Upstanding Young Man
- Judith D Collins
- Aug 10
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 12
By: Sharon Doering
Narrators: Josh Hurley, Megan Tusing
Audible Studios
ISBN: 978-1368113793 Publisher: Hyperion Avenue
Publication Date: 08/12/2025
Format: Other
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
In a quiet Chicago suburb, a star wrestler goes missing weeks before his high school graduation, shattering his mother’s carefully curated image of domestic bliss.
A pulse-pounding thriller with complicated family dynamics, perfect for fans of domestic suspense writers like Mary Kubica and Jennifer Hillier.
Meg Hart has taken great pains to create her perfect All-American family. It looks effortless, but that’s because she’s been smart about it.
However, on a brisk spring morning weeks before his graduation, her son McClane goes missing. And as the investigation deepens, the police zero in on her as their perfect suspect. Tragedy has struck this family before, and all signs suggest that she is the source. Add in her elusive husband’s strange behavior and inconsistencies in her story, it becomes clear that she has plenty to hide.
Before he disappears, it turns out McClane has secrets of his own: a pregnant girlfriend, a shocking truth about his wrestling career, and a chilling discovery—the person he trusts most has betrayed him in the worst way.
Alternating between Meg’s perspective in the initial days of the investigation and McClane’s in the hours leading up to his disappearance, Upstanding Young Man is packed with relentless tension and short, fast-paced chapters that will keep readers up all night.
My Review
Sharon Doering, (a favorite author), is back with her compelling third novel, UPSTANDING YOUNG MAN —a hauntingly beautiful, lyrical, and thought-provoking domestic thriller that promises to keep you riveted until its explosive conclusion.
A Golden Boy.
A Devoted Mother.
A Murder No One Saw Coming.
This gripping tale revolves around the baffling disappearance of a star wrestler just weeks before his high school graduation. This shocking event not only disrupts his life but also shatters his mother’s meticulously crafted image of domestic perfection, pulling readers deeper into a web of suspense and intrigue with every turn of the page.
About...
A Mother's Love. A son's betrayal. A family on the edge.
Set against the backdrop of the suburban Chicago landscape, we are introduced to Joe, a rugged former boxer with a weathered face that tells stories of battles fought both in and out of the ring, and Meg, an ambitious woman and mother with an art history degree whose passion for beauty and perfection permeates every corner of their home as she strives to be the perfect mother.
Together, they nurture four vibrant children: Jamie, spirited and curious; Whitney, introspective and artistic; McClane, a promising star wrestler on the brink of adulthood; and David, the eldest, who is dedicated to his career in the FBI. Yet, beneath this seemingly idyllic surface lies the shadow of a lingering tragedy—the memory of Carson, their older brother, whose untimely death as a child has cast a long pall over the family.
As McClane prepares for the pinnacle of his high school journey, a mysterious darkness descends when he suddenly goes missing just weeks before graduation, obliterating the carefully constructed illusion of domestic bliss Meg has worked so hard to maintain. Desperate to cling to her vision of a perfect family, Meg finds her world unraveling, the threads of her carefully woven tapestry fraying beyond repair.
With the police investigation gathering steam, the family suddenly finds itself under the harsh glare of scrutiny. What buried secrets from their past have painted Meg as a potential suspect?
Compounding this tension, Joe exhibits increasingly erratic behavior, and inconsistencies emerge in Meg's recounting of events, raising unsettling questions. What truths lie hidden beneath the surface of their seemingly ordinary lives?
McClane, too, harbors his clandestine truths. He finds himself entangled in a web of deception, not only grappling with the weight of a pregnant girlfriend, Natalie, but also confronting a shocking revelation about the integrity of his wrestling career. To add to his turmoil, he comes to a horrifying realization: the person he trusts most has delivered the ultimate betrayal.
Meanwhile, Meg struggles with the burdens of family secrets, including the violent history of a brother whose past actions led to the tragic death of a friend’s son, haunting her thoughts and complicating her already fragile state of mind.
The story unfolds through alternating perspectives—Meg’s emotional turmoil in the initial days of the investigation juxtaposed with McClane’s frantic thoughts in the desperate hours leading up to his disappearance.
What twisted mysteries and dark secrets shroud this family, and what fate awaits McClane in the shadows?
My thoughts...
Immerse yourself in the gripping intensity of this deeply masterfully crafted narrative that will not only leave you breathless but will also challenge everything you thought you knew. In this tale, trust becomes a fragile illusion.
UPSTANDING YOUNG MAN unfurls as a spine-chilling domestic thriller that fearlessly explores the eerie complexities of family dynamics. The author’s prose is hauntingly beautiful, fusing lyrical elegance with a psychologically intricate depth that brings the characters to life in vivid detail.
Told through an ingenious split timeline, the story invites readers into the intertwined lives of Meg, a mother grappling with her turbulent past, and McClane, her son, whose fate hangs in the balance. This clever narrative structure reveals the chilling echoes of their histories, enhancing the suspense with each page turn.
The subject matter is undeniably heavy, traversing through themes of nature versus nurture, the specter of violence, the fragility of sanity, mental health struggles, and the depths of desperation. Yet, the author navigates these dark waters with remarkable sensitivity, ensuring that each theme resonates without feeling exploitative.
Meg emerges as a beautifully complex and deeply flawed character, whose unraveling mirrors that of the other richly developed individuals in the story. The emotional weight is palpable, enveloping readers in an intense atmosphere that compels them to ponder just how well we truly know those we hold closest to our hearts—and the lengths we would go to protect them.
As a devoted fan since the author's debut, I found great joy in her Author's Note, which offered a glimpse into the inspiration behind the story and an accompanying playlist that further enriched the reading experience. This is a narrative that stirs the soul and lingers in the mind long after the final page is turned.
Dark, haunting, unsettling, and twisty. One of her best!
Recs...
UPSTANDING YOUNG MAN is for fans of the author and those who enjoy well-written family dramas, domestic suspense, and literary fiction. It is also suitable for readers who appreciate works by Wendy Walker, Jennifer Hillier, Lisa Jewell, BA Paris, and Mary Kubica.
Special thanks to Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for providing a digital advanced reading copy and the author for a gifted, stunning paperback copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Aug 12, 2025
Praise
“Upstanding Young Man is a thought-provoking thriller that makes you question how much you know about your family—and your children. Beautifully written, suspenseful to the very end, this book packs an emotional wallop. Doering’s books just get better and better!”
—Samantha Downing, international bestselling author
"When a young man goes missing, the action unfolds like a bolt of lightning as his mother tries to uncover the secrets he's kept, while revealing some of her own. Using a split time frame and dual narration, Sharon Doering offers adept insights into the dynamics of family relationships while exploring the terrifying ways that life can change in the blink of an eye. A compelling read!"
—Wendy Walker, bestselling author of psychological suspense
“Tense, evocative, and surprising, Doering’s Upstanding Young Man grabs you and won’t let go.”
—Reed Farrel Coleman, New York Times bestselling author
“Sharon Doering’s latest, Upstanding Young Man, is a raw, unflinching study of the perfect family’s ugly underbelly. A fresh, harrowing commentary on modern motherhood with one of the most well-drawn characters I’ve read in ages. With gasp-worthy twists and an ending that will leave you breathless, Upstanding Young Man is a beautiful and brutally honest portrayal of how easily we lose sight of those we love most. Readers will devour this story and, in turn, it will stay with them long after the last page is turned.”
—Danielle Girard, USA Today bestselling author of White Out
“Upstanding Young Man is a riveting novel that shows what can happen when the people we love become unrecognizable, even dangerous—and how far we will go to protect them, no matter what. Smart, twisty, and deeply unsettling, Sharon Doering will have you wondering if there’s anyone in your life you can totally trust.”
—Laura Leffler, author of Tell Them You Lied
“Sharon Doering is a fearless virtuoso, and with Upstanding Young Man she offers readers a tense, beautifully observed and gorgeously penned meditation on family dynamics—by turns nerve-shreddingly suspenseful, caustically funny, and heart-shattering—that explores the full scope of maternal love while engaging with the specter of societal misogyny and the violence it engenders. An absolute must-read!”
—Elizabeth McCullough Keenan & Greg Wands, international bestselling authors of Trust Issues
“Sharon Doering's Upstanding Young Man is propulsive, observant, juicy, heartbreaking, and acerbically funny, crime fiction at its best. You will tear through this tale of a family tearing itself apart from within. And your head will echo with the voices of beleaguered mom Meg Hart and her son McClane, the beloved kid who goes missing.”
—Bryan Gruley,Amazon #1 bestselling author of Bitterfrost and the Starvation Lake trilogy
"Upstanding Young Man dragged me into the depths of family secrets and didn't let me up for air until I hit the final page. Doering does it again in this taut suspense with gut-wrenching stakes. A must read!" —Elle Marr, Amazon Charts bestselling author of Your Dark Secrets
About the Author
Sharon Doering has worked on Wall Street, in a lab, and as a science professor. She has also been a good waitress, a mediocre bartender, and a terrible maid. She lives in Chicagoland with her family and a big, silly dog.
Upstanding Young Man is her third novel.
