He Will Be My Ruin by K.A. Tucker Pages: 352
Genres: Suspense
Source: ARC, NetGalley
Also by this author: Until It Fades
Goodreads
A woman who almost had it all . . .
On the surface, Celine Gonzalez had everything a twenty-eight-year-old woman could want: a one-bedroom apartment on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, a job that (mostly) paid the bills, and an acceptance letter to the prestigious Hollingsworth Institute of Art, where she would finally live out her dream of becoming an antiques appraiser for a major auction house. All she had worked so hard to achieve was finally within her reach. So why would she kill herself?
A man who was supposed to be her salvation . . .
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 lethal cocktail of pills and vodka, and never woke up. But when Maggie discovers a scandalous photograph in a 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 Celine believed would change her life.
Until he became her ruin.
On the hunt for evidence 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. A killer who will stop at nothing to keep his crimes undiscovered.
He will be my Ruin is the story of one woman’s quest to find out if she really knows her BFF like she thought she knew her. Maggie isn’t convinced that Celine would kill herself. She goes to NYC to clean out Maggie’s apartment and begins an investigation into her suspicions. As a reader, you too will question what you think you know. There are lots of tidbits of information dropped along the way. Deciding what is important and what is inconsequential is what kept me reading.
Most of the story is told from Maggie’s POV but there are a few times when you get Celine’s POV from the past. I really enjoy when authors take a risk like that because I find it so engaging. While you are trying to get some sense for what actually happened, you get peeks into the victim and it changes everything you thought you knew. It was easy to empathize with Maggie because she is slowly realizing she doesn’t know her friend as well as she thought. I think we can all imagine how troubling it would be to have to go through your dead friend’s life! There were times in this book that I could totally hear the Jaws music in my head-you know, when you just KNOW something bad is about to happen!
Vague enough review? Yep! I mean, who wants a spoiler to a book that is just a mystery/suspense? So, I am keeping it vague. This is NOT a romantic suspense. Its pure suspense/thriller so don’t expect some alpha hero to come in and save the day. This is NOT that type of book!
Into the Light by Aletha Romig, Mud Vein by Tarryn Fisher, Killing Sarai by JA Redmerski…then you will probably like He Will Be My Ruin!
He will be my Ruin
I loved Ten Tiny Breaths series by this author. This one sounds great. Great review! I’ll put it on my wishlist.
Thank you for your recommendation. I enjoyed Riveted so much. The first book I loved in the last two weeks. Definitely made my day and put me back to a reading frenzy. 😀
YAY!! I’m so glad you loved it. Wasn’t Dixie great?! He Will Be my Ruin is nothing like 10 Tiny Breaths but its very intriguing!
I love K.A Tucker but this one didn’t work for me. I thought it was very predictable and something about the MC really bothered me, I can’t remembered what exactly. I’m so glad you enjoyed it though! How excited are you for her next book?
I think that if I had read it when it first came out, I might not have liked it much. But, I have been on a huge mystery/thriller kick and reading lots of true crime books too. So, this book fit well into what I am currently enjoying and if I had read it months ago, I probably would have given up a few chapters in.