LOVED this book! Mystery, thriller, well written. YES KATE WHITE! She has officially been added to my "auto-buy" author list!

Kate White delivers an entertaining psychological suspense with an Agatha Christie feel to it. The setting is a wealthy summer estate and the cast is the entire extended family. Someone dies and our protagonist suspects that it was murder. There are a whole slew of characters with various motives to choose from. Readers will guessing right up until the end. I recommend this to fans of Shari Lapena and Laura Lippman.

This is my first book by Kate White and I will look for more of hers. I liked this who-done-it mystery, even if the characters sometimes got on my nerves and some of the situations were predictable. It was a fast read and I did end up predicting the ending despite the twists thrown the readers way.

Oooooh what a twisty thriller this one was! I loved the first person perspective and the slowly unraveling truths, deceptions, and murder and who was guilty of what? I loved it all from the first page through to the very last!!!

Didn't capture my attention and engagement. Interested in trying it again though and hopefully it will take.

Summer deserves a break. She spends her days hustling for acting work in Manhattan. She is looking forward to the much needed break with her husband Gabe, his nine year old son and Gabe’s family.
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When she meets her brother in law Nick’s new love, she knows her. However, Hannah claims they don’t know each other. When someone ends up dead Summer is convinced it is not natural causes, but that Nick’s fiancé has something to do with it.
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Summer puts her life on the line to uncover that Hannah is not the perfect fiancé. This has me on the edge of my seat.
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Thank you @haperperennial for an advanced copy.

The Fiancée is riveting, compelling, and reads like a feature film. The high society setting is delicious, the characters are well-written, and the plot is taut. Would make a great book club read!

Is this the perfect family or not? The story begins as the the whole family gets together for the weekend at the parent’s house. Hannah loves to visit with her in-laws, she sees them as the perfect couple. Add a fiancée that is new to the family, some cheating spouses, an interfering mother in law, a death that quickly becomes murder. This book keeps you guessing until the very end.

This book was EXCELLENT!! I thought I had it all figured out nope I did not see that ending coming! I loved the fast pace of this book. Highly recommend!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this!

I was instantly intrigued by the synopsis of this book. This book instantly drew me in, I got to explore through the eyes of our main character and this is always my favorite way to discover these details of the story and, it was done very well in this book. I really enjoyed this book and the plot. This author did amazing. I loved the writing style.

I thought the premise was really good, but I had a hard time getting into this book. It was difficult for me to connect with any of the characters, and I often found myself skimming - which was disappointing for a book that was supposed to be suspenseful. Sadly it just fell a little flat for me.

I feel like the ending to this book came out of nowhere. The MC spent the whole time obsessing over Hannah because of her career. I don't think this is a spoiler because with the way it's written it is pretty obvious that someone else has done it. I hated how there didn't seem to be any clues to the ending at all. Just completely came out of left field. Still written well, I just wish the story would have went in a different direction.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for granting me access to an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t think Kate White is for me. This is the second book I’ve read by her that I didn’t like.
My main issue is that I found myself skimming over a lot of the story. Despite the fact that there are two people killed throughout I was still bored. If you’re looking for a mystery then this is it. Maybe even domestic suspense, but it’s not a thriller.

The Fiancee
by Karen White
Pub Date: June 29, 2021
Harper Paperbacks

They had everything they needed for a perfect family vacation: close-knit relatives, a bucolic setting . . . and a murderer in their midst?
Thanks to Harper Paperbacks and Netgalley for the ARC. I enjoy thriller/mystery books but this one did not rank well on my radar.
Mindless and predictable with unlikeable and unbelievable characters. I have read other books by Karen White that I enjoyed, this one just fell flat for me.
Good book, just not one that left me wanting more.
3 star.

The Fiancee by Kate White was a well written book , and also not what I was expecting.
This book hooked me from page 1. I couldn't put it down. The number of twists kept me
guessing the whole way. Just when you think you know, you don't know at all.
So well written.

2.5 stars. I am usually a big fan of this author, but this one left me bored and expecting more than the easy out of the reveal. I did love the setting and actually really liked the cast of characters even though they were a bunch of unlikeable people. But the ending was so abrupt and I kept expecting a twist. I feel like this is a good book for someone just getting into the suspense/mystery genre.

Summer, her husband Gabe, and his stepson Henry are looking forward to a relaxing few weeks at Gabe's parents' sprawling estate in California. They'll be meeting up with the rest of Gabe's family including his brothers and their spouses there. What Summer doesn't count on is seeing someone familiar -- Hannah, Gabe's brother's new fiancee! While Summer recognizes Hannah, Hannah claims not to recognize her. Summer finds this odd and does some digging on her potential new sister-in-law. What she finds shocks her! Is Hannah who she says she is?

After a family member (or two) are found dead, Summer points the finger at Hannah. Did she have reason to kill? Or is grief playing at Summer and making her see/feel things that aren't there?

I thought the ending of this book was super quick -- it was about 90 percent buildup, and 10 percent action. Even the crucial hero-in-danger scene was too sparse for me -- I never really got the feeling that Summer wouldn't make it out alive as it was over right away! I was almost waiting for the other shoe to drop and have the REAL killer unmasked a couple pages later (again). I didn't particularly empathize with any of the characters -- probably only Henry really. I could have done with a bit more action.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

A wealthy family on the annual vacation to the family estate becomes ensnared in several surprises - including betrayal and murder.
The main character and narrator, Summer, is sure she knows who not to trust. But, is she right? A bit predictable, but still a good read with lots of twists and turns.

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This will be a concise review. If you've got a thing for incredibly dramatic narrators and soap opera stories, this may just be a fun read for you. If not, you'd be better off reading a different Kate White book if you're a fan of the author. It would be an entertaining enough travel read, but this book was not my favorie of the author.

I love Kate White so much and she quickly became an auto-buy author for me with her Bailey Weggins series. Clearly, this means I also read have to every single one of her standalones, and I couldn't wait to start The Fiancée. This is a novel FULL of family secrets which is something I always love in my books, and White did not disappoint me at all with this one. There are plenty of red herrings as she is wont to do, and I don't think I could have guessed the final twist in a million years. I really had no idea what was going to happen, and it kept me guessing the entire time, which is usually what happens when I read a book by this author. I love her humor, her writing style, and her references, and reading a book by White is one of my favorite things to do when I need something I know for sure I will enjoy.

So okay, maybe The Fiancée won't shock everyone and the twist comes a bit from left field, but does that mean it isn't enjoyable? No, it does not, and I think if you are a fan of White's writing style then you will like this book. I have read all of her last few books minus a couple of the Weggins series and nothing stops me from really enjoying each of them in some way. Her audiobooks can sometimes be hit or miss for me, especially with the older Weggins's novels but this was a complete hit for me on audio. The narrator is Cindy Kay who I don't believe I have listened to before now, but she did an amazing job as Summer for this novel. Her narration was very smooth, and her voice perfectly matched how I would picture Summer sounding. The majority of The Fiancée was pretty fast-paced and exciting, and if family drama and secrets are things that really get you going this is a perfect read. I didn't mind the not-so-wealthy girl being married to a wealthy man with a wealthy family, and honestly, those are some of the books I enjoy the most. And of course, how would this book have been complete if Summer hadn't gone out sleuthing?

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.