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The Old You Reader Reviews

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The Old You

Fantastic domestic noir-imaginative and compelling!

A great domestic noir thriller, that is truly gripping, compelling and well written read, Full of twists and turns. Enjoyed it immensely. This book took me by surprise and pulled me in straight away. Great, fantastic page-turner with an interesting take on dementia and Pick's disease. I believe I haven't read such great domestic thriller in a while. Well researched and definitely well written. Has everything in it that a domestic noir should-does not disappoint. I'm mind blown that I haven't read anything else by this author before, as I believe she is an incredible thriller writer and deserves all the praise. I have read many thrillers that turns out a real disappointment and a huge hype around these books builds them up to something that isn't. The Old You has short chapters, alternating timelines, great narrator and few unreliable characters. The subject of dementia is described well and used in a very clever way. I got a real feel of the location, very well set and I felt like I knew the characters! I could not recommend this thriller more-please make it big, make it what is meant to be! Enough with the hyped up novels that do not deliver!!This one does!

Agnieszka Higney

A really good read. Lots of plot twists that make you wonder if anyone is who they say they are and a finale that I didn't expect! Be careful who you trust!

I wasn't sure I was going to get into this book early on, but it had enough to keep me interested to read on. Especially the final sentence of chapter 4!! I'm glad I did, as it turned out to be one of those ""I really need to find out what is going on here"" stories. I didn't particularly like the character of Lynn, though I thought what her husband put her through was terrible. The background to all the characters was well done and needed for the reveal. Although I expected the character of Alvin to play a bigger part, but that was me barking up the wrong tree!

Also the whole undercover story was well written, and formed more background. As it moved on, I thought that Ed was going to pay her back for having an affair with her boss, though this turned out to be not what I thought, and the real truth had me really surprised as I didn't see it coming. 

Lynn Pettitt

This book gives credence to the saying Love is Blind but it is an uncomfortable read at times about the lengths people will go to, to get what they want.

This is an uncomfortable read about evil and the ends people will go to to get what they want.  It also assumes a naivety amongst those caught up in the web.  The use of a form of dementia as a key part of the plot was clever on the part of the author but I couldn't imagine why the worldly heroine would put up with his terrible treatment of her. Then  you only have to read the papers to see that chilling stories like this are frequently actually part of some unfortunate people's lives.  This book gives credence to the saying love is blind.

Nicola Cooper

Her husband is diagnosed with Dementia. Is Ed really unaware of what he is doing ? Or is something more sinister going on ?

Lynn Waites asks for a transfer after an affair with a married man at work and then finds her Mr Right. However, ten years on and things seem to be going wrong. Her husband is diagnosed with Dementia - and yet there seem to things happening that have no feasible explanation. Is Ed really unaware of what he is doing ? Or is something more sinister going on ?

A great read with lots of twists and turns that I didn't see coming. Just when you think that you know where it's going , something else is thrown into the mix. 

Stephanie Harding

A simple tragic love story that slowly descends into the flames of paranoia, distrust and murder. With each page I was drawn into the unfolding drama. Was I being deceived? I had to find out.

This starts out as a simple love story with a tragedy. Having found the perfect person, Lynn Waites, discovers that the love of her life is stricken by a hereditary disease. Instead of looking forward to their life together she begins to wonder what the future holds. As the story unfolds we find things may not be as they appear. Lynn certainly has her secrets but then so do many people.

The slow burn begins to intensify so that the reader wants to discover what is going on as much as the main character. Is it paranoia? Symptoms of the disease or something more sinister? The reader is pitched one way and then the other not sure what to believe. The story draws you in, like a current in a river, pulling you in all directions. 

The author plays on your emotions as this thriller builds pace. I found it difficult to put down, finding more about the main character's past and how it interlinked with so much that was going on. It was intriguing and the all the characters were believable and consistent. Lynn was as complicated, flawed and vulnerable as those around her. By the end of the story, Lynn had become stronger, wiser and a more independent woman.

Christine Procter

This book was a joy to read and kept you wanting to turn the pages to explore the next twist and turn. Lynn gives up her career in the police service when she marries an older GP, Ed. Now Ed is suffer.

This book was a joy to read and kept you wanting to turn the pages to explore the next twist and turn. Lynn gives up her career in the police service when she marries an older GP, Ed. Now Ed is suffering from the symptoms of dementia and Lynn questions her choices. I didn't warm to Lynn immediately as some of her thoughts seemed a bit harsh and unsympathetic but as the story moved on I appreciated she must be voicing exactly what many of us would feel in that situation. It's not all it seems and Lynn starts to question her own mental state as strange events start to occur around her and to people that she cares for. As the book progressed I found myself warming to her more and identifying with her humanity. This book has it all, murder, affairs, relationship struggles, career choices to name but a few. It's written in a way that the characters are easily brought to life and the setting becomes easy to immerse into. You will find yourself wanting to reach the end to find out the answers. You may guess some along the way, but will you guess the final one? A very easy and enjoyable read.

Yvonne Savage

https://twitter.com/yvonnesavage1

A clever, unsettling thriller which will keep you guessing right to the end.

‘The Old You’ by Louise Voss is a tense thriller about a life based on lies. Lynne is married to Ed, a retired doctor who has recently been diagnosed with a type of dementia. Slowly details of his previous life emerge as Lynne battles to believe the excuses and extreme behaviour Ed presents.

As you are sucked deeper into the book, you are kept deliberately off-balance, facts become lies and it is difficult to know which characters are telling the truth.

This is a clever, unsettling thriller which will keep you guessing right to the end.

 

Irene Combe

https://twitter.com/belles_book

A twisted web of deceit, spun with a myriad of thread. If you liked ‘The Girl on the Train’ then you will enjoy this book! A good read to pack in your suitcase for the beach this year.

I have not read any of this author’s books before and it was a bit of a random pick for me, but I have to say I was entertained by this book, it was a page turner and keeps you guessing until the final satisfying conclusion is reached.  If you liked ‘The Girl on the Train’ then you will enjoy this book!

The main character is middle-aged Lynn, married to Ed Naismith who is diagnosed with Pick’s Disease, a rare form of progressive dementia, which begins to affect their lives and threaten their relationship.  As the narrative progresses and more about their past is revealed, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems and Lynn’s suspicions are aroused by the chain of events happening around her.

This psychological thriller is written in an easy to read style with plot twists and flashbacks which I enjoyed.  I relished trying to figure out the plot twists, red herrings, who was guilty and how things would turn out for Lynn in the end (although I wasn’t massively keen on her rather simplistically drawn character).  Although early on in the novel the writing felt somewhat disjointed to me, as the plot gained pace, this feeling seemed to go away and the story flowed better.

 

Hannah Fazakerley

https://twitter.com/hfaz