Scan barcode
filemanager's review against another edition
DNF @ 44%
This book had an interesting plot idea - every parent doesn't feel like they know their teenager as well as they want to right? What else could they be up to? How can you be sure? But for some reason, I just didn't connect with this book like I thought I would.
Early on, I didn't feel like the characters were fully introduced. I didn't feel like I knew who the characters were, or even how old they were or their jobs, until the end of Chapter 2. It felt a bit murky somehow.
By 1/3 of the way through, I noticed that the writing seemed choppy. It jumped from the past to present within the same chapter - sometimes within the same paragraph (but that could have been a formatting issue). Sometimes the main character will suddenly have a flashback to an earlier memories, but it's kind of blended into the story, so I get lost and really can't follow her train of thought. - until I re-read it and figure out, "Oh, she's remembering something in the past again."
The idea for the plot was great, but it seemed a little forced and I felt it could have been flushed out a bit more, with less vague statements like "the hand on in the middle of her back" popping up now and then. With so many vague statements without answers, I didn't feel like I knew what was going on - which is okay when you assume you will find out the answer later, but it happened to often I found myself not caring if I found out what the heck the main character was talking about or remembering.
This book had an interesting plot idea - every parent doesn't feel like they know their teenager as well as they want to right? What else could they be up to? How can you be sure? But for some reason, I just didn't connect with this book like I thought I would.
Early on, I didn't feel like the characters were fully introduced. I didn't feel like I knew who the characters were, or even how old they were or their jobs, until the end of Chapter 2. It felt a bit murky somehow.
By 1/3 of the way through, I noticed that the writing seemed choppy. It jumped from the past to present within the same chapter - sometimes within the same paragraph (but that could have been a formatting issue). Sometimes the main character will suddenly have a flashback to an earlier memories, but it's kind of blended into the story, so I get lost and really can't follow her train of thought. - until I re-read it and figure out, "Oh, she's remembering something in the past again."
The idea for the plot was great, but it seemed a little forced and I felt it could have been flushed out a bit more, with less vague statements like "the hand on in the middle of her back" popping up now and then. With so many vague statements without answers, I didn't feel like I knew what was going on - which is okay when you assume you will find out the answer later, but it happened to often I found myself not caring if I found out what the heck the main character was talking about or remembering.
sara7991's review against another edition
2.0
Didn't love all the rip offs from Criminal minds. You have an agent named J.J and another named Garcia that both work in the fbi at Quantico? Ruined it for me.
mackenzie_donaldson's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
judithblogtsolo's review against another edition
4.0
‘Dicht bij jou’ van Karen Cleveland brengt een achtbaan aan gevoelens te weeg. Door de ogen van hoofdpersonage Stephanie voel je verbazing wanneer ze het pistool in de kamer van haar zoon vindt, twijfel omdat ze niet weet wie ze moet geloven en vooral onmacht. Stephanie weet dat de politie haar zoon in de gaten houdt, maar zij wil - zoals een goede moeder betaamt - geloven in zijn onschuld. En ze gaat ver om dat te bewijzen. Je wil daar als lezer echt wel in meegaan, maar de bewijzen tegen hem stapelen zich op en eigenlijk weet je daardoor zelf niet meer wat je nu moet denken.
Je kunt je wel voorstellen dat door de intrige die ik voelde bij dit verhaal in combinatie met de toegankelijke schrijfstijl van Karen plus korte hoofdstukken ik dit boek binnen no time alweer uit had. Ik moest gewoon weten hoe het afliep. Een bepaalde wending – die al vrij vroeg in het verhaal zat – gaf dit verhaal een hele andere lading dan ik had verwacht en die niet helemaal passend is bij mijn leesvoorkeuren, maar ik ben alsnog blij dat ik ‘Dicht bij jou’ een kans heb gegeven. Het einde had wat sterker geweest als het niet zo’n rommeltje was, maar al met al ben ik tevreden.
Je kunt je wel voorstellen dat door de intrige die ik voelde bij dit verhaal in combinatie met de toegankelijke schrijfstijl van Karen plus korte hoofdstukken ik dit boek binnen no time alweer uit had. Ik moest gewoon weten hoe het afliep. Een bepaalde wending – die al vrij vroeg in het verhaal zat – gaf dit verhaal een hele andere lading dan ik had verwacht en die niet helemaal passend is bij mijn leesvoorkeuren, maar ik ben alsnog blij dat ik ‘Dicht bij jou’ een kans heb gegeven. Het einde had wat sterker geweest als het niet zo’n rommeltje was, maar al met al ben ik tevreden.
toofondofbooks's review against another edition
4.0
The premise of Keep Her Close grabbed my attention right away! Steph is an FBI agent and a single mum to her teenage son Zach. One day she is in his room and she makes a horrifying discovery in his wardrobe. I immediately wanted to know more and I’m happy to say that this book kept me gripped all the way through.
Steph is an FBI agent and is trained in spotting when someone is lying and so when she confronts her son and he denies all knowledge she is convinced he’s telling the truth. This made for an interesting dynamic because I think people find it hard to believe a loved one is doing anything wrong so I wasn’t sure that Steph was right to believe Zach so easily. By the same token it’s her job to know and she understands issues of security so I wondered if maybe she was right and someone was setting Zach, or possibly her, up.
Keep Her Close is set in the present day but there are a few flashbacks spread throughout the novel, and I really enjoyed that element. I like being able to slowly piece together someone’s background and to build up a picture of how they got to be who they are.
Keep Her Close soon ramps up the tension as a colleague of Steph’s approaches her with intelligence he has about a domestic anarchist group that Zach may be involved in. Steph starts digging, determined to prove that her son is being set up but the investigation leads down some dark paths and I ended up not being sure at all of who I could trust in this novel.
I really liked Steph throughout this novel. She’s something of a flawed character in that she is stubborn and doesn’t easily let people in, neither in her private life nor at work, and this makes things harder for her. She also gets fixated on a particular problem to the detriment of other things that she should be doing. And she’s fiercely protective of her son. But, for me, all of this made her human and meant I could identify with her a lot of the time and I was always rooting for her.
This was such a fast-paced, gripping novel and it would make a perfect holiday read – it’s a book to pick up and devour while the real world disappears for a while!
This review was originally posted on my blog https://rathertoofondofbooks.com
Steph is an FBI agent and is trained in spotting when someone is lying and so when she confronts her son and he denies all knowledge she is convinced he’s telling the truth. This made for an interesting dynamic because I think people find it hard to believe a loved one is doing anything wrong so I wasn’t sure that Steph was right to believe Zach so easily. By the same token it’s her job to know and she understands issues of security so I wondered if maybe she was right and someone was setting Zach, or possibly her, up.
Keep Her Close is set in the present day but there are a few flashbacks spread throughout the novel, and I really enjoyed that element. I like being able to slowly piece together someone’s background and to build up a picture of how they got to be who they are.
Keep Her Close soon ramps up the tension as a colleague of Steph’s approaches her with intelligence he has about a domestic anarchist group that Zach may be involved in. Steph starts digging, determined to prove that her son is being set up but the investigation leads down some dark paths and I ended up not being sure at all of who I could trust in this novel.
I really liked Steph throughout this novel. She’s something of a flawed character in that she is stubborn and doesn’t easily let people in, neither in her private life nor at work, and this makes things harder for her. She also gets fixated on a particular problem to the detriment of other things that she should be doing. And she’s fiercely protective of her son. But, for me, all of this made her human and meant I could identify with her a lot of the time and I was always rooting for her.
This was such a fast-paced, gripping novel and it would make a perfect holiday read – it’s a book to pick up and devour while the real world disappears for a while!
This review was originally posted on my blog https://rathertoofondofbooks.com
meresilenth's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
It was definitely fast moving and I wanted to know what happened next. There weren’t plot holes and it all tied together well. There was just a few small things that kept happening that started to grate on my nerves, I know it’s a book and the story needed to move forward - it wouldn’t deter me from trying another one of her books but man… The main character works for the FBI and seems surprised when the bad guys keep finding her and tracking her down. STOP using your personal phone and turn location services off. Maybe use a VPN to keep searches on the web harder to track down. And for the LOVE OF PETE DON’T willingly get in their car and open yourself up to being taken to a second location. Being law enforcement she should know the stats on what happens if taken to a secondary location. Sigh…
rmarcin's review against another edition
5.0
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an ARC of Keep You Close by Karen Cleveland in exchange for an honest review.
This book was an exciting thrill ride! I read it in one sitting. It was completely engrossing from the prologue to the last page.
Steph Maddox was a Senate aide when her boss did something despicable. His power prevented her from confronting him, but she made it her life's mission to protect victims. Now, an agent for the FBI as a supervisor in the Internal Affairs division, she is torn when a friend tells her that Zachary, Steph's son, is a suspect in a radical group. Steph knows this can't be possible. She is sure she knows her son.
As Steph tries to clear Zachary's name, she gets deeper and deeper into a complex web of conspiracy and realizes that she is up against a force bigger than she expected. The Russians have a deep grip on the intelligence agencies of the US. Nothing Steph does helps, but instead endangers her family and her loved ones.
No one is immune to the danger.
This novel was a breakneck speed of a thriller. I loved it!!
#KeepYouClose #KarenCleveland #NetGalley #BallantineBooks
This book was an exciting thrill ride! I read it in one sitting. It was completely engrossing from the prologue to the last page.
Steph Maddox was a Senate aide when her boss did something despicable. His power prevented her from confronting him, but she made it her life's mission to protect victims. Now, an agent for the FBI as a supervisor in the Internal Affairs division, she is torn when a friend tells her that Zachary, Steph's son, is a suspect in a radical group. Steph knows this can't be possible. She is sure she knows her son.
As Steph tries to clear Zachary's name, she gets deeper and deeper into a complex web of conspiracy and realizes that she is up against a force bigger than she expected. The Russians have a deep grip on the intelligence agencies of the US. Nothing Steph does helps, but instead endangers her family and her loved ones.
No one is immune to the danger.
This novel was a breakneck speed of a thriller. I loved it!!
#KeepYouClose #KarenCleveland #NetGalley #BallantineBooks
janedreader's review against another edition
4.0
Nice twists and turns, but the end felt sudden and didn’t resolve everything that I assumed it would. However, that leaves an opportunity for a follow up book
thenextgenlibrarian's review
5.0
This was a quick read once I actually picked it up. I really liked the suspense and not knowing where it was going. The ending gave me chills. Hope to read her next one and that it continues.
lemeilleurs's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't get hooked as quickly with this one as I did with the first book. It still has the same intrigue, thrill, and mystery as the first book, and considering how the first one ended, I didn't want to trust that anything I read from the narrators perspective was truth. About 3/4 of the way through the book I hit a point where I absolutely could not put it down, but it was disappointing that it took that long to really pull me in.