The New Girlfriend: A totally gripping and addictive psychological thriller

Sheryl Browne

Aug 2020 · Bookouture

About this ebook

Your Secrets. Her Lies.

Cassie stares at the woman on her doorstep in disbelief. Just months after losing her only son, Josh, here stands a stranger claiming to be Josh’s girlfriend. But it’s not only the woman Cassie is shocked by, it’s the baby nestled in Kim’s arms. Cassie’s grandchild.

I know what you did.

As Cassie tries to do what’s best for baby Samuel, she starts to receive threatening messages from someone from her past – someone Cassie has been hiding from for a long time. Cassie is frightened that her biggest secret is about to be revealed and she will lose everything, including her precious grandson.

You took everything from me. Now you need to pay.

As the messages get more sinister, Cassie realises the person behind them knows every detail about her life and she fears that she is being watched. Could Kim be the link between Cassie and the mysterious messenger? And is she in danger now that she has welcomed this woman and her baby into her home? 

A truly gripping page-turner that will keep you reading well into the night, The New Girlfriend is perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, My Lovely Wife and Gone Girl.  

What readers are saying about The New Girlfriend:

‘Sheryl Browne is a master of the jaw-dropping twist… My goodness this book is a page turner. I couldn’t put it down and read it in an afternoon. The twist has me gasping out loud.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘OMG, I don’t know what to say. A stellar book… Loved everything about it! … Unputdownable.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘A captivating tale… An incredibly well written page turner. A gripping tale of secrets, lies and manipulation that had me hooked from the first page.’ Nicki’s Life of Crime, 5 stars

‘I frantically turned the pages until I finished it. An excellent psychological thriller… Keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.’ NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars

‘I couldn’t wait to read this and now I’m sad it’s over! Another brilliant book by Sheryl. She has such a way with her writing where you are drawn in straight away and the only problem is how to put the book down! I read it in less than a day. It was excellent!!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘An excellent domestic thriller that kept me engaged throughout the entire journey. Highly recommend.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Had me hook from the first chapter… I love thrillers, especially when I’m constantly trying to guess what the secret could be and just when I thought I had it, Sheryl Browne hit me with another that I definitely was not expecting and never would have guessed.’ Mrs J Tea, 4 stars

‘A gripping and tense story that keeps you guessing until the end.’ Goodreads reviewer, 4 stars

‘A well written, twisted psychological thriller with edge-of-your-seat conclusion!!’ Goodreads reviewer, 4 stars

‘Another edge of your seat, read in one sitting offering which I have come to expect from Sheryl Browne. I cannot wait to get my hands on whatever comes next.’ Goodreads reviewer, 4 stars

Ratings and reviews

Every book I have read from Sheryl just out does the other and The New Girlfriend is no exception. It is dark, twisted, oh so wicked and very hard to tear yourself away from it, so make sure that you have set yourself some time aside when you start. Sheryl has put together a very well plotted and thrilling story that had me hooked from start to finish. Told from multiple points of views and with chapters that are told in the present and past tense, Sheryl has gone deep into that wicked mind of hers and has produced a story that is full of secrets, manipulation, lies and deceit. The characters that have been created and put together are first class and have been very well developed. Sheryl has a real knack for this and I love how she gets inside their heads as well as the readers, which always makes for such a realistically vivid reading experience. Though not all likeable, each adds their own mark on the story and are very well portrayed in the roles they have been given. The New Girlfriend is a slow burn to begin with, but in no way did it make me restless wanting the story to move along. It does so at its own pace, all the while with tension and suspense bubbling away in the background, as you wait for the explosions. The best comes in the epilogue, which I have to say is up there with one of the best I have read! Well played Sheryl. Very well played indeed! What always draws me to Sheryl’s books is she really knows how to deliver the most amazing twists and jaw dropping, unexpected endings. So much so, as a book blogger and a fanatical psychological thriller reader, I hereby pronounce her the master of this and of the genre! The New Girlfriend is such a gripping read and a fantastic addition to Sheryl’s bibliography and it is one book that I have no trouble at all in highly recommending! Sheryl really is such an asset to the writing community and I will always be lining up for the next book. Thanks for another cracking read Sheryl and I can’t wait to read what you come up with next. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Sheryl Browne for allowing me to read an advanced copy of The New Girlfriend which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Wow.. 'The New Girlfriend' by Sheryl Browne is a wild ride. The kind where you need a scorecard just to keep up with all the moves being made and the lies being told. Opening with a bang.. or in this case.. practically the screech of metal and the weight of shock and disbelief, Cassie's only son is killed. Just a few short months later, a stranger appears on her doorstep.. claiming to be his girlfriend and bearing a baby in her arms that is clearly her grandchild. In the wake of her loss, Cassie is struggling to cope with the changes that have come at her full speed ahead. The idea that her neurosis drove her son out of the house.. leaving her somehow at fault for his death.. paired with what appears to be a serious relationship he never shared with her or his stepdad, Adam.. has her reeling. Attempting to do what she can for her grandson and his mother, she begins to get cryptic texts in threatening tones referring to a big secret she's been keeping. Someone knows what she's been hiding, a potentially life altering act that she'd do anything to protect. Honestly, this story throws a lot at you. Many of the characters are embroiled in their own nest of secrets, each with something big to lose. While Josh, Cassie's son, actually seems like a basically good guy.. he's far from perfect himself and the result is a handful of people who all might have reason to be involved at least peripherally in anything bad that might have befallen him. I really only found one of the characters to draw any investment from me.. any concern for their well-being, and that was Adam. He's a kind, genuine man.. who seems to try to do his best for pretty much anyone who enters his sphere of existence, even if they aren't entirely kind to him. And I'm pretty sure the author intended it to be that way. It definitely feels as if the other characters are meant to have somewhat ambiguous moral codes to begin with. Most of them seem to make their decisions from a selfish place with little regard to the collateral damage they might cause. I don't think Browne means for us to feel sorry for them, even if the things they deal with are a bit soul-crushing at times. The author did a great job at keeping the ball moving.. so your eyes never lingered too long on any one possibility. Though in the end.. the answers are compounded. I was vindicated in my beliefs to a point, but surprised by the addition of some other parts to the puzzle. There was one plot point that felt out of place, unnecessary.. as if it was thrown in simply for a 'gotcha' moment, but the story as a whole is a solid read if you enjoy a good mystery. (More reviews like this at Betwixt The Sheets.) (I received this title as an ARC. All opinions are mine and freely given.)

Crazy meets crazy in this book. Secrets that bloom into avalanches. Some really nasty characters with no redeeming features. Some you have faith in. Your heart breaks for Cassie who has just lost her son Josh in a terrible accident and then his new girlfriend Kim shows up with his son. Let the games begin. Twists and turns, I never saw that ending coming even though I was quite suspicious of a few people in this book, the ending took me by surprise. Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this roller coaster of a read.