karinzoueini's review against another edition
3.0
This was a solid read
The main protagonist, 19-year-old Ellie, who has a personality/psychological disorder, experiences loss in ways we can’t begin to imagine. Her only friend growing up wounds up dead, and three years later, the love of her life goes missing too.
Speculations and tensions rise as we try to determine what happened to these two individuals, was it Siggy? Her alter ego that she can’t control that took over? Was it her psychologist or her boyfriend simply running away?
I would have rated this a five had I not known who the “killer” was going to be. The whole book relies on the premise of where these people went and who got rid of them. And let me tell you, the author, (as great as her writing is), did not do a good job or creating that suspense. I knew from the very beginning so it really felt like I was reading the book just to finish it
The main protagonist, 19-year-old Ellie, who has a personality/psychological disorder, experiences loss in ways we can’t begin to imagine. Her only friend growing up wounds up dead, and three years later, the love of her life goes missing too.
Speculations and tensions rise as we try to determine what happened to these two individuals, was it Siggy? Her alter ego that she can’t control that took over? Was it her psychologist or her boyfriend simply running away?
I would have rated this a five had I not known who the “killer” was going to be. The whole book relies on the premise of where these people went and who got rid of them. And let me tell you, the author, (as great as her writing is), did not do a good job or creating that suspense. I knew from the very beginning so it really felt like I was reading the book just to finish it
lxurx64's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
juliwi's review
4.0
I love me a good thriller, especially one in which our protagonist begins to question their own sanity. We all have moments where we doubt the things we see or hear, and I love exploring that emotion in fiction. Lock Me In first grabbed my attention with its cover and blurb, but there is a lot more to Simants' debut than meets the eye. Thanks to Harper Impulse, One More Chapter and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Lock Me In is a novel about hidden trauma and repressed memory. Ellie has no recollection of her fugues, the nights she loses to her sleep disorder, but she can feel they must be horrible, shameful even. This topic of fear and repression, of perhaps being your own worst nightmare and not being able to trust yourself, is a brilliant take by Simants. As a debut author she really managed to find a theme that will somehow strike a chord with every reader. Every person, family, culture and country has some underlying trauma that we tell ourselves stories about, that we lie about, things we lock away until they become too big to face.Towards the end of the novel, Simants explores this theme on a much bigger level, which surprised and intrigued me. Without spoiling anything, it was a great way of connecting the narrative to the real world. It's a surprisingly emotional topic for a psychological thriller, but one that will definitely engage the reader.
The narrative of Lock Me In is split between two different narrators. Ellie Powers narrates her own experiences in the first person, giving us an insight into her psyche as she begins to lose confidence in herself and everything she's been told. She has been locked in, by herself, by her mother, and by her own experiences. The second string of the narrative is told by DS Ben Kwon Mae who is investigating the disappearance of Ellie's boyfriend. Ellie and Ben have a history, which allows for the two of them to build up quite an interesting relationship. In Ben's case, it is a little harder to initially see how his own personal story plays into the theme of trauma and repression. It's worth waiting for though, because once Simants begins to unravel more of his background it definitely pays off. There is a twist towards the end of the novel, of course, which you will anticipate slightly if you have experience with the genre. The ending and some of the reveals feel a little too neat at times, but this can be forgiven with it being a debut. It also helps that Lock Me In is utterly gripping nonetheless.
This is Simants' debut novel, but there is a confidence to her writing that is envy-inducing. She ramps us the suspense slowly but surely and you find yourself caring more and more about both narrators. At times Ellie falls a little bit flat as a narrator, but this makes some sense considering her entire life has seen her locked in. Lock Me In feels like only part of the story, and this is a good thing! There is clearly a past to both Ellie and Ben that Simants makes real to the reader. As mentioned above, the past and what it means is the major theme in Lock Me In and Simants employs it very well. She avoids falling into certain thriller/suspense traps, like vilifying mental illness or making it a convenient excuse, which I really appreciated. Lock Me In made me really excited for Kate Simants future work.
Lock Me In is a gripping read that will have you thinking and wondering whenever you're not reading it. It's a great debut by Simants and the perfect read for anyone looking for a more suspenseful book over Christmas.
Lock Me In is a novel about hidden trauma and repressed memory. Ellie has no recollection of her fugues, the nights she loses to her sleep disorder, but she can feel they must be horrible, shameful even. This topic of fear and repression, of perhaps being your own worst nightmare and not being able to trust yourself, is a brilliant take by Simants. As a debut author she really managed to find a theme that will somehow strike a chord with every reader. Every person, family, culture and country has some underlying trauma that we tell ourselves stories about, that we lie about, things we lock away until they become too big to face.Towards the end of the novel, Simants explores this theme on a much bigger level, which surprised and intrigued me. Without spoiling anything, it was a great way of connecting the narrative to the real world. It's a surprisingly emotional topic for a psychological thriller, but one that will definitely engage the reader.
The narrative of Lock Me In is split between two different narrators. Ellie Powers narrates her own experiences in the first person, giving us an insight into her psyche as she begins to lose confidence in herself and everything she's been told. She has been locked in, by herself, by her mother, and by her own experiences. The second string of the narrative is told by DS Ben Kwon Mae who is investigating the disappearance of Ellie's boyfriend. Ellie and Ben have a history, which allows for the two of them to build up quite an interesting relationship. In Ben's case, it is a little harder to initially see how his own personal story plays into the theme of trauma and repression. It's worth waiting for though, because once Simants begins to unravel more of his background it definitely pays off. There is a twist towards the end of the novel, of course, which you will anticipate slightly if you have experience with the genre. The ending and some of the reveals feel a little too neat at times, but this can be forgiven with it being a debut. It also helps that Lock Me In is utterly gripping nonetheless.
This is Simants' debut novel, but there is a confidence to her writing that is envy-inducing. She ramps us the suspense slowly but surely and you find yourself caring more and more about both narrators. At times Ellie falls a little bit flat as a narrator, but this makes some sense considering her entire life has seen her locked in. Lock Me In feels like only part of the story, and this is a good thing! There is clearly a past to both Ellie and Ben that Simants makes real to the reader. As mentioned above, the past and what it means is the major theme in Lock Me In and Simants employs it very well. She avoids falling into certain thriller/suspense traps, like vilifying mental illness or making it a convenient excuse, which I really appreciated. Lock Me In made me really excited for Kate Simants future work.
Lock Me In is a gripping read that will have you thinking and wondering whenever you're not reading it. It's a great debut by Simants and the perfect read for anyone looking for a more suspenseful book over Christmas.
thediondiaries12's review against another edition
4.0
Lock Me In, is an amazing debut novel. From the very first chapter I was hooked and finished it within two days. All signs of a good book.
I wasn’t sure what I expected from this book, but the ending definitely was not expected. Lock Me In, is one of those books that’s leaves your speechless. The twist had me re read the pages multiple times to confirm what I had just read. I was not disappointed.
I highly recommend this book and can’t wait to read more from Kate Simants!
I wasn’t sure what I expected from this book, but the ending definitely was not expected. Lock Me In, is one of those books that’s leaves your speechless. The twist had me re read the pages multiple times to confirm what I had just read. I was not disappointed.
I highly recommend this book and can’t wait to read more from Kate Simants!
joannareads's review
4.0
As soon as I saw the blurb for Lock Me In, I knew I needed to read it!
Ellie Power is a normal girl, with a normal life and boyfriend. Except each night her mother locks her in her bedroom, to keep everyone safe from Ellie's Disassociate Identity Disorder. Put simply, at night she becomes a completely different person, and Siggy, her 'alter' is angry.....
One morning, Ellie awakes and finds the lock on her bedroom door broken. She's covered in cuts and bruises, and her boyfriend Matt is missing. What happened that night? Can Ellie ever lead a normal life?
A solid 4* rating for this book. I loved the pacing of the book, swapping chapters between Ellie and the Detective investigating Matt's disappearance kept me hooked and the reveals when they came all made me gasp out loud! Its safe to say this book didn't end up where I expected it to!
Ellie Power is a normal girl, with a normal life and boyfriend. Except each night her mother locks her in her bedroom, to keep everyone safe from Ellie's Disassociate Identity Disorder. Put simply, at night she becomes a completely different person, and Siggy, her 'alter' is angry.....
One morning, Ellie awakes and finds the lock on her bedroom door broken. She's covered in cuts and bruises, and her boyfriend Matt is missing. What happened that night? Can Ellie ever lead a normal life?
A solid 4* rating for this book. I loved the pacing of the book, swapping chapters between Ellie and the Detective investigating Matt's disappearance kept me hooked and the reveals when they came all made me gasp out loud! Its safe to say this book didn't end up where I expected it to!
maz403's review
4.0
Ellie has DID ( dissociative identity disorder ) at night she has to be locked in her room so her violent alter ego doesn’t take over. Luckily her mother will do anything to protect her from herself....... but things are not always as they seem !
An excellent psychological thriller full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing and reassessing what you think you know. Ellie’ character and issues are sympathetically portrayed and I found myself rooting for her and hoping for a good outcome.
Well worth reading.
An excellent psychological thriller full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing and reassessing what you think you know. Ellie’ character and issues are sympathetically portrayed and I found myself rooting for her and hoping for a good outcome.
Well worth reading.
loonyruni2's review
5.0
this one actually has suspence for at least a third or half the book, not only the last 30 pages:) i liked it!
mgenneken's review
4.0
I LOVE when a book takes me by surprise. It came in off my radar and I could not put it down.
So, Ellie suffers from disassociate identity disorder and while she is asleep a person called Siggy takes over her body. Siggy is really violent. Her mother locks her in her room every night so if Siggy makes an appearance she can hurt her or anyone else, for that matter.
Imagine being Ellie and waking up knowing this, covered in mud and finding out your 'boyfriend' has gone missing. How do you live with yourself when you just really don't know what happened! Ellie turns out to be a strong character who is constantly moving forward when it would be so easy to curl up in a ball, locked in a room. She's fighting an enemy...and that enemy is inside her. She looks into it's eyes every time she looks in a mirror.
This story really focuses on the police investigation. It's a bit predictable but I enjoyed it and could absolutely see this on the big screen.
* I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
So, Ellie suffers from disassociate identity disorder and while she is asleep a person called Siggy takes over her body. Siggy is really violent. Her mother locks her in her room every night so if Siggy makes an appearance she can hurt her or anyone else, for that matter.
Imagine being Ellie and waking up knowing this, covered in mud and finding out your 'boyfriend' has gone missing. How do you live with yourself when you just really don't know what happened! Ellie turns out to be a strong character who is constantly moving forward when it would be so easy to curl up in a ball, locked in a room. She's fighting an enemy...and that enemy is inside her. She looks into it's eyes every time she looks in a mirror.
This story really focuses on the police investigation. It's a bit predictable but I enjoyed it and could absolutely see this on the big screen.
* I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
the_lawyer_librarian's review
5.0
I loved this read! The premise drew me in instantly, and it did not disappoint. There are twists and turns that keep you guessing and I found myself on the edge of my seat. The format is clever, alternating between Ellie’s POV and Detective Sergeant Mae’s POV. Ellie is a brilliant POV to include, as she knows as much as the reader – with both in the dark about what happened that night. She lives in fear of the threat of her alter, Siggy, who is waiting for the opportunity to take over. It is complex and clever and I will be re-reading this one!
sarahreadsinin's review
5.0
Lock Me In was a fantastic thriller! As soon as I finish this review, I am going to text my best friend to tell her to read it.
Ellie has had DID (what used to be known as split personality disorder) nearly all of her life. She will awake from fugues with mysterious injuries, even though she is locked in her room at night. And then people close to her go missing...
Thrillers are my favorite, and this was an excellent one! It’s told from multiple POVs. I think that part of the mystery is easy to figure out but there are enough other pieces to the mystery, that armchair sleuths like me will still be eagerly reading to see what else will be explained.
Ellie has had DID (what used to be known as split personality disorder) nearly all of her life. She will awake from fugues with mysterious injuries, even though she is locked in her room at night. And then people close to her go missing...
Thrillers are my favorite, and this was an excellent one! It’s told from multiple POVs. I think that part of the mystery is easy to figure out but there are enough other pieces to the mystery, that armchair sleuths like me will still be eagerly reading to see what else will be explained.