“The future isn’t carved in stone- it isn’t even written in pencil on the back of a napkin.”

Merrit has a perfect life. She and her husband have a beautiful daughter and a son on the way. They’ve got houses and fancy vehicles and several businesses. She and Luca are so in love that he’d almost forgotten his first wife entirely.
Until she showed up on their doorstep.

Lydia was supposed to have died 10 years ago when she went missing in what appeared to be a tragic hiking accident. They even have the death certificate to prove it.

Minka Kent is my queen of Lifetime movies in book form, and Unmissing was no different. Every time she releases a new book I want to be first in line to devour the insane drama. These books will never go down as classic literature, but they sure are fun when you want some drama, twists, and suspense.
Unmissing is no different. It’s not the best of Kent’s books- that title belongs to Stillwater Girls. But, it’s also not the worst. It was just kind of meh for me. The saving grace for me was the sweet Delphine, a saint if there ever was one.

So does it turn me off from future Minka Kent books? Never.
Do I want this to be a Lifetime movie? Hell yes, as always.

*Thank you Netgalley for keeping me in advance copies of Minka Kent

3.5/5 rounded down for Goodreads. (Get on adding those half stars Goodreads.)

Completely implausible but entertaining. Merritt is happily married to Luca when his first wife Lydia appears at their door. Turns out that when she disappeared all those years ago, she was really being held in a cabin in the woods by a bad guy. She's emaciated, she's more than a little off, and no one goes to the police (seriously?). This is told by Luca, Merritt, and Lydia, all of whom have secrets that Kents parcels out slowly. It gets even crazier when Lydia sets her sights on getting the life with Luca she was meant to have- or thought she would have. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A fast read.

This book was so good! It had a great plotline and was fast paced and twisty! I love dual POVs and they were so well done in this one. There were a few jaw dropping moments too!

This is the first book I’ve read by Minka Kent and I’m anxious to read more. Luckily, I realized that I already have Stillwater Girls on my Kindle so am planning to read that one soon.

If you love thrillers then I highly recommend reading this one when it releases in a few weeks!

Thank you Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the e-arc of this book.

An Exciting Page-Turner!

In a cozy little seaside community of Bent Creek, Oregon, we discover Luca and Merritt, a couple awaiting the impending arrival of a new addition to the family. Just before the baby is due, the family gains an unexpected member . . . a wife who has been missing for nearly a decade.

If you closely examine this seemingly idyllic marriage at present, you will begin to find deep penetrating cracks, the traces of a sordid past lurking beneath the façade. One husband, two wives, and a whole slew of secrets. I really enjoyed this roller coaster thrill ride told in an alternating POV.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advanced copy of Unmissing for my unbiased evaluation. 4 stars

If one is willing to suspend disbelief in a wildly improbable plot and a cast of unbelievable characters, the UNMISSING can be a worthy reading experience. It’s not possible to read this thriller, however, without remembering Faulkner—"The past is never dead. It's not even past."—because its central plot element is the shocking return of a character presumed to have been dead for a decade.

Setting her novel in the Pacific Northwest, with its iconic dark forests and gloomy rain, suggests Kent intended to evoke the kind of gothic mood that Faulkner exploited with the Deep South. However, since she does not capitalize on it in her narrative, the setting falls a little flat. Notwithstanding this shortcoming, twisty plotting and unnerving characters redeem the novel to some extent.

Kent tells her story in alternating chapters narrated by the two wives of Luca Coletto. Yet both seem unreliable. Lydia, Luca’s first wife, has been legally dead for a decade following her disappearance. However, she turns up one night, weak and destitute, with a horrific tale of kidnap, confinement, torture, rape, and attempted murder at the hands of a person she calls “the monster.” Following her escape, Lydia’s behavior can only be construed as strange since she fails to report the crime. Instead, she elects to muddle along with no money, no job, no shelter, and no ID. In place of these essentials, she focusses on a hidden agenda involving revenge and retribution that can only be revealed by reading the novel.

Merritt is Luka’s second wife. She comes across as a loving mother and supportive spouse. Concern for Lydia’s potential to upset the idyllic life she has struggled to build with Luca motivates her to help her counterpart. To say the least, this behavior also seems quite weird. Once again, the details need to be reserved for the reader.

On one level, Kent portrays Luca as a loving husband and father. Also, he appears to be a successful entrepreneur. However, we quickly learn that he has his own issues. He is financially overextended and may harbor a dark past with psychological implications. Once again, all eventually is revealed.

Delphine DuBois is the only other character of note. She runs a new-age store called “The Blessed Alchemist.” Kent makes a half-hearted attempt to provide her with a rational backstory for her unrealistic openness and kindness toward Lydia, but one is left with the impression that her main function in the plot is to provide Lydia with the things she needs to survive and launch her revenge scheme.

Kent builds suspense slowly (maybe a little too slowly), but eventually brings all to a boil in the climax. Each character’s shortcomings become apparent, and a thrilling finish utilizes some outlandish plot twisting to close out the novel.

Told from alternating POVs (Lydia the previous wife and Merritt the wife now) you never really know who is telling the truth-until the end.

I have never read a Minka Kent book before but, she is now an auto buy author for me. This was literally THAT GOOD. Its going to be hard to top this one. There are so many twists in this book I was blind sighted. Just when I thought I knew what was going on, Kent turns the whole thing around. Wonderful writing, explosive plot and incredible characters. One in particular was so cold I felt the ice coming off the book! I don’t want to spoil this. Go in blind and thank me later. Huge round of applause.

My second book by this author, and it didn’t disappoint. With her fast paced writing style, Ms. Kent weaves a story that keeps you wondering and guessing till the end. Love the cast of characters and their development. Your feelings will be all over the place for Lydia, the unmissing wife of Luca Colletto, wealthy restaurateur. Luca is now happily married to Merritt, living a great life, running a successful franchise. This all changes with a knock on the door. Little by little, pieces of the puzzle are revealed and the masks come off.

Thanks to Ms. Kent, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

Oh my, Minka Kent does it again. Unmissing is a delicious and devious read with some HUGE plot twists that I didn't expect.

She also wrote a book that you can't say anything about without it being a spoiler, which makes reviewing it tough! I loved the cleverness (if unlikelihood) of it. A fun read!

Unmissing is scheduled to be published 2/15/22 by Thomas and Mercer. My thanks to them for allowing me access to an e-ARC of the book via NetGalley. All comments in the unreview (LOL!) are my own and are freely given.

This was the first book I have read by this author and it had some good points. It was a fast read and the pages flew by. It was definitely a thriller with some big twists and turns. There wasn't one character that was likable though and their behavior and actions bordered on ridiculous at points. Overall a solid read and I would definitely like to try this author again soon.

Unmissing is the latest thriller by Minka Kent. I've read a lot of books in my life and at least 75 % of the time know pretty much where the story is going and I just sit back and enjoy the ride. Not so with Unmissing. More than once I had to pick my jaw up from the floor before I continued reading! I want to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an early copy to review.

What an incredible surprise of a book, wow. I have never heard of this author, she's definitely highly underrated and is as good as alot of the big name female mystery authors. Well at least with this offering. I'll definitely check out some of her other books and hopefully my high opinion of her holds. This is as good as any Netflix or HBO show. So give reading a try, cozy yourself up to the fireplace and believe me you will not be disappointed.

Another fantastic edge of your seat novel by Kent. Merritt is a married woman who is pregnant with her second child. When a stranger comes to her house looking for her husband while he is out of town, she doesn’t know what to think. Lydia (the woman who shows up at Merritt’s door) has a horrific story to tell of her abduction, torture, and captivity that went on for years. Lydia is the 1st wife of Merritt’s husband, who allegedly disappeared while hiking several years ago. Excellent psychological thriller with a twisted ending that will shock you.

Minka Kent delivers again!!

I could not put this book down and in true Minka Kent fashion, I devoured it in less than 24 hours!

Ten years ago, Lydia is kidnapped while hiking in the woods. Missing and presumed dead, the state legally declares her deceased after no trace of her turns up after several years.

Flash forward to present day, and Lydia's widow Luca has moved on with his life. A successful restaurateur, husband, and father of one with another on the way, his life is turned upside down when his first wife suddenly reappears.

But Luca's life isn't the perfect facade he puts forth. In massive debt, losing businesses and employees by the day, and close to losing everything if he can't sell some of his restaurants to a major franchise, Luca is overwhelmed when Lydia is suddenly back and seemingly expecting to fall back into his life by his side.

Struggling to get on her feet with no legal identity, home, or means to survive, Lydia turns to Luca and his wife for help. Merritt is convinced if they befriend Lydia and help her get a fresh start she will leave them in peace, but will it be that easy?

This was such a page turner full of twists and jaw dropping moments. Somehow I guessed pretty early on some of the twists but I still couldn't get enough of the story and didn't want it to end. I love Kent's writing style, character development, use of dual narrators, and how she's able to pack such a punch in so few words.

If you enjoy a twisty thriller and want a face paced, unputdownable read, look no further!

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for a copy of this great novel. To be posted on my blog on publication day.

This was the first book I've read by Minka Kent. She certainly knows how to tell a story. The book was a fast paced, twisty thriller. I enjoyed reading it and although it wasn't a "OMG!" kind of book, it did suck me in and kept me wanting more. Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for a digital arc of this title.

This was my first book my Minka Kent, and I highly enjoyed it! I have to say, that I was immediately drawn into Unmissing from the first two chapters. Imagine, its a normal evening, and you are wealthy and happy in your coastal home, with a handsome husband, a sweet toddler and another baby on the way, and then the doorbell rings. Your adoring husband is out of town, so you hesitate, but answer answer your front door anyway, and you immediately encounter a woman, who is dirty, frail and suspicious, claiming to be his first dead wife. Merritt, is our main character, who answers that door, and Lydia is the one standing on the other side of it. What follows is just a fast paced story, twisty drama/thriller with an outcome at the end that I never quite expected. I love when a story has you thinking a certain person is the "bad guy", but then your are blown away when its not what you thought at all! This book had short chapters, and it was a nice, quick read. I highly enjoyed it! 4 stars! I look forward to reading more by Minka Kent!

I started reading this yesterday with no plan to devote my entire day to it. The next thing I knew I was tearing through it like it was my job; finishing it in a sitting.

I just couldn't wait to see what would happen with Lydia and Merritt. This book is wholly original and completely engrossing.

Absolute classic Minka Kent and I was SO there for it.

Thank you to the publisher for gifting me a copy, it is my pleasure to write an honest review.

The basic concept of this story is interesting. Lydia, a wife that mysteriously disappeared one day and has been dead for many years, suddenly shows up out of the blue on the doorstep of the new pregnant wife to her husband. Her story slowly unravels, and there are a lot of questions as to the way Lydia chooses to act after "The Event". Sadly there are a lot of plot holes where things just didn't make sense or are just highly unrealistic. For instance Lydia in the near past was left near death after a life or death injury. There was no indication that she managed to get herself to hospital for surgery or not. It simply wasn't addressed by the author and leads you to presume that she somehow patched herself up from life threatening injuries by herself despite no access to resources. Then managed to walk a huge distance to her husband's house, still in pain & recovering from serious injury, over several days without money, food or water. Meanwhile all the while during the book there was no mention of the character being in pain, or taking things easy due to the discomfort.

The first revelation was interesting but the way Luca and especially Lydia acted after they 'reunited' wasn't believable. Someone who's been through what Lydia has, doesn't just casually roam around doing normal life things at their leisure, regularly interacting with people who have seriously harmed them & are scared of. The second revelation about the new wife seemed plausible, but then it falls apart quickly at the very end, which is surprising as the new wife is very calm and calculated especially under pressure and doesn't seem like she would make silly mistakes which would point blame at her feet. I can't explain more than this without giving the storyline away. It's shame as I very much liked the authors other book "The Stillwater Girls".

Crazy Good! I did not want to put it down! I love the twist in the story and it was something that kept me interested from the beginning which is something I love about book! It was just enough and not overdone like some books can be! I can’t wait to read more by her!

"Tragic things happen all the time."

Merritt Coletto and her husband Luca have the perfect life: a million-dollar home, their own business, and a growing family. Then one night, Lydia Coletto, Luca's presumed-dead first wife knocks on their door. Missing for ten years and declared legally dead, Lydia's presence and existence are nothing short of shocking. But Lydia's return comes with more questions than answers. And when the answers start to come, everyone is left reeling. Not everything or everyone is what they seem.

Alright, I have been in the slumpiest slump and this was actually the PERFECT slump buster. Unmissing was a really quick (252 pages), fast-paced, exciting, captivating read. It was super easy to get involved and engaged. Unmissing was also twisty and had a lot turns so you weren't ever really expecting the next piece or part. The beginning was really really exciting as was the end, I did find the middle dragged a little bit. It felt like a lot of the same thing, hanging out at the restaurant, shopping, etc. The ending also wrapped up so quickly that I felt a little bit like I had whiplash.

Overall, I really really enjoyed this! Minka Kent is a wonderful writer, the writing was amazing. Twisty, fun, captivating, got me out of my slump. Definitely worth picking up a copy of this when it comes out on February 15!

"I guess the old adage is true—if you want something done right, you've got to do it for yourself."

I love Minka's books so I was super excited to get the chance to read this one early! I will say I have enjoyed her other ones better but I still really enjoyed this one. There is always a huge mystery when it comes to her books that you are trying so hard to figure out and then are shocked by the end! After have been missing for ten years, Lydia returns at the front door of her husband and new wife's home to reveal that she is back. She's not dead after all and is there to see her husband. Merritt (the new wife) thinks its some psyco-path showing up to their home asking for their husband to only find out it really is Lydia, Luca's wife who disappeared and has now returned. But where has she been this whole time? Why is she here and what does she want? Lydia is determined to try getting her husband back but how will she. What will he do when he sees shes back? This one was definitely a page turner and makes you wonder what is going to happen all the way through this book. Minka knows how to make your mind wander and try to solve the mystery yourself. Great story! Definitely recommend this one.