Written with a multiple first-person point-of-view, this narrative alternates between the present-day perspective of Vicky (the protagonist); the past storyline of a young girl called Scarlet; and an in-between timeline told from the perspective of a young woman called Helen.

Vicky is a middle-aged woman, whose husband left her for his PA when he couldn’t cope with her debilitating illness of epilepsy. Vicky has recently upped sticks from London and settled into rural Cornwall, where she’s also had a big career change. Her past history isn’t revealed to begin with but is drip-fed throughout the story’s arc. This comes as quite a twist when it’s revealed so I won’t say what that is. Suffice to say this put a whole new spin on what I thought had happened to her in the past and how I thought she may have been connected to Scarlet.

Scarlet is a damaged young girl whose mother uses her child’s innocence to deal drugs. When her mother is sent to prison, Scarlett is sent to abusive foster parents. Scarlett misses her mother terribly; although her mother constantly put Scarlet in danger, she still felt safe and loved. It seems Scarlet is the one who has received a harsher sentence than her mother.

As the timelines converge and twists in the plot begin to unravel the backstory, we see the introduction of Helen, a young woman who David employs on work experience. We know her employment is no accident, but what is Helen’s connection to David?

There is one clever twist after the other and I just loved how everything all connected up to each other. With Vicky having sporadic episodes of memory loss linked to her illness and medication, true to its genre, this sets up the unreliable first-person protagonist, making for a fast-paced page-turning plot. I recommend this book for anybody who likes Louise Jensen or Lisa Jewell.

Under Literature Love’s rating scheme this novel has been awarded 5 out of 5 stars. This means:

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.
I would recommend everyone reads The Dead Ex by Jane Corry, it is a superb psychological thriller with many twists and turns and the ending was a very clever twist. I really didn’t see That last twist coming at all, with regard to the husband. A very clever well thought out thriller.
Highly recommended.

I loved the first two Jane Corry books and was delighted to receive a copy of this as an arc. Plenty of twists and turns and a good storyline. My heart broke for poor Scarlet, what a horrific childhood she had! Quite a few characters are involved but you do find out how the story connects them and it all makes sense in the end! It is one of these books where you think what do all these woman see in that horrible man, get a grip girls! Very enjoyable, I would definitely recommend.

"The Dead Ex" had me gripped right from the start. I read it in one morning because I had to know who all the different people were and how their stories wove together.

Ultimately, this is a tragic tale of bad decisions, lies, deceit and misunderstandings that combine to create a compelling thriller that swoops you up and won't let you go until it's done. Vicki is an epileptic aromatherapist with a mysterious past whose world comes crashing down when her husband goes missing and she's accused of being involved. Scarlett is a young girl whose mother is grooming her for a life of crime. Their lives intersect in a most unexpected fashion, resulting in someone's death.

But who's?

With thanks to Netgalley for the ARC with no obligation to review.

Really enjoyed this book. Interesting thriller, which at times made me feel quite sad, contains sensitive subject matter. A child’s lost innocence, revenge and the bitterness that was held onto truly destroyed the characters soul. It’s truly sad that people will exploit others and don’t care about the consequences. Well worth reading!

Kept me riveted until the end though it took a while to adjust to the style of writing. I had to check where Scarlet ended and Vicki began and then Helen suddenly appeared which was a little disconcerting. However it all became clear until towards the end where I felt the story became a little unnecessarily confusing. I also found it difficult to understand how Vicki would the.n marry the man who had an affair with her ex husband and was complicit in her downfall, A clever story well told, enjoyed the references to aromatherapy plus the psychology of the characters but perhaps a little confusing at times.

The Dead Ex is a weird thriller, with lots of twists that aren't particularly shocking or clever and characters that are so unlikable it's hard to find a reason to keep reading. While I wanted to see how it ended, I did not enjoy the reading experience and feel that the ending was flat. The title has no relevance to the story and I'm disappointed because this started to strongly but ended up being disappointing. Not sure if I'll bother to read more of Jane Corry's future books because I wasn't a huge fan of Blood Sisters either, although I did like My Husband's Wife.

This was an okay read, however I found the second half of the book rather difficult to finish. I think the start was good and promising, as a character Vicki is developed but I can't say the same thing for other characters. Also the timelines were a bit confusing between multiple POVs.
I still would like to read Corry again, I think the writing was good however plot and structure weren't as good, so would like to pick up another book from her.

A compulsive read which I raced through in two days. There are plenty of clever twists and turns in this entertaining thriller.

Vicki’s ex-husband, a successful business man, has vanished. The police suspect that she may be culpable. Eight year old Scarlet adores her Mum but she is in prison and Scarlet is in foster care. How their paths cross and what becomes of them make for a riveting read. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you.

Having loved the author’s previous books I was looking forward to reading The Dead Ex. However whilst it was really good, I personally didn’t think it was great.

I felt the plot started really well and loved the first third of the book but then the momentum just seemed to tailor off somewhat. Also there are a lot of characters and trying to work out who is who and who they might be can get quite confusing.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin books and the author for the chance to review.

I found it a little difficult to keep up with this book at times with the different names and different passages of time and it was all quite vague which rather than being intriguing I found quite annoying and felt like the plot was all over the place. However part two of the book things really started to make sense and fit into place. I would say a fairer judgment would be 3.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and Penguin for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The story of Vicky, an aromatherapist who seems to be struggling with epilepsy, and also something from her past, is a bit of a mixed bag for me. I liked the way it was narrated on different timelines, although it was sometimes confusing how the characters fitted together. When the police arrive to question her about the disappearance of her ex husband it also was revealed that her epilepsy caused memory lapses. Some of the storylines along the way seemed a bit contrived. I finished the book but didn't love it.

Well plotted and full of suspense until the finish.
Vicki’s husband has disappeared, he had run off with his mistress and now the police think Vicki knows more than she is saying and may have had something to do with it. The trouble is they may be right, Vicki has blackouts and has epilepsy, she is not sure she can remember everything that has happened.

This is the first book I've read by Jane Corry and was a bit of a mixed bag if I'm honest. The first half was absolutely brilliant. I was definitely engaged with the characters and story. It was fast paced and is one of the books where you just keep reading 'one more chapter' at night before you put it down. I hadn't even figured out the twists and turns and it definitely kept be guessing. As the story started to unravel it became a bit disappointing. Some elements were far fetched and there were some plot holes. The ending was a bit of a non-event and the two twists at the end concerning David and Jackie and the one about aromatherapy were a bit unnecessary and really didn't add that much to the story. I think the author was just trying to add as many twists and turns and shocks as she could to the story. It was however well written and did keep my attention, which is why I am going to download both of author's earlier books.

Vicki is trying to move on from her disastrous marriage and cope with her epilepsy caused by a work accident. She then has a visit from the police, saying her ex has gone missing and possibly dead, and she is a suspect.

This book is told in a before and after her accident, did she kill him and cannot remember? Or is there another explanation for his disappearance?

I am going to struggle to review this book, as I enjoyed it but then again, I didn’t. The story of Vicki and her hunt for the husband and trying to remember if she could have killed him was a good read. However, she was so annoying. I think she has put the acceptance of epilepsy back by ten years. She was portrayed as a neurotic and sad person with this illness that NOBODY understood, and everyone freaked out when she had a seizure.

The story was well written and thought out, and the mystery of where all the characters fit in, and how she was injured, kept me guessing until the big reveal. My only problem really was Vicki and her whining ways.

Read for yourself and make your own mind up.

Chester.

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

BRILLIANT ! I devoured this book I absolutely loved it.
The cover is very deceiving and I liked that it certainly had me gripped.
Can’t wait to recommend it to others.

This story is a domestic thriller and starts with this character Vicki learning her ex husband is probably dead and she doesn't want to believe it and the police thinks she's the one who killed him. The summary for me was a cheater, it could have told us that there will be more than one point of view. There's different women in different timelines telling their story that you know at some point will collide and connect everything but it's super annoying when you don't see it coming and that sends you off right off the bat.

I struggled a little bit to connect with the book, the reading per se was easy and quick, the story develops quite quickly but I found the suspense to be very poor and something very easy to predict. They try to put stuff like epilepsy and other things but at the end it doesn't add to anything and anywhere, I feel like it's a waste of something when you mention and actually don't use the thing.

The characters development could've been better and Vicki which is the main one of all the POVs you come across with is just plainly annoying at the beginning I swear I wanted to shake some sense into her some parts of the story before we reach towards the middle of the book and sometimes through out the end I wanted again.

You get glimpses of their lives and how everything actually revolves around the guy that is missing or probably dead and how they all connect together. This part is thrilling a little bit and I found myself looking for the next chapter but after you figure it out most of the suspense and the thriving of the book goes away. It's really a pity because I think the author has potential but this book wasn't it for me.

Vicki could have been a better character and the people around her could have been more developed. You learn about her and her mystery but it's so frustrating of how long it takes when it's something so simple. But it does show how the human being only see what it wants to see it's very tricky. You also learn about other women POV like Scarlet a child that goes to the system because her mom goes to prison and how she copes with herself or try to. The timeline gets you confused a little bit but you get used to it after a while.

I wish it was gripping for me and more appealing but unfortunately it wasn't for me. And the ending, I can't tell enough without spoiling the entire thing but it was extremely disappointing.

I did enjoy the writing style it was very fluid and maybe that's what made me keep reading the book because it was easy and very relaxing sometimes to get used to the author style. So I'm a bit hopeful more books will come soon and with better plot and development which will hit jackpot.

I really struggled with this book. I first requested it because of the genre and mainly because of the interesting description, however, I was disappointed because I feel like the focus of the book didn't correlate with the description.

I enjoyed some moments of the book and the twists towards the end but the long character developments that weren't entirely focused on the dead ex meant that by the time the twists came around I had no enthusiasm for them. Despite this, I felt the ideas behind the plot were very good but weren't executed in a way that brought it out in their best light.

The book for me was focussed on Scarlet and Vicki and their own lives much more than the idea of 'Daniel' (although it says David in my copy) being dead which there was no illusions to. I simply felt that I was reading a different book to the one I was presented and I think if I hadn't been expecting something entirely different for example if the premise of the book was that it would focus on two lives affected by one man then I would have enjoyed it more however it felt very confusing at times.


I would probably pick it up again when it is fully published and attempt to read it again knowing the plot and see if I enjoy it more but at this moment in time it didn't work for me.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for a review

The cover of this book appealed to me even before l started reading always a good sign and l wasn’t disappointed really happy that the Ex got payback but who did it? Well ..... no you read it and find out 😍

This was a fascinating book. The fact that I held a negative opinion of the main character for the first half of the book is testament to the skill with which the author revealed secrets bit by bit. Despite not liking the main character for so long, I still couldn’t put the book down. It was riveting.