Every once in a while I like to return to a good ol’ straight-up thriller: just a solid, twisty story. So I finally picked up The Intruders by Louise Jensen from my TBR pile. Honestly, going in, I wasn’t expecting to be blown away. After countless thrillers, crime shows, and twist-heavy movies, I’ve grown pretty good guessing the endings and twists before they land.

That being said, The Intruders turned out to be a solid thriller that did manage to surprise me here and there. It had all the expected twists and turns but one particular reveal genuinely caught me off guard. I also liked how the main characters, Cass and James, were written. Sure, they kind of fit the ‘troubled couple in a thriller’ mold. But I found myself rooting for them, even when the odds stacked up against them.

However, the ending left me a little cold. While I had held out hope that certain characters would break away from the usual thriller mold, their decisions ended up sliding right back into that familiar territory. One character’s choice, in particular, felt more disappointing than surprising. Though in hindsight, I’m not sure why I expected anything different. After all, wouldn’t it be truly shocking if someone actually made the right call for once? (Cue the sarcasm.)