Tag Archives: Adriane Leigh

The Icon (The Influencer 4) by Adriane Leigh-review

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The Icon (The Influencer 4) by Adriane Leigh-review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au / B&N paper/

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 17, 2026

She fooled millions with a microphone and a perfect smile.

Shae Halston was supposed to be a cautionary tale—until the internet turned her into a saint. Framed for a murder she insists she didn’t commit, she becomes a viral symbol of injustice… an icon the world needs to believe in.

But Shae isn’t a victim.

She’s a predator with a gift: she doesn’t fabricate trauma—she edits it. And now, free and freshly rebranded, she’s building a new life in total isolation, far from the noise… and even farther from the truth.

Then the person who helped set her free vanishes.

A whisper becomes a headline. A headline becomes a frenzy. True-crime fans go feral. The Watcher—the anonymous voice that’s been stalking Shae’s narrative from the shadows—tightens the spotlight. And as the story turns ugly, one question consumes everyone:

Did Shae lie her way to freedom… and kill to keep it?

Some women survive the spotlight.

Shae weaponizes it.

••••

REVIEW:THE ICON is the fourth instalment in Adriane Leigh’s contemporary, adult THE INFLUENCER dark, psychological thriller focusing on Shae Halston. THE ICON should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up after the events of book three THE INTRUDER.

SOME BACKGROUND: Shae Halston is the former social media influencer known as Mia Starr but the unreality of Mia’s online presence was in complete opposition to the reality of Shae’s own life. As Shae succumbed to the demons that were controlling her mind, she takes aim at anyone and everyone she blames for destroying her life

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from several first person perspectives (Shae, Evelyn, The Watcher) THE ICON continues to focus on Shae Halston who is currently sitting in prison, quietly manipulating the people in charge. In an effort to secure her freedom, Shae establishes a fan base of believers, who worship at the altar that is Shae Halston, a fan base that will be successful in orchestrating Shae’s release. As Shae rewrites the script that was her life, a documentary crew molds and manages a version of Shae only her followers are willing to accept but someone else is working behind the scenes, revealing the true story about the woman who is once again leaving a trail of bodies behind.

The world building focuses on a predator; the narcissistic, antisocial yet determined psyche of Shae Halston, a master manipulator who controls, destroys and otherwise contributes to the destruction of other people’s lives. As the documentary crew begin to mold and manipulate, they ignore the obvious and the truth until it is too late. The crew and Shae’s followers feed into the frenzy that continues to build, resulting in the upsurge and ascension that becomes the Church of Shae Halston.

We are introduced to documentary producer Evelyn, Interviewer Harper Lane, cinematographer Blake Owens, officer Declan Ridge, and Shae’s half-sister Lila, all of whom will contribute to the intensification of Shae’s power and control.

THE ICON is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, power and manipulation. The character driven premise is dramatic and edgy; the characters are puppets, easily controlled by the woman in charge. Shae’s story continues in book five THE IDOL.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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Don’t Trust Her by Adriane Leigh-a review

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Don’t Trust Her by Adriane Leigh-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 13, 2025

Inviting her into my home might be the worst mistake I ever made.

Me

It looks like I have it all — a beautiful home, two perfect kids. But my husband is always travelling for work and I’m struggling to do it all alone.

Meeting her is a godsend. I’m late to pick up the kids and I almost knock her over. Instead of getting angry, she hands me her business card and says she’s looking for work. She’s experienced, dedicated, has excellent references. She’s everything I need.

Her

I’ll be right at home in her life. After all, I’ve been waiting for this chance.

She’s exactly like the rest of them: beautiful, uptight, controlling. Trusting. That’s the problem with people like her — they can’t imagine anyone hating them. They’re naïve. They bring people like me into their homes, let us look after their children and pay us next to nothing for the privilege.

But she owes me more than a salary. She might not know it, but she owes me everything . .

•••••

REVIEW: DON’T TRUST HER by Adriane Leigh is a contemporary, adult, psychological thriller focusing on Genevieve Moreau-DuPont, and the au pair Adeline.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Genevieve and Adeline) including present day and memories from the past, DON’T TRUST HER follows Genevieve Moreau-DuPont, wife and exasperated mother of two, as she struggles in her daily life to care for her children, and look after the house. Married to a prominent architect who is rarely home, Genevieve is desperate for help, and hires Adeline, who quickly becomes a source of contention for Genevieve and her husband Alexandre but as the story begins to unfold, not everything is as it appears to be. Genevieve begins to suspect her husband is unfaithful, and the au pair is adding fuel to the already simmering fires.

The world building focuses on the early life of one young woman as she struggles in the wake of debilitating dysfunctional family dynamics. As Genevieve battles to maintain her day to day tasks, her life begins to spiral out of control, while Adeline becomes disheartened as she finds herself taking on more responsibilities for a family that is not her own.

DON’T TRUST HER is a story of secrets and lies, mental and emotional illness. The premise is dark, dramatic and intriguing but several issues are never addressed, or lost in the melee that is a decent into madness; the characters are embattled and determined, broken and lost.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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THE INTRUDER (The Influencer 3) by Adriane Leigh-review

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THE INTRUDER (The Influencer 3) by Adriane Leigh-review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 28, 2025

How far would you go to reclaim the life you were denied?

Shae Halston wears her lies like a second skin. The dutiful daughter. The perfect wife. The loving caregiver. After a lifetime of betrayal, abandonment, and unspeakable abuse, Shae has learned one truth—revenge is the only way to heal. When she takes a job caring for Kelly, a once-renowned therapist left helpless and disfigured after a tragic accident, Shae sees it as the perfect opportunity.

Because Kelly isn’t just her patient. She’s the woman who destroyed Shae’s life.

As secrets unravel and memories resurface, Shae’s grip on reality begins to slip. Kelly knows more than she lets on, and Shae’s carefully constructed revenge spirals into something far more dangerous. In a house filled with buried secrets and ghosts of the past, the line between victim and villain begins to blur.

How far will Shae go to punish the woman who left her? And what happens when the monster you’re hunting… is you?

•••••••

REVIEW: THE INTRUDER is the third and final instalment in Adriane Leigh’s contemporary, adult, dark, psychological thriller focusing on Mia Starr aka Shae Halston aka Kelly Fraser. THE INTRUDER should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up after the events and cliff hanger of book two THE IMPOSTER

SOME BACKGROUND: Shae Halston is the former social media influencer known as Mia Starr but the unreality of Mia’s online presence was in complete opposition to the reality of Shae’s own life. As Shae succumbed to the demons that were controlling her mind, she takes aim at anyone and everyone she blames for destroying her life

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from first person perspective (Shae)THE INTRUDER follows Shae Halston as she continues to exact revenge on the people in her life. Real or imagined, Shae targets friends and family, in the name of vengeance, for sins of the past. A psychotic break pushes Shae over the edge, as she spirals with the memories of what happened to set her on a journey of darkness, a journey that reveals a family history of secrets and lies.

THE INTRUDER is a dark and dramatic story of murder and vengeance, mental illness and abuse, obsession and madness, and dysfunctional family dynamics. The premise is tragic and intriguing; the characters are desperate and dogged

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
The Influencer
The Imposter

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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THE GUESTS (A Psychological Thriller) by Adriane Leigh -a review

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THE GUESTS (A Psychological Thriller) by Adriane Leigh -a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /B&N Paper /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 19 , 2024

Six guests are invited to paradise. Some of them will die.

Ryleigh is a struggling artist, still trying to catch her break. Her new best friend, Kerrigan, offers her a once in a lifetime opportunity — a week on her family’s private island on Lake Michigan.

She doesn’t belong here. She doesn’t know these people at all.

Kerrigan is the housewife with the perfect life. She has a loving husband and a glamorous city apartment.

Her husband hates her. Their marriage is a sham.

Cole is a local. He’s there to make sure the guests have everything they want.

After last summer, this is his final chance. He can’t afford any distractions.

Each guest has their own villa. There are staff on-call twenty-four hours a day — a masseuse, chefs to make dinner every night, waiters pouring endless champagne. It’s going to be perfect.

But a violent storm looms on the horizon. There’s no way off the island.

Then one of the guests disappears. And they won’t be the last . . .

•••••

REVIEW: THE GUESTS by Adriane Leigh is a contemporary, adult, stand alone psychological thriller that follows a group of friends and acquaintances in the aftermath of the reading of a will of Henry Lange on Stonecliffe Island.

Told from five first person perspectives THE GUESTS focuses on the fall-out of secrets, lies and greed. Decades earlier, four friends, including Henry Lange, pooled their money and bought Stonecliffe Island, a small island on Lake Michigan but the death of Henry Lange, the last surviving original investor, sees the island ownership transferred to family members, friends and the embroiled island caretaker but all is not as it appears to be when two of their own go missing, and the finger of guilt is pointed to everyone in attendance. Kip Lange, his wife Kerrigan and Mika are the descendants of the original owners but six people arrive (Kip and Kerrigan, Kerrigan’s friend artist Ryleigh Halstrom and her best friend writer Daniel, Mika and her husband Stavros). Inevitably nine people are involved including caretaker Cole Mayer, Henry’s best friend Jon Caruso, and Jon’s daughter Lyra, and in the end, ownership of the island comes at a cost.

The characters are eclectic; their actions are questionable; everyone is unlikeable, unredeemable and suspect. Cole Mayer, the island caretaker is caught in a downward spiral not of his making, when a violent storm becomes the catalyst and backdrop for murder placing Cole in the middle of something out of his control. Kip and Kerrigan’s marriage is imploding; Ryleigh and her friend Daniel’s relationship is faltering, then Kerrigan and Mika go missing.

Adriane Leigh pulls the reader into a dark, dramatic and thought-provoking story of who and why. From the outset, secrets and lies lead to infidelity ; jealousy and greed threaten any peaceful transition of ownership; murdered and missing heirs make for real crime fodder; and the breakdown of marriages, friendships and family all culminate in finger pointing, wrongful accusations, death and final karma.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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The Imposter (Psychological Thriller 2) by Adriane Leigh-review

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The Imposter (Psychological Thriller 2) by Adriane Leigh-review

ebook only 99¢ Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 27, 2024

Tragedy brought them together, only death will keep them apart.

After narrowly escaping a life sentence under the guise of a new persona, Shae Halston thinks she’s turned over a new leaf. But all is not as it seems. When she begins to impersonate a couples therapist and starts taking on new patients, Shae thinks she’s stumbled into just the kind of role she was born to play. Until a surprise in the form of a new client lands on her doorstep.

Shae’s past returns to haunt her when she realizes the new couple she’s counseling aren’t strangers at all. But do they remember her? Shae’s interest quickly blooms to obsession when the opportunity to exact revenge over a long-buried tragedy becomes too tempting to pass up. Soon, she’s inserted herself into their lives, determined to balance the scales of justice however she can.

Just when she thinks she’s orchestrated the perfect plan for retaliation, her deceptive facade begins to unravel…along with her sanity. Delusions poison reality as Shae’s infatuation with righting the wrongs of the past consume her until the compulsion to kill reaches a fever pitch. Life has taught her if you love someone you should never let them go. Will Shae finally be able to escape the secrets of her past or will love prove to be her final undoing?

•••••

REVIEW:THE IMPOSTER is the second instalment in Adriane Leigh’s contemporary, adult, dark, psychological thriller focusing on Mia Starr aka Shae Halston aka Kelly Fraser. THE IMPOSTER should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up after the events and cliff hanger of book one THE INFLUENCER.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from first person perspective (Shae/Kelly) THE IMPOSTER follows Shae Halston aka Dr. Kelly Fraser, a persona she assumed after attempting to kill the woman in question. Shae Halston is the former social media influencer known as Mia Starr but the unreality of Mia’s online presence was in complete opposition to the reality of Shae’s own life. As Shae succumbed to the demons that were controlling her life, Shae, now known as Dr. Kelly Fraser was about to come face to face with her past, a past she continues to blame for much of her spiral downward.

The world building focuses on the Shae aka Kelly’s new clients, a married couple whose relationships struggles begin to worsen with Kelly’s interference. A missing wife, a husband who suspects something is wrong, and a series of anonymous texts laying blame on Kelly Fraser, force the leading heroine to take action, setting off on a new adventure towards fulfilling her need to avenge the past.

THE IMPOSTER is a complex, dark and dramatic look at mental and emotional abuse and illness; murder and vengeance, secrets and lies, betrayal and mistrust. The premise is suspenseful and melodramatic; the characters are tragic and desperate. THE IMPOSTER ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

Click HERE  for Sandy’s review of book one THE INFLUENCER

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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The Influencer by Adriane Leigh -a review

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The Influencer by Adriane Leigh -a review

ebook only 99 USD Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 15, 2024

Shae Halston lives a life of luxury–at least that’s what her followers think.

After a devastating affair ends her marriage, the internet influencer and It Girl must confront her new normal without losing her grip on reality–or any of her devoted followers. In an act of furious desperation, Shae befriends her husband’s new lover, but the closer she gets to their new life the more her mental health unravels. Soon, manic delusions replace her sanity and before long compulsive thoughts of revenge obsess her until the lines between her online persona and reality blur.

When a tragic accident turns violent, the spotlight turns to Shae and the threat of losing everything looms again. Until an opportunity arises that could secure her freedom for good…even at the cost of another life.

•••••

REVIEW:THE INFLUENCER is the first instalment in Adriane Leigh’s contemporary, adult PULSE POUNDING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER dark, thriller series focusing on Shae Halston aka Mia Starr.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from first person perspective (Shae/Mia) and a chapter from Kelly THE INFLUENCER follows in the wake of the demise of Shae/ Mia’s marriage. The persona of Mia Starr is an internet influencer but as Shae Halton, her world is spiralling out of control. When her husband serves her with divorce papers, Shae is determined to continue the lifestyle she has forged on line, a life style that never existed beyond the virtual world. Desperate and psychotic, Shae goes in search of her former husband, befriending his new girlfriend, and sets into motion a plan to destroy their lives.

THE INFLUENCER is a story of mental illness and obsession; secret and lies, betrayal and vengeance, murder and mayhem. Shae Halton is a thirty-something woman who has lost touch with reality, and in doing so, is no longer the person anyone recognizes. The thought provoking premise is tragic, raw, haunting and twisted; the characters are desperate and delusional-Shae /Mia is an unlikeable anti-heroine, a woman whose concept of right and wrong no longer exists. THE INFLUENCER ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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