I listened to the audio version. This was very nearly a 5 star book. I am giving in 4.5 and rounding down.
I was initially very intrigued by the missing husband story line. Then it became disappointingly obvious that he had merely left his wife for another woman. This was revealed by telling part of the story from the husband's POV. The story is told from the POV of the wife, husband, and other woman along staggered time lines. We don't know the whole story until the very end. I was pleasantly surprised by the plot twists. The narrative did have a sinister feeling to it, suggesting something was going on beyond a simple extra-marital affair. Happily, I did not immediately guess what it was. The author built tension and atmosphere effectively.
The last 25% of this book was absolutely fascinating. I did not want to stop listening until I got to the end and found out what happened to everyone.
I have never read this author before but would definitely read her novels again. I hope she will write a sequel to this one. There could be another great story here.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

The three main characters tell their side of how this love triangle came to be and its surprising end.

Kate and Pete……..the perfect couple, or so they'd like you to believe. Fantastic home, beautiful girls, financially sound——all a shell of what is actually happening. These are two very unhappy people.

Postpartum depression sends Kate into a downward spiral that she cannot rise above. She loves her babies, but can’t take care of them because she sees herself incapable. Then there is the resentment that Pete is still going to work every day and is a part of the outside world, and she is stuck at home. She was a very successful PR person before she was a mom. That bitterness turns into disinterest in their marriage.

Pete, while trying to understand his wife’s issues, does a lot of fingerpointing at Kate for how their life is faring. He employs a nanny for the children he’s not so fond of, pays for a rehab of a house he really didn’t want and basically wants their lives to be when they were young and free. He longs for the old days when they were unburdened.

Clare, the other woman, is a free spirit, exactly what draws Pete to her. A single drink together turns into obsession by him and a hope for a future together for her.

There was so much of "you did this, you’d didn’t do that" volleying between Pete and Kate that I was weary of hearing it. But I was happy I waded through all that to the surprise twist I never ever thought of.

I enjoyed having the male narrator: it conjured up a better image in my mind of Pete.  The female narrator gave all the female characters their individual voice.

Thank you so much Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this amazing audio book!

The Missing Husband by Boydell was such a great listen!.
The narrator was phenomenal and did an outstanding job making this story come to life.
To me this was one book I couldn't put down. I couldn't stop listening to.
I kept telling myself "one more" then before I knew it I was finished.
A perfect page turner in every sense.
Well written and fast paced. With amazing characters.
Highly recommend this one for any thriller fan out there!

Kate and Pete marriage is perfect! At least that's what everyone thinks. One day after Pete leaves for work, Kate discovers his phone in his jacket and a note stating that he's been unhappy for a long time, and he's met someone else.

As Kate sets out to locate Pete, she discovers he's canceled all his social media accounts, quit his job, and has been having an affair with Claire for months.

I believe this book is a victim of mismarketing. Being labeled as a thriller, I expected suspense, dark twists and turns that never materialized. However, if I read this book as domestic noir, I appreciate Kate’s journey as she discovers how unsympathetic Pete is to her postpartum and how selfish he is towards his own needs and desires. Kate is fueled by anger as she unravels all of Pete’s lies. The longer Pete is missing, the stronger Kate becomes. She believes that she and the girls can live happily ever after without her abandoned husband until the police show up, stating Claire (his lover) filed a missing person report.

Available September 2!

I feel like writing a description is a bit redundant since the premise of the book is right there in the title, so I’ll keep it quick. A husband goes missing and then over the course of a year we get to hear the story of how and why from three different points of view.

For three quarters of the book, I was hooked. I wouldn’t stop listening unless I absolutely had to because I wanted to devour every detail. The inner thoughts from the mother’s perspective were particularly insightful. But the story didn’t finish as strong as I expected and left me a little dissatisfied. It wasn’t a bad story, it just didn’t have the wow factor I had been hoping for while reading and landed around 3.5 out of 5 for me.

Don’t let me dissuade you from checking this one out because even though the end was “meh,” I still flew through the book in two days. Clearly it’s a fun one to listen to!

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the ALC!

This is another solid Thriller/ Mystery. This is about a married couple that that been together for over 15 years has what seems the perfect life. Perfect job and 2 perfect children. But one morning Kate finds a note from Pete telling her he's leaving her and has falling in love with someone else. He said he will contact her after a few days after she calms down to discuss the children.

This story is told in duel pov from the wife from some of there past but mostly in the present after she finds the note and his cell phone. what is she going to do she hasn't worked since she had her first child. She has no idea where he is and has no way to reach him.

His side is told from when they 1st meet leading up to him deciding to leave her for his new girlfriend.
They both talk about how from the outside there life looks perfect and the perfect marriage. but as the story is told you learn they both have issues and the them they were when they first got together is not the them they are now. How they both know they could of done more.

My problem with both of them is they don't talk to each other. they just both keep everything inside. So much could of been different if they would of been honest with each other.

As the story goes on you go back and forth between who your madder at. But like all thrillers i can't tell you why. but this end up being a roller coaster and it was a read all in one day.

This is a fast read and the audio was fantastic.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the audio arc in exchange for an honest review

Kate and Pete met in university. They were the perfect happy couple. Or so they seemed to the outsiders looking in. 15 years later, a house and two kids, and the two had become almost like strangers. Neither had the courage to bring it up. Kate always keeping up appearances to the other mums, a stay at home mum with a nanny to help her out, and what others looked at as a doting husband and father. Both had become completely miserable, and Pete had also gone as far as straying away from his marriage. Then one morning, Kate found a letter from Pete proclaiming his love for another woman and telling of his plans to move away with her. That was the last time Kate saw Pete. He left behind his phone and deleted all his social media accounts. Months went by and Kate, left with no other alternative, decided it was time to step up and get her life on track. She let go of the nanny, determined to be the loving supportive mother she was supposed to be to their two girls, started seeing a therapist and even started back to work. After numerous attempts to get in touch with Pete but no prevail, she decided once and for all to give up. Months later still having heard nothing from Pete, Kate got a surprise visitor that sent her world spinning even further out of control. Will Kate be able to handle the truth when it all comes to light?
Many thanks to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media and Natasha Boydell for the opportunity to read and review this book. Crossing back and forth mostly between Pete and Kate, the book goes from Pete's point of view from the past leading up to his departure and Kate's point of view starting at present with him having already left, then back to the history behind the couples relationship into the present and her moving forward. It wasn't quite so obvious for a while as to why the book was considered a mystery/thriller until about ¾ of the way through the book or so with a big twist. I really enjoyed the book. I burned through it fairly quickly. I rate this book ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Kate and Pete have the ideological family. College sweethearts, Perfect marriage of fifteen years, two beautiful daughters, and a beautiful home…. At least that’s what everyone else thinks. One morning Pete leaves for work, and Kate soon discovers a note he’s left explaining his unhappiness and he’s leaving her for someone else. Kate soon discovers he’s left everything behind including his cell phone and has deleted all his social media accounts. She soon starts to question his disappearance after months of no contact with him.

Told from multiple points of view, this book kept me guessing until the very end! I was pretty sure I had things figured out, but quickly found out how wrong I was. The audio on this one was so fun with multiple narrators!

This one is out Sept 2, 2021! Thank you @netgalley and @dreamscapemedia for the audio-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Missing Husband is a slow burn read told from different perspectives and switched from past to present. None of the characters were particularly likeable and you could not be entirely sure who was telling the truth! It is billed as psychological suspense with many twists but there really was not any suspense and there really was only one twist, which did come until over halfway through the book. It is not a thriller but a good read nonetheless. There was character development and the plot advanced and kept me wanting to know more. Would be a great beach read!

Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

Title: The Missing Husband
Author: Natasha Boydell
Narrators: Rupert Degas, Penelope Rawlins
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced listen. In the beginning this story was really irritating then I kept listening and thought Oh, interesting plot twist. PERFECT! Really liked that plot twist. The characters were very interesting not one dimensional. Narrators gave life to each character. I will definitely recommend this story but will preempt it with "Keep Listening" as you are raging at Pete's character.

Kate and Pete were the perfect couple. Now, 15 years and 2 kids later, they live in London in Kate's dream home. But behind this perfect facade, things are not well. Then Pete goes missing and Kate finds a note he left behind. Life goes on but it isn't what it seems.

The characters were unlikable but in a way they need to be for the story. I enjoyed this book but the thriller aspect doesn't come in until about 75 percent in. I would call this book more of a domestic drama than a mysterious thriller. So I was disappointed in that aspect. It read more like a reality show and was a bit slow and monotonous for me. I think if you go into it expecting more domestic drama you will enjoy it.

I really enjoyed this book. I listened to the audiobook and the narraration was very well done. At times I felt the story became repetitive with the different povs. However, this book kept me hooked until the end. Very well done.

I enjoyed this story. More mystery/suspense than thriller. The story is mostly told from two points of view. Kate's side, where she realizes her husband has decided to abandon her and their two daughters for a younger woman with no "baggage." Pete's side, where he meets a girl, fantasized about living a life of freedom and spontaneity with her, then steps from fantasizing to making it happen, always with the reasoning that he didn't mean for this to happen.
At first I didn't like Kate. She is passive about her entire life, mostly due to anxiety about being a mother and feeling inadequate to the job. She has a husband who doesn't put much work into supporting her emotionally. As the story progresses and Kate begins to pull herself together to deal with what a missing husband does to change her life, I grew to like her more. By the end, where the plot twist comes in, I am fully rooting for her. The narrators of the audio version of this book did an excellent job.
Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio-ARC of this book

This book was very predictable and I feel like I've read tons of better books with that same concept. I didn't like the main character, Kate. I did, however, like how the other characters were believable and interesting. The audiobook was good and I liked how every MC (Kate, Pete and Claire) had a different narrator.

(Trigger warnings: ppd & infidelity)
An incredible mystery! This book was wild and I was emotionally invested immediately. I loved how the chapters went between Kate (now) and Pete (leading up to the now). I felt so much for Kate. How Pete didn’t recognize she had postpartum depression and not just the “baby blues” irked me.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book and I loved the two narrators. They were very emotive and voiced each character very distinctively.

While it didn't start out as suspenseful I was hoping, I ended up loving this one. I really enjoyed the dual POVs between Kate and Pete. Pete had me disliking him from the very start and as the story progressed I desperately needed to know what happened. I wasn't quite expecting that twist at the end and it really did wrap the story perfectly.

This novel kept me guessing throughout the pages. I enjoyed the two main characters and felt that they were well-drawn. I would have given this thriller a higher rating, but I felt the ending was abrupt. The narration was top notch. I look forward to reading other books by the author.

The Missing Husband (Audio version)

Kate and Pete have the perfect life: Two young daughters, a beautiful townhouse in a desirable London suburb, and a solid marriage of fifteen years. But one night, Pete doesn’t come home. Calling his cell phone to find out where he is; Kate discovers that Pete’s cell phone is downstairs and next to it is an envelope addressed to her. She opens it up and learns that Pete has left her and the kids because he’s in love with another woman. Kate’s perfect world has just fallen apart. But, where is he?

Love her writing style: Chapters switch back-and-forth between Kate’s story and Pete’s story, presenting each character’s understanding of events. Kate’s narrator has a female voice and Pete’s narrator has a male voice. I like this method of narration.

There’s a fabulous twist in the book, but I can’t say more as it will spoil the read for you!

4 stars

Title: The Missing Husband
Author: Natasha Boydell
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

🔊Song Pairing: Who Are You - The Who

💭What I thought would happen:

I thought it was going to be a Liam Neeson situation like in Taken but a wife searching for her husband. A special set of skills 😉

📖What actually happens:

2 POVs, Kate & Pete. Kate and Pete are at the end of their relationship while only one of the parties actually knew this fact.

Pete has left Kate for a younger woman who understands and appreciates him. It’s his wife’s fault that he left. She hasn’t shown him any proper love since before they had children…did you just vomit?! I definitely rolled my eyes so hard they nearly got stuck.

Kate knows that her marriage was not perfect. University sweethearts who kept taking the next steps that were expected of them…marriage, children, dream home. Somewhere along the way Kate forgot to “prioritize” her husband while dealing with postpartum depression, creating the image of a perfect family and working endlessly to still be appealing for her husband.

🗯Thoughts:

This was great from both points of views. How the affair started and what happened after Pete left. It gave great clarity where both parties were at mentally and emotionally and how lacking in communication can truly ruin a relationship.

Pete is a complete shit. An absolute waste of flesh. At no point did I think his logic was sound. He was a typical cliché and even worse he suffered from his own father leaving him and his mother. Can no man keep his damn 🍆 in his own khakis?!

While this story is completely believable and not all that surprising yet it was still very exciting! I loved the narrator of the audiobook and I couldn’t get on with life until I finished this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC! It was an absolute pleasure to listen.

My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for this audio.

Boy I did not see what was coming! Kate's husband Pete leaves her for Clair, his mistress. The story is told from the perspective s of the above mentioned characters. Then Pete turns up missing. The how and the why will really floor you!

Enjoyed this very much. Started more of a domestic women's fiction but the zinger at the end was not expected. Highly recommend.