
Newly married Jana has doubts about her husband, Michael, when he starts disturbing her at night with increasingly sinister behavior. However, Michael denies all of the nocturnal misdeeds.
With a history of mental illness in the family, Jana begins to unravel as she tries to discover whether ‘scary’ Michael is all in her head, her husband is lying to her, or if some horrific third option is at play.
This is psychological horror, so be prepared for Jana to spend most of the book doubting herself. Pierce handles her fears well, and it’s hard to know how reliable Jana is as a narrator.
As a fellow sufferer from anxiety, I thought the author portrayed Jana excellently. She’s controlled, wound tight and intensely private. Given her upbringing, it’s clear to see why Jana tries to keep things so neatly ordered.
I enjoyed watching the development of Michael from laid back and outgoing, to possibly calculated and malevolent. As Jana feels more isolated, unable to communicate with those closest to her for fear of judgement, the qualities that drew her to Michael in the first place suddenly make him a target of suspicion.
My only nitpick is I longed for a more dramatic progression of the story, especially in the third act. The characters seem to reach a certain point in their development and stay there. While I liked Jana and Michael and wished the best for them, it would have been nice to see them go through some higher stakes conflict before the denouement.
As for the ending, it would have been perfect for a short story, but I longed for a little more drama or explanation to resolve a novel of this length.
Altogether, an enjoyable, well written psychological thriller with some elements of quiet horror.
I award The Face You Wear…

Thank you to the author and Crystal Lake Publishing for providing me with an ARC. I’m voluntarily leaving an honest review.
Four stars, not bad. I do enjoy a good unreliable narrator.:-)
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It means I really liked it! Thanks, Priscilla
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I am Photon🔥 the Star Striker.
The power of books fuels the level of flammability within my Stellar Strike matches. Instead of igniting flames, these matches ignite stars. Whenever i’m ready to review a book, I take out a Stellar Strike match and say, “Star light, star bright, how many stars does this book ignite?”
OK, here’s the thing. I signed up to join your team of heroic super reviewer’s, but I don’t have the eyesight to be able to come up with my own super hero reviewer costume.
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The author huddled in the cold ruins of a once great city, holding her new book to her chest. “Who will review my book? Who will tell the galaxy about it and let everyone know what it’s like?” Suddenly, Photon appeared and struck her Stellar Strike matches, igniting the sky into a universe of stellar magnificence. “Photon is here!” The author cried in delight and handed her book to the superhero. “Thank you for reading and reviewing my book.” “You’re welcome,” Photon said, with her trademark smile. She was a hero, and the world was a better place for having her in it. 💖
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Thanks for the review, Iseult. The cover is definitely creepy.
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Thank you 😊. It’s a very creepy cover.
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