What happened to Matt? Who was the mysterious Matt? Two weeks before her wedding Amy’s fiancé goes missing but it is only then that Amy starts learning about the real Matt. A really exciting mystery read with twists and turns on every page.

‘Her conviction that he loved her never faltered. Love takes many guises, after all, and her belief never wavered” […] “It was enough to keep her holding on, to this cruellest, most desperate love that illuminated her darkness, out of fear of losing him, of once again, being alone. The paradox of what it means to love.”

What happens when your fiancé goes missing two weeks before your wedding? This is any bride-to-be/ husband-to-be’s worst nightmare, and unfortunately for Amy it’s her reality. To make matters worse Amy finds out that her fiancé Matt is not the person she thinks he is.

Good storytelling and straight-forward plot. The plot was fast-paced enough to keep me invested in the mystery. I proudly finished the book in one day. There isn’t a lot of characters so you don’t have to worry about getting confused about who is who. There were elements in the mystery that did surprise me, but being an avid thriller novel reader,

I had guessed some plot point revelations early on. However, for first time thriller readers this book is a good start as it does not contain any darker themes (however I would recommend double checking for trigger warnings just to be sure)

One thing I wished was added into the story is a more detailed backstory into Amy and Matt’s relationship just so we can have a better understanding of Matt’s character. Overall, I would recommend this book to any one who is a fan of thriller novels and looking for a quick read to get their minds racing.

3 stars.

I couldn't put this book down! It's so well written and so gripping! The twists and turns will keep your turning the pages. Fab read!

This is a very clever well written and engrossing thriller with many twists and turns that kept me reading on, understated menace and tension leading to a satisfying conclusion.

The cover drew me right in. They say never judge a book by its cover well this grabbed my attention. Lots of suspense and twists and I loved it. The characters at times were hard to connect to but having said that , I still enjoyed reading it.

I really wish I could get into this one but I just couldn't. I've been waiting for a great thriller but much of this novel is written as phone conversations, flashbacks, and police interviews were very little actually happens. The only character I felt tied to was the college-age daughter because she was being pro-active in trying to clear her mother's name. When Matt goes missing the characters talk endlessly about the relationship between the main character, Amy, and her fiance, Matt.

I couldn't understand why these people didn't tell the truth, or even part truths, to their family or closest friends the entire book. The connection between the characters and their pasts was so implausible I started to get angry and almost didn't finish. I prefer more tension in a mystery and more realistic circumstances.

A well executed psychological thriller with a racy plot and unexpected twists with a predictable conclusion. Couldn't put it down. The author has done a superb job of keeping a tight narrative with well drawn out characters. There are also a nice summary of the flowers and their meanings which was informative. Well done 👍

In The Vow by Debbie Howells, Amy and Matthew are set to get married in two weeks. To hear Amy tell it, things couldn't be better. So, it's bad enough when Matthew disappears and Amy calls the police, but then another women also reports Matthew missing, claiming that she is his partner.

As Amy's life unravels, we learn about secrets, emotional abuse, and broken relationships from the past. The story is told from three view points: Amy, her daughter Jess, and the "other woman," Fiona. I really like Jess, who is insightful and strong. Amy and Fiona both seem to be unreliable narrators, and the flashbacks add to the confusion. I liked the beginning and satisfying ending of this book, but the middle seemed tedious as we revisited the past.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Amy, is the happy bride to be, but her life is turned upside down when her fiancé goes missing. Not long after another lady reports her boyfriend missing - with the same description. Could it be the same person missing and leading a double life. The police are involved and the lives of the two ladies are thrown into turmoil.
Told from the perspective of Amy, her daughter Jess and the other woman, Fiona.
Great pace story and keeps you turning the page.

A solid, suspenseful thriller about a man who disappears, and his fiancee finds out he's living a double life. From there, I can't say too much more because the twists just keep coming. Great premise, and the writing hooked me all the way through. I really liked the main character, Amy - while somewhat unreliable (as good thriller leads tend to be), she was the one I rooted for throughout. The story ties back to events in 1996 in Amy's childhood that may or may not be linked to her fiancee's disappearance.

The first half of this book was stellar. I couldn't put the book down and was racing towards the conclusion to find out who did it and why. About halfway through the twists started to get a little too unbelievable and too many for me (a problem plaguing many thrillers these days - writers know we are hungry for twists!). Also, some of the actions of the police officers were just a little bit too hard to believe. But the author did a nice job tying it all up at the end, so that ultimately the story made sense, the loose ends were tied up and the ending was very satisfying. I really loved all the clues and red herrings the author peppered throughout this book. Despite the questions I had occasionally with the plot, this book was fun to read from beginning to end, so I'm giving it 3.5 stars rounded up. Debbie Howells is great at characters and delivers the thrills so I'll look forward to reading the next one from her!

Thanks to Debbie Howells, NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Amy, the herbalist with adult daughter and beautiful garden is going to marry Matt. When her fiance dissapears, she finds out that he had another woman. But who is she and where is Matt?
Gaslighting, revenge, flower symbolism etc.

Mysteries everywhere.

Good reading.

Amy is engaged to Matthew. The wedding is in 2 weeks when he disappears. Things are not as they seem to be and the police department and Amy’s daughter work to find answers. This was a book I had trouble putting down. Loved it!

I just couldn’t connect with this book the way I wanted to. I liked the sound of the premise but it just didn’t spark my interest. I didn’t like Amy and didn’t care for the flashbacks to 1996, which held no suspense of intrigue for me. There was a lot of repetition in the book also with the characters repeating a lot of the same stuff to one another which I found annoying. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and Avon for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have some mixed feelings about this book.
The concept was really great as well as the characters development. I really enjoyed the first part of the story.

The story is told by the perspective of 4 different narrators and I really enjoyed how suspenseful their narrations were. They gave us some really interesting insights about Matt and I found it really interesting.
I didn’t really empathise with Amy but she was kind of a mystery too so it kept me interested in the story.

I kind of lose the interest in the second part as I felt that some parts of the plot were not very believable and I also didn’t enjoy the parts where the police were involved.

Overall, It was not one of my favourite books but it is still a really great mystery and an enjoyable read. I would also still want to read future books by Debbie Howells as her writing is quite compelling.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon Books UK for an advanced copy of this great novel in exchange for an honest review

I thought this was a solid 4-5 star read, which kept my attention from beginning until the end! I found it to be well written, with the much needed shocks, twists and turns, thrills, and of course thrills! If you are looking for a good psychological thriller. Which is well written and developed, I do highly recommend this book! I think it will definitely provide the much needed essentials a good thriller provides!

This is a very well-written story that pulls at the heart of every partner/wife/husband/lover that exists. The last thing you want to ever happen is for your loved one to disappear, but even worse is to have that and to find they have led a double life. Everything gets ripped from you at once, and that is exactly the story this tells…or does it. It has twists and turns, and really keeps you guessing. It is really enjoyable, and the characters and world have been created with great depth. It is definitely a great story that will have you wanting to read just one more page.

Happily in love and looking forward to her wedding, Amy is distraught when her fiance Matt doesn’t return home one night. As the police delve into Matt’s disappearance, another woman comes forward to report that her boyfriend is missing. Amy is about to discover that the man she loves isn’t the man she thought he was.

This is the first book I have read by this author and it is a fast paced domestic thriller with plenty of twists and turns which will keep you guessing until the end.

I really enjoyed reading this book. An intriguing story about Amy, a herbalist who has meet the love of her life in Matthew.

Two weeks before their wedding Matthew doesn't come home from a night out with an important work client. With growing concern Amy makes calls to try and locate him. His boss says that he didn't have a meeting with a client. Amy contacts the police and everything spirals out of control. Her past comes back to catch her and all is not what it seems.

I stayed up well into the night with this book. I'd definitely recommend you check it out. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Wow! I really enjoyed this. Amy is due to marry Matt but just before the wedding he disappears, At the same time, a woman called Fiona reports the disappearance of her partner who was about to leave his fiancée for her.......lots of twisty turns makes for a very enjoyable read. Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

So many red herrings in this book! The story is good though a couple of the characters were somewhat annoying, so much so that at one point I thought I would just stop reading but then found myself desperate to know what would happen. I didn't guess the ending. I will definitely look out for more by Debbie Howells.