3.5 stars.

The premise for this novel was extremely interesting, but the execution just didn't live up to my expectations. Rather than being the gripping thriller that I was looking for, Lock the Doors was instead just an okay YA thriller that started off strong and had some good twists and a good ending, but lacked a realistic feel.

The writing for the story was fine. It wasn't overly descriptive, but it did the job. The characters...also okay. Tom's character was explored the best, but I still felt like there was more there to learn and a lot of his character was left unaddressed. He had a lot of historical trauma and mental illness struggles that were touched one, but somehow he still felt like there was a lot more to explore. He didn't feel fully real to me.

Some of the supporting characters, particularly the adults, were almost executed in hyperbole and this over the top tendency left them a bit unbelievable (along with occasionally being frustrating and/or annoying). In fact, the decisions and actions of the adults were awkward and they felt like completely unreliable individuals who had no grasp on reality or the ability to act responsibly. I can't say more without introducing spoilers, but Tom's mother was kind of a waste of a character and didn't do nearly what I would have expected her to have done. I was angry at her for a good majority of the read and felt she really needed a slap.

The twists and turns were fun and I did enjoy the ride, but there were also a lot of unanswered questions and some fairly unbelievable circumstances. It was a fun & quick read, but not a realistic one.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *