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Her Three Lives
Gaslight goes high-tech in USA Today bestselling author Cate Holahan's new standalone thriller in which a family must determine who the real enemy is after a brutal home invasion breaks their trust in each other.
Her public life
Jade Thompson has it all. She’s an up-and-coming social media influencer, and she has a beautiful new home and a successful architect for a fiancé. But there’s trouble behind the scenes. To Greg’s children, his divorce from their mother and his new life can only mean a big mid-life crisis. To Jade, his suburban Connecticut upbringing isn’t an easy match with her Caribbean roots.
Her private life A savage home invasion leaves Greg house-bound with a traumatic brain injury and glued to the live feeds from his ubiquitous security cameras. As the police investigate the crime and Greg’s frustration and rage grows, Jade begins to wonder what he may know about their attackers. And whether they are coming back.
Her secret life As Greg watches Jade’s comings and goings, he becomes convinced that her behavior is suspicious and that she’s hiding a big secret. The more he sees, the more he wonders whether the break-in was really a random burglary. And whether he’s worth more to Jade if he were dead than alive.
Her public life
Jade Thompson has it all. She’s an up-and-coming social media influencer, and she has a beautiful new home and a successful architect for a fiancé. But there’s trouble behind the scenes. To Greg’s children, his divorce from their mother and his new life can only mean a big mid-life crisis. To Jade, his suburban Connecticut upbringing isn’t an easy match with her Caribbean roots.
Her private life A savage home invasion leaves Greg house-bound with a traumatic brain injury and glued to the live feeds from his ubiquitous security cameras. As the police investigate the crime and Greg’s frustration and rage grows, Jade begins to wonder what he may know about their attackers. And whether they are coming back.
Her secret life As Greg watches Jade’s comings and goings, he becomes convinced that her behavior is suspicious and that she’s hiding a big secret. The more he sees, the more he wonders whether the break-in was really a random burglary. And whether he’s worth more to Jade if he were dead than alive.
339 pages, Paperback
First published April 20, 2021
132 people are currently reading
5554 people want to read
About the author
Cate Holahan
16 books893 followersCate Holahan is a screenwriter and USA Today Bestselling author of psychological suspense books. Her sixth novel, The Darkness of Others, was published in 2022. She has had books named to Kirkus' Best Books of the Year and Book of the Month Club's official selections. Notable works include: One Little Secret, Lies She Told, The Widower's Wife.
Her film, Deadly Estate, was on Fox's Tubi in March, and her upcoming film, Dancers on the Darkside, will be coming out this year.
An award-winning journalist and former television producer, she has written for BusinessWeek, The Boston Globe, and The Record newspaper. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, two daughters, and dogs.
She has an MFA in dramatic writing from NYU's Tisch and graduated from Princeton University in 2002.
She is represented by Paula Munier at Talcott Notch Literary.
Her film, Deadly Estate, was on Fox's Tubi in March, and her upcoming film, Dancers on the Darkside, will be coming out this year.
An award-winning journalist and former television producer, she has written for BusinessWeek, The Boston Globe, and The Record newspaper. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, two daughters, and dogs.
She has an MFA in dramatic writing from NYU's Tisch and graduated from Princeton University in 2002.
She is represented by Paula Munier at Talcott Notch Literary.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 270 reviews
March 22, 2021
“All human beings have three lives: public, private, and secret.”
This is a fitting quote by Gabriel Garcia Marquez that is listed at the start of the book.
Greg is thrilled to be marrying Jade. They’ve only been together for six months, and she is pregnant, but he’s fallen deeply for her. They’re staying in a rental home while their new forever home is being built. All is well until one day, a violent home invasion leaves Greg with a horrific brain injury...and leaves Jade without baby.
As they try to recover, things take a toll on Greg. His recovery is severe, and he wants to ensure nothing like it ever happens again. In their new house, he has high-tech security cameras installed all over the place. His daughter, Violet, doesn’t help his growing sense of paranoia as she thinks Jade, who is years younger than Jake and a social media influencer, is after Greg for his considerable wealth.
Each day, Greg becomes a bit more paranoid as he incessantly watches the monitors, showing almost every angle of the interior and exterior of the house. He sees Jade come and go, and her explanations don’t always add up. He can’t help but wonder if she really loves him, or loves the thought of him dead so she can have his money.
This is an enjoyable domestic suspense story that ramps up towards the end. It takes a while to get going, and there were moments I thought about skimming, but I was ultimately drawn to the story. There are red herrings and multiple suspects. I questioned everyone’s motives at one point or another, so that’s always a treat.
The dynamic between Greg and Jade was interesting to read as they have different cultural and financial backgrounds, and grew up very differently.
All in all, I found this to be an engaging and mostly original tale with some unexpected, but welcome, complexities. If you want to know if Greg and Jade’s love for each other is real, you can pick up a copy on: 4/20/21.
3.5 stars
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing, who sent me a physical copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com
This is a fitting quote by Gabriel Garcia Marquez that is listed at the start of the book.
Greg is thrilled to be marrying Jade. They’ve only been together for six months, and she is pregnant, but he’s fallen deeply for her. They’re staying in a rental home while their new forever home is being built. All is well until one day, a violent home invasion leaves Greg with a horrific brain injury...and leaves Jade without baby.
As they try to recover, things take a toll on Greg. His recovery is severe, and he wants to ensure nothing like it ever happens again. In their new house, he has high-tech security cameras installed all over the place. His daughter, Violet, doesn’t help his growing sense of paranoia as she thinks Jade, who is years younger than Jake and a social media influencer, is after Greg for his considerable wealth.
Each day, Greg becomes a bit more paranoid as he incessantly watches the monitors, showing almost every angle of the interior and exterior of the house. He sees Jade come and go, and her explanations don’t always add up. He can’t help but wonder if she really loves him, or loves the thought of him dead so she can have his money.
This is an enjoyable domestic suspense story that ramps up towards the end. It takes a while to get going, and there were moments I thought about skimming, but I was ultimately drawn to the story. There are red herrings and multiple suspects. I questioned everyone’s motives at one point or another, so that’s always a treat.
The dynamic between Greg and Jade was interesting to read as they have different cultural and financial backgrounds, and grew up very differently.
All in all, I found this to be an engaging and mostly original tale with some unexpected, but welcome, complexities. If you want to know if Greg and Jade’s love for each other is real, you can pick up a copy on: 4/20/21.
3.5 stars
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing, who sent me a physical copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com
April 19, 2021
Her Three Lives is the latest psychological thriller from Cate Holahan, an author whose work I've read a few times in the past. When the latest became available, I definitely wanted to read a copy given it's set to be released in the next few weeks. What a fantastic Sunday morning journey!
Jade, a 32-year-old Caribbean woman whose father is in jail and mother is uber-religious, bcomes engaged to Greg, a fiftyish Caucasian man in a Connecticut suburb. Greg's divorce is mid-process, though he didn't begin dating Jade until after he and Leah split up. Greg has two twentyish kids, Paul and Violet, and works as a semi-famous architect. Jade runs a design-related blog, and she's several months pregnant with their child. Then an intruder breaks into their new home. Greg is left in a coma, and Jade struggles to move on with a life filled with uncertainty. Someone knew they could break in to steal her expensive engagement ring, but which person in their inner circle claims responsibility?
This is unlike any other psychological thriller novel in a multitude ways. Jade is our narrator, and you learn early on that she's not a gold-digger, didn't arrange the attack, and is truly upset at potentially losing Greg. She's sane and smart, even a little too accepting, at times, of his somewhat rude first family. I really liked her, and for the most part, even with some silly secrets she kept, is a strong character. Greg, frightened over the incident, has a long road to recovery and begins to mistrust people. He's also reliable, and on most occasions, he attempts to balance his first family with his new one. Apart from them, at least 6 other suspects are viable options for the orchestration of an evil break-in that led to an attacker crushing Greg's skull, and while some of the plot is predictable, it explodes at the end in a way I didn't expect. Very surprising in a positive way.
The writing shines in this one... it's really not so much about who arranged the break-in as it is why and how did he or she hide it. I found myself captivated by the relationships and the little secrets told to keep each other from being suspicious. I rooted for Jade and Greg, even when he was turning a blind eye to his daughter's insufferable attitude (entitled and obnoxious). Similarly, I wanted to bop Jade's mother on the head for her one-dimensional insight into how her daughter should behave in her relationship. Quirky personalities with memorable traits lead us astray... but then you throw in Jade's father's prison stint and an architect with a potential grudge against Greg, and you've got a well-rounded cast.
I relaxed into the story. Waited for the big reveal. Enjoyed the subtle and not-so-subtle tensions. People played games, sometimes unwittingly, because they were insecure. When you could've simply said what you were thinking, the honesty might've prevented disaster. For me, this was a solid read and shows why I keep turning back to books penned by Cate Holahan. 4.5 stars, and I will continue to do so in the future.
Jade, a 32-year-old Caribbean woman whose father is in jail and mother is uber-religious, bcomes engaged to Greg, a fiftyish Caucasian man in a Connecticut suburb. Greg's divorce is mid-process, though he didn't begin dating Jade until after he and Leah split up. Greg has two twentyish kids, Paul and Violet, and works as a semi-famous architect. Jade runs a design-related blog, and she's several months pregnant with their child. Then an intruder breaks into their new home. Greg is left in a coma, and Jade struggles to move on with a life filled with uncertainty. Someone knew they could break in to steal her expensive engagement ring, but which person in their inner circle claims responsibility?
This is unlike any other psychological thriller novel in a multitude ways. Jade is our narrator, and you learn early on that she's not a gold-digger, didn't arrange the attack, and is truly upset at potentially losing Greg. She's sane and smart, even a little too accepting, at times, of his somewhat rude first family. I really liked her, and for the most part, even with some silly secrets she kept, is a strong character. Greg, frightened over the incident, has a long road to recovery and begins to mistrust people. He's also reliable, and on most occasions, he attempts to balance his first family with his new one. Apart from them, at least 6 other suspects are viable options for the orchestration of an evil break-in that led to an attacker crushing Greg's skull, and while some of the plot is predictable, it explodes at the end in a way I didn't expect. Very surprising in a positive way.
The writing shines in this one... it's really not so much about who arranged the break-in as it is why and how did he or she hide it. I found myself captivated by the relationships and the little secrets told to keep each other from being suspicious. I rooted for Jade and Greg, even when he was turning a blind eye to his daughter's insufferable attitude (entitled and obnoxious). Similarly, I wanted to bop Jade's mother on the head for her one-dimensional insight into how her daughter should behave in her relationship. Quirky personalities with memorable traits lead us astray... but then you throw in Jade's father's prison stint and an architect with a potential grudge against Greg, and you've got a well-rounded cast.
I relaxed into the story. Waited for the big reveal. Enjoyed the subtle and not-so-subtle tensions. People played games, sometimes unwittingly, because they were insecure. When you could've simply said what you were thinking, the honesty might've prevented disaster. For me, this was a solid read and shows why I keep turning back to books penned by Cate Holahan. 4.5 stars, and I will continue to do so in the future.
May 15, 2021
I really liked the setup of this book, which began with an older guy, Greg, and his new young fiancée, Jade, experiencing a home invasion assault with devastating consequences. Some interesting issues were introduced, including cultural and race issues, questions of when Instagrammers might be revealing too much of their lives, and of course, Greg’s midlife crisis. The writing, particularly at the beginning, is suspenseful and page-turning.
Unfortunately as the book went on, I became less interested as the book began to rely on a somewhat far-fetched backstory relating to Jade that wasn’t as interesting to me as some other ways the story could have gone. Jade also kept making terrible decisions, and it was hard to continue to identify with her.
Overall, I’d definitely read this interesting author again, but the ultimate direction of this book was a bit too predictable and didn’t keep me riveted. 3.5 stars rounded down.
Thanks to Grand Central Publishing, NetGalley, and the author for the ARC!
Unfortunately as the book went on, I became less interested as the book began to rely on a somewhat far-fetched backstory relating to Jade that wasn’t as interesting to me as some other ways the story could have gone. Jade also kept making terrible decisions, and it was hard to continue to identify with her.
Overall, I’d definitely read this interesting author again, but the ultimate direction of this book was a bit too predictable and didn’t keep me riveted. 3.5 stars rounded down.
Thanks to Grand Central Publishing, NetGalley, and the author for the ARC!
November 18, 2020
What begins with a brutal home invasion turns even darker in this deliciously twisted thriller, Her Three Lives. Holahan escalates the suspense with each new discovery, shining a spotlight on divided loyalties and a family stretched to the breaking point. If you think you've figured this one out, think again. Holahan is three steps ahead the whole time, expertly stripping away each character’s secrets until the shocking conclusion.
May 10, 2021
Jade Thompson is a prominent social media influencer. Her fiancé is Greg Hamlin, who like Jade, is very successful in his career as an architect. Together, Jade and Greg are the envy of their peers. Especially since Greg managed to court a woman 20 years his junior; and Jade managed to catch the eye of a multimillionaire.
As Jade and Greg get ready for an elaborate social event, two men barge into their home and brutally attack Greg and Jade, leaving Greg with a traumatic brain injury. Investigators assigned to the crime scene speculate that there could be a number of suspects, especially since Jade had a wide net of followers on her social media platform. But as evidence is collected and interrogations conducted, closely held secrets emerge leading Greg and Jade to question and suspect each other’s roles in the vicious attack. Was the attack a random home invasion, or was it planned?
Her Three Lives is a slow-moving novel. Even though the characters are straightforward and the plot linear, the novel just took a long time to get interesting. There are, however, enough “breadcrumbs” to keep the reader engaged until the finish.
Not the best psychological suspense, but good enough for three appreciative stars.
I received a physical copy of the book from Grand Central Publishing. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
As Jade and Greg get ready for an elaborate social event, two men barge into their home and brutally attack Greg and Jade, leaving Greg with a traumatic brain injury. Investigators assigned to the crime scene speculate that there could be a number of suspects, especially since Jade had a wide net of followers on her social media platform. But as evidence is collected and interrogations conducted, closely held secrets emerge leading Greg and Jade to question and suspect each other’s roles in the vicious attack. Was the attack a random home invasion, or was it planned?
Her Three Lives is a slow-moving novel. Even though the characters are straightforward and the plot linear, the novel just took a long time to get interesting. There are, however, enough “breadcrumbs” to keep the reader engaged until the finish.
Not the best psychological suspense, but good enough for three appreciative stars.
I received a physical copy of the book from Grand Central Publishing. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
April 7, 2021
A high-tech Hitchcockian page-turner with suspense that kept me rapt. Jade and Greg are engaged, but when a violent home invasion leaves Greg injured, each becomes wary of the other. Does Greg know more than he’s sharing? Was Jade, whom he follows through multiple home security cameras, behind the attack? Who can you trust? I sure didn’t guess the truth and I bet you can’t either! Highly recommended.
5 of 5 Stars
Pub Date 20 Apr 2021
Thanks to the author, Novel Suspects, and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC; opinions are mine.
#herthreelives #novelsuspects #cateholahen
5 of 5 Stars
Pub Date 20 Apr 2021
Thanks to the author, Novel Suspects, and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC; opinions are mine.
#herthreelives #novelsuspects #cateholahen
April 8, 2021
Where have you been hiding, Cate Holahan? I can't believe that I, a confessed thriller junkie, did not know about you and your clever, compelling novels. I'm assuming that this new release which starts out with a violent home invasion is typical of your other works. I found your recipe of culture, economic status, age, race, incarceration, PTSD, tech, and family drama to be just about perfect. Jade and Greg may be different from each other in many ways. The aftermath of the violence they both were victimized by seems to breed yet more conflict and contention all around. Can they find the truth in time to save their relationship? This would make a fantastic book for a group to discuss. Just the issue of stereotypes and assumptions alone could fill an hour. Highly recommended!
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
June 16, 2021
This was an average suspense/thriller about a younger woman, Jade, who is engaged to an older, wealthy man, Greg. At the beginning of the novel the couple falls victim to a home evasion in which Greg is critically wounded, requiring life-saving surgery to his head. Jade is also attacked, getting punched in her stomach and suffering a miscarriage as a result. That's pretty much the beginning and the end of the action in this novel, unfortunately. The rest of the story slowly, and torturously unravels this couple's relationship and distrust of each other. Greg starts suspecting Jade of being behind the attack in an attempt to knock him off and take his money via his will, and Jade starts to think Greg may be behind it, etc. If neither of them were behind this, then who was? Was it Greg's ex-wife? Was it someone from Jade's past? These were the questions put forward in this novel, but to be honest, I didn't find myself really caring that much! It just didn't feel like a fresh plot, and it almost felt as though I had read this very same story several times before, so needless to say this one was pretty slow for me. To sum it up: unlikable characters, uneventful plot but solid writing though. I think those who don't read this genre very often may enjoy this book, but those that exclusively read thriller/suspense may forget this within hours of finishing it, as I suspect I will. Kind of disappointing, as I LOVED Holahan's previous release, The Lies She Tells! Onto the next great read in '21!!
May 30, 2021
Social Media Influencer Jade Thompson is engaged to be married to Architect Greg Hamlin. Greg is divorcing his wife and marrying Jade who is carrying his child. While Jade is an up and coming social media star, she isn't in the same class as Greg when it comes to fame, wealth and culture but they declare their love and commit to making it work. Greg is a multi-millionaire and twenty years Jade's senior, raising a lot of eyebrows and throwing up warning signs among Greg's family and friends, especially his resentful daughter Violet who takes every opportunity to feed her dad's anxiety over the age difference. Thus, when a home invasion turns savage, the seeds of doubt previously sown sprout and start to grow. Greg is left home-bound with a traumatic brain injury and a severe case of paranoia from the brutal attack, and Jade loses their baby. In his highly agitated state, Greg begins questioning her motives for staying with him. Devoted daughter Violet continues feeding her dad's doubts and fueling his suspicions until Gregg starts to believe that Jade's only after his money. After having a high price security system installed, Greg spends his days tracking his fiance's every move, growing more paranoid by the hour. Jade stands to inherit a great deal of money upon Greg's death. Did she hire someone to kill him and destroy their child?
Through Jane's narration, readers know she's hiding a big secret about her past, but they don't know what. They do know her intent - her reason for staying with Greg which gives them special insight into the direction this story takes. Jade may be the number one suspect, but the cast of possible villains is convoluted. As reader's soon learn, there're several red herrings with motive and opportunity, and the author does a great job with the development of these players into the story line. While none of the characters are particularly likable, they play their roles to perfection serving to keep readers guessing as to who and why. While the story begins at a slow pace, it soon settles into a steady flow with rising tension that escalates in proportion to Greg's growing paranoia following a twisted plot line that explodes in a dramatic conclusion many won't see coming.
Her Three Lives is an intense, complex domestic suspense story with a multitude of suspects with motive. Solving the mystery became an obsession with me as I studied all the players, motives, and opportunities. Callahan's writing is precise, setting the pace and moving the story forward with expertise. Just when readers are lulled into thinking they know everything, she hits them with an explosive "aha" ending. Her Three Lives is a methodical suspense thriller that fans of the genre will enjoy.
Special thanks to Grand Central Publ. for an arc of this book.
Reviewed in Mystery & Suspense Magazine
Reviewed at: Cross My Heart Reviews
Through Jane's narration, readers know she's hiding a big secret about her past, but they don't know what. They do know her intent - her reason for staying with Greg which gives them special insight into the direction this story takes. Jade may be the number one suspect, but the cast of possible villains is convoluted. As reader's soon learn, there're several red herrings with motive and opportunity, and the author does a great job with the development of these players into the story line. While none of the characters are particularly likable, they play their roles to perfection serving to keep readers guessing as to who and why. While the story begins at a slow pace, it soon settles into a steady flow with rising tension that escalates in proportion to Greg's growing paranoia following a twisted plot line that explodes in a dramatic conclusion many won't see coming.
Her Three Lives is an intense, complex domestic suspense story with a multitude of suspects with motive. Solving the mystery became an obsession with me as I studied all the players, motives, and opportunities. Callahan's writing is precise, setting the pace and moving the story forward with expertise. Just when readers are lulled into thinking they know everything, she hits them with an explosive "aha" ending. Her Three Lives is a methodical suspense thriller that fans of the genre will enjoy.
Special thanks to Grand Central Publ. for an arc of this book.
Reviewed in Mystery & Suspense Magazine
Reviewed at: Cross My Heart Reviews
November 30, 2021
I really enjoyed Her Three Lives. It's a great page turner and the character of Jade drew me in. Greg was not your favorite character. I will be reading more from this author.
March 3, 2021
A domestic drama involving Jade and her fiancée Greg who suffer through a home invasion. Jade believes it has something to do with her past. Greg is becoming suspicious of Jade and her possible involvement in the attack. I didn’t enjoy this story as much as I had hoped to, a little to predictable and not very suspenseful. I thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
March 15, 2023
This was quite the audio experience. The narration was fantastic.
Jade and Greg are happily engaged getting ready to go to a party when they're brutally beaten during a home invasion. They're no ordinary couple. They have a ~20 year age difference, but she loves him for him, not his successful career as an architect and all his money.. but his family doesn't seem to think so.
They both have people in their life with motives to do this and the stress and anticipation of not knowing wears them down mentally, and as a couple.. especially since Greg has a brain injury from the attack. Jade still lost more and Greg is the star of the show. He has main character syndrome(aside from actually being a MC in this 😂).
I thought it was a really interesting journey. There was a lot going on, plenty of leads to follow, but it was easy to follow and wasn't confusing. The characters were very layered and interesting. Idk why it's rated so low!
Anyway, Greg is an idiot. I just need everyone to know this.
Jade and Greg are happily engaged getting ready to go to a party when they're brutally beaten during a home invasion. They're no ordinary couple. They have a ~20 year age difference, but she loves him for him, not his successful career as an architect and all his money.. but his family doesn't seem to think so.
They both have people in their life with motives to do this and the stress and anticipation of not knowing wears them down mentally, and as a couple.. especially since Greg has a brain injury from the attack. Jade still lost more and Greg is the star of the show. He has main character syndrome(aside from actually being a MC in this 😂).
I thought it was a really interesting journey. There was a lot going on, plenty of leads to follow, but it was easy to follow and wasn't confusing. The characters were very layered and interesting. Idk why it's rated so low!
Anyway, Greg is an idiot. I just need everyone to know this.
January 30, 2021
Her Three Lives by Cate Holahan. Thanks to @netgalley and @grandcentralpub for the e-Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jade and Greg are happy, despite the age difference in their relationship. When a brutal home invasion takes place, their relationship is shattered. Not knowing who did it or why, flares the suspicion of family members and loved ones.
This thriller definitely had my attention and kept the pages turning. I would not call it twisty, but it definitely was mysterious with suspicion thrown in many directions. One component of domestic portrayals in books that really makes me anxious is miscommunication. This book really had it! The lack of communication led to so much suspicion and you just want to jump in the book and shake the darn characters! The ending was a surprise for me, even though there were limited characters we were introduced to and suspected. A fun twist to this book was the Caribbean culture twist... the food descriptions had my mouth watering. One question I still have is why the title is “Her Three Lives”. If anyone has any input, please let me know!
“Even good people were capable of very bad acts when a life-altering amount of money was at stake.”
Her Three Lives comes out 3/20.
Jade and Greg are happy, despite the age difference in their relationship. When a brutal home invasion takes place, their relationship is shattered. Not knowing who did it or why, flares the suspicion of family members and loved ones.
This thriller definitely had my attention and kept the pages turning. I would not call it twisty, but it definitely was mysterious with suspicion thrown in many directions. One component of domestic portrayals in books that really makes me anxious is miscommunication. This book really had it! The lack of communication led to so much suspicion and you just want to jump in the book and shake the darn characters! The ending was a surprise for me, even though there were limited characters we were introduced to and suspected. A fun twist to this book was the Caribbean culture twist... the food descriptions had my mouth watering. One question I still have is why the title is “Her Three Lives”. If anyone has any input, please let me know!
“Even good people were capable of very bad acts when a life-altering amount of money was at stake.”
Her Three Lives comes out 3/20.
May 27, 2021
Rounded up to 3.5 stars. This is the fourth book I've read by this author, and I typically enjoy her books, but this one was my least favorite. A solid tale of domestic suspense, but the first half was slow-moving and a bit repetitive. I couldn't really connect with the characters, although the story did keep me guessing until the end.
April 8, 2021
I enjoyed the story overall, but I did have a few nit-picky things that were jarring for me while I read. First is that Jade and Greg kept referring to themselves as husband and wife when they were clearly just engaged because Greg's divorce isn't final. Secondly, well into the story there is a mix up with Jade's and Violet's (Greg's daughter) names which made me have to read the scene a second time to make sure that I did read it correctly. If I were reading an ARC I wouldn't mention these two things because I would assume that they would be fixed before publication, but in this case I received a finished copy. I enjoyed this story enough that I am interested in going back and reading some of Holahan's backlist in the near future.
I received a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @monicaisreading
Instagram: @readermonica
Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase
I received a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @monicaisreading
Instagram: @readermonica
Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase
March 14, 2021
After a terrifying home invasion leaves a man close to death, he begins to question the people he loves most. This twisty, plot-driven thriller evolves with every chapter until the shocking truth is finally revealed. A great read
April 19, 2021
Thank you @grandcentralpub & @netgalley for the e-Arc!
This story was more of a domestic suspense than a thriller for me. I wanted to love it, but in the end I found it to be just ok.
It definitely is a slow burn and I kept waiting for it to pick up! I also wasn’t entirely satisfied with the ending but I was certainly intrigued throughout and stuck with it to figure out the whodunit!
I do still encourage you to check out as there are lots of great reviews out there and I’m interested enough to check out some of her other work!
“𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀: 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰, 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁”
This story was more of a domestic suspense than a thriller for me. I wanted to love it, but in the end I found it to be just ok.
It definitely is a slow burn and I kept waiting for it to pick up! I also wasn’t entirely satisfied with the ending but I was certainly intrigued throughout and stuck with it to figure out the whodunit!
I do still encourage you to check out as there are lots of great reviews out there and I’m interested enough to check out some of her other work!
“𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀: 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰, 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁”
May 16, 2021
Jade is a well known social media influencer she has her own blog, here she talks about different ways she decorates her home and meals she cooks. Her fiancé is Greg Hamlin who has a successful career as an architect. Jade is a good 20 years younger than Greg and Greg is extremely wealthy. Soon what begins as a brutal home invasion that causes Jade to have a miscarriage and Greg with a brain injury their perfect lives begin to crumble. As investigators begin to investigate they begin to dig, wondering if Jades followers attacked them. Soon we see Greg and Jade questioning each-other, especially when Greg is homebound and puts up security cameras. He begins to watch Jades every move. When anonymous notes begin to arrive Jade begins to wonder if her past has come back to haunt her. Was the attack random or personal? I truly enjoyed the twists and turns and you could cut the tension with a knife! Four stars!
April 7, 2021
I’m calling meh on this one for a couple of reasons.
• It wasn’t that suspenseful. The *who* of things was pretty obvious for much of the book, despite a try at some red herrings. I mostly read to a) confirm that I was right and b) out of the hope that I was wrong and the author would pull some sort of delightful surprise.
• I didn’t love the ending. Trying to put this without spoilers, but I wanted…abject unhappiness for a certain character or two.
• I hated, hated, hated one of the main characters - did I mention that I hated them? I eventually kind of liked the other main character.
It is a fast read, but I just found myself wanting much more than I got out of this one.
*ARC provided via Net Galley
July 1, 2021
Her Three Lives is a psychological thriller by Cate Holahan. Unfortunately, this story stalled out for me. Not only did I not find it very engaging past the immediate, traumatic sequence of events, but I had a hard time pushing through to the end.
The story starts with an attack on the pregnant influencer Jade, and her older, architectural fiancé, Greg, in their luxurious home, on the night of an important work dinner. I didn’t care for Greg, right off the bat. He’s clearly an unlikeable character in almost every way and his relationship with Jade seems superficial, at best. His whole family, in fact, is reprehensible and it was hard to fathom what Jade saw in Greg and his crew. I had a hard time believing the romance and chemistry between Jade and Greg, and his actions after the attack were extreme in more ways than one. Jade also put up with a lot more than seemed reasonable.
The reveal was somewhat surprising, but the conclusion fell a bit flat and I didn’t care for the way it wrapped up in the epilogue. Overall the story was okay, but sadly not one that held my attention or was quite as enjoyable as past stories by this author.
The story starts with an attack on the pregnant influencer Jade, and her older, architectural fiancé, Greg, in their luxurious home, on the night of an important work dinner. I didn’t care for Greg, right off the bat. He’s clearly an unlikeable character in almost every way and his relationship with Jade seems superficial, at best. His whole family, in fact, is reprehensible and it was hard to fathom what Jade saw in Greg and his crew. I had a hard time believing the romance and chemistry between Jade and Greg, and his actions after the attack were extreme in more ways than one. Jade also put up with a lot more than seemed reasonable.
The reveal was somewhat surprising, but the conclusion fell a bit flat and I didn’t care for the way it wrapped up in the epilogue. Overall the story was okay, but sadly not one that held my attention or was quite as enjoyable as past stories by this author.
April 20, 2021
I liked the characters, but unfortunately, the plot fell short for me. I did not find this one “thrilling”. It is a slow burn and I wanted more from the ending. Rating: 3.5 stars
April 3, 2021
Her Three Lives is billed as a new thriller by Cate Holahan. Prior to picking this book up, I had never heard of Cate Holahan. So I jumped in without knowing what to expect, except for ti to be a suspenseful domestic thriller. However, I found Her Three Lives to be neither suspenseful or thrilling.
I nearly did not finish Her Three Lives after reading 46% of it, but since this is an ARC, I made myself finish so that I could give a full review. I found that the characters were undeveloped. When a book's plot is as simplistic and uneventful as Her Three Lives, it at least needs to have compelling characters to keep me interested. It had none of these. I did not see the ending coming, but most likely, that is simply because I did not care enough to guess. I was completely uninvested in the story and the characters.
One thing that really bothered me about this book was the glaring inaccuracies. First, Rikers is a jail, not a prison. Therefore, there is no way that someone convicted and sentenced to 25 years would be housed there. Second, videotaping a person without their consent in a public place is not illegal in New York. If you are going to write a book, at least do the research. If your book involves the U.S. criminal justice system, you should at least understand how it works. While it was not an inaccuracy, one additional thing that made me cringe throughout the book was the normalization of toxic masculinity.
Overall, Her Three Lives was okay for me at best. I cannot see myself recommending it to anyone in the future.
Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for a free e-ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review.
I nearly did not finish Her Three Lives after reading 46% of it, but since this is an ARC, I made myself finish so that I could give a full review. I found that the characters were undeveloped. When a book's plot is as simplistic and uneventful as Her Three Lives, it at least needs to have compelling characters to keep me interested. It had none of these. I did not see the ending coming, but most likely, that is simply because I did not care enough to guess. I was completely uninvested in the story and the characters.
One thing that really bothered me about this book was the glaring inaccuracies. First, Rikers is a jail, not a prison. Therefore, there is no way that someone convicted and sentenced to 25 years would be housed there. Second, videotaping a person without their consent in a public place is not illegal in New York. If you are going to write a book, at least do the research. If your book involves the U.S. criminal justice system, you should at least understand how it works. While it was not an inaccuracy, one additional thing that made me cringe throughout the book was the normalization of toxic masculinity.
Overall, Her Three Lives was okay for me at best. I cannot see myself recommending it to anyone in the future.
Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for a free e-ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review.
April 18, 2021
I always hate writing negative reviews, especially for new and upcoming releases, but I owe it to everyone who reads my posts to be completely honest. Her Three Lives completely missed the mark for me. What should have been an exciting domestic thriller was basically just two engaged people lying and not trusting each other.
The first two thirds of this book drags. I kept waiting for the action to pick up, but it really doesn’t until the very end. My mind truly can’t comprehend keeping the kind of secrets from my husband that Jade keeps from Greg. The other issue is why she feels the need to keep these secrets. If you are concerned your fiancé will leave you if he finds out your dad is in prison for murder, perhaps this isn’t the healthy, loving relationship you thought it was.
Greg is absolutely a toxic, alpha male, and had this been addressed, I may have found myself enjoying the book a bit more, but it was completely written off as “being protective.” I just didn’t buy it.
There are plenty of positive reviews on Goodreads already, so I’m sure many people will end up loving this. But in my opinion, there are far better domestic thrillers out there.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the advanced readers copy to review.
The first two thirds of this book drags. I kept waiting for the action to pick up, but it really doesn’t until the very end. My mind truly can’t comprehend keeping the kind of secrets from my husband that Jade keeps from Greg. The other issue is why she feels the need to keep these secrets. If you are concerned your fiancé will leave you if he finds out your dad is in prison for murder, perhaps this isn’t the healthy, loving relationship you thought it was.
Greg is absolutely a toxic, alpha male, and had this been addressed, I may have found myself enjoying the book a bit more, but it was completely written off as “being protective.” I just didn’t buy it.
There are plenty of positive reviews on Goodreads already, so I’m sure many people will end up loving this. But in my opinion, there are far better domestic thrillers out there.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the advanced readers copy to review.
April 9, 2021
This was a fantastic FIVE STAR psychological thriller!!
Holahan’s writing was so good and I was very impressed with how much I enjoyed my first book by her!!
Her Three Lives, was filled with all the family drama you can imagine and a TON of suspense!!
Not only was this thriller easy to read, but every character was relatable. Especially Violet for me because she would do and say anything to protect her family, as would I.
Her Three Lives releases on 4/20 and I highly recommend pre-ordered this one because it is too good to miss!!
Binge-worthy with all the drama, what’s not to like!?
Holahan’s writing was so good and I was very impressed with how much I enjoyed my first book by her!!
Her Three Lives, was filled with all the family drama you can imagine and a TON of suspense!!
Not only was this thriller easy to read, but every character was relatable. Especially Violet for me because she would do and say anything to protect her family, as would I.
Her Three Lives releases on 4/20 and I highly recommend pre-ordered this one because it is too good to miss!!
Binge-worthy with all the drama, what’s not to like!?
May 11, 2021
Greg sucks. The entire book he just sucks. I dreaded his pov sections.
August 14, 2021
DNF. I may return and try to finish it at a later date.
April 21, 2021
The three lives title comes from a Gabriel Garcia Marquez quote, referring to everyone having three metaphorical lives - public, private and secret. Publicly, Jade has a perfect life; an up-and-coming social media influencer, pregnant and engaged to successful architect Greg. Even though he’s a lot older than her, in the middle of a divorce and his kids hate her, Jade loves him. Their lives are upended, though, by a vicious attack which leaves Greg fighting for his life and Jade devastated by a miscarriage. In the wake of the attack, wondering who and why consumes them both. Secrets Jade hasn’t shared with Greg might be the cause, and desperate to spare him further pain, she hides her investigation from him… unaware that Greg is being fed bad information about her, making him paranoid and convinced she’s out to get him.
There’s an added layer of nuance here in the fact that Jade is Black, of Jamaican origins, and Greg is white. He has no conceptions of the micro-aggressions she faces on a daily basis, even living a fairly privileged life.
I really didn’t like Greg at all, to be honest. Even knowing he had a brain injury, his actions were beyond the pale; at one point he physically strikes Jade and that’s a deal-breaker for me, so I’m afraid I did not like the ending of the book where they appear to be living a happily ever after together. He crossed a line there’s no coming back from, and literally the only thing Jade is guilty of is wanting to be better than her origins, so it was just unforgivable.
It was fairly obvious from early on that the suspect pool was quite small and what the motivation was likely to be, but I didn’t see the exact way things played out coming. It was actually predictable considering Greg’s character failings, that his past actions had set up the present problems… which left me wondering if, even after everything that happened, he had fundamentally changed enough not to fail in such a way again, leaving others to pay the price.
This is well written and Jade was a sympathetic protagonist, but I struggled to see what she saw in Greg and why on earth she would go back to him at the end of the story. Overall, I’ll give it four stars.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via NetGalley.
There’s an added layer of nuance here in the fact that Jade is Black, of Jamaican origins, and Greg is white. He has no conceptions of the micro-aggressions she faces on a daily basis, even living a fairly privileged life.
I really didn’t like Greg at all, to be honest. Even knowing he had a brain injury, his actions were beyond the pale; at one point he physically strikes Jade and that’s a deal-breaker for me, so I’m afraid I did not like the ending of the book where they appear to be living a happily ever after together. He crossed a line there’s no coming back from, and literally the only thing Jade is guilty of is wanting to be better than her origins, so it was just unforgivable.
It was fairly obvious from early on that the suspect pool was quite small and what the motivation was likely to be, but I didn’t see the exact way things played out coming. It was actually predictable considering Greg’s character failings, that his past actions had set up the present problems… which left me wondering if, even after everything that happened, he had fundamentally changed enough not to fail in such a way again, leaving others to pay the price.
This is well written and Jade was a sympathetic protagonist, but I struggled to see what she saw in Greg and why on earth she would go back to him at the end of the story. Overall, I’ll give it four stars.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via NetGalley.
April 17, 2021
“All human beings have three lives: public, private, and secret.” Columbian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez provides a peek where this novel is headed with a lead-off quote from his book “Gabriel Garcia Marquez: A Life.”
“Her Three Lives” examines the feelings we experience as humans, and how we justify those feelings. When we suspect a loved one is not treating us the way we feel we should be treated, it is easy to believe the worst if those purported facts bolster the narrative in our heads. S/he did something to us, and as we search for reasons why, our brains permit an immersion in the thoughts that strengthen the way we want to feel, justifying our resolve and allowing us to assign blame. We may be wrong, but we fervently follow the path we have shown our brain that we want to follow, and whatever emotions we feel – even if they are negative – still make us feel good, or more to the point, righteous in our final conclusion.
Readers will receive intimate knowledge of how that looks in practice by examining the thoughts of the two main characters, Greg and Jade. Author Cate Holohan provides numerous examples of how easily facts can be misinterpreted, especially when a horrific event precedes the sifting of potential motivations. When coupled with outside influences, one can easily see how things can go bad with barely any notice.
The book is a slow-building thriller, moving along at a perfect pace until the climax. Ms. Holohan leaves no unexplained threads lying about, deftly fitting everything together and providing a satisfactory experience for the reader. Five stars.
My thanks to Meryl Moss Media for a complimentary advance reading copy of this book.
“Her Three Lives” examines the feelings we experience as humans, and how we justify those feelings. When we suspect a loved one is not treating us the way we feel we should be treated, it is easy to believe the worst if those purported facts bolster the narrative in our heads. S/he did something to us, and as we search for reasons why, our brains permit an immersion in the thoughts that strengthen the way we want to feel, justifying our resolve and allowing us to assign blame. We may be wrong, but we fervently follow the path we have shown our brain that we want to follow, and whatever emotions we feel – even if they are negative – still make us feel good, or more to the point, righteous in our final conclusion.
Readers will receive intimate knowledge of how that looks in practice by examining the thoughts of the two main characters, Greg and Jade. Author Cate Holohan provides numerous examples of how easily facts can be misinterpreted, especially when a horrific event precedes the sifting of potential motivations. When coupled with outside influences, one can easily see how things can go bad with barely any notice.
The book is a slow-building thriller, moving along at a perfect pace until the climax. Ms. Holohan leaves no unexplained threads lying about, deftly fitting everything together and providing a satisfactory experience for the reader. Five stars.
My thanks to Meryl Moss Media for a complimentary advance reading copy of this book.
March 16, 2023
A wealthy fiancé becomes paranoid after a home invasion
A solid, enjoyable read
A lot of conclusions are jumped to which made it a little hammy
The audiobook production was well done, especially with the annoying alarm system
The reveal was surprising and definitely deeper than expected
The title was the worst thing about this book - I didn’t see the relevance at all
6.5/10
A solid, enjoyable read
A lot of conclusions are jumped to which made it a little hammy
The audiobook production was well done, especially with the annoying alarm system
The reveal was surprising and definitely deeper than expected
The title was the worst thing about this book - I didn’t see the relevance at all
6.5/10
August 25, 2021
I can't decide whether I liked this one or not..going more with not so much. I think the plot was predictable, too many holes in the story and the ending was far too rushed and random. There could have been more character development too! 2.5 ⭐
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