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A review by vkoka89
Shelter by Catherine Jinks
3.0
3.5 stars rounded down! Shelter by Catherine Jinks is an intense thriller set in rural Australia. Meg lives alone on a small property outside of town with her dog Esme. She is dealing with a messy divorce settlement with her emotionally abusive husband and her daughter moved to England to get away from both her parents. Everything is all good until Nerine comes along. Nerine is on the run from her physically abusive husband with her two young children. Meg takes them in for shelter and, soon, everything goes terribly wrong.
For the first 80%, I was totally engrossed. Nerine's increasing paranoia that her horrible husband will find her puts Meg on edge and she starts to become suspicious of everything and everyone. Who's messing with the windchimes at night? Who left the gate open? Whose footprints are those outside the bedroom window? Is it Meg's husband Keith harassing her like usual? Is it the old neighbor with dementia? Or has Nerine's vicious husband actually found them? There were some suspenseful moments that honestly had me biting my nails. However the ending left me less than satisfied. I didn't mind the big reveal, although I guessed it early on since there were little clues, but it could have been executed better. I just didn't find it very believable. Also, the character development was a bit flat for me and I often found the characters to be pretty irritating.
Nonetheless, this is a fun, fast read that kept me on the edge of my seat. It may be too intense for some sensitive readers though. TW: Domestic abuse, child abuse, animal abuse, rape.
Thank you to Netgalley and Text Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Trigger Warning: Domestic abuse, animal abuse, child abuse, rape.
For the first 80%, I was totally engrossed. Nerine's increasing paranoia that her horrible husband will find her puts Meg on edge and she starts to become suspicious of everything and everyone. Who's messing with the windchimes at night? Who left the gate open? Whose footprints are those outside the bedroom window? Is it Meg's husband Keith harassing her like usual? Is it the old neighbor with dementia? Or has Nerine's vicious husband actually found them? There were some suspenseful moments that honestly had me biting my nails. However the ending left me less than satisfied. I didn't mind the big reveal, although I guessed it early on since there were little clues, but it could have been executed better. I just didn't find it very believable. Also, the character development was a bit flat for me and I often found the characters to be pretty irritating.
Nonetheless, this is a fun, fast read that kept me on the edge of my seat. It may be too intense for some sensitive readers though. TW: Domestic abuse, child abuse, animal abuse, rape.
Thank you to Netgalley and Text Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Trigger Warning: Domestic abuse, animal abuse, child abuse, rape.