom wasn't her type, but maybe that is why it worked. He was honest and loyal. Mickey, her oldest friend and valued production partner, urges her to tell him the truth. She has secrets.
In the meantime, The Venatura Hotel desperately needs a facelift. Dom receives a call from his friend Peter who has hired him to reconstruct the facade of the aging hotel he purchased in the wilderness of the Fraser Valley, ten years earlier.
Jane wants nothing more than to bond with her new family and stepdaughter, Sienna (who lives in Paris), who lost her mother at a young age. There is a lot Jane does not know about Dom or Sienna, but she does not ask too many questions so they do not snoop in her past.
Peter needed Dom to take over as caretaker for the upcoming off-season, beginning in mid-October after Canadian Thanksgiving and lasting until the hotel opens on May 1. The person Peter had hired had backed out.
Built in the 1950s, his riverfront hotel was roughly two hours from Vancouver and catered to wealthy hunters, anglers, and wilderness enthusiasts for nearly seventy years. Peter had owned the hotel for the last 10 years and had been carefully renovating it with the help of contractors like Dom.
Due to storms and heavy weather, a low-lying bridge that connected the property to the highway often washed out during heavy weather, which is why they needed someone on-site to take care of the facilities.
Jane thinks this idea is fabulous for them, and she could use the space to write and dream up a new project. However, she knows little about the hotel's past, the owner, her husband, and her stepdaughter.
Dom informs her that the hotel is remote, the Wi-Fi is unreliable, and phones can be out for weeks on end due to storms. They agree that it will be wonderful to spend the winter at the Venatura Hotel!
Upon arrival, the place was stunning, but soon, she was put off by the coldness of the owner, Peter. She started inquiring about the hotel's past, and Peter and Dom both became distant. Then she started having problems with Sienna.
Between the pouring rain and the remote setting with flooding that could destroy the hotel, the missing former caretaker, Elijah Stanton, and then Jane uncovers more dark, sinister secrets of the hotel that make her question Dom and his past.
What happened to the guests of this hotel in the past? How did Dom's first wife, Melissa, die? Then she finds out he was here with his first wife from Sienna. Is someone trying to kill her? Now, they cannot leave as the bank has been consumed by the driving current of the swollen river. Flooding. They are trapped. Trust no one!
Her friend Mickey is worried about her, and they continue to communicate about the unsettling things happening and the hotel's history. Sienna is mean and disturbing, Peter is creepy, and Dom is acting strange. How is Peter connected to the events surrounding the hotel?
Jane is stuck in a hotel with her widower and psycho daughter. Dom thinks she is fixating on the horrible reinterpretation of the past. It turns out five people had worked on the renovations crew in 2021. Melissa, Elijah, Randeep, Dylan and Jospehy Jack. One drowned, one died by suicide, and the others were missing. What is going on?
The messages in the mirror. GET OUT!
INTENSE, spine-chilling, and action-packed, THE OFF SEASON will keep you on the edge of your seat from page one to the ending! Unsettling, menacing, sinister, and dark skeletons of the past.
I am a huge fan of the author. (A favorite author). I have read all her books, and each one is unique, with isolating settings, twisty plots, and well-developed characters that will have your heart pounding.
If you are a fan of authors Ruth Ware, Lucy Foley, and Carol Goodman, you will enjoy Amber's style and her talent for spinning a twisty story with atmospheric and claustrophobic settings with creepy, sinister, and Gothic Hitchcockian vibes with modern-day TikTok/ YouTube twists (you will find here). Put this gem on your summer reading list!
Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: May 14, 2024
My Rating: 5 Stars
May 2024 Must-Read Books
May Newsletter
#AuthorElevatorSeries Interviews with Amber:
Rapid Falls
Loss Lake
An off-season stay at a remote grand hotel becomes a filmmaker's nightmare. No one is as they appear, and everyone is hiding dark secrets. Skeletons from the past rise to the surface. MURDER.
Jane is married to her new husband Dom —on the heels of a disastrous breakup and a devastating professional blow, her holiday was meant to be about recovery, not romance.
There were many red flags.
~They had known each other for less than six months.
~He is thirteen years older.
~This is his second marriage.
~He has a teenage daughter.
~She had never been interested in having children/
~He was rebounding from a bad breakup.
~Her last film had nearly killed her career.
Dom loved that she was a documentary filmmaker (true crime) and owns a production company called Ember. Dom wasn't her type, but maybe that is why it worked. He was honest and loyal. Mickey, her oldest friend and valued production partner, urges her to tell him the truth. She has secrets.
In the meantime, The Venatura Hotel desperately needs a facelift. Dom receives a call from his friend Peter who has hired him to reconstruct the facade of the aging hotel he purchased in the wilderness of the Fraser Valley, ten years earlier.
Jane wants nothing more than to bond with her new family and stepdaughter, Sienna (who lives in Paris), who lost her mother at a young age. There is a lot Jane does not know about Dom or Sienna, but she does not ask too many questions so they do not snoop in her past.
Peter needed Dom to take over as caretaker for the upcoming off-season, beginning in mid-October after Canadian Thanksgiving and lasting until the hotel opens on May 1. The person Peter had hired had backed out.
Built in the 1950s, his riverfront hotel was roughly two hours from Vancouver and catered to wealthy hunters, anglers, and wilderness enthusiasts for nearly seventy years. Peter had owned the hotel for the last 10 years and had been carefully renovating it with the help of contractors like Dom.
Due to storms and heavy weather, a low-lying bridge that connected the property to the highway often washed out during heavy weather, which is why they needed someone on-site to take care of the facilities.
Jane thinks this idea is fabulous for them, and she could use the space to write and dream up a new project. However, she knows little about the hotel's past, the owner, her husband, and her stepdaughter.
Dom informs her that the hotel is remote, the Wi-Fi is unreliable, and phones can be out for weeks on end due to storms. They agree that it will be wonderful to spend the winter at the Venatura Hotel!
Upon arrival, the place was stunning, but soon, she was put off by the coldness of the owner, Peter. She started inquiring about the hotel's past, and Peter and Dom both became distant. Then she started having problems with Sienna.
Between the pouring rain and the remote setting with flooding that could destroy the hotel, the missing former caretaker, Elijah Stanton, and then Jane uncovers more dark, sinister secrets of the hotel that make her question Dom and his past.
What happened to the guests of this hotel in the past? How did Dom's first wife, Melissa, die? Then she finds out he was here with his first wife from Sienna. Is someone trying to kill her? Now, they cannot leave as the bank has been consumed by the driving current of the swollen river. Flooding. They are trapped. Trust no one!
Her friend Mickey is worried about her, and they continue to communicate about the unsettling things happening and the hotel's history. Sienna is mean and disturbing, Peter is creepy, and Dom is acting strange. How is Peter connected to the events surrounding the hotel?
Jane is stuck in a hotel with her widower and psycho daughter. Dom thinks she is fixating on the horrible reinterpretation of the past. It turns out five people had worked on the renovations crew in 2021. Melissa, Elijah, Randeep, Dylan and Jospehy Jack. One drowned, one died by suicide, and the others were missing. What is going on?
The messages in the mirror. GET OUT!
INTENSE, spine-chilling, and action-packed, THE OFF SEASON will keep you on the edge of your seat from page one to the ending! Unsettling, menacing, sinister, and dark skeletons of the past.
I am a huge fan of the author. (A favorite author). I have read all her books, and each one is unique, with isolating settings, twisty plots, and well-developed characters that will have your heart pounding.
If you are a fan of authors Ruth Ware, Lucy Foley, and Carol Goodman, you will enjoy Amber's style and her talent for spinning a twisty story with atmospheric and claustrophobic settings with creepy, sinister, and Gothic Hitchcockian vibes with modern-day TikTok/ YouTube twists (you will find here). Put this gem on your summer reading list!
Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: May 14, 2024
My Rating: 5 Stars
May 2024 Must-Read Books
May Newsletter
#AuthorElevatorSeries Interviews with Amber:
Rapid Falls
Loss Lake
July 15, 2024
This book had potential to be a great thriller with the eerie setting of an old hotel, completely cut off from the world…however the plot line fell short.
With only a handful characters, the story line is predictable and it is evident who the murderer is, from the beginning.
By focusing too much on the past, the present storytelling isn’t captivating and there is no real suspense, a necessary quality of murder mystery novels.
With only a handful characters, the story line is predictable and it is evident who the murderer is, from the beginning.
By focusing too much on the past, the present storytelling isn’t captivating and there is no real suspense, a necessary quality of murder mystery novels.
August 22, 2024
Have you ever read a book where it’s so trashy, it’s kinda good? Like every character is ~*completely*~ unhinged and unrealistically toxic and yet.. I’m turning the page to find out what they’ll do next. Yes, I’m 100% going to judge them so hard and they’ll also make me wanna scream at them LOL!
The good:
Loved the cover, the aesthetic running raindrops - perfection. Love supporting Canadian authors and having the story take place in Canada (in BC). I’ve been to Vancouver a few times and have a friend that lives there so all the Canadian mentions were so welcomed! The characters Mickey and Fraser the cat were highlights. I liked the unpredictability of all the characters and made me want to keep reading. I enjoyed the part where we didn’t know for awhile what Jane had done.
My critiques:
Pacing - I found it very slow at the beginning. The descriptions for setting got to be incredibly long, at some points it was a paragraph in length, and it made me want to skip over the over-detailed details. Then the ending felt very rushed. Middle was good.
The Dialogue - it came off as juvenile when the adults were talking (Jane, Dom). I found the conversations one note. By that I mean Jane, Dom and Sienna for the entire duration of the novel kept complaining, having the same issues repeated again and again in the same way. It didn’t bring anything to it, I felt like I was reading the same discussion again and again - it didn’t work its way up. I felt all 3 of them were already constantly at their worst from the get go. The dialogue didn’t give complexity to the characters. I also wanted more emotional reactions, better (more realistic) dialogue from the characters when they said something. It seems whenever Jane said something to Dom or Murray (esp something shocking) there was zero reaction given.
The Ending - I found it rushed. I like open-ended books however this I felt like needed at least a peek into the context for me to feel satisfied upon finishing the story!
The good:
Loved the cover, the aesthetic running raindrops - perfection. Love supporting Canadian authors and having the story take place in Canada (in BC). I’ve been to Vancouver a few times and have a friend that lives there so all the Canadian mentions were so welcomed! The characters Mickey and Fraser the cat were highlights. I liked the unpredictability of all the characters and made me want to keep reading. I enjoyed the part where we didn’t know for awhile what Jane had done.
My critiques:
Pacing - I found it very slow at the beginning. The descriptions for setting got to be incredibly long, at some points it was a paragraph in length, and it made me want to skip over the over-detailed details. Then the ending felt very rushed. Middle was good.
The Dialogue - it came off as juvenile when the adults were talking (Jane, Dom). I found the conversations one note. By that I mean Jane, Dom and Sienna for the entire duration of the novel kept complaining, having the same issues repeated again and again in the same way. It didn’t bring anything to it, I felt like I was reading the same discussion again and again - it didn’t work its way up. I felt all 3 of them were already constantly at their worst from the get go. The dialogue didn’t give complexity to the characters. I also wanted more emotional reactions, better (more realistic) dialogue from the characters when they said something. It seems whenever Jane said something to Dom or Murray (esp something shocking) there was zero reaction given.
The Ending - I found it rushed. I like open-ended books however this I felt like needed at least a peek into the context for me to feel satisfied upon finishing the story!
August 18, 2025
No character development whatsoever
May 14, 2024
If you love suspense novels, you're going to want to pick Amber Cowie's new book - The Off Season.
The set up for this tale was perfect! Jane has just married a man she's known for only six months, he's thirteen years older, has a teenage daughter and has been married already. Jane doesn't want children and is rebounding from something that went very bad in her work. A recipe for disaster? Maybe. How about adding in being caretakers for a remote lodge in the winter? Oh definitely yes...
The setting is wonderfully described. The lodge is large and luxurious. The forest surrounding the lodge beautiful - but also dangerous. And this crossed my thoughts...Redrum...
Cowie's character building is perfect. The dynamics between Jane and Dom are still in the honeymoon stage. But relations between Jane and Dom's daughter Sienna, are fractious, to say the least. The past is also a character in the plot. But is anyone telling the truth at all?
Oh my gosh - with every chapter Cowie builds and builds the tension in the lodge. There was no way I was going to stop reading! The plotting is great - I had no idea how things were to going to play out. Cowie kept me guessing right through to the last pages.
The Off Season is a fantastic entry for your summer reading list!
The set up for this tale was perfect! Jane has just married a man she's known for only six months, he's thirteen years older, has a teenage daughter and has been married already. Jane doesn't want children and is rebounding from something that went very bad in her work. A recipe for disaster? Maybe. How about adding in being caretakers for a remote lodge in the winter? Oh definitely yes...
The setting is wonderfully described. The lodge is large and luxurious. The forest surrounding the lodge beautiful - but also dangerous. And this crossed my thoughts...Redrum...
Cowie's character building is perfect. The dynamics between Jane and Dom are still in the honeymoon stage. But relations between Jane and Dom's daughter Sienna, are fractious, to say the least. The past is also a character in the plot. But is anyone telling the truth at all?
Oh my gosh - with every chapter Cowie builds and builds the tension in the lodge. There was no way I was going to stop reading! The plotting is great - I had no idea how things were to going to play out. Cowie kept me guessing right through to the last pages.
The Off Season is a fantastic entry for your summer reading list!
April 3, 2024
Canadian author Amber Cowie’s ‘The Off-Season’ is an absolute gem in the realm of thrillers!
This book kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. A captivating familiar plot with references to a certain classic movie of a similar storyline, but with its own unique twists and turns and intrigue!
As a Canadian, I deeply appreciated the familiarity of the setting, with references that were both relatable and recognizable, adding an extra layer of immersion to the story.
Amber’s writing style is simply lovely, effortlessly drawing readers into a world of mystery and suspense. Her words paint a clear, stunningly beautiful picture of the visuals of the location of this story, as well as great character visuals.
What truly sets this novel apart is its ability to keep you guessing until the very end.
I devoured every page of ‘The Off-Season’ in almost one sitting,
Highly recommend!
Thankyou to author Amber Cowie, Simon & Shuster publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book ahead of publish date.
Charlene 📚🤗🌸 @lastnownext
This book kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. A captivating familiar plot with references to a certain classic movie of a similar storyline, but with its own unique twists and turns and intrigue!
As a Canadian, I deeply appreciated the familiarity of the setting, with references that were both relatable and recognizable, adding an extra layer of immersion to the story.
Amber’s writing style is simply lovely, effortlessly drawing readers into a world of mystery and suspense. Her words paint a clear, stunningly beautiful picture of the visuals of the location of this story, as well as great character visuals.
What truly sets this novel apart is its ability to keep you guessing until the very end.
I devoured every page of ‘The Off-Season’ in almost one sitting,
Highly recommend!
Thankyou to author Amber Cowie, Simon & Shuster publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book ahead of publish date.
Charlene 📚🤗🌸 @lastnownext
September 8, 2024
It was just too much chaos, and I hated all of them.
October 22, 2024
This book was not what I was expecting, but not in a good way. I found the characters vapid and contrived, and there was very little growth to be found.
The plot itself was messy feeling and I struggled to finish this book.
The plot itself was messy feeling and I struggled to finish this book.
September 3, 2024
The Ventura Hotel needs a major facelift. While recovering from her own personal setback Jane Duvall stays at a remote hotel during the off season. They are surrounded by immense forest and the Fraser River. Jane was nothing more than to bond with her new family, but she feels unsettled and cold by the owner of the hotel. When Jane starts asking questions Dom and Sienna grows more and more distant from Jane. Undeterred from everything Jane uncovers secrets that make her question who she is married too, including mysteries of people disappearing in the past. When theirs a rainstorm threatens to flood the banks at the river and claim the Ventura Hotel.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending me an ARC copy of this book. I loved this book so much. It was so creepy and so interesting. I don't know why the Goodreads rating is so low on this book I found it so interesting. I read this book during my vacation and honestly I think it was the perfect time to read this book. The first start of this book was a little slow, but then it ended up getting so much better. This is a very fast paced book/read and I always love that about a book. Sienna was an interesting character and I honestly didn't like her but then I know she missing her mom, but at the same time who would do that to their child. I also love how this book was set in the forest somewhere remote, because honestly the forest is pretty scary at times. I also love that this book was set in Canada is was probably one of my favourite things about the book. The character in this book weren't that likeable to be honest and usually I do like one character, but in this book these characters were something different. I don't know if the author meant for that or not but it happened. Honestly if this place was real I might want to visit it, it seems so cool, and I just love mysterious places and looking into them. This book is worth the read, ignore the Goodreads rating and just read the book, it's so worth it.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for sending me an ARC copy of this book. I loved this book so much. It was so creepy and so interesting. I don't know why the Goodreads rating is so low on this book I found it so interesting. I read this book during my vacation and honestly I think it was the perfect time to read this book. The first start of this book was a little slow, but then it ended up getting so much better. This is a very fast paced book/read and I always love that about a book. Sienna was an interesting character and I honestly didn't like her but then I know she missing her mom, but at the same time who would do that to their child. I also love how this book was set in the forest somewhere remote, because honestly the forest is pretty scary at times. I also love that this book was set in Canada is was probably one of my favourite things about the book. The character in this book weren't that likeable to be honest and usually I do like one character, but in this book these characters were something different. I don't know if the author meant for that or not but it happened. Honestly if this place was real I might want to visit it, it seems so cool, and I just love mysterious places and looking into them. This book is worth the read, ignore the Goodreads rating and just read the book, it's so worth it.
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August 19, 2024
"The Off Season" by Amber Cowie follows Jane, a documentary filmmaker, who makes the quick decision to marry a man she hardly knows. Jane, along with her new husband, Dom, and her newly acquired stepdaughter, Sienna, become off-season caretakers for a secluded hotel in British Columbia. Will she be able to bond with her new family at the hotel while a storm rages outside? What secrets are this hotel and her new family hiding?
I really enjoyed this atmospheric, twisty thriller novel full of secrets. It was very much a domestic thriller, full of family drama. What do you expect when a woman falls in love and marries a man with a teenage daughter too quickly? Plenty of drama. The setting reigned supreme, with our main characters being in a secluded hotel cut off from other people and resources during the off-season, along with environmental factors such as poor weather. These are two of my favorite elements in a good thriller.
Let's talk about the characters real quick. They are all unreliable, from Jane to Sienna to all the smaller, less-noticed characters. You don't know whom to believe and whom to trust. This influx of unreliable characters is guaranteed to make you think a lot about who is hiding what. Who is innocent, and who is guilty? You'll have to read the book to figure it all out. And trust me, it's thought-provoking; I personally was never able to predict the ending.
In my opinion, this book could have been better if the descriptors were simpler and the dialogue had a more natural flow. Some of the conversations were impractical and unnatural. Overall, this is a solid and entertaining thriller that I recommend to domestic suspense lovers.
Thank you Tandem Collective for the gifted copy for review purposes. All opinions expressed here are mine alone.
I really enjoyed this atmospheric, twisty thriller novel full of secrets. It was very much a domestic thriller, full of family drama. What do you expect when a woman falls in love and marries a man with a teenage daughter too quickly? Plenty of drama. The setting reigned supreme, with our main characters being in a secluded hotel cut off from other people and resources during the off-season, along with environmental factors such as poor weather. These are two of my favorite elements in a good thriller.
Let's talk about the characters real quick. They are all unreliable, from Jane to Sienna to all the smaller, less-noticed characters. You don't know whom to believe and whom to trust. This influx of unreliable characters is guaranteed to make you think a lot about who is hiding what. Who is innocent, and who is guilty? You'll have to read the book to figure it all out. And trust me, it's thought-provoking; I personally was never able to predict the ending.
In my opinion, this book could have been better if the descriptors were simpler and the dialogue had a more natural flow. Some of the conversations were impractical and unnatural. Overall, this is a solid and entertaining thriller that I recommend to domestic suspense lovers.
Thank you Tandem Collective for the gifted copy for review purposes. All opinions expressed here are mine alone.
May 10, 2024
I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting when I started reading The Off Season by Amber Cowie. I think the cover was what initially caught my eye, because it looks inviting and ominous all at the same time.
The story was ok. Though I never felt overly invested in any of the characters, except maybe the cat. I felt more worried about the cat than I did the people. That’s probably not a good thing.🙈 I just felt this weird disconnect. It’s not that it was hard to follow or anything like that. The thriller/mystery aspect was again, ok. I wasn’t shocked by anything that happened and though there were twists, I was never really rocked by any of them. I felt like maybe a bigger deal was made about Jane’s past than was needed and not enough of Dom’s was pressed upon. I find it weird that a couple would make an agreement to not Google/background check each other. Why would you feel the need to bring that up if you weren’t hiding something?! Obviously very suspicious and you knew there were hidden secrets there.
Maybe I would have enjoyed this more if I hadn’t previously read a highly anticipated and addictively good thriller?! I know others out there will love this book. And maybe it was bad timing on my part but this just wasn’t my favourite.
Trigger Warnings:
Language, sex scenes, child abuse mentioned, manipulation, suggested drowning, bullying, toxic relationships, eating disorder, suicide, murder, mental health and gun violence.
I’m grateful to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The story was ok. Though I never felt overly invested in any of the characters, except maybe the cat. I felt more worried about the cat than I did the people. That’s probably not a good thing.🙈 I just felt this weird disconnect. It’s not that it was hard to follow or anything like that. The thriller/mystery aspect was again, ok. I wasn’t shocked by anything that happened and though there were twists, I was never really rocked by any of them. I felt like maybe a bigger deal was made about Jane’s past than was needed and not enough of Dom’s was pressed upon. I find it weird that a couple would make an agreement to not Google/background check each other. Why would you feel the need to bring that up if you weren’t hiding something?! Obviously very suspicious and you knew there were hidden secrets there.
Maybe I would have enjoyed this more if I hadn’t previously read a highly anticipated and addictively good thriller?! I know others out there will love this book. And maybe it was bad timing on my part but this just wasn’t my favourite.
Trigger Warnings:
Language, sex scenes, child abuse mentioned, manipulation, suggested drowning, bullying, toxic relationships, eating disorder, suicide, murder, mental health and gun violence.
I’m grateful to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
June 18, 2024
picked this up for 30% off at shoppers drug mart. canadian author. fast paced thriller similar to the guest list, paris apartment, the housemaid, etc etc but with a carley fortune canadian style feel (it’s not a romance novel but similar in the detailed descriptive writing style and canadian setting). i would recommend for a quick summer thriller read (it kept me guessing right until the end). 3.5/5
June 18, 2024
2.5 stars
I was so excited to read this book that I pre-ordered it. I loved the idea of it and the cover had me hooked. Unfortunately I thought it was messy with a little too much going on, and I just couldn’t bring myself to really care about any of the characters. Everyone was kind of annoying and the resolution didn’t seem shocking.
I was so excited to read this book that I pre-ordered it. I loved the idea of it and the cover had me hooked. Unfortunately I thought it was messy with a little too much going on, and I just couldn’t bring myself to really care about any of the characters. Everyone was kind of annoying and the resolution didn’t seem shocking.
April 20, 2024
3.5 stars
The Off Season by Amber Cowie was a thrilling, insidious ride that had me uncertain who could be trusted.
Having just married someone who she had only met 6 months previously, Jane is left wondering what she really knows about her new husband as she goes off with him and his daughter to a remote location where he will be doing renovations on a hotel. Soon they are isolated and Jane finds herself investigating both a disappearance and a death, all while finding things out about her husband that she doesn’t know how to take. Dom is a man with many secrets and she’s left trying to figure out just how deadly those secrets might be for herself.
The author did a great job making very distinct and real characters. Dom is both loving and secretive, leaving it hard to interpret for the reader whether he is all he seems to be, a devoted husband, or if there is something scarier lurking beneath the surface with all of the secrets he is keeping from Jane. From his dead first wife, to the disappearance of a boy named Elijah who he knew, and the fact that he won’t tell anything about either event to Jane. Then there’s Jane herself who is tenacious, relentlessly digging up these secrets and unwilling to let them go when he tries to dismiss or distract her from her questions. I loved that she was decidedly her own person and refused to be put into a domestic little box despite his attempts, and refused to give up on her passion of finding answers to true crimes and creating documentaries about them.
I was so paranoid about the other characters. The uncertainty that the author created about the motives of characters and the secrecy of past events had me properly hooked. I wanted desperately to know what had really happened and what caused them to be so unwilling to discuss it. I will so the storyline did drag a bit at times and I just wanted it to hurry along and provide answers because it felt like an endless search for clues to the past with not enough actual forward momentum. So at times I grew a bit restless while reading but the moments of payoff kept me coming back.
I did enjoy the read and the ending satisfied in providing all of the answers to questions raised throughout. The final couple of chapters did end a bit abruptly in my opinion, without a fully fledged feeling wrap up, it was more of a “answers have been given and boom it’s over” with an epilogue-like chapter that raised more questions than answered, but as far as thrillers go it’s a well written story that’s worth the read.
The Off Season by Amber Cowie was a thrilling, insidious ride that had me uncertain who could be trusted.
Having just married someone who she had only met 6 months previously, Jane is left wondering what she really knows about her new husband as she goes off with him and his daughter to a remote location where he will be doing renovations on a hotel. Soon they are isolated and Jane finds herself investigating both a disappearance and a death, all while finding things out about her husband that she doesn’t know how to take. Dom is a man with many secrets and she’s left trying to figure out just how deadly those secrets might be for herself.
The author did a great job making very distinct and real characters. Dom is both loving and secretive, leaving it hard to interpret for the reader whether he is all he seems to be, a devoted husband, or if there is something scarier lurking beneath the surface with all of the secrets he is keeping from Jane. From his dead first wife, to the disappearance of a boy named Elijah who he knew, and the fact that he won’t tell anything about either event to Jane. Then there’s Jane herself who is tenacious, relentlessly digging up these secrets and unwilling to let them go when he tries to dismiss or distract her from her questions. I loved that she was decidedly her own person and refused to be put into a domestic little box despite his attempts, and refused to give up on her passion of finding answers to true crimes and creating documentaries about them.
I was so paranoid about the other characters. The uncertainty that the author created about the motives of characters and the secrecy of past events had me properly hooked. I wanted desperately to know what had really happened and what caused them to be so unwilling to discuss it. I will so the storyline did drag a bit at times and I just wanted it to hurry along and provide answers because it felt like an endless search for clues to the past with not enough actual forward momentum. So at times I grew a bit restless while reading but the moments of payoff kept me coming back.
I did enjoy the read and the ending satisfied in providing all of the answers to questions raised throughout. The final couple of chapters did end a bit abruptly in my opinion, without a fully fledged feeling wrap up, it was more of a “answers have been given and boom it’s over” with an epilogue-like chapter that raised more questions than answered, but as far as thrillers go it’s a well written story that’s worth the read.
August 20, 2024
Jane and Dom, a widower, meet in Barcelona and get married in a whirlwind of passionate romance. Now back in Canada, Dom asks Jane to temporarily relocate to a mountain hotel in northern British Columbia by the Fraser River with his teenage daughter Sienna. Dom has agreed to be a caretaker for the hotel during the off season, and his daughter is returning from an exchange program in Europe. Jane is eager to establish a connection with Sienna and plans to use the time to do research on her next project as a documentary filmmaker. Things do not go as expected when an atmospheric river makes landfall in BC, causing major flooding and cutting the hotel off. Jane, sensing something off in the story about the death of Dom’s wife, persistently asks questions, angering and alienating Dom and Sienna. Meanwhile, Sienna loathes Jane and treats her terribly, all while someone is lurking unseen around the hotel and terrifying Jane. Jane begins to wonder if this was all a huge mistake.
Wow! This novel was a wild and crazy ride which seemed to pick up rapid and erratic momentum as it approached the conclusion! Amber Cowie does an excellent job of creating a sense of place and a lonely, menacing atmosphere in the remote but luxurious mountain hotel overlooking the river and surrounded by giant fir trees. There is nowhere for Jane to run and she must rely on and trust her husband, but this is difficult to do when she keeps discovering a series of his ongoing lies and omissions. Then there is Sienna, who makes Jane’s life as difficult as possible with her cruelty and sarcasm, not to mention that they both expect Jane to be their cook and housekeeper. The only thing keeping her sane is her connection to her best friend and work partner, Mickey, and her love for the feisty feral cat, Fraser. Jane is no innocent, however, as she has skeletons in her closet as well that she would rather forget, and she does have a habit of grabbing on to a subject to interrogate and investigate.
While reading, I sometimes grew very frustrated with Jane’s naivety and blind trust of Dom and Sienna, and Dom’s talent for gaslighting and minimizing serious issues. The ending was left open for the reader to draw their own conclusions, which might annoy some readers. However, I firmly decided what I believed and left it at that! All in all, a wild thriller and a fun read.
This was a Tandem Collective Global readalong and I really enjoyed it with all my fellow readers! Thanks to Tandem and Simon & Shuster.
Wow! This novel was a wild and crazy ride which seemed to pick up rapid and erratic momentum as it approached the conclusion! Amber Cowie does an excellent job of creating a sense of place and a lonely, menacing atmosphere in the remote but luxurious mountain hotel overlooking the river and surrounded by giant fir trees. There is nowhere for Jane to run and she must rely on and trust her husband, but this is difficult to do when she keeps discovering a series of his ongoing lies and omissions. Then there is Sienna, who makes Jane’s life as difficult as possible with her cruelty and sarcasm, not to mention that they both expect Jane to be their cook and housekeeper. The only thing keeping her sane is her connection to her best friend and work partner, Mickey, and her love for the feisty feral cat, Fraser. Jane is no innocent, however, as she has skeletons in her closet as well that she would rather forget, and she does have a habit of grabbing on to a subject to interrogate and investigate.
While reading, I sometimes grew very frustrated with Jane’s naivety and blind trust of Dom and Sienna, and Dom’s talent for gaslighting and minimizing serious issues. The ending was left open for the reader to draw their own conclusions, which might annoy some readers. However, I firmly decided what I believed and left it at that! All in all, a wild thriller and a fun read.
This was a Tandem Collective Global readalong and I really enjoyed it with all my fellow readers! Thanks to Tandem and Simon & Shuster.
August 26, 2024
The Off Season was our final book in the Chilling Summer Thrillers Readathon and was also chosen for a full readalong. With its remote setting, secrets, and wild characters, it made for one of the most fun and entertaining readalongs I have ever been a part of.
I’m sort of torn on my feelings about this one. There were some aspects that weren’t my favourite and others that I really enjoyed. While I loved the secluded, Canadian setting, I found the first half of the book dragging. The plot was slow-moving, mainly because the setting descriptions were far too long and unnecessarily detailed. I honestly found myself skipping over them at times. By the second half of the book, the pace really picked up and I was invested in the story. However, it did take a little long for the big reveal. And even though I ultimately guessed what was going to happen, I enjoyed it nonetheless.
The characters are what stood out as the best part of the book for me. This is one of those thrillers where every character is toxic, unlikable, and completely unhinged. Even though their decisions and actions drove me a little crazy sometimes, it made for fun discussions in our readalong group. It was like one of those train wrecks you can’t look away from. I would highly recommend The Off Season be read as a buddy read, readalong, or as part of a book club.
Thank you so much to Tandem Collective and Simon & Schuster Canada for my gifted copy as one of the Chilling Summer Thrillers Ambassadors. It has been such a fun summer, and I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity.
I’m sort of torn on my feelings about this one. There were some aspects that weren’t my favourite and others that I really enjoyed. While I loved the secluded, Canadian setting, I found the first half of the book dragging. The plot was slow-moving, mainly because the setting descriptions were far too long and unnecessarily detailed. I honestly found myself skipping over them at times. By the second half of the book, the pace really picked up and I was invested in the story. However, it did take a little long for the big reveal. And even though I ultimately guessed what was going to happen, I enjoyed it nonetheless.
The characters are what stood out as the best part of the book for me. This is one of those thrillers where every character is toxic, unlikable, and completely unhinged. Even though their decisions and actions drove me a little crazy sometimes, it made for fun discussions in our readalong group. It was like one of those train wrecks you can’t look away from. I would highly recommend The Off Season be read as a buddy read, readalong, or as part of a book club.
Thank you so much to Tandem Collective and Simon & Schuster Canada for my gifted copy as one of the Chilling Summer Thrillers Ambassadors. It has been such a fun summer, and I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity.
June 1, 2024
3.5 ⭐️
“While recovering from a professional setback, documentary filmmaker Jane Duvall stays at a remote hotel during the off season with her new contractor husband, Dom, and his daughter, Sienna. Surrounded by an immense forest and the mighty Fraser River, Jane wants nothing more than to bond with her new family. But she's unsettled by the cold, quiet presence of the hotel's owner, Peter, who is overseeing Dom's renovations. When she starts asking questions, Dom grows distant and Sienna becomes belligerent. Undeterred, Jane uncovers secrets that make her question exactly who she married, including a series of strange disappearances at the hotel in previous seasons. When a rainstorm of epic proportions threatens to flood the banks of the river and claim the Ventura Hotel, Jane must solve these mysteries if she's to survive the off season.”
This book is very mysterious and suspenseful!! Some parts were a little cheesy, repetitive and predictable, but I was so curious as to what happened with the past at Ventura Hotel. I was on the edge of my seat towards the end, but unfortunately, it fell so flat. I felt like the last two chapters ended very abruptly. This book definitely had potential, it was so close to being a 4 ⭐️.
I would still recommend reading this, for a suspenseful, thriller read
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for an eARC. The Off Season is available now.
“While recovering from a professional setback, documentary filmmaker Jane Duvall stays at a remote hotel during the off season with her new contractor husband, Dom, and his daughter, Sienna. Surrounded by an immense forest and the mighty Fraser River, Jane wants nothing more than to bond with her new family. But she's unsettled by the cold, quiet presence of the hotel's owner, Peter, who is overseeing Dom's renovations. When she starts asking questions, Dom grows distant and Sienna becomes belligerent. Undeterred, Jane uncovers secrets that make her question exactly who she married, including a series of strange disappearances at the hotel in previous seasons. When a rainstorm of epic proportions threatens to flood the banks of the river and claim the Ventura Hotel, Jane must solve these mysteries if she's to survive the off season.”
This book is very mysterious and suspenseful!! Some parts were a little cheesy, repetitive and predictable, but I was so curious as to what happened with the past at Ventura Hotel. I was on the edge of my seat towards the end, but unfortunately, it fell so flat. I felt like the last two chapters ended very abruptly. This book definitely had potential, it was so close to being a 4 ⭐️.
I would still recommend reading this, for a suspenseful, thriller read
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for an eARC. The Off Season is available now.
September 2, 2024
A fast-paced, twisty thriller set in a remote BC hotel during the off season when Jane, recovering from a work scandal, agrees to spend the off season with her husband and new stepdaughter where the odds of being cut off from the rest of civilization are very high and likely. Nothing could possibly go wrong with a set up like that right??
This was my first book by Amber Cowie and it kept me guessing right to the end! Entertaining, multi-layered and full of characters that will make you question who you think the ultimate bad guy really was. I read this as part of a Global Tandem Readalong and it was so fun!
Many thanks to NetGalley @simonschusterca for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review. I can't wait to read more by Canadian thriller writer Amber Cowie. This is a perfect book for fans of authors like Roz Nay, Robyn Harding or Gail Anderson-Dargatz's recent domestic thrillers.
This was my first book by Amber Cowie and it kept me guessing right to the end! Entertaining, multi-layered and full of characters that will make you question who you think the ultimate bad guy really was. I read this as part of a Global Tandem Readalong and it was so fun!
Many thanks to NetGalley @simonschusterca for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review. I can't wait to read more by Canadian thriller writer Amber Cowie. This is a perfect book for fans of authors like Roz Nay, Robyn Harding or Gail Anderson-Dargatz's recent domestic thrillers.
January 14, 2025
Was about time to finish it.
This book was long-winded and boring at best. Shallow written MCs.
Dom is a cex scrazed, animalistic man. Sienne is a spoiled little confused brat. And Jane, a documentary filmmaker (who also caused a scandal and we don't find out what it is for literal ages).
Jane has never cooked before and her first meal to dish out is a freaking steak. Make it make sense.
The thriller/suspense was not thrillering/suspensing. It was lame.
This book was long-winded and boring at best. Shallow written MCs.
Dom is a cex scrazed, animalistic man. Sienne is a spoiled little confused brat. And Jane, a documentary filmmaker (who also caused a scandal and we don't find out what it is for literal ages).
Jane has never cooked before and her first meal to dish out is a freaking steak. Make it make sense.
The thriller/suspense was not thrillering/suspensing. It was lame.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2024
Slow start for me reading this book but definitely picked up about half way through! A lot of uncovering happened which didn’t feel rushed towards the end! The relationship between Jane and her new stepdaughter Sienna was wild! Definitely felt my heart rate pick up every time they had an encounter. Decent read!
August 26, 2024
This book was marketed for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware so I requested it from NetGalley. Unfortunately it was a disappointment for me.
What I liked
-it took place in BC and I could imagine exactly where they were
What I disliked
- the characters, Jane the MFC, marries a man she knows nothing about and enters into a pact with him not to google each other. Dom, the man she marries wants her to cook and clean for him while he renovates an old hotel in the off season. It’s 2024, can we please stop with this stereotype.
-I struggled with the whole concept for the story. It’s very unrealistic that someone wouldn’t google someone especially when they ask you not to.
This book just wasn’t for me.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
What I liked
-it took place in BC and I could imagine exactly where they were
What I disliked
- the characters, Jane the MFC, marries a man she knows nothing about and enters into a pact with him not to google each other. Dom, the man she marries wants her to cook and clean for him while he renovates an old hotel in the off season. It’s 2024, can we please stop with this stereotype.
-I struggled with the whole concept for the story. It’s very unrealistic that someone wouldn’t google someone especially when they ask you not to.
This book just wasn’t for me.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
May 5, 2025
I loveeee a local book, and a local mystery? Gold. I didn’t think I would like this book as much as I did, I will be looking for more from Amber!
3.5 stars because some of the scenes felt over-described. Some areas were hard to follow, it wasn’t consistent. I really liked the local setting and the storyline, but some plot holes made me drop a few stars
3.5 stars because some of the scenes felt over-described. Some areas were hard to follow, it wasn’t consistent. I really liked the local setting and the storyline, but some plot holes made me drop a few stars
February 16, 2025
Giving this one a 3.5 ... at times a bit annoying that the main character is such a sappy romantic, believing everything her new husband tells her is true ... but eventually she gets a backbone and does some sleuthing to discover what is really going on.
June 18, 2024
A CANADIAN AUTHOR?! A BOOK THAT TAKES PLACE IN CANADA?! 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 I’ll be reading all her books for that reason alone ❤️🇨🇦❤️😀
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