Name: C. J. Daley 's review of Under Her Care by Lucinda Berry
Item: Under Her Care
Rating: 3
Author: C. J. Daley

Lucinda Berry

From the bestselling author of The Perfect Child comes a shocking thriller about the disturbing complexities of a mother's love and the deadly consequences of unravelling family secrets. On a humid summer day in Alabama, a mayor's wife turns up brutally murdered under a railroad bridge. Standing next to her body is fourteen-year-old Mason Hill, the autistic son of former Miss USA Genevieve Hill. The locals are quick to level their verdict on young Mason: he did it. The town detective calls in local autism expert Casey Walker to consult on the case. At first, Casey tries to keep an open mind. But the more time she spends with Genevieve, the more her unease grows, and she suspects that Genevieve is doing more than just protecting her son. Casey's misgivings surrounding Genevieve's story only intensify when she meets Savannah, Genevieve's nineteen-year-old daughter. Savannah, as it turns out, has some disturbing secrets of her own. But as Casey dives ever deeper into the Hill family dynamic, her search for the truth leads to another shocking murder--one that shatters her understanding of the human condition in ways she never imagined.

A Thriller

Under Her Care

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

Here’s another I read for my book club, the Hudson Valley Housewives, and it’s another I probably would not have read without it being someone’s pick.

This is a kind of crime mystery, but instead of a cop or detective, the main POV is a recruited children’s psychologist, Casey Walker, that specializes in autism. The mayor’s wife has been killed, and an autistic teen, Mason, son to a kind of celebrity content creator, was found at the scene covered in blood and uncontrollable.

I’ve never read this author, was unfamiliar with them, so throughout the continuously deep information dumps on autism and therapy, all I found myself thinking was, “god I hope this was well researched.” And after finishing and seeing the author’s bio, I do feel more at ease on the knowledge part, but I found villainizing a special needs teen was super risky.

I would say that the information in the above paragraph, as well as the way it was weaved into the possibility of a murder happening, was definitely one of the few things that kept me engaged and roped in. There are several attempts at unseen twists, however they are so straight forward that there’s little to no surprise with almost all of them, IE. Casey thinks the mother is doing something and the twist is…simply that she’s right??

The ending has a winding lead up to a scene right in front of a swamp, the author kind of remarks on the possibility of animals within the water, and then it literally leads to nothing at all. The final twist involves something that I do not believe was well threaded into the story, to the point where it comes out of left field. It felt wasted, or like being cheated.

The cover had me thinking that they could have been going for like a southern belle/beauty pageant thing with the crown. The watery swirls could have been some hint to the swamp at the end or something, but I think honestly, the most likely thing is that this was a real cheap stock cover that got zero thought. And while the title’s color certainly pops, I’d much rather have a cover that matches the story somehow.

Overall, I will say that I was at least never bored while reading this. A story of a mother’s love, or lack thereof, and her willingness to do anything for attention.

C. J. Daley 

Here’s another I read for my book club, the Hudson Valley Housewives, and it’s another I probably would not have read without it being someone’s pick.

This is a kind of crime mystery, but instead of a cop or detective, the main POV is a recruited children’s psychologist, Casey Walker, that specializes in autism. The mayor’s wife has been killed, and an autistic teen, Mason, son to a kind of celebrity content creator, was found at the scene covered in blood and uncontrollable.

I’ve never read this author, was unfamiliar with them, so throughout the continuously deep information dumps on autism and therapy, all I found myself thinking was, “god I hope this was well researched.” And after finishing and seeing the author’s bio, I do feel more at ease on the knowledge part, but I found villainizing a special needs teen was super risky.

I would say that the information in the above paragraph, as well as the way it was weaved into the possibility of a murder happening, was definitely one of the few things that kept me engaged and roped in. There are several attempts at unseen twists, however they are so straight forward that there’s little to no surprise with almost all of them, IE. Casey thinks the mother is doing something and the twist is…simply that she’s right??

The ending has a winding lead up to a scene right in front of a swamp, the author kind of remarks on the possibility of animals within the water, and then it literally leads to nothing at all. The final twist involves something that I do not believe was well threaded into the story, to the point where it comes out of left field. It felt wasted, or like being cheated.

The cover had me thinking that they could have been going for like a southern belle/beauty pageant thing with the crown. The watery swirls could have been some hint to the swamp at the end or something, but I think honestly, the most likely thing is that this was a real cheap stock cover that got zero thought. And while the title’s color certainly pops, I’d much rather have a cover that matches the story somehow.

Overall, I will say that I was at least never bored while reading this. A story of a mother’s love, or lack thereof, and her willingness to do anything for attention.

No sé, siento que sus finales dejan demasiado sin responder, o sea, yo sé que por default uno asume que es lo que pasa, pero por otro lado, también quiero saber. Pero quitándole eso, me gustó mucho el tema, me pareció súper triste y saber que eso puede ser una realidad pega duro. 

Valeria 

Caroll-Ann

Personally I’d give this book 1,5 stars. It took me over half of the book to actually find it interesting. I love Lucinda’s other books so I was so excited to recieve this ARC but sadly I didn’t like it that much. The story itself would’ve been good but somehow I didn’t seem to like it. I can’t even really tell you why, only that it somehow felt weird and even the plot twists couldn’t really save this book for me. 

I recommend other books from Lucinda but sadly couldn’t recommend this one.

Sue Schilling

This mystery was well written and gave insight into the psychological aspects of law enforcement investigations. 

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Under Her Care by Lucinda Berry

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &Under Her Care by Lucinda Berry

Reviews

Join the club

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Under Her Care by Lucinda Berry