As Julia Pritchard begins to revive her acting career, she and her stepdaughter, Blythe, also look forward to a new life away from Keith, their abusive husband and father who also happens to be very wealthy and a pillar of the community. Then Keith goes missing the same day Julia and Blythe move out of his house and subsequent events seem to indicate that he is a victim of foul play.

I don’t want to go into too much detail as I don’t want to accidentally give any spoilers away that would truly ruin a really wonderful, twisty mystery. It’s such a delight to read and try to figure out is he missing or dead?

It’s really a very well written story and at times a nail biter! Put on your best detective hats and skills to see if you are wise enough to figure out the entire mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alretha Thomas and Diverse Arts Collective for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the publishers for sharing this one, and my apologies for the late review. I just never really got into this book. I think partly I found the shifts in perspective jarring- whatever it was, I was just never truly immersed in the story, though it's a decent enough mystery.

This well-written suspense novel explores family dynamics and all that encompasses, both good and bad. There are many twists and turns to keep the reader on their toes and attentive. It is fairly fast-paced with plenty of drama and strong characters. Very well done.

The author really knows how to write a mystery book. The words were eloquent and the story moved well from beginning to end. The plot is filled with secrets and lies and keeps you wanting more throughout the story. The main characters are strong females and they show how even the strongest women can get pulled into the vicious cycle of an abusive relationship.

A gripping tale of the effects of domestic abuse . This has a substantial mystery involved that I will not give away. I am a fan of the author's writing and this book is excellent. It is riveting reading and kept me reading into the night. I appreciate the sensitivity that the author shows to the women victims. A very thought provoking mystery with excellent characterizations. Thank you for the ARC to Net Galley and the publisher. My opinion is my own . i highly recommend this book for your reading enjoyment for all that enjoy a good mystery with a side of revenge.

Such twists and turns. Just when I think I know what's going to happen, the author takes me down a new road.

The two main characters were a little flighty for my tastes. I do think they could have been more defined and written as stronger characters.

I received The Women on Retford Drive by Alretha Thomas as an ARC from NetGalley. I enjoyed the mystery and the storyline but I felt that the writing could be improved. It was a good first effort and hopefully the writing gets better in the other books in this series.

I enjoyed this book. As Julia Pritchard begins to revive her acting career, she and her stepdaughter, Blythe, also look forward to a new life away from Keith Pritchard, their abusive husband and father who also happens to be very wealthy and a pillar of the community. Then Keith goes missing the same day Julia and Blythe move out of his house and subsequent events seem to indicate that he is a victim of foul play.

Usually I’m not very adept at determining who the culprit is. But, this time I had a pretty good idea well before I reached the end of the book. However, this didn’t really affect my interest in the story and its outcome. The characters, for the most part, were appealing and the mystery was good. The chapters alternated between the points of view of several of the main characters and I found this to be a refreshing and enjoyable way to tell the story.

However, there were several inaccuracies in the book. One mistake was the comment (made more than once) by Blythe and her friend, Shelbie. They repeatedly said that they wanted to go to law school if they could “pass” the entrance exams (usually referred to as the LSATs). There is no pass or fail on this exam. It’s simply a matter of how well you do on it (with a top score of 180). Obviously, the higher the score, the better, which gives the applicant the option to apply to more prestigious law schools.

The Women on Retford Drive is a good book for a lazy afternoon, a long plane ride or simply when you are looking for a good read. And yes, I plan to read the next book in the Dancing Hills Mystery Series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

This is a well-written mystery that keeps you guessing. It tells the story of a missing person, Keith: an obnoxious and mean person that was abusive and manipulative; that the world may be better off without...and as a result there are no shortage of suspects. The book primarily focuses on two main characters, Julia, the soon to be ex wife, and Blythe, Keith's pre-law school daughter. This book is told entirely in first person, with each chapter changing narrators. Most chapters are either Blythe's perspective or Julia's, but occasionally, we get a chapter told from the viewpoint of the main Detective on the case, or from Julia and Blythe's lawyer. I struggled a bit with the fluctuating first person narratives--If you're inside someones head, I wanted them to more clearly tell me some things...but this is also a whodunit, and the author wanted to keep you guessing about who was behind Keith's disappearance and possible murder. So while I understood that certain things were left muddy for much of the book, I also got pretty aggravated a few times as it didn't feel truthful or real. There are a lot a flashbacks that lent a lot of depth both to the characters and to their motivations and relationships. I liked that the flashbacks provided clarity about gradual escalations in abusive relationships, and where, sometimes, abusive patterns can originate. And how people hide abuse, sometimes even from themselves. There is an element of romance in the book that while the character certainly deserved to find, felt uncomfortable for me personally. There is a little bit of moral ambiguity addressed which was interesting...if he's a bad guy, is it so bad that he's gone? Also, the power of social media, the mob mentality, the power of the public and/or the media to convict before anyone is ever charged--all of that is very very interesting and handled well. Overall, I liked this book, I felt the author did a fairly good job at misdirection and dropping red herrings so that I suspected a few different people early on. I liked the resolution and that the author addresses what happened with multiple characters, not just the main two.

Very good read. Had a hard time putting it down. will recommend to other readers who enjoy a good suspense book. Can't wait to see what else Alretha brings out next.

Good book! This book is about a missing person, the rich and powerful Keith Pritchard. Each chapter is written in the first-person from a main character’s perspective. This kept me wondering and guessing throughout. I am so happy to see that this book is Volume 1 in the Dancing Hills Mystery Series, as I look forward to more!

I was pleasantly surprised with this novel! At first I wasn't sure if I was going to get into it much but then I couldn't stop reading! Great plot and the characters really came to play in this book. Loved it!

I really liked this book. A great whodunit until the very end. It was very hard to put down.!
Loved the relationship between mother and daughter and the conflicting emotions Not the had towards her dad. I could relate with her. Highly recommend.

Make sure you set aside a good block of time to read this book….because, once you begin, you won’t want to put this gripping page-turner down until it’s done! I was sorely tempted to peek at the ending to confirm my theory, but resisted, and it turns out I was wrong. I haven’t read any other books by this author, but will definitely check her other offerings. Great read!

WOW I Loved this book. Julia is a abused rich wife. Her rich hubby goes missing and she is accused of his murder. Her step daughter knows it was not her, With help from lawyer and best friend step daughter Blythe save her from prison and solve case. Great book. Recommend read.

Julia Pritchard, an aging sitcom star making a comeback, and her stepdaughter, Blythe Pritchard, an aspiring attorney, form a pact to start fresh and pursue their dreams. But their plans go awry when Keith Pritchard, Julia’s soon-to-be ex-husband and Blythe’s father, goes missing and is presumed dead, the day they plan to move out of his mansion.

This book is written from the perspectives of Julia and Blythe - and a couple of other characters - in alternating chapters. Sometimes the author has the characters changing their minds in an instant without any real explanation. I also had to go back a few times because things were attributed to the wrong character, and threw me off for a minute. There was some lagging throughout, mainly when there just random issues or events that really weren't relevant to the rest of the story.

I didn't totally figure out the murderer until the final 1/4 of the book, so that was good. I did however find it very far-fetched based on the type of man the rest of the book described victim Keith Pritchard as. This was a book that while I didn't have trouble finishing it, I'm not waiting with bated breath for the next one.

I received an ARC from #NetGalley and am providing my honest opinion in exchange.

From the start, I knew that Julia Pritchard wasn't the murder in the story, but somehow as the story progresses, I was less sure. It was pretty convincing in rattling my beliefs, The victim was her husband, someone who on the surface was a good man.
A good mystery is not as straight forward, suffice to say that the story was convoluted enough to inspire a read, but not enough to cry foul over it. For a person who has read a few of her books, The Women on Retford Drive is more complex and more refined.
Definitely a read.

This book is compelling. A rich man who abuses his wife turns up missing. She is the logical suspect, but she is as clueless as the police. Most of the book is spent with her trying to clear herself. One of the big issues is spousal abuse. With alternating narrators, it is sometimes confusing, so I rate this novel a 4 instead of a 5. I kept reading it and finished it within about 12 hours so I have to say it is a good whodunit. The plot kept twisting and turning until near the end. Is the whole story believable? Maybe.

This mystery was told in the first person by multiple characters, so it gave the reader more insight into the characters and helped to form an opinion as to who killed Julia's soon to be ex-husband. The concept was great and the writing was good, but this wasn't as good as some other mysteries I have read recently.

Julia Pritchard and her stepdaughter Blythe have finally found the courage to escape the abusive clutches of Keith Pritchard. With divorce proceedings underway the two women pack their things ready to move into their own apartment only to find that the soon to be ex husband and father has disappeared. As their world spirals out of control they soon discover who they can and can't trust and just how easily people can believe only what they want to believe.

I felt the subject of spousal abuse was well considered and didn't seem either exaggerated or minimalised. As the thread which held the story together this was contrasted by characters with kind hearts and the two together gave a good impression of real life even if very few of us are as wealthy as Keith Pritchard.

This is a very easy read, the chapters are short and move the story along from one of four points of view. I loved the mother-in-law she was deliciously deranged and her husband was a sweetheart.  That said each of them facilitated the abuse their son dished out to both his wives and their culpability was well explained.

Thanks to Netgalley I was able to read an advanced copy of this book and as it is the first of a series I can look forward to reading more in the future.