Off the Deep End: A Thriller

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Well let me tell you it isn't. I have never wanted to throttle two grown women more than Jules and Amber.

Jules life shatters when she crashes her car into a lake and her son dies. There is one survivor, another boy called Isaac. Jules has nothing to live for, until Isaac starts visiting her in the hospital. But then Isaac disappears and his family are convinced it’s all Jules fault. Huh? Trying to claim that a pool boy's affair with a college university president's wife in 2012 helped get Trump elected in 2016? Ludicrous and zero proof beyond a typical liberal's stereotyping of the evangelical sheep blindly following a supposed leader. What they call in the book a "campaign stop" by Trump actually occurred almost four years before he ran for president, so they are spinning this in a biased manner to build a narrative that's false. Trump was at Liberty because he was a non-religious TV celebrity, not a politician, and would bring credibility to the campus. I am a compulsive reader of literary novels…but there was one book that kept me reading, the sort of novel I can’t put down… The Perfect Child, by Lucinda Berry. It speaks to the fear of every parent: What if your child was a psychopath? This novel takes it a step further. A couple, desperate for a child, has the chance to adopt a beautiful little girl who, they are told, has been abused. They’re told it might take a while for her to learn to behave and trust people. She can be sweet and loving, and in public she is adorable. But in private—well, I won’t give away what happens. But needless to say, it’s chilling.” —Gina Kolata, New York Times The story continues while the family ended up losing their house after the extra house construction drama which did more harm than good. Thank you NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and of course Lucinda Berry for letting me read “Off the Deep End” in exchange for an honest review.I found the main characters of this book a little boring, if im honest. Although Jules had some depth, the main arc of her storyline didn't really make too much sense to me. Amber was a little annoying at first, but did grow on me a little near the end.

I also want to shout out a huge thanks to @GirlWithThePinkSkiMask for our unofficial buddy read! Such a pleasure to Exchange opinions and guess where this was going to. It definitely helped me to enjoy this book much more ❤️❤️❤️ Jules, yeah her case was officially closed. She never told the psycharist anything about Isaac because " she just couldn't betray him" he was her luvaaaaahhhh ( not really but you get the point) i mean he is the father of her child. but she did go to jail for witholding information as well as sexual abuse. her jail was a nursery so she gets to have birth and keep her baby in jail? wtf? but she also only has 3 more months left & she still swears up and down she was a good influence on him and their love is true Meanwhile Granda admits that he recorded phone calls with the Falwells without their knowledge. If he did this in Florida, a two-consent state, then he actually was more guilty than they were. At least Falwells could claim he was a knowledgeable participant in the videos being made. He also agrees that in later years he consented to them making videos having sex, so kind of hard for him to get mad at them when in truth he's the one that made illicit recordings. Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Oh yes before you fly off the handle ( if you haven't already) they did not have sex. he used a turkey baster. she didn't want to "blur the lines of their relationship?) she said " i helped him with his school project and he helped me with mine. He kept me alive i kept him alive" they planned that for WEEKS (the baby i mean) I see a huge improvement in the writing and how it's being presented but the illustrations are almost the same. Some months later, Issac goes missing. Is Jules behind his disappearance after building a "special" relationship with him, or is it a serial killer who is active around the area? Within seconds, life as we know is forever changed. Just one faulty connective in the scheme of things can cause a profound tragedy that just keeps on giving. As a result of losing her son Gabe in a tragic accident, Jules falls into an uncontrollable mental state. Ten months after Jules rescued Gabe's friend Isaac Greer from their car crash, he vanished without a trace. She still struggles to cope with the fact that she rescued another woman's child and not Gabe.

Many times, Granda stated he was “deeply ashamed” of his actions, especially when he tried to have a girlfriend, but was still involved with the Falwell’s. He even introduced a couple of his girlfriends to the Falwell’s, but never told them the truth of his relationship. Granda never stated he was sorry for his actions. Granda seemed to not have a moral compass. This obviously isn't coming from Granda--he's a barely educated kid that could never write this type of book with the historical perspective and polished tone of a longtime propagandist. Instead attribute it to tabloid co-author Mark Ebner, who helped write such classics as "Six Degrees of Paris Hilton" and "Hollywood Interrupted." He's mostly a pop culture fake journalist who twists misinformation to draw incorrect conclusions about sensational stories. We slowly get eased into the story. Isaac is missing. Jules is in a psychiatric facility, being intertwined by a forensic psychiatrist. Is she responsible for Isaac missing? Or is it the serial killer on the loose? Couldn’t she cope with him surviving but not her son? Then we have Amber, Isaacs mother, desperately hoping for her son to be alive. Jule’s POV gives us mostly past events while Amber is focusing mainly on the present and the disappearance of Isaac. If you've read any of Lucinda Berry's previous work it's no secret that she refuses to skirt around the darker issues in life and just nose dives straight into them, and Off The Deep End was no different. It was devastating, heart-wrenching and suspenseful in simultaneously the best and worst ways.

Advance Praise

The co-author goes on to claim that Granda's "youthful indiscretion" (a misnomer, like others in the book) "may also have played a not insignificant role in making a person like Trump president." But guess what, I am torn again… I am angry at myself for overanalysing everything. But I did not get the Lucinda-vibe I love. I did not hate this as much as I did with Under her Care. I also did not love it. It’s a solid 3,5 ⭐️ for me, I guess.

In The Best of Friends, Berry starts with a heart-stopping bang—the dreaded middle-of-the-night phone call—and then delivers a dark and gritty tale that unfolds twist by devastating twist. Intense, terrifying, and at times utterly heartbreaking. Absolutely unputdownable.” —Kimberly Belle, international bestselling author of Dear Wife and Stranger in the Lake The cover drew me in before. It reminded me on something from out of space. Like watching the earth from out of space with the sun rising. Sleep deprived brain dies that to you… But when looking closer I realised it’s a car sinking in water. I do like the cover. Spot on. I also wanted to add that the plot was well thought-through, and the ending was surprising for sure! The parts where Jules talked with her psychologist were also excellent. Faced with her son's death, Jules goes mad with grief. Meanwhile, Isaac Greer, the teenage boy she had rescued is now missing and his family is trying to find him.

A Note From the Publisher

Ten months later Isaac disappears and Jules is at the heart of the investigation but did she have anything to do with his kidnapping? Jules has a secret but is adamant she is not the person they are looking for. Who has Isaac? And what dangerous secret is Jules hiding? Former therapist Jules Hart crashes her car in an icy lake. She reaches out to save her son but instead saves her son's friend. Reeling from her son's death, Jules has a decline in her mental state. She is not acting like herself and is engaging in unhealthy and inappropriate behaviors. First things first, this was MUCH better than Under Her Care. This was closer to Lucinda Berry's previous bangers—Appetite for Innocence and Saving Noah. However, similar to UHC, I found myself wishing Jules to get in the car with Amber (Isaac's mom) and drive into the river again. They are both insufferable. Jules obsession with Isaac. He willingly gave her his sperm to have a freaking baby? And during this standoff she's saying " their love is real and who cares about age when they are cosmic lovers and blah blah and Isaac calls her a creepy old crazy women cause she's 41 and his 15 I am really unsure what the author was going for when she wrote Jules but what we got was a childlike idiot who couldn’t seem to make up her mind what kind of diagnosis she had... I mean at one point she was homeless and being ‘inappropriate’ with herself in a park… PLEASE unnecessary!! 🤢