The Nice Guy by Sarah A Denzil and S.L. Harker
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 5th June 2023
Published: 30th May 2023
★★★★ 3.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
Laura thought she’d found the one nice guy in New York City.
When Ethan saves her from a crushing crowd on Brooklyn Bridge, their connection is dazzling. Worthy of a heat-filled passionate night.
Laura falls pregnant from their one-night stand—a miracle considering her past fertility issues. Ethan is attentive and wonderful at first. She hopes he will be the kind of father she’d always wanted for herself.
Until his attentiveness turns to obsession. His questions become demands. Why didn’t she answer her phone or respond to his messages? Why won’t she move in with him and his rich mother?
Soon Laura realises the father of her child is a controlling sociopath. And there’s no telling the lengths Ethan will go to in order to keep baby Christopher for himself.
Laura will stop at nothing to save her baby boy.
But is she too late?
MY THOUGHTS:
Her perfect date is her worst nightmare...
I've been a fan of since reading "Silent Child" some years ago and totally loved it. Followed by "Only Daughter" which was just as thrilling. I have since read a few more and what stands out to me is how diverse her plots are. They can go from psychological to domestic to supernatural. But there's one thing they all have in common - all of them equally chilling. Just reading her novella "The Quiet Wife" was enough to send chills down your spine.
So when I saw THE NICE GUY was up for publication and then caught it on Netgalley, I knew I had to read it. It is, by no means, an easy read. Many scenes made my skin crawl and had me squirming in my seat. But I stuck it out because I knew it would all come full circle by the end.
Laura and her friend Jessa are on a women's protest march in New York City when they lose each other and Laura finds herself trodden in the crush when she feels strong hands lift her from the ground and carry her to a nearby pub. And it's there she finds herself looking into the smiling eyes of the most handsome man. He introduces himself as Ethan and before long the pair are heading to Ethan's penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park, ripping each other's clothes off in the process. The following morning, ever the gentleman, he makes her breakfast and has someone run out to buy her a new pair of trainers since she lost one of hers in the crushing crowds the day before. Could he be any more perfect?
But when Laura starts receiving some startling texts following their night together, this sudden possessive stalkerish behaviour begins to raise a few red flags. And when she fails to respond to his texts, they become more abusive so she blocks his number. This doesn't stop him as he starts texting her from another number. Can the guy not take a hint? It was a one night stand. People have them all the time. But apparently, Ethan wants more than what Laura is willing to give. Finally, after tracking her down to her workplace and charming her colleagues, Ethan relents and agrees to stop with the texts and stalker behaviour.
At last...life is good.
And then, Laura discovers she's pregnant - a miracle considering her infertility due to polycystic ovarian syndrome. But she doesn't want to jinx it. She takes five tests to be sure and a blood test with her doctor. All positive. She's definitely pregnant. Now the conundrum. It's Ethan's, of course it is. But what to do? Should she tell him or should she just move on with her life and raise her child on her own? Growing up without a father has made her vulnerable in that respect in wanting to give her child a father. But is Ethan the right person for the job, whether or not they share the same DNA? But at the end of the day, she feels he has a right to know. And so she tells him.
At first Ethan is attentive and respectful of the boundaries she has set. Maybe this won't be so bad after all. But alas, it was not to last. It begins subtly at first with mood swings akin to Jekyll and Hyde before he morphs into a full blown psychopath complete with gaslighting, manipulation to the extreme, possessiveness and a complete need for control over everything. The more Laura tries to be fair, the more control Ethan is determine to have. And control he will get for he will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants. And then there is Ethan's equally bizarre mother when upon meeting her it's easy to see that the nut didn't fall far from that family tree!
But just how far is he prepared to go? And just how far is Laura prepared to go to protect her child?
THE NICE GUY is essentially not a very nice tale. It's horrible and enough to make your skin crawl. But I stuck it out to see Ethan get his comeuppance...because they always do in fiction, don't they? Well, generally speaking, they do. And I was flipping the pages of my kindle waiting and hoping and waiting some more. We are taken halfway across the world...ah, Santorini. Such a beautiful place I would love to see but my knees would not.
What this book really is is chilling. It is seriously spine-tinglingly chilling. The lengths one manipulative b***** would go to to maintain control and pretty much get his own way. He was chillingly manipulative. He was a master at it. There was no way Laura was ever going to beat him at his own game or even by playing fair. Because this guy plays dirty and he plays to win. Simply put, he is a psycho. And he made my skin crawl. Laura tried to make the best decisions she could but she had no idea what she was truly up against and when she did, it was too late.
I did find the story dragged a little, particularly at the end. That entire final part I found completely unnecessary and so drawn out and thus being played out step by step by step. It didn't really add to the tension...more like the frustration. It should have ended in Santorini with a nice little Epilogue wrapping everything up and they all lived happily ever after...well, most of them. The twist was pretty predictable given that an entire fourth part was devoted to the aftermath that you just knew something was going to happen. And it was too laughable to be believable. I'm all for stretching the imagination and suspending belief but this had just a little too much elasticity to work. Remove the entire final part and it is a great thriller.
That aside, THE NICE GUY is a chilling tale that is compelling and thrilling in equal parts. About a not-so-nice guy after all.
I would like to thank #SarahADenzil, SLHarker, #Netgalley and #VictoryEditingCo-op for an ARC of #TheNiceGuy in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHORS:
As a bestselling author of psychological suspense novels, Sarah's books include number one bestseller Silent Child, which was a Goodreads Choice semi-finalist in 2017. Her books have been published in several different languages and have appeared on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list.
Sarah lives in Yorkshire with her husband and cat, enjoying the scenic countryside and rather unpredictable weather. She loves to write moody, psychological fiction with plenty of twists and turns.
For cat pictures and book news follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
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As a lover of twisty fiction, her books are fast-paced domestic thrillers with a little spice added in.
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