The Substitute Reviews 

 

“Lundrigan’s skill­fully bal­anced blend of psy­cho­log­i­cal thriller and haunt­ing coming-of-age story is infused with creepy, small-town atmos­pheric sus­pense.… [Her] writ­ing is both ele­gant and darkly humor­ous, deliv­er­ing bareknuckle social com­men­tary that will appeal to fans of Gillian Flynn, Karin Fos­sum, and Laura Lipp­man.”
Book­list, Starred review

“A feast for fans who miss Patri­cia Highsmith’s and Mar­garet Millar’s haunt­ing anatomies of peo­ple as nice as pie except for their mur­ders.“
Kirkus Reviews

“[A] sly and clever thriller… this book will keep read­ers guessing… they’ll be sur­prised by how it all plays out.“
Pub­lish­ers Weekly
 

“[A] chill­ing psy­cho­log­i­cal thriller”
CBC Books
 

“The Sub­sti­tute… is a cap­ti­vat­ing psy­cho­log­i­cal thriller that bal­ances secrets and lies with iden­tity and fam­ily.“
Ben­jamin Boulden
Mys­tery Scene Magazine
 

“[A] creepy thriller.”
Toronto Star

"…enjoy­ably dark, creepy and unset­tling."
Car­lyn Schel­len­berg
The Win­nipeg Review
 

“The Sub­sti­tute [is] hard to put down. Lundrigan’s abil­ity to write from the point of view from a psy­chopath was fas­ci­nat­ing.“
Kirsten Lowe
Red Deer Advocate
 

“The clues are there, but they are sneaky and decep­tive, and that is the true genius of the novel’s final reveal… [The Sub­sti­tute] is a spine-chiller for read­ers who appre­ci­ate lan­guage and refined, well-crafted plots — and who aren’t afraid to delve, for a time, into the mind of a psy­chopath.“
Stacey Mad­den
Quill & Quire
 

“… this psy­cho­log­i­cal thriller will res­onate with read­ers long after the last page is read… A cau­tion­ary tale, ‘The Sub­sti­tute’ art­fully cre­ates an unset­tling com­mu­nity made more malig­nant by an “undi­ag­nosed”… per­son, capa­ble of remain­ing hid­den for years to come.“
Janet Nicol
Maple Tree Lit­er­ary Sup­ple­ment, Issue 22
 

“… this book will keep you guess­ing to the very end.“
Ash­ley Kowleski-Pizzi
Reader’s Digest, Best Health
 

“Equal parts dis­turb­ing, sus­pense­ful, and raw, The Sub­sti­tute will have you hold­ing your breath until the very last page.”
Ian Hamil­ton, award-winning author of the Ava Lee series
 

“Irre­sistibly clever! This creepy tale had me hooked right from the start.”
Melanie Raabe, author of The Trap