Review: The Extra

The Extra by Annie Neugebauer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

   I scrub my hands over my face beneath my hood, breathe slowly into my damp palms-mustn't seem annoyed to the participants-and walk to a different spot to get a new view of the area. 

   I get ten plus me again. It's not a mistake. There are eleven people here right now. 

   There's an extra.

-- Annie Neugebauer, The Extra

10 people get out of a van and set out on a university-sponsored camping/hiking trip. That evening 11 people arrive at the campsite ... only Matt, the leader, and his 2 assistants realize there is an additional person, but since they recognize and have memories of each and every person in the group, none of them can tell which one it is. 

The Extra is Annie Neugebauer's first book in The Outsiders Sequence and is set in a remote, forested area in Arkansas. The story is told from Matt's perspective as he tries to keep the camping neophytes safe while he struggles with the questions raised by the appearance of the extra: how did they join the group without anyone else realizing it, and why? Which member of the group IS the extra? And, most important of all, what are they going to do about it? 

As the story unfolds the leaders try to unravel the mystery of the extra, and you can feel the tension increase as Matt tries to master his own panic and uncertainty about what to do to keep the group safe.

The Extra is a gem. It doesn't have (or need!) jump-scares, physical violence or gore; what it offers is a suspense-filled, psychological thriller/mystery tale set in a wonderfully atmospheric location. It should be on your TBR pile along with The Other, the second (but standalone) book in Neugebauer's The Outsiders Sequence. 

Review: The Other

The Other by Annie Neugebauer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Other by Annie Neugebauer is a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, mind-messing, twisted psychological thriller!

Imagine what you might feel or how you might react, if you and your spouse were to encounter your doppelgangers: two other people who look, act, and speak exactly as you do, and who have all of your memories as well. Then, imagine that there's a bit of a scuffle, and when the dust settles you realize that you don't know for certain which one is actually your spouse, and neither do they.

In The Other, that's exactly what happens to married couple Elise and Logan as they're on a hiking trip, hoping to reconnect and make some decisions about what their future together might look like.

And just in case your brain hurt isn't already hurting, consider that Elise and Logan now have to figure out who is really whom, and then they must also find a way to evade the other couple before they can go back to their lives; otherwise they might not go back at all, or even worse, one of them may very well end up going back with The Other.

Telling the tale by alternating the viewpoint between Elise and Logan, Neugebauer sets up this situation masterfully, and her storytelling swept me right along the trail with Elise and Logan. The tension in their marriage, and their obvious desire to find a way forward together are strong elements on their own, but then to mix in the confusion of the "identity crisis" and the very real possibility that Allison and Bryce intend to cause harm, and you have a recipe for a gripping, wonderfully paced, psychological thriller.

Thanks to Shortwave Publishing for providing an eARC for review through NetGalley.

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