Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This is a wonderful book and could not put it down and although it is incredibly sad in parts it was lovely.

Anna and Mark are the absolute picture of wedded bliss. They prefer each other's company to that of others, they love to read books with each other, and they seem to be on the same wavelength. That makes it all the more confusing when Mark leaves Anna suddenly, with no warning, and tells her that he doesn't ever want to see her again.

Anna is devastated, and has no idea what went wrong in their marriage. Determined to find out the answer she practically moves in to her sister's place to hunt down the elusive answers about who Mark was before their marriage. As they find out bits and pieces about Mark's hidden past Anna becomes more desperate to find her husband than ever, and she longs to find their own happily ever after.

I really felt something for Anna and Mark in their situation. I wanted so badly for them to find their own happily ever after, but both seemed intent on inadvertently sabotaging what could be. As a reader it was very frustrating to see how Mark and Anna pulled apart from one another as they should have been drawing closer together. I had empathy for both of their situations, but I had the most empathy for Anna, as she wasn't the one in charge of making the decisions. I found Mark to be more frustrating, as he pushed away his wife when he needed her the most, despite her best attempts to be a part of his life.

This book is very well-written and manages to be suspenseful even though it is not a suspense novel per se. I was on the edge of my seat while reading it! Although I didn't always agree with the choices that the characters made I did enjoy following along on their journey, and I wanted the best for them both. Leah Mercer has written another winner and I look forward to reading her next book!

This was an unexpected book. From the title I was expecting classic chick-lit but definitely not the case. I was surprised within the first few pages and the story kept me drawn in. An intriguing plot well worth a read! Loved it!

Oh, what an emotional roller-coaster.

Anna and Mark have the perfect marriage filled with love, thoughtfulness and care for each other. One evening as Anna is busy preparing a meal awaiting the return of Mark from his work at the bank, Mark walks in straight faced saying he needs to talk. Within minutes he's walked back out of the door having told Anna that he's leaving her. Struck totally dumb, Anna believes he will be back in an our or two, then be back for the weekend and, when he still doesn't return, he'll be back before work on Monday – he's left the car, his clothes and mobile phone, so he's bound to be back.
As the days turn into weeks, Anna seeks the help from her sister, Sophie, and Mark's father in trying to trace him.

The book is written with 'Anna' and 'Mark' chapters, so we get each character's perspective and view of what's happening and how each are coping emotionally. I don't want to give too much away about the story and Mark's reasons for leaving Anna, but what I initially thought started out a bit chic-litty with the wonderful marriage and an affair thrown in, was completely wrong. This is a very grown up story of sadness and grief, and my heart skipped beats at crucial moments and I'm not ashamed to say I shed a tear through the penultimate chapter.

An amazing love story which is counter to what you'd think from the description of the book.

We all have ideas about the people in our lives. Anna is no different. Her life with Mark seems ideal. Pinterest perfect, some would say. Then he up and leaves her saying to never contact him.

After the shock has had time to settle a bit, Anna launches on her own campaign. Things were too good between them to just let him leave. In the process, she learns about herself and that those we love can hide things from us.

Overall a great read with what I'd call a quasi-happy ending (as life is NEVER going to be all happy.) And, a wonderful reminder to cherish those we love as you never know when they will be gone.

This was an interesting book! I want to check out more by this author.

Mark comes home and drops the biggest bombshell of Anna's life upon her - he's leaving. He doesn't want any more contact with her and their 10 year marriage is over. Poor Anna had just caramelised her onions to perfection, as well.

It took Anna a few days and many stages of grief to accept what was going on, that Mark really had upped and left. I was annoyed with Mark at this point, they had a perfect marriage, a beautiful home and he'd abandoned them - I thought for another woman or a life of crime. How wrong I was!

It turns out, well, I'm not going to say because 'spoiler alert!', but he's doing it to save her. To prevent her having to go through the most painful time in his past. He hopes that she'll just forget about him and move on, hoping that hating him would make it easier for her.

He just wanted to do one last thing for her, to find someone important from his past, someone who he feels he abandoned himself.

This book was really sad. Well written and thought out, but sad. It didn't depress me though like The Fault in our Stars or Me Before You kind of sad, the ending was rewarding in it's own way, and it doesn't leave you feeling totally bereft, but it's not light reading. It is though, rewarding reading. I loved the way that the parts of Mark's past came together in the end.

I was frustrated in parts, but all credit to Mercer, that's the testimony of a good writer when people are shouting at your characters, it shows you've developed that relationship with them.

It's definitely a curl-up-on-the-sofa-with-a-hot-chocolate, autumnal kind of read.

When Mark tells Anna that he is leaving her after 10 years of perfect marriage she is devastated and totally bewildered - on minute he was there the next he was gone, leaving everything behind clothes, car, phone so she had no means of contacting him and on going to his place of work the next day she finds that he has left there as well! Her only clue comes when she receives a call on his phone.

Mark has dark secrets from his past that he has not shared with Anna along with his devastating secret from the present - he feels that leaving her is the only thing that he can do and is the best thing for her.....but should he be making that decision on her behalf?

A very emotional story but a very compelling one - will they be able to sort out their marriage before it is too late?

This was a heart-wrenching yet beautiful story. Anna and her husband Mark have a seemingly perfect marriage, until one day Mark comes home and says he needs to leave with no real explanation. And leave he does, taking nothing with him. You soon learn his reason. Personally, I wanted to punch him in the throat, even though I could understand his motives and what he thought he was doing. He just wasted so much time and love. My heart broke for Anna, as she was left in the dark, searching for her husband and answers. You will have to read yourself to find out if Anna and Mark get some closure, but be prepared to have a large bottle of wine and a never-ending supply of Kleenex.

Although I enjoyed reading this book I hated the concept that a husband could hide something so serious from his wife and think that leaving her to hate him would be better. It made me lose a lot of sympathy for Mark. Heartbreaking story.

I devoured this book. Could not put it down. This was quite an emotional read.

A seemingly perfect love and marriage of many years, imagine Anna's shock when her husband suddenly leaves her with no explanation. His secrets are heartbreaking. I felt like I was in Anna's head as she tried to piece things together and find Mark.

I loved getting glimpses of their past and how their love came to be. They seemed so content, so comfortable.

Great storyline, great writing and I highly recommend this book!

P.S. Warning: Total sobfest the last 5% of this one, but so worth it.

The Man I Thought I knew, is a tender story about marital betrayal and abandonment, as a wife concludes that her stable and idyllic life and marriage was not as it appeared to herself and others, as she was forced to meet the challenges of unforeseen and uncontrollable life events and circumstances of love and marriage. Originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, Leah Mercer earned her M.A. in journalism at a Canadian university and currently lives in London with her husband and son.

As a popular lecturer of the English department at University College in London, Anna and her businessman husband Mark had been married for ten wonderful years and were hoping to add a child to their family. Anna was shattered when Mark announced he was leaving her immediately-- there was no prior warning or explanation. In utter shock, Anna could barely function and took a leave of absence from her position at the college. Anna’s older sister Sophie would help her cope, she had always been Anna’s rock of support-- though Sophie suddenly was faced with her own marital conflicts as the two sisters leaned on one another emotionally during the disturbing and confusing time.
Anna tried desperately to piece together what few clues Mark left behind as she attempted to find where he was living, she needed to talk, needed insight and answers. Mark resigned from his company, cleared his cell, in his selfish and heartless act. The only clue left on the GPS led to a graveyard. Anna remembered Mark never shared his family history, as she pushed herself to contact members of his estranged family, that hadn’t spoken in years.

Mercer thoughtfully crafted a storyline where readers needed to find out what happened to Mark after he vanished, as our deepest sympathy remained with Anna. Told in both Anna's and Mark's narration, this is a story of high drama surrounding the strength of family connections and the heartbreak of broken love, and is somewhat reminiscent of vintage classic film noir. (3*GOOD).
*With thanks to Lake Union Publishing via NetGalley for the direct e-copy for the purpose of review.

I have read an enjoyed other books by Leah Mercer but this one just did not appeal to me. Since Anita Shreve's THE PILOT'S WIFE, the trope of the husband with a secret life has become increasing popular. Although Mercer's version of this story is imaginative, the picture-perfect relationship between Anna and Mark just wasn't believable and the rest of the book was also rather far-fetched. The book was well written but the lack of a believable plot line weakened the book.

It appears that Anna and Mark have the kind of marriage that could be described as pretty perfect. Maybe Mark could find a better job if he went back to school, but his career pays the bills and the couple, hoping to have a family will need that security while Anna is out of the workforce. So pretty perfect, two people who love each other, love being together and are happy in the present and looking forward to the future.
So what could go wrong? Mark comes home one night and tells Anna he is leaving. Anna, totally blindsided watches him walk out with little but the clothes on his back. Sure that he will return with some kind of explanation and apology, she is devastated to find he has also left his cell phone and car keys behind. Anna has no way to contact him and no idea where he has gone. Discovering that he has also resigned from his job, Anna is determined to uncover the reason he walked away and left their life behind.
The POV alternates between Anna and Mark and we soon discover the reason for Mark’s departure. Since I’m that person who never reads spoilers, I won’t provide any either. Let me say though that the past has a way of intruding on the present and will play a role in Anna and Mark’s story. A very well written story that grabbed my attention from page one and made me choose to keep reading rather than tackling the chores on my to-do list. They were still there when I was done and I felt it was much more important to discover how a perfect marriage could change in the blink of an eye.
My first Leah Mercer novel and it won’t be my last. Thanks to the author, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I typically don’t read books described as “Chick Lit” but this one made me question why.

This is a very emotional book, particularly for those who have found themselves in the same situations as the characters of the story. Mark leaves his wife (Anna) and she does not know why Mark decided to do that when she knows he loves her. There is so much confusion and pain in her heart and the author makes a good job of showing this. As I was reading the book, I found myself very much affected by Anna’s feelings. Mark leaves because he does not know how to deal with a situation that has presented to him which he thinks will destroy his family and future dreams. I can understand that Mark’s decision to leave Anna makes sense in the frame of mind that he was. Perhaps, it is an instinct and many of us might find ourselves wishing to do the same when confronted with a drastic life changing situation; our instinct is to run away from the problem and protect those we love. Great story to read and I would recommend it to book clubs as it offers great discussion opportunities.

This book was so horrible that it just made me angry. The first person narrative alternating between Mark and Anna was just boring - so repetitious, very sophomoric. Second, Mark's actions were so incredibly thoughtless and selfish that he wasn't a sympathetic character at all. I forced myself to read to the end, but it was a total waste of my time.

I was given an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for a honest and independent review.

This is one of the best books I've read this year! It was so addictive yet emotional, I couldn't put it down! I wanted to keep reading it, wanting to know the reasons behind Mark leaving Anna, if she would find out the truth, what other secrets were being hidden.

In the first few chapters, I wasn't that keen on Anna, and thought she was a bit 'in your face' to the point I thought, "Oh that's why he left her!" though that may be because of the way the first few chapters is all Anna, all her thoughts, before chapters from Mark's viewpoint came in. As the secrets started unravelling, I started warming to her, wanting her to get her happy ending.

This is a touching novel of a happily married, loving couple torn apart by a sad, selfish decision.
Anna and Mark have been very happily married for ten ears and are looking to have a baby. Mark, one day and our of the blue, announces that he is leaving Anna and disappears. His behavior is completely foreign to the Mark Anna though she knew.
Anna embarks on a search for Mark aided by her sister, Sophia, and by Mark's estranged father, Richard. She learns that there is more to Mark than he ever divulged and this news makes her ever more vigilant to find him.]<ark has his own personal reasons for leaving but not loving Anna is not one of them.
This novel is a journey through Anna and Mark's struggles to cope with the realities of life facing them and in finding a way to survive.

"The Man I Thought You Were" by Leah Mercer

What happens when your perfect marriage suddenly comes to an end? Your husband has walked out on you, has quit his job, left all his belongings at home and has pretty much disappeared without a trace. What would you do? Anna waits patiently thinking Mark will be home within a day or so. But when he doesn't return home after several days she starts trying to grasp at any straw she can to find her husband. This is not the Mark she knows and loves and has been married to for over a decade.

Mark has just walked out on his wife. Left his whole life and all his belongings behind. He has pieces from his past that he feels he must urgently address as his present is uncertain. And leaving Anna is the best thing to do. At least this way she will be hurt once, not daily, over time, as he addresses his past and present. He knows what it was like being the caregiver to his sister when she was ill and then died. He is saving his wife from anything remotely related to that, isn't he?

Leah Mercer has written a heartbreaking and heartwarming novel about loss, gain, denial, truth, friendship, honesty, marriage, family and love. She explores the human heart and mind in many different aspects not just between her main characters, Anna and Mark, but also from the viewpoints and relationships with many other individuals in their lives. She explores the grey areas of what one person may deem as right while another deems those same actions as wrong; although both sides may have a valid point of view.

She has written a moving and eloquent novel that embraces the reader from word one and keeps them thinking and ruminating long after the last word.

Rating: 4.8
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

** I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.