Today’s review is of an upcoming title from Penguin Platform and author Vincent Ralph. Lock the Doors is due for release in February 2021 (UK) and I would like to extend my thanks to the publisher and author for my early review copy via NetGalley. Read on to see my thoughts on why you need to get a copy of this next month!

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My Rating:

I had a great feeling about this book before I started as it was sold as a ‘must-read’ for fans of Karen McManus (One of Us is Lying) and Holly Jackson (A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder) of whom I am a huge fan; I was not at all disappointed. I think this is a worthy comparison and Lock The Doors turned out to be a brilliant thriller and an unputdownable read!

The story revolves around Tom, a teen boy who has had a difficult life growing up with his mother’s many failed relationships and fleeing domestic abuse. Now Tom lives in a quiet suburb with his new family in a new home, except there is something strange about his new home. There are holes on the door, drawings on the wall – what happened here? Then Tom meets Amy who has moved in across the street, but then finds out that Amy used to live in his new house. Immediately the story begins to get tense. Cue an onslaught of twists and turns before a really breathtaking reveal towards the end. I certainly didn’t see this book panning out the way that it did!

I REALLY loved the pace of this book. I love a book with fairly short chapters and Lock the Doors delivered this to me. Four parts; two points of view; short, snappy chapters which really ramp up the tension in this fast-paced thriller. I couldn’t put the book down and every time I thought I had nailed what would happen next, something would totally derail that thought process. Tom was a character I really liked and I loved seeing his new family dynamic and how those relationships evolved over the course of the book. Amy was a character who immediately intrigued me and did not disappoint! I’m hesitant to talk about any other characters or to add more detail as this is a book where you are better off just jumping in!

For me this delivered exactly what I want in a thriller/mystery: plenty of suspense, likeable characters, fast and twisty plot, shocks right up until the end and then a satisfying ending. All in all a really brilliant book and I would highly recommend fans of YA thrillers get themselves a copy of this when it releases next month. Bravo, Vincent Ralph!

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