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Off the Deep End

By: Lucinda Berry
Narrated by: Amy Landon, Andi Arndt
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Publisher's summary

From the bestselling author of The Best of Friends comes a heart-stopping psychological thriller about the shades of truth and the power of lies in the wake of one mother’s unspeakable loss.

Therapist turned stay-at-home mom Jules Hart’s idyllic suburban life shatters when she crashes her car into an icy lake. Her son and another teenage boy plunge into the water with her, but Jules can only manage to save one—the wrong one.

Reeling from the death of her son, Jules spirals into a violent and unstable mental state. Ten months after the accident, she’s still trying to reckon with the fact that she rescued Isaac Greer, another woman’s child, when Isaac suddenly vanishes.

Jules finds herself at the center of a massive police investigation. While she harbors her own dangerous secrets, Jules is adamant that she didn’t take Isaac. But then who did? Is Isaac the victim of a dangerous killer who’s been targeting boys in the Midwest? Or is someone else pulling the strings in this deadly game?

©2023 Heather Berry. (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved

Critic reviews

“As usual, Berry tightens the screws smartly in the opening pages and never lets up, and as usual, her ending is more intent on deepening the nightmare than providing a plausible explanation for it. Warning: the title applies as much to the audience as to the characters.”Kirkus Reviews

“As the suspense mounts, the action drives to a harrowing conclusion. Berry delivers the goods.”Publishers Weekly

“A well-done mystery with a plausible yet surprising ending.”Library Journal

What listeners say about Off the Deep End

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Good

Interesting but weird and I did not want to not finish it! So good for that. Ending weird/different and not expected at all!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another great story!

I just wish her books would come out faster! When is the next one coming?

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  • Overall
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Meh

I didn’t love this one. It was okay—other ones are a lot better—it’s similar to another one called keep your friends close.

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5 stars

Off the Deep End by Lucinda Berry is the perfect title for this book. I am a huge fan of Dr. Berry and love how she weaves factual data of the human psyche with fiction to create a story that evokes all of the emotions. On the surface, two mothers have similar experiences with their sons, but, for myself, I only had sympathy for one and deep hatred for the other. However, by the end, my sympathy waned due to what's revealed about that mother's actions, but never entirely because, again, the human psyche is real. I don't know if this was Dr. Berry's intention but appreciate it all the same.

Throughout, I kept wanting to reduce my rating because I was SO ANGRY at one of the mothers for her beliefs and white privilege, but then I realized this is why it needs to be 5 stars. The fact that I had such visceral feelings toward a FICTIONAL character shows the writing is outstanding. Again, I'm not certain if this was intentional, but it only served to deepen my anger and dislike.

Amy Landon as Jules and Andi Arndt as Amber both embodied their characters perfectly. I preferred one over the other, but (deep down) I do believe it's because of the characters they portrayed.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Glad it was short

I hate the "crazy woman" trope and this was no different. I guess I was expecting a twist that would make a savior outta the "crazy" lady. Thankfully it was short because I already wasted too much time.

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Off the Deep End

It got to the point and didn’t add too much fluff to paint a picture. Definitely kept me on my toes, ending was a little anticlimactic but overall pretty decent

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

The voice of Andi Arndt

Jules, Gabe, and Isaac went crashing into the icy waters after skidding on the icy road. When Jules reached her hand out to grab ahold of Gabe’s hand she realized once she broke the waters surface it wasn’t Gabe. Since that day Jules has been dealing with guilt. The guilt turned into a total breakdown. Her husband Shane admitted her into a mental institution where she has therapy sessions. It’s put a strain on her marriage.

Meanwhile, Isaac’s not coping very well either. He feels like it should’ve been him instead of Gabe who died. This tragedy has brought Isaac and Jules closer together bonding over this traumatic experience. Amber Isaac’s mother doesn’t like the relationship that’s developed claiming it’s inappropriate.

They’ve helped keep each other alive. Everything spirals when Jules gets sent to the mental facility. She’s questioned about her relationship with Isaac. Amber blames Jules for Isaac’s disappearance which leads to an investigation.

Andi Arndt’s voice lulls listeners into a sense of wonder and excitement as she reads. Andi’s the voice of Amber. I always get swept away by her voice. Everything she voices sounds amazing. She has one of those voices that captures your attention.
Amy Landon is the narrator for Jules character. She was the voice of Jules. I enjoyed listening to her.

Lucinda Berry comes up with some amazing concepts. The storyline was good and the execution by using dual point of view was ideal for this type of story. Where she always loses my attention is in the way she writes the story. There is power in words and these words didn’t pack the punch I needed to become fully invested.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

How A Kid became A murderer

I saw the 'puzzle pieces" in the downward journey of this boy character. How can one boy play violent video games, be preyed upon by a sexual predator -a woman- blame himself for surviving an accident that a family member died. And not become a school shooter? I have seen many people who suffer such things and more and don't shoot innocent people. Although, this is a good story, it still falls short of explaining how this character felt relief, or anything else, killing the kids in his high school. is it violent video games, a terrible trauma, poor values and associates and friends? Parents? All of that could make a boy predisposed to co? not a violent act. But for the hundreds thousands of students who don't commit a violent acts--there is innate responsibility of the shooter and nothing else.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Thrilling

Action from the first sentence. It’s not what you think it is. This story reminds me of the book, The Best of Friends, which I thought was well written and good. You don’t enjoy stories like this, but it was good.

RECOMMENDATION: READ IT

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Clever approach to a very dark subject

Dark and confusing frequently. The results was surprising and unpredictable. She always keeps her readers guessing.

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