A whirlwind romance opposed by her mother, a marriage made in heaven, and a move across the country. Was the move part of Ryan’s plan to have no family around for Cass?

A second chance with a man that she never dreamed would come into her life after her husband died was what Cass needed, and Ryan fit the bill.

Everything was perfect wasn't it? A perfect marriage, three perfect kids, and a loving relationship until..…

The Connor family looked perfect on the outside, but the Connors were not perfect at all. Ryan and Cass started out as the dream couple until Ryan showed his true colors of physical as well as psychological abuse. When Cass would confront him with things that happened, he would turn it around and make her feel as if she were the guilty party.

Ryan went from the perfect loving husband and father to an abusive monster that Cass put up with and even denied.

POISON had good writing that pulled you in, but it seemed to drag on and brought up one crazy situation after another.

Domestic abuse was the main theme of POISON and very upsetting, but not as upsetting as some domestic thrillers. It definitely is frightening how often domestic abuse occurs and how many books have this as a theme.

Cass made some very stupid decisions that put herself and her children in danger when she knew she should have just left. It was pretty tense at those moments.

POISON was not a bad read, and the ending was unexpected, but it could have been shortened.

It definitely is a psychological thriller and makes you wonder who you can truly trust.

I would not recommend reading this book if you have been in a similar situation.

If you like intense situations, you will enjoy POISON.

I read it very quickly because I was nervous about what would happen. 4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher and NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Another “perfect” family on the outside story. Ryan and Cass seem to be the perfect family. Cass has two children from her late first husband. Then she marries Ryan and they have a child together. All seems perfect on the outside but little signs convinces Cass that her husband is having an affair. When she confronts him he becomes the epitome of the abusive husband – denial, anger, blame shifting, threats.

The writing style put me off a bit. The first couple of chapters I immediately envisioned the beginning of a Twilight Zone episode with a narrator looking on the family and setting the stage for us. But as I warmed up to it I found myself inpatient with the daily routines that pulled me away from the book.

Ryan becomes physically abusive – wrapping his fingers around her neck until she thinks she will die, forcefully raping her. Then one day he sneers to her that he is going to kill her. Soon Cass begins having violent stomach cramps and she feels as though her body is short-circuiting. She comes to the conclusion that her husband is poisoning her. She tries to get help but has no proof of any crime being committed. Now it becomes a game of cat-and-mouse. Who can Cass trust? Are her children safe? What would happen next?

It was difficult reading of Cass’ response to Ryan’s cheating and abuse. At first she let herself believe his lies. She always took him back when he turned on the charm. She had been an investigative reporter and was now a college professor. I expected her to not fall for his tricks. But accepting how you could be so wrong about someone is hard to accept. Only when she realized that her children were in danger did she put aside her emotions and once again became the investigative reporter.

Her story is one that many women have faced. The victim becomes the guilty one. What did she do to provoke him? Was she seeking revenge for his betrayal?

It was a good thing the story was very good, as the writing definitely could have been better. Also some aspects of the story just did not seem realistic – they were too forced. But I do feel it was the time reading it for entertainment value.