This book was highly disappointing. There was a really good mystery at the core (a missing person and multiple suspects with legit reasons for wanting him gone) but everything except for that mystery line was just not good. It all seemed very superficial. The relationship between Julia and Blythe (stepmom and stepdaughter) was not consistent. The way the characters spoke was stilted; at one point Blythe referred to Julia’s “tresses,” later while washing her hair in the shower, Julia refers to her “locks,” and dialogue between characters seemed as if they were reciting lines in a play instead of just talking to each other. What was especially disappointing though was the author’s apparent need to get “timely” references into the story. Among others, there were comments about how people “who aren’t born in this country” are paranoid about ICE, how America is a country divided between rich and poor, and (most egregiously) a baseless mention about how a mixed-race (not apparent anywhere else in the book) character is involved with Black Lives Matter. None of those had anything to do with the plot of the story and just seemed extremely gratuitous. It also took me completely out of the mystery at hand, because the statements were so jarring. I wanted to like this book because of the mystery, but there were too many things wrong to be able to recommend it. Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Look, I'm just going to cut to the chase - The Women on Retford Drive is bad.

It tells the story of an abusive man, Keith Pritchard, who has gone missing and is presumed dead. His soon to be ex-wife, Julia, and his daughter, Blythe, both become suspects and amateur detectives trying to figure out what happened to him.

The story is told through alternative points of view in each chapter. A lot of times, these alternating perspectives are profoundly useful when unraveling a mystery but they did not work here at all. The biggest reason why this failed is that all of the characters are the same. Seriously. They are all very flat, one dimensional, interchangeable characters. Despite the fact that at least 4 different characters get their own chapters, they all read the same. There is zero character development here. Julia is an actress, Blythe is a law student, Stephen is an attorney and Brian is a detective. That is all we learn about them. There are no nuances to their personalities, quirky traits, growth nothing that makes them stand out from anyone else.

This also bleeds over into my biggest problem with this book. It was very dialogue heavy. The characters narrated literally every single little minute thing that they were doing out loud, which was off-putting, to say the least. And despite the insane MURDER INVESTIGATION that they are all embroiled in, it's all very ho-hum, pass the potatoes kind of dialogue. The author's favorite words/phrases to use were 'anyway,' 'speaking of,' and 'by the way,' which all lead to unintentionally hilarious scenes of dialogue.

Have you guys ever seen the movie, The Room? Because this book reminded me of that. The tone was ALL over the place and things were hysterical that clearly were not meant to be. Needless to say, I won't be continuing this series.

I received this ARC as a courtesy from NetGalley & the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Fast paced quick read. This book will hold your interest all the way through. There is constant dialogue, chain of thought of each character. Brings to light abusive relationships and why women stay.. Only a few expletives and no steamy sex. A good mystery for a rainy day or an afternoon poolside!

Gripping storyline. Keeps you guessing the outcome until the very end. Couldn't read it quickly enough.

This was an excellent read. I loved the bond between mother and step daughter. The domestic abuse in several situations is disturbing, and if that is a difficult personal topic for some, then this isn't your kind of book. An excellent mystery, filled with who did it and IF they did it. I was surprised at the end. I didn't see it coming. #thewomeonretforddrive #netgalley

*I would like to thank the author/ publisher/netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for afair and honest review*