Bunny's Reviews: Where There's Doubt Review Spotlight

Welcome to the book tour for Terry Tyler's latest novel! A thriller called Where There's Doubt. Read on for my review and more info!

Where There’s Doubt by Terry Tyler is an engaging psychological thriller that will have you page-turning by the end of chapter one. Prepare to meet – Kate. She’s been through the emotional drain of a cheating boyfriend, and is just looking for a reset. Has she found more than she was expecting when things begin to grow into more with her on-line chess “friend” Nico? She thinks that she’s finally found a good one, but he is he something much darker waiting in the shadows to devour her dreams?

Where There’s Doubt is the first book that I have read by this author, but I’d love to read more in the future. The author’s style of writing is engaging from the very beginning and I was page-turning before long. I really think that you, as a reader, will enjoy how the author breaks the story down. I’m not just talking about the chapter-by-chapter break down. I’m talking about the chronological breakdown as well. Month by month the story plays out with so many chapters tucked up inside. Page by page the story unfolds revealing Kate’s story and then revealing the truth of just who Nico really is.

I can’t tell you how appreciative I am that, the author gives me both perspectives in this story. While the story focuses heavily on Kate, as she is the main character, we get chapters with Nico. The author allows we the readers get into Nico’s mind and get a better understanding of him. I appreciate that the author gives us background in the right places on both Kate and Nico. We get to see exactly how the relationship first fell apart that put Kate on this particular path. We get to see how Nico comes to be the individual that he is – well, the aspects of life that he felt would be a good choice in paths to take.

I’ll admit that I picked up this book because on a level I could relate to Kate. When I say I can relate I mean getting involved with someone I met online thinking “this is the person I can settle with and find some happiness.” Ha! Never again. LOL! I can probably say that as both an “outsider” and someone who’s “been there done that” I saw some warning signs rather quickly. Unfortunately, it also made me think of Kate as a bit naive. I can understand why though. In the moment we always see what we want to see, and he just seems… “too perfect.”

There is so much going on in this book, and I couldn’t put this book down. The times when I absolutely had to, I kept wondering – what is going to happen next? What plot is Nico hatching now? Is Kate going to be okay? Is Nico going to slip up? Who will be the first to discover the truth? So many questions will be running through your mind as you read this book, and when you’re not reading it. Even when you finish this book it will stick with you. You might even look at certain people and situations differently as well.

Don’t let the book’s description fool you though. Where it is called a psychological thriller, there is more to it buried deep inside. It is one of the questions I’m sure that you’ll feel creeping up inside you as you read this book. Just how far is Nico willing to go to acquire his goals?

This book is so deep on so many levels and for me, it promises more. Yes, potentially more to come in the future with some familiar names. It’s possible, right? LOL!

I enjoyed this book from beginning to end and I look forward to checking out more of this author’s books in the near future. I enjoyed reading these characters and watching their stories develop and twist. I honestly felt like I could travel overseas and meet these individuals and interact with them, and you always know those are the best kinds of stories. I’m choosing to rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. If you enjoy psychological thrillers packed with drama then this is a book that you are not going to want to miss. An absolute must-read.

Thank you to the author, Terry Tyler, and R&R Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book. Be sure to check out my fellow bloggers and Instagrammers as they share their thoughts and spotlights on this book. Thank you for stopping by!

Where There’s Doubt

Publication Date: March 24th, 2022

Genre: Psychological Thriller/ Drama

‘I can be anything you want me to be. Even if you don’t know you want it. Especially if you don’t know you want it.’

Café owner Kate is mentally drained after a tough two years; all she wants from her online chess partner is entertainment on lonely evenings, and maybe a little virtual flirtation.

She is unaware that Nico Lewis is a highly intelligent con artist who, with an intricately spun web of lies about their emotional connection, will soon convince her that he is The One.

Neither does Kate know that his schemes involve women who seek love on dating sites, as well as his small publishing business. A host of excited authors believe Nico is about to make their dreams come true.

Terry Tyler’s twenty-fourth publication is a sinister psychological drama that highlights the dark side of internet dating—and the danger of ignoring the doubts of your subconscious.

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Excerpt

"Nico is a romance scammer, and this excerpt is from his point of view."

After the barbecue weekend with Kate I do an impromptu 'just had to see you' overnight with Heather because she's been acting rather strangely via text, and I can't risk her getting pissed off with me. I take her roses, and on the spur of the moment I come up with a story about my cousin Dieter (Dieter? Weird name choice, brain!) who throws the best New Year's Eve parties.

"Low key, just an incredible dinner with a selected few. He's got a stupidly big house in the Northamptonshire countryside—we could stay there, make a weekend of it."

I chose a date six months away to demonstrate my commitment, but now I wonder if it might be an idea to start talking spring breaks for next year, too. I need to get her up to speed, because she'll be the first hit—got to be, because her house will need to be sold. Andrew, our tame estate agent, is well in with a couple of property developer types who are always looking at places like Heather's to flip, so we're fairly confident of a quick cash sale, but obviously we can't rest on our laurels. I leave the sales side to Andrew. Might as well get all I can out of him in return for his eventual pay-off.

He's getting ten grand—he wants to quit his job and go backpacking.

I leave Heather on Wednesday, and speed straight to Diss to up the pace with Polly. Down on one knee, the whole works. The ring is white gold with a pear shaped aquamarine, set off with tiny diamonds. One thousand, two hundred and fifty pounds, paying for it on credit; we'll need make a couple of payments so as not to draw attention to ourselves. Em thought it was better to go down this road than the 'used to be my mother's' story, with some piece of old tat from a pawn shop; Polly's exactly the type who would take her new engagement ring to be valued.

I don't want to think about the night I was forced to endure after the proposal; my acting powers were stretched to breaking point, never mind my restraint. Before we went to bed, she insisted we stand in front of the mirror to practice corny wedding photo poses.

"Come on, it'll be a giggle!" she said. That's how she talks. Calls a drink a 'tipple', and refers to watching romcoms and eating cake as 'guilty pleasures'. She has plenty of the latter, usually pink iced cupcakes. Oh, and then there's her great friend the universe. She believes she won the lottery and met me because she asked the universe to 'gift her' with these delights.

"You just have to believe, and reach out to the universe," she tells me.

It really is that simple. Allegedly. I've been asking it for this four million pound yacht I saw on a programme about the Southampton boat show, but it's ignored me so far.

That night we stood there, me in a t-shirt and boxers, her in a silky, lace-edged 'champagne' coloured slip (I'd have called it off-white but she insists the colour is champagne), and she said, "Talk about hashtag blessed! Thank you, Universe!"

She told me about her life philosophy during an early email exchange (except that Polly doesn't 'tell' people about things; she 'fesses up'). I advised her to be very careful what she tells strangers on the internet, because there are a lot of unscrupulous characters out there. She took this as an indication of how much I care for her. You couldn't make it up, could you?

I've had to weather a few meetings with her mother, too, but happily she fancies me as well, and can't wait to welcome me into the family.

Of course, Polly being Polly, as soon as I proposed it became all about the wedding plans. The venue. The guest list. Buffet or sit-down meal? A themed wedding, perhaps? Okay by me; she was so excited about her new project that she was happy just to sit up in bed chattering away, which gave me a rest. Just when I thought I might have to put a pillow over her face and apply pressure, she got out her laptop and announced that she'd had a wonderful idea.

"A boutique hotel!"

"Qu'est-ce que tu as dit, chéri?" She likes it when I 'talk French'. It's 'so romantic'.

Available on Amazon

About the Author

Terry Tyler is a writer of post-apocalyptic, dystopian and dark psychological fiction, and currently has 24 books published on Amazon.

When not busy writing she reads a great deal (she is a member of Rosie Amber’s Book Review Team), blogs about TV, writing and any random stuff that pops into her head, likes going for walks in the countryside and takes too many photos of trees. She loves history, Twitter, clever observational humour and is moderately obsessed with post-apocalyptic scenarios generally, and The Walking Dead. Terry lives with her husband in the north east of England.

Terry Tyler | Twitter | Goodreads | BookBub