An art retreat with ulterior motives…

Synopsis

A remote lakeside house. Six strangers with something to hide.

Who’s out for revenge? Who will survive?

When Polly signs up to an art retreat in the Lake District, it’s an escape from the stress of recent months, when a stalker preyed on her and her friend.

It’s also an opportunity to find out more about her family history: Polly believes her biological mother once lived here, at Lakeside House.

But things quickly turn sinister. The previous owners supposedly took their own lives here, years before – and the glamorous new owners are now receiving disturbing threats. Someone is sabotaging Polly’s artwork. The five other guests on the retreat all seem to be hiding something.

Then one of them goes missing.

Is someone trying to scare Polly? Do the creepy goings-on have anything to do with the family she never knew? Or has the stalker followed her to Lakeside House, and is now hiding in plain sight?

Now You Are Mine is a pulse-pounding dark psychological thriller. If you like Lucy Foley or C.L. Taylor, you’ll love Amanda Brittany.

My review

When Polly heads up to an art retreat in the Lakes District, she does it for more than just one reason. Not only does she need an escape from the stress she endured lately, even involving a stalker, but she also discovered that her biological mother is linked with the place. Because apparently her mother used to live at Lakeside House.
However, what was supposed to be a week to discover the truth, takes a sinister turn, as the previous owners allegedly took their own lives, even if their bodies were never found. And the new owners are scared as they are receiving threats. To make Polly even more scared, someone is also ruining Polly’s art works. Has the stalker followed her to the retreat? Or are the other guests and their own secrets something to take in account? Or is it perhaps Polly’s ominous past somehow involved? So many questions and scares, will answers be found? Or is the one missing person just the start of something more terrifying and sinister?

There are books in this world that truly make me afraid of going somewhere on my own, even if my loved ones know where I am. And since reading this book, I know for sure I will never ever ever go on an art retreat on my own, even if I am not artistic in any possible way! 😊

Even at the start of the book, it felt for me like I started reading somewhere halfway of Polly’s story. Because at the start, she already dealt with a stalker, making her escape her home already…
So I could understand that Polly needed to get away from everything and everyone for a while.
But I also found it inventive in a way of Polly to combine two purposes. She needs some peace, but she also discovered that her biological mother is linked to the art retreat, so it would be a bit stupid of her of not taking advantage of the opportunity!

Reading the blurb, you don’t need to be a rocket-scientist to know that the retreat won’t be giving Polly the answers and peace she needs.
But I would have never thought that *that* much would be happening! At several times I was thinking that perhaps it was a bit over the top, but on the other hand, was is truly?

While reading, it became very clear that in the end, you never know who you can truly trust, or what someone’s real character is or how someone is behind closed doors, even if that person is someone dear to you.
And you also cannot know how someone acts when just too many buttons have been pushed for too long…

I was terrified alongside Polly, because there is just so much going on. And what is even more terrifying, Polly has no idea if whoever is the culprit behind everything, is after her or it is just a coincidence that everything happens all at once.
But there is no such thing as coincidence, is there?

I also have to say, the title of the book did resonate with some passages, but for a long time I couldn’t match it with the greater picture. Only at the climax all the pieces of the puzzle fell together, also making the title having sense.
And that climax for sur had me sitting on the end of my seat, as I just didn’t know where to look/read as it for sure was an avalanche of information and revelations! Some were predictable, but some also came as a real surprise.

This book isn’t to be read if you are looking for a light, entertaining story, as it will make you look over your shoulder, become wary of everyone you will meet, and scared of every little noise you will hear…
But if you are looking for a thriller that will mess with your mind and leave you flabbergasted, this book for sure will be exactly what you were looking for!