Gripping suspense from Sam Carrington. Unputdownable. Had to stay awake to read through this one. It was excellent how Sam can hold your attention and run with it. A missing person from decades ago is the cause of this storyline that twists and turns carrying you on a rollercoaster of emotions and blame.

I enjoyed this thriller though I found it a little slow at the beginning ,more about a crying baby and a sleep deprived Mother,but when Louisa has a surprise 40th Birthday thrown for her by her best friend things soon pick up.Plenty of secrets to unravel and surprises but I did feel some parts in the final chapters were a bit far fetched almost bordering on comedy .! Many thanks to the Publisher,the Author and NetGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review.

<i>Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the ARC.</i>

There's a lot to enjoy with The Missing Wife. You know exactly what kind of book you're getting based on the blurb alone - a psychological thriller with enough twists to keep you hooked until the very end.

It's an enjoyable read from start to finish which kept me turning the page, however, there were a few disagreements I had with the book.

The overall pacing of the story is inconsistent, some parts were tediously slow while the latter events towards the end felt a little rushed.
My concern with the unreliable-narrator in these types of thrillers is that they're overdone. While it does work, it seems a bit too convenient for this story. I believe the story could've had a stronger impact if it was told in the first person perspective of Louisa in certain chapters.

The drawback for me is the characters. They aren't as fleshed out as I would've hoped for - some characters, Emily, for example, seem more like placeholders than actual characters. They only seem convenient for continuing the plot rather than meaningful interactions with the others (barely any conversations between Brian and Emily, for example).

The ending was clever, I'll have to admit - albeit the build-up took away from the dramatic 'umph' of the delivery. There's a certain level of suspension of disbelief that is needed when reading this, specifically with those relating to the 'amnesiac' episodes.

Overall, a good thriller that is intriguing with a great premise- but isn't anything new.

3.41 / 5

This book was not that suspenseful for me. The end was a shock for sure, but leading up to it, it was hard to stick with it. I also feel like the "wife/mother psychotic thing" is overdone with UK authors.

Louisa is an exhausted, sleep-deprived new mother and, approaching her fortieth birthday, the very last thing she wants to do is celebrate.

But when her best friend Tiff organises a surprise party, inviting the entire list of Lou’s Facebook friends, she’s faced with a new source of anxiety altogether: a room full of old college classmates who she hasn’t spoken to in twenty years. And one person in particular she never expected to see again is there – her ex-boyfriend from college, the handsome and charismatic Oliver Dunmore.

When Oliver’s wife Melissa goes missing after the party, everyone remembers what happened that night differently. It could be the alcohol, but it seems more than one person has something to hide. Louisa is determined to find the truth about what happened to Melissa. But just how far does she need to look…?

If you get a chance to read this, do it! You won't regret it! It's a fast paced thriller that will keep you guessing throughout the whole story.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of Missing Wife by Sam Carrington
Pub Date: 27 Jun 2019

Loved the synopsis of this book, but sadly this was a middle of the road story. I think that’s because I just couldn’t picture the story. Quite s slow burn.

Oh dear, this book will not be shooting up the rankings of my favourite novels any time soon. In my opinion, the story line is completely unbelievable. If Louisa (the constant simpering Lou Lou's drove me mad) really was as bad a parent to her baby boy as this book made her out to be, there would have been a full blown safeguarding review! Not for me.

This book was an absolutely fantastic page turner! The storyline is so truthful in a lot of ways as it shows a struggling mother who is getting used to being older and having a very young unplanned baby.
This books kept me guessing until the end and I'm so glad I requested it on here!

I enjoyed this book
Very much although I did feel that at times the storyline was a little far fetched and I felt it dragged slightly towards the end . I would recommend it though as an interesting , different psychological thriller .

Louisa is a sleep deprived new mom on the verge of turning 40 and suffering from dissociative amnesia. Her best friend decides to throw her a surprise party and invites “friends” from her Facebook page. Needless to say Louisa is not too pleased, these people are basically strangers. One of the guests is Oliver, her ex boyfriend from school, who is there with his new wife who then ends up missing.

The story seemed intriguing at first but it just didn’t quite deliver. Louisa is unlikable and whiny. Her husband Brian was a bit of a flake and her best friend Tiff is self absorbed and annoying. Also throw in Oliver who has weaselled into their lives while searching for his missing wife but still pining for Louisa.
This story unwinds slowly, I found it a bit monotonous and honestly towards the end I skimmed a bit. But it was still entertaining and there was never a moment where I contemplated not finishing.

The ending was just a bit over the top and I felt it did not fit Louisas’ character for 90% of the book.

This one was just ok for me.⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Thank you netgalley and avon books for this ARC in return for my honest review.

When the past comes back to shake up your life and mess with your head, what do you do?

Louisa has a new born at home, she’s tired. No, she’s sleep deprived. When an outing is suggested that she have dinner and sleep an uninterrupted nights sleep at a hotel Louisa couldn’t be more grateful. Instead, she receives the gift of a surprise party with a whole bunch of people from her Facebook friends list who she barely knows anymore. She knows her husband Brian and best friend Tiff meant well but all Louisa really wanted was a good nights sleep. But the gifts keep on coming. And not in a good way when she comes face to face with her ex boyfriend Oliver at the party. A man she hasn’t spoken to nor really forgiven since the day he left her and went away “for her own good” 22 years earlier. Why is Oliver here? She’s not even friends with him on Facebook. Ah yes, Tiff took over her Facebook account and invited him. Now lots of old, unresolved and uncomfortable feelings are resurfacing and she still can’t recall much from that time in her life. She just knows it can’t have been good and Oliver’s presence is only compounding these feelings.
Oliver tells her he’s now married but when a new day dawns, Louisa can’t really recall meeting his new wife Melissa. Can she? And now Melissa is missing and Oliver is everywhere telling her she owes him for the mess he helped clean up all those years ago. What mess? Louisa doesn’t remember but those flashbacks are scary. But are they real?
Suddenly Oliver is everywhere. Befriending Louisa’s husband and best friend and it’s irritating beyond belief. Oliver is not behaving much like a man who is worried about the disappearance of his wife.
This novel will keep you guessing as it follows many twists and turns until you reach its dramatic conclusion.
Special thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for my Arc of Sam Carrington’s The Missing Wife

The demands of caring for a new baby are extreme, all the more so when you give birth to an unplanned child as you approach your fortieth birthday, Between sleep deprivation, a struggle with breastfeeding and the discovery that her husband has been secretly texting her best friend, the last thing Louisa feels like is a surprise birthday party, and that us when the trouble starts. Her friend has managed to invite her first love to the party, which is not a pleasant surprise. Sam Carrington has constructed a clever tale which kept me guessing to the end, skirting issues of mental health, gaslighting and duplicity. It is compulsive reading.

I enjoyed the start of this book but the more I read, the more it became far fetched and unbelievable.
It really wasn’t for me which is a shame as I’ve enjoyed other books by this author.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC. I found this to be an enjoyable read overall. The only issue I had was pacing wasn't consistent throughout. It felt slow in parts and fast in others. Other than that I loved the story and the characters. I will be reading more from this author in the future!

I really struggled with this story unfortunately. Although I liked the sound of it from the blurb, it felt very unbelievable and a bit too drawn out with not one character that I felt I could get behind.

Very complicated and twisted story,who was the villain,who was the hero? Surprises right to the end.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC
Wow! this was an exciting, well written read!
I really felt the character Louisa, In some parts the story was too consumed of her and it others it moved really fast and made me root for her.
I definitely recommend this terrific cat and mouse tale.
I will also be checking out the author Sam Carrington and his other books!

THE MISSING WIFE is quite a different read, but one I actually enjoyed. It was slow in parts and fast in others but it came together rather well. It raised enough questions to keep me on the edge of my seat.

Louisa is approaching 40, a new mum to a tetchy Noah who was an unexpected surprise and she is completely exhausted. She has forgotten what it is like to be a new mother - how exhausting it is, the sleep deprivation - considering her daughter Emily is now a teenager. And despite it all, she loves Noah fiercely. Whether she has forgotten what it is like or she is just getting older, it all seems to be taking a toll on her as she begins to forget things as huge chunks of her day slip by unnoticed. She even forgets when she last fed Noah!

When her best friend Tiff decides she needs something to alleviate the pressure - a pick-me-up of sorts - she arranges a surprise 40th birthday party for her in the hope it will help. But Louisa has always been tight-lipped about her past, so Tiff headed straight to the place where all one's friends are - Facebook. Logging into Louisa's account she then sets to inviting all of her old school friends.

Roping in Louisa's husband Brian, Tiff has him arrange a room at the local pub where Louisa can have a night off, relax and sleep, without baby Noah's constant demands. It sounds heavenly and Louisa can't wait to lay her head down and sleep. But when Tiff suggests she pretty herself up she would take her to dinner, Louisa groans inwardly. She really just wants to sleep.

When Tiff leads her upstairs to where she has a table "booked", Louisa has a sinking feeling...that is only confirmed when she sees balloons tied to the banister declaring "Happy 40th birthday!" This can't be happening. Walking into the room everyone greets her with smiles all round announcing "Happy birthday Louisa!!" Tiff is grinning with pride that she was able to pull this off...while inwardly Louisa seethes.

But the guests are still arriving and who should turn up but Oliver Dunmore, Louisa's first love and his new wife Melissa. He is thrilled to see Louisa again but she is anything but. Her memories of that time of her life are sketchy at best, but what she does remember is Oliver leaving her for university and never coming back. She was devastated. And now he is here? How? And more to the point, why?

Louisa needs to escape. She can't handle all these people and seeing Oliver again is just bringing too much pain back. But she's had too much to drink, mixed with the tablets she took to help her sleep before Tiff dragged her out for "dinner". When she wakes the next day, she has no recollection of what happened or how she got back to her room. By the time she arrives home, she feels anything but refreshed - which had apparently been the whole point of her time away. And then Oliver turns up at her door, the last person she wants to see, informing her that his wife has gone missing!

There is a huge part of Louisa's life from the time when Oliver left that is missing from her memory. She has no idea what happened, only that something did and Oliver left. And now since his return, she is getting flashes of what appears to be memories. But are they delusions? Hallucinations? Or are they memories? But are they from the night of her party, or from twenty years ago?

With so many twists and turns and questions, THE MISSING WIFE will have you wondering who is telling the truth and who isn't? It will have you questioning what secrets are they hiding? It will have you speculating just who can you trust?

The slow unravelling of Louisa's past was almost torturous. The author would give you just a piece and then leave you wondering where it would lead. But it was just enough to keep you turning the pages. Nothing is given away until it is absolutely necessary. And when the moment of revelation came I admit to suspecting as such, but nothing prepared me for that final conclusion.

I found myself questioning that culmination of events that lead to that grand finale. At first, I wondered, was it real? Then was it necessary? And finally, where did that leave Louisa now? But then looking back on it, it's that conclusion that sets it apart and makes it unique. By the end, I found that I thought it an ingenious ending.

Despite the lack of dialogue, THE MISSING WIFE is Lousia's convoluted story of her past and her present and what happens when they collide. While I usually find myself skimming over monologuing and description for dialogue (a personal preference), I didn't so much with this as it was almost like a first person perspective through a third person narrative. I think this book would have done better with Louisa's story in the first person, but it is still an enjoyable read that will have you turning the pages at the rate of knots.

THE MISSING WIFE is my first read by this author but not my last. Some may not like the ending, though after some thought I found it ingeniously clever, and I have no hesitation in recommending it.

I would like to thank #SamCarrington, #NetGalley and #AvonBooksUK for an ARC of #TheMissingWife in exchange for an honest review.

Where to start with this book, I just couldn’t get into the characters didn’t like Louisa and her poor husband. This was a struggle to read and just could get into as I hoped.

There is a feeling of eerie suspense from the beginning of this book. You have all sorts of theories and are kept on your toes throughout. I did find the end a little weak compared to the rest of the book. Overall a book to be enjoyed.