this authors books just get so twisty with each one this one you think you have worked it out but NOPE , i so look forward to her books . Jen is the local doctor and is the sole person bringing the money in she is married to Jeremy and has a son Kieran . Jeremy is writing a book that he has not yet finished he went to Switzerland and there was an avalanche and his body has never been found her close friend Rhonda is helping her a lot . many years ago a young child was murdered in the village and the murderer went to Jen s school . Jen has a big big problem she is pregnant and it is not Jeremy s , this book has a lot of twists and turns you wont want to stop reading so good .

[ BOOK IG: @clumsyciel ]

overall rating: 4/5 ⭐️
time taken to read: ~9 days
number of notes: 35

"I can't allow myself to dwell on what I'm about to do - only that, ultimately, I am preserving life, even if it goes against everything I trained to do."

Jen, a new widow after the passing of her husband Jeremy, finds herself pregnant. who is the father? the night Jen went clubbing a few weeks ago is nothing more than a blurry memory. when a new patient of Jen is stalking her, Jen finds herself confronting something she had forgotten years ago.
is Jen really telling the truth?
can she be trusted?

what had drawn me to this book was the cover; it had reminded me of Dot Hutchison's The Butterfly Garden. i had thought that perhaps this book would have a similar setting.. ooh, i was so wrong..

this book blew my mind, quite literally. this book doesn't cut short on plot-twists! think of an 'Eat-All-You-Can' buffet, but the only 'food' offered are plot-twists.

the only reason why this book didn't get the full 5 stars is that i felt that it was quite draggy for the first 40% of the book. i'm not too fond of slow-burns, so perhaps that's why the pace at first bothered me.
however, once the pieces start clicking into place, the pace speeds up, similarly to zooming down a rollercoaster.

pace aside, i loved the plot. it's sick and twisted, exactly what i'm looking for in thriller novels. plot-wise, a definite 5/5 ⭐️!

nearly at the end of the book, i was screaming "NO, JEN!" as said character revealed yet another detail that had yet again, changed the course of the story.
this book makes you question everything you have learnt from the very start of it -
what can you trust? can you trust the narrator?

apart from Jen, there are also two more POVs; flashbacks and Rhonda's POV, Jen's best friend.
honestly, i adore Rhonda. she's extremely supportive of Jen. the perfect best friend.

it has been a week since i had finished TTW and its plot is still stuck in my brain.

The Trapped Wife comes out on 8th September 2021! Jen awaits.

thank you to Bookouture, NetGalley, and the author, Samantha Hayes for the e-ARC! this is the first e-ARC i have received from NetGalley, and it has been an amazing experience. i truly enjoyed this thriller a lot 🦋💙

Samantha Hayes is one of my go to authors, I just love her books! This was another cracker, Wonderfully twisted plotline and some truly hideous characters! Massive twists which changed my perception of the whole story. The only part I couldn't really get my head round was the liaison with Scott. Why Jennifer let him into her house was beyond me! Even by the end of the book when the whole back story had been revealed I still couldn't understand why she even gave him the time of day.!

Dr Jen the village family doctor is a hot mess. Her husband Jeremy is missing, presumed dead in a sking accident with his presumed girlfriend. Jen feels additional anxiety recently attending a medical conference where she blacked out and may have been raped. On her first day back after Jeremy’s death, her surgery is full but first she takes a pregnancy test. Yep. We feel for Jen. We care for Jen. We learn more about the good doctor and see there are some dark dark secrets from her past clouding her present thoughts. When a stranger appears this story gets terrifying, nerve racking and downright creepy. You can’t look away. Even when you want to. Another strong offering by Samantha Hayes,.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. A wife who does not remember a fateful night. Or the husband who is standing in front of her. Who is he? Is he telling the truth? Are her and her son safe? Highly recommend. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Wow! So i started reading this the moment i got it pretty much. It drew me in immediately and never let go. I loved the writing style. The two perspectives was amazing as well. I thought it brought a lot more depth to the story.

3.25⭐️
A psychological thriller from a new to me author. The cover is great.
The narrators are Jen a village GP whose husband died unexpectedly, Rhonda who is Jen’s best friend.
The start is a slow burn. A quarter of the way in the pace and interest levels increase.
The tropes used are lies and bad decision making. I didn’t find them very convincingly executed.

I found the actions and reactions of this highly educated main character difficult to comprehend. Some made more sense by the time I reached the end.

There are some good elements, and I was kept guessing as to what was actually going on.

It’s a book of 2 halves the first part was very slow and I rate 3⭐️, the end section 4⭐️ although I’m not sure about the very ending.
I’m going to give this 3.25⭐️ overall, making it an ok read for me.

Ok this book started out difficult for me because I just hated the main character and found her to be obnoxiously naive. It was so highly recommended that I stuck with it and I’m so glad I did! Holy plot twists. Not even sure I’m 100% certain what the ending really was.

NO SPOILERS

The first book I've read by this author, I've seen some rave reviews so was curious to try it for myself.

Jen is a Doctor, Mother and very newly widowed. Six weeks after the death of her husband she finds out she is pregnant.

Very hard to say much more without spoiling the surprises in-store, suffice to say someone intends to make her life very difficult.

The characterisation is good, although I found some of choices made by characters a little strange. I found the first half of the book a little slow, but was curious to know what it was building up to.

I enjoyed the second half much more, faster paced with plenty going on, lots of twists, and an increasing sense of dread and impending danger around Jen. The plotting is tight and all the pieces appear to be slotting into place, even if you don't yet know what the bigger picture looks like.

One of the twists I felt was 'a twist too far' which really knocked the believably for me. I'm really sorry about this as up to that point I was really quite into it.

So, a book of two halves, I found the first half slow, the second half thrilling, but I was left a little dissatisfied in the end.

Obviously, very subjective as I know other readers have absolutely loved this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookoutre

Wow. Just WOW!! absolutely unputdownable thriller, completely gripping.
I found this book so sinister, there is such underlying menace in the story, it truly made me feel a little freaked out!
Very clever plot which ties up beautifully (the last paragraph made the back of my neck prickle)
You do see some of it coming but mostly the twists are shocking, a really excellent intelligent thriller!

A one-sitting read! I didn't even realise that I was literally holding my breath half of the time I was reading this!

Oh my word, this is an absolutely brilliant, unputdownable thriller that just doesn't stop until the completely unpredictable end that I truly did NOT see coming!

Dr Jen Miller is living in a small town with her teenage son. They're getting over the recent death of her author husband and trying to return to everyday life. Jen is slowly returning to work in the local GP practice and Kieran is attempting to focus on his schoolwork, but there are some things that just don't seem to add up: Flashbacks of a drunken night that Jen experienced when she was away on a medical conference, and Kieran's sudden furtive behaviour and secrecy. Jen's best friend Rhonda tries to uncover what's going on as she soon picks up that something just isn't OK, but will she be able to get to the bottom of things? Was Jen's husband really having an affair before he died? What are Kieran and her own daughter up to? And who is the mysterious Scott who has suddenly appeared on the scene and made himself very much at home in Jen's life?

Told in dual timelines between the present day, and then going back to previous years when two lonely children formed a close friendship and their own private 'club' when they're ostracised and bullied by all the other school children, you will be hard pressed to figure out the connection between the two seemingly independent stories.. But of course, the links and the hints are there all along, if you know where to look. Samantha Hayes is just a master at hiding them, and revealing them when you least expect it.

This is a 5-star cracker of a book that I highly recommend!

When we meet Jen we learn that she is a successful doctor. Cracks in her perfect veneer, however, show soon after as we learn her husband (who may have been having an affair) is recently deceased and Jen suspects she was date-raped at a recent conference.

Believe it or not, the start of the novel is slow moving and it isn't until halfway through that the twists begin emergency in every chapter and intensity skyrockets. Midway through the book there are many questions including did her husband have an affair, how did he really die, and who was that man at the conference?

I found the characters likeable but I always groan when the main character freezes in suspenseful moments. Jen truly doesn't seem able to speak up or stick up for herself and I found that very draining.
The ending however, wrapped up all the story lines and even offered explanations for many of the questionable actions and reactions of Jen ! If you like twists and turns and slow burning thrillers of the domestic style, this is a great book for you!
Thank you to @NetGalley and @Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The beginning was so slow and some of the relationships confusing that I regretted starting this book. But towards the end I was totally knocked off my feet. Though I could guess some twists, the rest were jaw dropping. Once you get over the slow pace it is really worth a read.

This story was a pleasant and exciting surprise. The main character's story was shocking. The plot twists came out of left field. This author is one of my favorite go to's when I want to read something that will shock me and keep me entertained. I really enjoyed this book. Thank you NetGalley, publisher and author, for allowing me to read and review this book for free.

An awesome nail-biting thriller that made my day. The entire book was one full-filled, thrilling roller coaster ride. Hats off to the author to have pulled off the book very smoothly. Every single character was placed perfectly and did their part without any hitch. Great book.

I'm pretty sure I was screaming in my head at the main character, Jen, when she feels she has to be nice when Scott, the man from her one-night stand shows up. She's an intelligent woman, a doctor, grieving for her husband who died a short while ago. Why does she put up with his attempt to wriggle into her life? But there are so many complications surrounding that night that result in what happens next.

At first, I was confused by the intervening chapters that take place in the past, though I was pretty sure I knew who one of the characters was as an adult. And there's a little bit of a red herring that allows you to believe that Scott is looking for revenge. While some of the ending was predictable, the twists will knock you over in the end.

Some parts of the book are truly cringeworthy, and I won't give them away since they are part of the reveal, but just note that there should be trigger warnings. All in all, this was a tense read, and yes, comparisons to Gone Girl are accurate!

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance reader's copy.

At first, I was ruffled by the implausibility of an intelligent woman letting herself get into such a compromising position, and then I remembered that the main character (although much younger and less worldly) in my own novel series was lured into a similar predicament by a master manipulator. I realized I was too hasty and a few chapters in . . . WOW . . . I was so curious and entertained that I truly wasn’t bothered by that detail anymore.

This author has a bag of tricks and all the plot points under control, so suspend your reality and go for this wild ride! I’m a fan of crime, mystery, and thrills . . . this novel tics all three boxes. I found the overall pacing and the twisty elements very enjoyable.

The Trapped Wife does reveal some dark secrets along the way. I’m not a sensitive reader, but I do empathize with those that are . . . so be aware that there are a few details of trauma in this novel that may upset some folks. Be sure to view the blurb and an excerpt before purchasing to avoid any “triggers”.

Let me level with you and say about two-thirds of the way through I was leaning toward a four-star review, instead, the final surprizes sucker punched me in the gut and changed my mind. Well played Samantha Hayes! 5 stars!

I'd like to thank the author, NetGalley, and Bookouture for allowing me to read an advanced copy of The Trapped Wife for an honest review.

Thank you netgalley and Bookouture for this thrilling ARC. I had not read any of Samantha Hayes books before but I certainly will be adding them to my list of must reads.
The trapped wife is told over 2 time periods, present day is told by Jen and Rhonda and past is told by Evan.
Jen is a GP well respected in the local community and a recent window, her husbands death has left a lot of unanswered questions.
Rhonda is Jens best friend who is trying to manage her own grief of losing a friend as well as looking out for her best friend and holding down her job at a local school.
Evan is an unpopular child at school with an unusual hobbie of collecting and killing bugs.
How do a GP, a teacher and a child from 30 years ago connect?
The twists, shocks and revelations had me hooked! I thought I'd worked it out only to be surprised at the very end.

A must read

The Trapped Wife is a deceptively amazing novel that will astound you when the truth is revealed. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor because the author had me completely fooled, and I was in my element as the tale became increasingly dark and twisted. It had my heart pounding, and it's still racing a hundred times a minute just thinking about it! Amazing plot
All in all, Samantha Hayes has written yet another fantastic novel. I'm confident that if I read her novels, I'll be treated to a fantastic narrative. This one completely astounded me. I wasn't expecting the finale, and it was definitely a surprise. Pick up this book if you're searching for a terrific home thriller that you can simply read and get engrossed in.

I love a good twist in a story and I love it more when I think I have it all figured out and I’m wrong! This book totally got me! Jennifer’s writer husband has been killed in an avalanche and his body never recovered. She suspected he was there with his mistress and her life seems to be imploding all around her. She finds herself pregnant with a baby from a night she doesn’t really remember and she knows the baby doesn’t belong to her late husband. The blows keep coming and Jennifer struggles to figure out the mess her life has become.

There are flashbacks in the story and I thought I had pieced together how it all tied into the current day story. I was so wrong! Wow… what a twist. Highly recommend!