*I received a free copy of He Will Be My Ruin from Atria Books via Netgalley. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *
He Will Be My Ruin by K. A. Tucker Published by Atria Books on 2 February 2016
Genres: Adult, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
Twenty-eight-year-old Maggie Sparkes arrives in New York City to pack up what’s left of her best friend’s belongings after a suicide that has left everyone stunned. The police have deemed the evidence conclusive: Celine got into bed, downed a bottle of Xanax and a handle of vodka, and never woke up. But when Maggie discovers secrets in the childhood lock box hidden in Celine’s apartment, she begins asking questions. Questions about the man Celine fell in love with. The man she never told anyone about, not even Maggie. The man who Celine herself claimed would be her ruin.
On the hunt for answers that will force the police to reopen the case, Maggie uncovers more than she bargained for about Celine’s private life—and inadvertently puts herself on the radar of a killer who will stop at nothing to keep his crimes undiscovered.
It took me a while to get words to explain the brilliance that is He Will Be My Ruin! This suspense / mystery / psychological thriller is well done, with a complex plot, and fleshed out characters.
I’ve been a Tucker fan for a long time, and I have to say, her branching out to mystery and thriller like He Will Be My Ruin was a great move! She managed to keep the suspense going, and I was seriously out of breath several times, especially when Maggie was starting to have a panic attack. The beginning was very sad and nostalgic, because Maggie came to New York not to spend time with her best friend Celine, but to pack up her apartment after she had committed suicide. Only, Maggie really couldn’t believe Celine would do that – it was so far off from anything the girl she had grown up with would ever do, especially because Celine’s mother, Rosa, was in remission after a long fight against breast cancer.
As the story unfolded, Maggie was up for a lot of surprises, though. Between Celine’s antique-filled apartment, her diaries, and a hidden compartment in a small box, Maggie uncovers more secrets than she bargained for! Little by little, the girl she thought she knew better than anyone in the world turned out to be quite different from what Maggie had thought. And she also learned what Celine really thought of her – with no holding back at all, since she was never supposed to read those diaries anyway. Maggie’s loyalty never wavers, though, she continues to believe that Celine was killed, rather than killed herself, and when the police won’t listen to her, she hires a PI to help her.
Because Maggie follows some of the clues herself, and her thoughts seemed to follow both her gut feeling and the clues she found, I was looking for clues with her. And I agreed with her more often than not, with a heavy heart from all she uncovered, and how she wavered between hope and sadness just felt so real to me. Both because her best friend was dead, and because of everything else surrounding that. There is a lot happening in He Will Be My Ruin, with more than one sub-plot, and they are all quite intricate and very well done.
I loved that Tucker managed to keep me guessing right along with Maggie! There were definitely some characters that could be the culprit, but there was always enough doubt, or there was someone else who might look even better for it! I loved the interactions between Maggie and Ruby, Celine’s old neigbour. At first, Maggie steered clear of the older woman, due to her claustrophobic apartment – filled with even more treasures than Celine’s. Then, there is the PI, Jace, the sexy super… The cast of characters is amazing, and I just couldn’t stop reading to find out if Maggie was right about Celine’s death or not, and if she was, who was the person behind it all?
Written in first person, present tense, He Will Be My Ruin was an expertly woven mystery, filled with suspense, a little bit of romance, and a tension that never stopped coming.
Not a speck of dust. Celine couldn’t stand disorder. Every single nutcracker faced out, equidistant from the next, shortest in front, tallest in back, as if she measured them with a ruler and placed them just so.
In my eyes, it was a given that Celine would always be part of my life. We were an odd match. From our looks to our social status to our polar-opposite personalities, we couldn’t have been more different. I was the captain of the debate squad and Celin played the romantic female lead in her school plays.
Was Celine still a good person, despite what she did for money? Yes, I believe so. And yet my memory of her has been tainted. no wonder she never told me.
About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.
Twitter: Mollykatie112
I really loved this book as well. The author is such a wonderful writer isn’t she? I have loved all her books, glad you did as well 🙂
She is amazing, Lorna, and I have loved all of her other books, too. I love that she went in a different direction with this one, and she did it so well, too!
It’s great to have a good suspens like that. I haven’t tried a book by the author yet but I heard great things about her workd and I confess that I’m quite curious to try!
Oh my goodness, Melliane, Tucker is so good, and I think you’ll enjoy both her romances and this one. The writing is really good, and the characters are very realistic.
Ok, yesterday Kimberly and now you, I think your message has been received 😛 Just need to find the time, really, but I’ll read this author’s titles for sure because they truly sound good!
You really should read Tucker, Silvia, I am pretty sure you’re going to enjoy her stories 😉 I do know what you mean about finding the time, though.
I’m happy that Tucker was able to amaze you yet again, Lexxie. And HWBMR sounds absolutely fantastic. You know I love a story that can keep me guessing and it seems Tucker did that here. I keep meaning to read Tucker…should I start with this one or with her first books?
I hope you’re enjoying your day. My kids have a snow day today! Yay! **BIG HUGS**
Kept me guessing, and also kept me *needing* to know more. Heh, you have to read ALL the books, Brandee 😉 But this one is not part of any series, so if you would rather start with mystery and suspense, go for it! *BIG HUGS*
Twitter: Kissinbluekaren
I love a good suspense. I am loving this book so far. Great review and thanks for keeping it spoiler free!
I’m happy you’re enjoying this as well, Karen. And my reviews are always spoiler free 🙂 I hate being spoiled myself, so I wouldn’t do that to someone else.
What a great review ! The book is already on my “next” shelf, let’s hope I’ll soon have time to read it 😉
Oh my, Iza, I hope you’ll love it as much as I did.
Twitter: kbaby81
Yay! So glad you love this. I still think about this book after months of finishing it. Great review!
I love books that stay in our minds long after we read them, Lekeisha 🙂
Twitter: talksupeblog
This is my first Tucker and I love it!! The art part was fun albeit unexpected. Celine has a lot of wonderful facets about her which makes her loss more painful. I also love Ruby! She has me craving for shortbread cookies!
PS I don’t know why your Tempest post appeared as the top post when o checked yesterday. Ive obviously forgotten you’ve read all the books, but I’m glad to hear you loved War’s story too
I’m so glad you loved it, too, Braine! I thought we got to know Celine really well, especially when thinking about the fact that we never really got to meet her.
Don’t worry about Tempest! My review was only posted yesterday, even if I read the books quite a while back, I scheduled my reviews in a way as to not have only one series for over a week 🙂
Seeing that you felt the same way about Burying Water–and then you turned around and loved this one. I definitely think I need to check this one out, sounds like my kind of read!
I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did 🙂
I am so glad that you enjoyed this one and Tucker has been able to write on helluva thrilling mystery! I hope I get my hands on this one!
I loved that she went a little outside the zone of her prior books, Naomi, and the way I kept guessing throughout the story was brilliant. I hope you’ll be able to get your hands on this very soon.
I really can’t wait to read this book. Everyone seems to love it. I can’t remember seeing anything but a glowing review. Great characters and a good mystery sound great to me. Great review!
Thanks, Carole. I hope you’ll love it as much as I did.
Twitter: Mlsimmons
I’ve never read K.A. Tucker, but this book looks amazing. I just read Braine’s review and now yours. I’m going to have to get to this soon. I was doing so good in January about not adding new books to my TBR. Now I’m wanting to add ALL THE THINGS. LOL
You are definitely going to have to pick this up, Melanie. I hope you’ll be as mesmerized as I was.
I NEED to read this one. It’s on my wish list right now and hopefully I can get a copy sometime soonish. Glad you loved it and it’s always nice to hear when a mystery/thriller keeps you on your toes!
I hope you’ll be able to read it soon, Lauren, and that you’ll love it as much as I did.