4 stars

Read this book for the ending. It is well, well worth it.

Samantha Hayes did it again. She wrote another awesome mystery book with great twists and intricate family plots.

The book has mainly two timelines that follow the story of a lonely boy who has a hard time finding or making friends and the story of Jen who recently lost her husband in an avalanche.
Jen is suspecting her husband was cheating on her. One night, when she was having a few drinks with her colleagues after attending a conference in Oxford, she has a one night stand with a stranger and, as a result of that night, she is pregnant. Recently widowed and pregnant with a teenage son that barely communicates with her, things are not looking good, And then her one night stand shows up at her door.

The book has a slow, slow pace until the last third when things really pick up and the story gets absolutely great. I did struggle with the first part of the book as I was not liking Jen and didn't understand her decisions, that seemed to me to be beyond naive. But it all made sense in the end.

This is one of Samantha Haye best books so far. Usually books that start slow have a hard time compensating and making it up in the end but this one delivered and then some. An excellent read!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this great book.

TW: Rape Adultery Murder

Through most of this book I kept thinking why is the lady just bowing down to this man she believes raped her? I honestly never figured that out. This book seemed to not follow how the description described it as well which was slightly disappointing. I will say that it was saved in my view with the huge twist at the end that I did not see coming. After about 70% the book picked up and I was more into it. I love for thrillers with twists that blindside me which is why this got a three star instead of a lower rating for me.

There were moments I found hard to believe but I really enjoy how the story progressed. Jen is a totally different character by the end of the book. (Thank god!)

The hardest part for me was believing Jen is a doctor. She’s not intelligent enough, I found her character weak and annoying.

This was a mixed bag for me. A good story but I hated everyone in it.

3.5/5

Jen is a well known doctor who is married with one teenage son. Her husband went on a ski trip and never returned. He is now presumed dead. So Jen has taken some time off from work to grieve. But before her husband’s death, Jen has a one night stand with a man named Scott on a work trip she took to Oxford. She finds herself in a bad situation when she discovers that she is pregnant with Scott’s baby. With no memory of that night, Scott ends up showing up at her work and even at her home. He desperately wants to be a part of Jen’s and the baby’s lives. But out of fear of looking bad amongst friends and patients, she lets Scott blackmail her into letting him move into her home. Is Scott really who he says he is? Is he dangerous? What mess has Jen gotten herself into? I don't want to say anymore. You must read this book to find out.

Overall this was another incredible book by skilled author, Samantha Hayes. I know when I read her books I will get a great story. This one definitely blew me away. I didn't see the ending coming and it was quite a shocking twist. If you're looking for a great domestic thriller that you can easily read and get absorbed in, pick this one up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) on September 8, 2021.

Jennifer is a doctor whose husband has gone missing/presumed dead on a skiing trip. She has returned to work as a GP and is trying to get her life back together.
Jen is also having flashbacks to a medical conference she attended where she loses her memory of the night and begins having flashbacks.
Intertwined with this is the story of a murder of a young boy when Jen was at school and the boy who was found guilty of his murder. Where is he now?
I enjoyed the first two thirds of the book, good tension, drama and twists but found the ending unbelievable.
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for a fair review.
3 Stars ⭐️

Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jen is a doctor whose husband, Jeremy, had recently died in an avalanche. She thought he had been having an affair, so things were strained and now she has found out she is pregnant but she had a strange encounter that she can't remember clearly just before Jeremy died.

3.5 stars.

This book is mostly told from Jen's perspective with some chapters from her best friend Rhonda's perspective and flashbacks to some troublemaking kids. This book wasn't bad and I was definitely surprised by at least one revelation at the end although I had sniffed out some of the other things going on. My issue was I thought some of the things that happened were hard to believe and some of the things people were told that the believed without fact checking seemed unlikely. I just couldn't quite believe this one and I know we sometimes have to stretch our imaginations for a good thriller. Regardless, I have read most of this author's books and will continue.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A complex and often confusing plot. Nevertheless a great twisty thriller. Enjoyable and a good read.

For the first 50% of this book, I was not that interested in it. I think she took too long to develop the characters and keep your attention. After that, the book got going and was pretty good. It was quite easy to guess several of the answers as to what was going on, simply because of all the clues dropped constantly throughout the book. I will say that the ending was slightly different than what I thought it would be. This book is a trigger for so many things, date rape, violence, kidnapping, cheating. None of this is mentioned in the summary. Granted, a person can immediately stop reading, but the bad feelings may have already have started. I don't really know how I feel about this book, so I am giving it three stars. This is the first book I have read by this author.

I’m so excited to be approved for an ARC from Bookouture via NetGalley. I read and loved previous Samantha Hayes novels—Date Night and The Happy Couple. And let me tell you, this book is just as incredible. I loved the plot, it’s absolutely bonkers, unpredictable, and gripping!

The multiple timeline follows the paths of (then) Evan and Mac, two unpopular kids who are classmates, and (now) Dr. Jen and her best friend Rhonda who are trying to find answers as life unravels around them.

This story gave me an uncomfortable, creepy, sinister feeling right from the start. With deeply disturbing characters, layer upon layer of secrets, and sooo many lies…it’s like a wickedly-dark nighttime soap. Murder. Affairs. Blackmail. Wow was my head spinning…but in the best way. I assure you it all ties together. This ended with a mind-blowing twist that came out of left field…I was floored. This is one of the best (domestic/psychological suspense) thriller’s I’ve read all year.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for gifting me a digital copy of the latest psychological thriller by Samantha Hayes - 4.5 stars for a twisty, creepy thriller!

Dr Jen Miller is a GP, practicing in a small town. Jen’s husband was killed in a skiing accident and Jen is trying to get life back to normal for her and Kieran, their teenage son. But when she realizes that she’s pregnant after attending a medical conference and someone she vaguely remembers meeting there turns up as a patient, life becomes anything but normal.

Told from the points of view of Jen and her best friend, Rhonda, there are also intermittent chapters from the past, hinting at evil deeds. This author is skilled at plot twists and these had me shocked at the ending. This is a quick read, mainly because it’s hard to put down!

Samantha Hayes you have done it again!

The Trapped Wife will take you on a wild read, lots of twists and turns with oh so subtle clues and characters you just love to hate.

I thought I knew what happened as I followed the clues cleverly but I was wrong!

The pages turn themselves as you race to the surprise ending.

Samantha Hayes never disappoints and The Trapped Wife is no exception.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a roller coaster of a read.

Wow. That was a wonderful roller coaster ride of emotion. Full of twists and turns that make you rethink the whole story. A great thriller from beginning to end. Did not expect the ending at all. A must read.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc

Mind blowing, heart stopping, edge of your seat story telling. I knew it would be good but I didn't expect it to keep me up while the early hours, unable to sleep until I reached the finale, even when I finished it I couldn't get it out of my mind. It was shocking in parts but not too graphic for it to be upsetting. A very well written clever plot, just when I thought I had it sussed my theory was ripped to shreds.

Jennifer's husband is missing and presumed dead but that is not the worst for her. She believes he was having an affair that that his lover was also killed in an avalanche while away on a work trip. Jennifer also has a drunken night out after a work conference and there is going to be huge consequences she will have to pay for this. Most of the characters are not the kind of people I would want to spend any time with but they definitely bring the story all together. As with any Samantha Hayes book she brings in some huge surprises and I was very shocked with the outcome of the story, it was not what I was expecting. If you enjoy her work I would think you will also like this book. 4 starts from me.

Wow. Just wow. This book is absolutely mind blowing. I really thought I had it figured out and BAM I was wrong. This book was unputdownable. Ill be thinking about this story for quite a while.

This has to be one of the best books Ms Hayes has written recently. There are many threads to this story and some of them reach right back into the past. This book is a triumph of misdirection! It started out what some might call slowly but I really enjoyed getting to know these characters. Jen is the quintessential small town GP who still does home visits to her elderly patients. Her story is superbly told and I couldn’t wait for the action to start. And start it did!

Dr Jen Miller has just returned to work six weeks after the death of her husband, Jeremy, in a an avalanche while he was skiing in the Swiss Alps. Jeremy often travelled for his documentary work. Jen’s first day back also coincides with her finding out she is pregnant two months after a night of drunken revelry while at a medical conference in Oxford. She cannot remember much about that night and has no idea who the father is. She already has a sixteen year old son, Kieran. The story is told through the POV of both Jen and her best friend, Rhonda - a teacher. There are also some flashbacks to many years ago to the increasingly disturbing actions of two 12 year olds.

Jeremy is never far from Jen’s or Kieran’s thoughts and Rhonda (Ron) tries to prop her friend up as best she can but when Scott appears on the scene she is troubled by Jen’s reactions and behaviour. Scott is super creepy, he really sent shivers down my spine. First he turns up as a patient of Jen’s then, before we know it, he is worming his way into her life. Just what sort of hold does he have over her? Whatever you are thinking, the reality is worse. But this twisty has tale has more surprises in store.

Jen had been having suspicions that the sainted Jeremy was having an affair before he died. Again, things here are not as they seem. It is again far worse. Jen’s increasing fear grips you as she struggles like a bug pinned to a display to get out from under the crushing weight of impending doom. It gets very intense and claustrophobic. Not only is Jen completely frazzled but Ron learns some really disturbing information and the children - both Kieran and Rhonda’s 16 year old daughter Caitlin, are behaving very oddly. This one went down to the wire before all the layers were peeled away and I can thoroughly recommend it to all psychological thriller lovers. Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the much appreciated ARC which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly. 4.5 stars rounded up.

I've just finished this book by Samantha Hayes and really lost myself in it. Whilst I found it quite slow to start with, once it picked up, boy did it pick up! My only gripe is that I found some choices made by Jen quite odd at times for someone highly educated and a few parts of the plot seemed unresolved which always bugs me. So really enjoyable overall!

This was a thrill a minute read. The Trapped Wife is the story of woman grieivng for her husband as she discovers she is pregnant. A man insidiously enters her life and she cannot get rid of him. This story takes many twists and turns before the truth is told. It held me spellbound guessing until the end.

When I’m looking for a seriously good, domestic suspense, psychological thriller @samanthahayes.author is an author I can always count on. We all get bored with the the typical domestic suspenses, but this is the second book I’ve read by @samanthahayes.author and the twists & unpredictable endings always leave me jaw-dropped and floored.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑊𝑖𝑓𝑒 is this authors newest domestic thriller and I urge all my thriller lovers to add this on to your continually growing TBR! The story does start off slow, but after a few chapters in you will be handcuffed to this book.

The storyline is creative, flip-flopping between past and present; leaving us readers dying to figure out how these two past & present stories are connected. I loved how this story was a major guessing game- every time you think you have this crazy plot figured out, the author throws in another twist.

SYNOPSIS: “My family gathers around the large oak table in our beautifully renovated home. I’ve put on a dress and lit candles, and there’s a wonderful aroma coming from the dinner you’ve so lovingly prepared. It’s the perfect domestic scene, except for one tiny fact: my husband is dead, and you are just another patient of mine.

If I laugh at your jokes and run my fingers through your hair, maybe I can delete the photos on your phone and find the truth about the night I can’t remember, just before my husband left for the trip he never returned from.”

✨✨✨✨

The satisfyingly twisted ending will leave you feeling shocked and although you are left with a few loose ends this is definitely a solid ғᴏᴜʀ sᴛᴀʀ ʀᴇᴀᴅ!

Release date for 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑊𝑖𝑓𝑒 is next week- September 8th! Thank you @netgalley @samanthahayes.author and @bookouture for the early copy!

Soooooo the only down side of this book was that I waited so long to read it! Although the premise sounded good - there was something just not drawing me in! I started it yesterday and although the start was a bit slower than I usually like, it didn’t take me long to get hooked.
Jen is a local GP and recent widow with her husband being killed in an avalanche in Switzerland. She is also pregnant and the baby isn’t her husbands! Twisty and turns galore, i did guess some of them - but that was because I was trying to, not because they were obvious! Sinister, dark, twisty and shocking - it kept me on the edge of my seat and up a lot later than I should have been!