The Vow begins two weeks before a wedding us due to happen.
It is a story about a double life and a missing person and also friendships.
The story is well written and has several twists and turns.
I would give this 3.5 stars

****A refreshing and absorbing thriller***

I thought The Vow was an engaging, edgy and intelligent psychological suspense story.

This book kept me guessing throughout, and I kept asking myself where was this story heading? I thought it was completely unpredictable and a refreshing book. I was on edge the whole time reading this, asking myself who could be trusted, and who most definitely couldn't. There was plenty of twists and turns along the way, and overall I thought this was an unsettling and absorbing thriller.

Told from a variety of perspectives, this tale is about Amy and her fiance - who vanishes two weeks before their wedding. Accusations and secrets begin to appear as Amy's life swiftly unravels, with everyone wanting to know where Matt is.

This book is a compelling read, and I would recommend for those who enjoy intense psychological thrillers.

The Vow is a mystery thriller by Debbie Howells that takes readers on an emotional roller coaster full of twists and turns. A story that keeps the reader second-guessing with every page they read. The plot twist is unexpected and sure to catch the reader by surprise. The Vow is a story that stays with you long after reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the ARC in exchange for my honest review of "The Vow" by Debbie Howells.

Amy thinks that she's finally about to have the life she always dreamed of. Dream home, dream wedding, dream husband. But then two weeks before her wedding a mysterious stranger in the street grabs her arm and tells her she's in danger. When Matt, the man she's to marry, doesn't come home that night, Amy gets a bad feeling that there's more to this warning than she had thought. The plot thickens when another woman also reports Matt missing, with claims that Matt was going to leave Amy to be with her instead. As the investigation digs deeper, both women tell plausible tales, but who is telling the truth? What happened to Matt?

This book was so mind-bending! With so many unreliable voices and characters, it was hard to know what was real and what was fake. Add on to that all the new identities and new names people had taken on. Crazy. At times, it was a little frustrating, but thank goodness for Amy's daughter being a clear headed voice to lean on.

I think that it's interesting that this book questions gaslighting in the book, as well. Is Amy gaslighting Matt? Is Matt gaslighting both women? In a web of manipulation, this feels like an obvious answer, but things are never that simple. This extra layer of doubt adds to the mystery.

Overall, I gave this book 4 stars. I wish that things would have been just a little more clear. For a brief moment it felt like it might tip over the line into witchcraft and spells. It got to be a little confusing and a little frustrating. But the mystery of Matt kept me hooked. In the end, I think that the resolution connected well with the past and gave this book a satisfying end.

This book draws you in from the very start. I was curious to know how it would unfurl. I enjoyed the style of writing, it is well written. I took a great dislike to Matt fairly early on and must admit to being slightly annoyed at Amy for how she initially fell to pieces. It a]l added up to a very good story. The back story of their relationship does involve gas lighting so if that’s a subject you would rather not read about then perhaps this book isn’t for you. I do however recommend this book and am glad I had the chance to read it. Thank you #netgalley.

"...He isn't who you think he is. You are in danger."

Can you imagine two weeks before your wedding a complete stranger, an elderly woman, grabs your arm in the middle of the street and spits these words at you?!

This is how The Vow by Debbie Howells begins its truly twisty suspenseful tale of Amy happily engaged to Matt. After this ominous encounter Matt never comes home that day. The police cannot find him. Then another stranger, Fiona, reports her boyfriend missing and pictures reveal it is Amy's Matt!

Now here is the crazy part. This is just the beginning of the story. As the police search for Matt not knowing if he is a con man, a victim, dead or alive, we learn about Amy and her past especially what happened in 1996. Oh yeah, she is a herbalist and lets just say there is a reason for the bloody white rose on the cover of this book.

This book is fast paced and right to the point. There are 4 narrators Amy, Fiona, Jess(Amy's daughter) and a mystery person from 1996. Except for Jess they have one thing in common: they are so unreliable!

I appreciated that the ending leaves no loose ends. I did figure out some WTF moments before they happened because of the author's crafty foreshadowing earlier in the story. I wish there was more depth to Fiona but there is enough of her to form a negative judgement from me. Jess is the most realistic and relatable character. Some of the turns go off the track but what a wild ride for us thriller lovers!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Vow
By: Debbie Howell
Avon Books UK
@avonbooks

“I promise to hold your hand, to steer you through life’s sorrow and darkness, on a path towards justice and hope. I will endeavour to know what’s best for you, to protect you from your past, help you build the future you deserve. Then when I can no longer be with you, a part of me will always be there, watching over you. In the shadows of your heart, on the soft curves of your skin, in the long-forgotten corners of your mind.”

Two weeks before her marriage a stranger stops Amy on the street and warns her she’s in danger. Later that same night, her fiance’ goes out for drinks with a client and doesn’t come home. Frantic and desperate Amy calls the police. When Matt isn’t found she is forced to call off her wedding.

As the police are investigating Matt’s disappearance, he is reported missing again by a woman named Fiona. He was supposed to be leaving his fiancé’ for her and moving in.

It seems Matt was living a double life!?

It’s hard to say much more without giving this one away!

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 An excellent thriller. Talk about a wild ride. Another one I read in one sitting. My only complaint is it maybe had a tad too many twists and coincidences. Also it had not 1, not 2, but 3 different characters with name identity changes. 🙄

Thank you @netgalley and Avon Books UK for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Put this one on your radar ASAP. It’s the perfect October read! It’s out today - 10/15!

I really wanted to like this one a lot more than I did. I loved the premise, but unfortunately, for me, it just didn't live up to the promise.

Two weeks before the wedding, Amy's fiancé Matt doesn't return home after a dinner with a client. She calls the police to report him missing, but there is no sign of him. Then, Matt is also reported missing by a second woman, Fiona, who tells the police that Matt was on his way to break up with Amy when she left her house, but no one has seen him since. The police seem to believe Fiona and think that Amy is lying to them. What happened to Matt? Will the police find him or will it be too late?

I liked the story and the idea of the story. A man living a double life who seems to not have a past. And, I liked getting both sides of the story of their relationship from Amy and her adult daughter Jess.

But, overall, it was a bit of a mess, unfortunately. The only reason to include Jess seemed to be to add the truth about what a creep Matt was, but otherwise, she didn't have a real purpose. Maybe to do some of the detectives' jobs for them, but that's about it. And the detectives were rather worthless. They're lack of independent investigation was just weird... they just took the word of the person they were speaking to at a time, but as soon as they talked to someone else, their opinion would be completely flipped. And the flip back. It was just strange. And Amy's whole current and background story wasn't told in a clear way, but it also wasn't told in a thriller way of slowly teasing out the story with the surprising twists and turns. None of it was really all that surprising, honestly.

Overall, I felt this could have used one more pass by an editor and it could have tightened it up and made it flow better as a psychological thriller. The author definitely has promise for the future, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing me with an e-galley of this book in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.

This was an open and read to the end book. From the first page I was hooked and feeling so sad for Amy as her fiance Matt had disappeared two weeks before their wedding. The story covers secrets, lies, suspense, mysteries and red herrings/twists abounding throughout. There are 5 aspects to the story, Amy looking forward to getting married, Matt who has gone missing, Jess who is Amy's daughter, Fiona who is the other woman and an unknown person who is filling in the back story.
I loved the setting of the South Coast and the descsriptions of the scenery adding detail to the story. Matt was a control freak and a thoroughly nasty man from the very beginning but I loved Jess as she would not give in at all. Amy was in my mind a little too down trodden and not being realistic over Matt, but I have known people like her that do not want to lose face and accept things as their own fault and forget to look at the full picture.
Throughout it is difficult to decide which are facts and which are fiction which kep me on my toes trying to evaluate the differences
This was truly a roller coaster of a read and one of which I did not fully anticipate the ending.

A striking cover!
Amy is due to marry Matt in 2 weeks, there is much excitement but then after a rushed phone call saying Matt will be late home that night he disappears, seemingly off the face of the world
Amy is devastated, Jess, her daughter, less so and as the Police investigation starts ( and continues ) we find out not everything was as perfect as Amy led everyone to believe and secrets, lies and obsessions come to the fore as the reader, slowly at times, is led through this domestic noir read
There is a fair ending and I have to say nothing wrong with the book or the plot and it was quite enjoyable but it never really raised its game from the opening gambit, I think some readers will find Amy feckless in her excuses re Matts obvious bullying and there is a lot of mention of flowers and herbs throughout ( author was a florist so makes sense ) and it is mostly relevant but for me not that riveting but that all said it is a passable psychological thriller, no massive shocks here but I guess they are not always needed

3 Stars
6/10

Two weeks before her wedding, a stranger stops Amy in the street and warns her she’s in danger. Then that night, Matt, her fiancé, doesn’t come home. Desperate, Amy calls the police – but when Matt fails to emerge, she’s forced to call off her wedding day.

Then another man is reported missing, by a woman called Fiona – a man meeting Matt’s description, who was about to leave his fiancée for her. He was supposed to be moving in with her – but instead, he’s vanished.

Amy refuses to believe Fiona’s lover can be her Matt – but photos prove otherwise, and it soon becomes clear that Matt has been leading a double life. As the police dig deeper, two conflicting, yet equally plausible stories emerge from two women who allegedly have never met.

The wedding day never happened. But the funeral might.


This was a fast paced read with enough plot twists to keep you turning the pages.
Not all the characters were likeable and I often questioned some of the characters life choices. But I loved how this book kept you guessing and for me that is what makes a good read.

I found this book to have a perplexing start, an interesting middle and an intriguing end! The characters are sometimes difficult to fathom and, at other times, exasperating - but then so are real people! On reflection I enjoyed the latter half of the book much more than the first half but I would recommend it as a good read.

Amy is convinced that she has found the love of her life and is excited for her wedding, soon to take place. Her world is turned upside down when her fiancé, Matt, disappears mysteriously with no trace. The investigation ultimately brings the police full circle when they suspect that Amy is involved in Matt’s disappearance. This is a common plot line in thrillers and has been done many times before so I was glad to see some other characters, such as Fiona, introduced to break up the stereotype and create a sense of unease.

One of the strongest features in The Vow is the never ending mystery the author weaves into the story line. Matt is painted as a secretive and possibly manipulative character however it is clear from the start that both Amy and Fiona have a dark side which they are trying to hide. It was impossible to understand who the victim was in these circumstances and I thoroughly enjoyed the ping pong approach of deceit and lies as the plot progressed.

Unfortunately the characters were too mediocre and uninteresting to fully grab my attention. I could empathise with both Amy and Fiona and I found Amy’s daughter, Jess, a nice addition however none of these women had any unique attributes to keep me invested in their development.

Although I wasn’t fully invested in this book, there were some interesting writing techniques, such as changing POVs and an unknown narrator from 1996 which stood out and created a never ending sense of mystery. Full of suspense and tension, The Vow promises to be a hit for thrill seeking readers.

I was fortunate to receive a copy of this ARC from NetGalley.

I absolutely loved this book and was totally gripped by it! I felt like I thought I understood the story but then the character viewpoint changed and made me question everything I'd read so far!
The title is also very clever.

My favourite quote:
"Of friendship forged amongst wild strawberries and banks of wild thyme."


Publication date: 15th October 2020.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of THE VOW. This book was intense and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I read this in a day because I couldn't figure out the plot twist (which is a good thing) but I just had to know how it ended. Great thriller!! Recommend.

You believe you have a wonderful, loving fiance....you believe you are getting married...you believe you will live happily ever after.....or will you? Amy Reid believes all of those things. And then, one night, her fiance doesn't come home, and a whole web of lies begins to unravel. Amy finds out things that she had no idea about. Her past comes back to haunt her, and this time, she can't escape it.

I enjoyed this book. Each chapter is told be different characters in the book, and I liked that perspective. Depending on who was narrating, you were brought to believe one thing. The next character might change your mind. It was a twisty thriller, and while I tried to guess what I thought was going on, I was surprised throughout the book. To me, that is the best kind of thriller.

The end was a bit anticlimactic, but overall a satisfying end to the story. I recommend this book if you like well crafted thrillers.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Vow is a twisty, back and forth mystery that kept me guessing up until the very end. Written in alternating POV's with several characters, you learn the life of Amy and Matt, a couple who are meant to be married in two weeks. But one day Matt disappears, and the evidence begins to point to Amy as you learn Matt was having an affair and was going to call off the wedding. You begin to get Fiona's perspective, the woman Matt was cheating with. Back and forth, you can't tell which woman is responsible for the disappearance. Just when you think you know what's happening, guess again...

Truly, I had no idea how this book would end until well, the ending. The author did an amazing job of burying the lead in several interesting subplots that kept turning the story on it's head. It was a wild ride to get to the ending, but so very worth it. I've only recently begun to really get into mystery/thrillers but I have to say this is one of my favorites. There is a somewhat psychological hint to this thriller, so if you enjoy that you will enjoy this one.

In terms of characters, this is not a book with redeemable characters. Everyone has a backstory, hidden motives, and you won't see it coming. As this is somewhat usual for the genre, I don't imagine this is much of a surprise. But, this helps the plot go on because you could see any one of the characters having a part in Matt's disappearance, because they all have something that keeps them from being redeemable. The book is fairly evenly paced, it never really felt like it was dragging or going too fast in any parts.

I highly recommend Debbie Howell's new mystery, The Vow, for all my mystery lovers out there!

**Thank you to Avon Books UK and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

There are psychological thrillers and then there is The Vow, a standout! If you are a fan of Loose Candlish, Shari Lapena or Lisa Jewell, this is for you. There’s only one warning: You won’t be able to put it down!

Amy Reid, a herbalist, is two weeks away from her fairytale wedding to Matt Roche. She’s a lonely, divorced single mother to college age Jess. On a night when Amy and Matt were to discuss final wedding plans, he calls to say he has a last minute business meeting. He never comes home.

Fiona Rose, a successful lawyer, calls the police to report that her boyfriend is missing. He was to tell his fiancee that he would not marry her and move in with Fiona the next morning. His name…Matt Roche.

What comes next is a mix between events narrated by Amy, Jess and Fiona, a police investigation and a seemingly unrelated flashback from twenty three years ago. The Vow is a breathtaking, suspenseful thriller with more plot twists and turns than you can imagine. Thank you, Debbie Howells! 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and Debbie Howells for this ARC.

I could not put this book down, read it in less than 2 days which is quick for me.

It tells the story of Amy who is soon to be married to Matt and then a few weeks before the wedding, he leaves the house to go to work and never returns.

We learn of secrets, people who have changed their identity, another woman, a secret from the past, who is guilty, who is innocent, where is Matt?

First book I have read by this author but will certainly be looking for more by her.

The Vow by Debbie Howells is a 4 star read.
This was a new author for me so I went into this story on the blurb alone and I wasn’t disappointed. The story flowed well and kept me hooked from the first page until the last.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley.