Book Review: You're Next by Gregg Hurwitz

Every family has its secrets. His might get them killed.

'I know you don't I?' Five words- that's all it takes to plunge Mike Wingate and his family into mortal danger. Mike doesn't recognise the crippled stranger who approaches him at a party... but the stranger seems to know all about him. 

What has Mike done? Do they have the wrong man? Overnight, the threats become attacks, and Mike, his wife and their young daughter learn they aren't safe anywhere- especially not in their own home. But there's no time for Mike to figure it out, because his enemies have killed before- and he's next.

You're Next is part of Richard and Judy's Book club, it is a fast paced thriller that will have you gripped to the very end.
Mike Wingate was abandoned in a playground by his father when he was just a young boy. He grew up in a foster home, never knowing about his past, he has no idea why he was abandoned and no idea why his father never came back for him.

Mike has turned his life around, he is married to Annabel, the love of his life, they have a beautiful daughter, Kat and he has built up an extremely successful construction company from scratch. He is at a ceremony where he is being given an award by the Governor when the stranger approaches. Mike does not recognise the man, he is not from his past and certainly shouldn't be part of his present. The stranger however knows all about Mike and more alarmingly he knows all about Annabel and Katharine too.
Mike knows that he needs to do everything that he can to protect his family while he figures out who these people are. But there is no where to turn, even the authorities appear to be involved, there is literally no where for him to hide; he is the only one who can protect his wife and daughter.
As the threats escalate, Mike has to revisit some of his past and is shocked to discover that his father abandoning him is so much bigger than he ever thought. His past, which he had tried  so hard to distance himself from may hold the answers to his current situation. Mike comes to the sickening realisation that he may have to do to Kat what his father did to him, is that the only way that his daughter can be safe?
I read You're Next in just one day, every time I got to the end of a chapter I just couldn't stop myself from starting the next one.
Gregg Hurwitz has crafted a brilliant story and I loved how we jumped between the past and the present to tie the events together. As the book goes on, you really feel for Mike Wingate, he is so desperate to protect his family and it feels as though everything and everyone is against him. I liked the fact that Hurwitz didn't try to produce the perfect hero in the character of Mike; he has flaws and aspects of his past to be ashamed of but this just makes him more realistic and more determined to do the right thing by his family.
If you are looking for a clever, fast-paced thriller then look no further than You're Next, you won't be able to put it down.