Julie's Review: Stories We Never Told You

Author: Sonja Yoerg
Series: None
Publication Date:  May 1, 2020
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Pages: 328
Obtained: Netgalley via Publisher
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction; Psychological THriller 
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: How do you escape someones control when their control is subtle?
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab

Summary: Psychology professor Jackie Strelitz thinks she’s over Harlan Crispin, her ex-lover and colleague. Why should she care if Harlan springs a new “friend” on her? After all, Jackie has everything she ever wanted: a loving husband and a thriving career. Still, she can’t help but be curious about Harlan’s latest.

Nasira Amari is graceful, smart, and appallingly young. Worse, she’s the newest member of Jackie’s research team. For five years, Harlan enforced rules limiting his relationship with Jackie. With Nasira, he’s breaking every single one. Why her? Fixated by the couple, Jackie’s curiosity becomes obsession. But she soon learns that nothing is quite what it seems and that to her surprise—and peril—she may not be the only one who can’t let go. ~amazon.com 

Review: Dr. Jackie Strelitz is a well know psychologist that is studying the early signs of autism and is making significant progress but her personal life is about to get wrecked. For 5 years she dated Harlan Crispin, another leading Psychologist that studies lying and their break up wasn't amicable but it wasn't horrible either. They are cordial with each other and even at times get together socially. It is helpful that Jackie is married to Miles. The wheels come off their amicable relationship when Harlan brings Jackie's new post-doc to dinner; she thinks this is inappropriate. 

This sends Jackie teetering down a road of jealousy that she's not even certain why when she's happily married to Miles for 2 years.  Maybe it's the fact that she was with him for 5 years and never really made in roads with him and Nasira seems to be moving quickly with him. Jackie starts to think all kinds of things but when her data for her study, she begins to view Nasira different and to question her motives. 

What happens next is a series of things that makes Jackie start to question her sanity. She starts to question if things are all in her head or not. Being of the science thinking she starts to look at the facts to put the puzzle together. As she does this things start to make more sense and she's not feeling like she's losing her mind. 

The reader immediately knows that something about Harlan doesn't sit right but you aren't quite sure. Is he just a man who is sore at being dumped? Is he an-ex lover still obsessed with an ex? All I know is he made me feel extremely uncomfortable. 

I liked how Jackie stopped and thought about the facts that were presented to her to come up with her evidence about who was messing with her data and therefore her possible funding; which is her livelihood. She uses reasoning and science to figure out what has been happening to her. 

I definitely recommend this one but know that it's a slow build to the ending. 

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