From my blog: Always With a Book

This is now the third book I’ve read by Adele Parks and each one has been so unique and thrilling. She is definitely one author I know I can count on for delivering on the psychological thriller front and each one is better than the last.

I was captivated right from the start with this one and the twists just blew my mind. It’s hard to say much without giving any spoilers, so forgive me is this review is vague, but believe me…you do not want anything given away! This is the type of book that is definitely best to go into as blind as possible.

I will say that I did have my theories as to who was behind things, but Adele Parks is just so clever that I kept changing my mind, thinking there was just no way I was right. Well…turns out I was correct but believe me when I say this in no way detracted from my enjoyment. In fact, it only heightened my reading experience as I really did try to work out just what the heck was going on.

This is one book that once you start, you will not be able to put down and I ended up binge-reading it in just a few hours. I love books like that. All I will say to entice you to pick this one up is that it’s based on secrets and don’t we all love stories that involve those? This has such a unique premise. Yes, we’ve seen the missing woman plot done before…but not this way!

If you like provocative, dark, twisted reads, definitely pick this one up!

I liked the writing style of Woman Last Seen, while I found it to be pretty predictable, I also found myself wanting to keep reading to find out what happens next. Because I found it to be predictable, I thought it was a little longer than it could have been. Overall, a solid read, but not a favorite.

I loved the premise of this book. And the beginning started off strong for me. The more i continued tho, the more it slowed. There was a lot of back story. I also got mixed up on the wives and their stories and who was who. I felt
Like there was too much inner monologue and not enough thrill.

Once again I’m disappointed by an Adele Parks book, no one is surprised. And please don’t think that I go into these books expecting not to like them, I really do go in with an open mind and hope that I will enjoy it.

The story follows Leigh who seems to have a perfect life with her husband and her two stepsons. Until suddenly she goes to work and then never comes home.

The other main character in the story is Kai who is married to a wealthy Dutch businessman living the high life in her amazing penthouse. But suddenly a week after Leigh has gone missing, Kai is missing also.

Detectives start to investigate both cases and at first don’t believe that the two cases could be connected as the two women come from very different lifestyles. But as they dig farther into their lives and their families lives they realize people are capable of keeping great secrets.

The writing style doesn’t keep my attention and while some of the twists were good, I couldn’t get over how much I detested the main character. Only giving it 2 stars because the main character got what she deserved in the end.

*Many thanks to Mira Books for the gifted copy for my honest review!*

Make sure to read this book to the end because it is worth it. This is a wonderful psychological thriller. I was enjoying the first third of the book and then I loved the last two thirds. All of a sudden there were plot twists and I was not sure who might have taken this woman and what they might do to her. I had a hard time putting the book down because I had to see who and why this person was doing what they were doing. This was a great web of deceit. I received a copy of this book from Harlequin for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

Having enjoyed the author's work in the past, I jumped at the chance to read her latest novel, Woman Last Seen.  Parks delivered a tale that will stun readers with its twists and many turns. 

Ok! What did I just read? I can’t believe I actually sat and read Woman Last Seen, gave up precious hours only to receive an ending that has me wanting to throw things. After all the jaw dropping twists, to deliver an ending that leaves the reader high and dry, is just plain cruel. I like closure in the books I read, especially thrillers. Well, this one left me trying to create my version of the outcome.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the book started out slow. When I say slow, I mean at a snail’s pace. I was subjected to a lengthy, boring introspection by Leigh, one of two women whose husband reported her missing. I considered throwing in the towel, then the author dropped a bomb, which made me reconsider giving up. The story started developing nicely after that, despite moments of tiresome introspection by each of the characters. I tried to figure who was behind the women’s’ disappearance and I narrowed it down to one person. My conclusion was spot on.

Now as for the characters. Goodness gracious, they were all abhorrent, well, except for twelve-year-old Seb. Their judgemental attitude and their constant justification of their actions made me hopping mad. Despite my dislike of them, I had some empathy for them. Regardless of their questionable actions, they were all victims.

Secrets, lies and deceit were the cornerstone of this story. Secrets and the truth have a strange way of coming to light and when it does, the domino effect can be far-reaching as the Woman Last Seen so aptly demonstrates.
It had the potential to be a five star read, but the start and especially the anti- climatic end took led to the deduction of stars.

Overall, Woman Last Seen was interesting and twisted tale.

Adele Parks’ new book Woman Last Seen is fast paced with an intriguingly different plot and incredible twists.

Without giving too much away it begins with two women who go missing.

Leigh Fletcher is a happily married wife and stepmother to two boys with her husband Mark. She travels weekly to her job as a consultant and returns mid-week to her family. Notoriously organized, even while being gone for half the week, she keeps the household running smoothly, prepares meals before she leaves and even has time to meet her best friend Fiona for tea weekly.

Kai Janssen loves her life! Married to a very wealthy Dutch businessman named Daan she does not want for anything. He adores her! Although she lives a very pampered life, she still splits her time taking care of her mother who is ill and lives in a care facility out of town. Usually, Kai and Daan talk at least once a day when she is away. But now Daan is unable to locate his wife. She has gone missing, and he is devastated.

Just as Police Detective Clements is called in to search for Leigh, although she believes Leigh either decided she needed a break from her family or wanted to upset her husband, the other call comes in about another missing woman, and that is Kai Janssen. Even though the women are so unalike, Detective Clements can’t seem to stop thinking the two cases are somehow connected.

But how could they be connected? Both women live in totally different areas. As the police begin to investigate, they start to think perhaps someone may have wanted to hurt the women. Why? Yes, as the saying goes if a wife goes missing, the husband is always the prime suspect, but in this case, they are the ones who called saying they were missing.

Where are Leigh and Kai? More importantly who took them and are they still alive?

And that, my friends are all the clues I am going to give you! You will just have to read the book for all the jaw-dropping, astounding turns the story takes!

Thank you #NetGalley #Mira #AdeleParks #WomanLastSeen for the advanced copy.

I really enjoyed the overall plot of this book. I thought it was super clever and kept me super engaged. However, the end fell so flat for me. I am not going to include spoilers but it was not all buttoned up in the end. I felt that the ending was rushed. I wish it would have gone deeper towards the end by eliminating other suspects rather than just coming out and giving it away.

Woman Last Seen by Adele Parks is a thriller novel. The story in Woman Last Seen is one that is told in a current timeline with a bit of flashing back to the past and also by changing the point of view between characters.

Leigh Fletcher travels a lot for her job keeping her away from her husband and two stepsons quite often. The night before this latest trip Leigh and her husband had a small disagreement so after Leigh had left and hadn’t checked in Mark had thought she was still angry. That is until she failed to return home.

Detective Clements is assigned to the case when Mark turns Leigh in as a missing person. Detective Clements thinks that there may be nothing and the wife has simply taken a break until Detective Clements gets another case assigned to her too. A wealthy businessman has also reported his wife, Kai Janssen, missing and the two cases seem to be very tightly tied together.

Woman Last Seen by Adele Parks was a little different to a lot of missing person novels by letting the reader have a point of view from the missing woman which gave a tense edge to the story. The novel also has a few twists and turns to make it stand out and keep a reader on the edge as the story unfolds. The ending was a tad over the top but quite honestly I completely enjoyed that it was and it felt to me like the perfect fit for an unusual missing person case. Definitely an author to watch out for in the future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Thought-provoking, spine-chilling and impossible to put down, Woman Last Seen is the latest compulsively readable novel from Adele Parks.

Everybody is shocked when happily married stepmom Leigh Fletcher goes missing on a Monday. Her husband Mark is in the dark about her whereabouts and is as dumbfounded as the police about what happened to his wife. How could a woman just vanish off the face of the earth? Leigh had just gone to work like she did countless times before. Was she abducted? Was she the victim of an accident? Or had she just walked out on her life and faded into the shadows never to be seen again?

Leigh is not the only woman to disappear. In that same week, Kai Janssen has also evaporated into thin air. Married to a wealthy Dutch businessman, Kai led a life most people would give their right arm for. Yet, it seems that she had left the glamorous trappings of her luxurious life in a heartbeat and turned her back on the penthouse, designer wardrobe and rich husband. Her husband Daan is completely distraught and is worried sick about her. Did she leave him without a backward glance? Was she kidnapped? Or could there be something sinister going on which could account for her disappearance?

Detective Clements is well aware that people disappear all the time for a variety of reasons. But surely the disappearance of two women in the same week is not mere coincidence. Believing that they are connected, Clements will leave no stone unturned to uncover what really happened to Leigh and Kai – even if it means unearthing devastating truths that could have serious repercussions for both of their families.

Adele Parks’ Woman Last Seen is a complex and brilliantly layered thriller that brilliantly explores the darkness bubbling away beneath the glossiest of surfaces. An immersive page-turner that is a deft mix of psychological crime thriller and police procedural, Woman Last Seen will take readers on a twisted journey of dangerous secrets and devastating lies where nothing is quite what it initially seems.

Readers looking for a book that grips from the start and keeps them enthralled until the very last page need to put Adele Parks’ Woman Last Seen at the very top of their must-buy list.

Woman Last Seen by Adele Parks was a fast read. The tension was thick throughout and I needed to know what was going to happen to Leigh and Kai. There were times when I got confused with all of the different time lines but liked seeing how these women ended up where they did. The most interesting parts were the family dynamics and trying to figure out what was happening. I guessed one of the twists but was surprised by another.

This review was commissioned by Harper Collins.
Leigh Fletcher has a wonderful life; a devoted husband, two amazing sons, and a beautiful home filled with clutter and laughter and enough energy to have spontaneous dance parties at the end of a long day- but even the happiest, most fulfilled women have their secrets.
When Leigh goes missing at the same time as another local woman named Kai Janssen, their lives intertwine in a way that I never saw coming; and the hits didn’t stop coming until the very shocking end.
Adele Parks has a writing voice that is immediately engaging, and her stories take off at a gallop; I appreciate any author who can keep me guessing throughout a story and ‘Woman Last Seen’ and Parks delivered in fine fashion, making this my hands down favorite book so far of this blog tour.
Fans of Freida McFadden and Tarryn Fisher will love this book.

Whew! What a beginning. It totally did what the author intended. It sucked me in and made me want more.

I can't say a whole lot because I don't want to give away the twists to the story but rest assured, when you start this one, you are not going to want to stop. So messed up. And brilliant!

You will definitely want to add Woman Last Seen to your reading list. It's probably going to be ranked up there as one of my favorite (i.e. mind-blown) thrillers of all time.

It’s so hard to review Woman Last Seen without giving anything away! I was curious on how the 2 missing women were connected and what had happened to them.

Unfortunately most of the novel is an inner monologue, which to be honest, I skimmed over. I was so bored reading the same thing over and over again about marriage, love, kids. I just wanted the story to move on, and just when it did, it would go back to the internal monologue. Ah!

I HATED the ending of Parks’ previous novel, Just My Luck, and sadly the ending to Woman Last Seen wasn’t too much better. I was hoping that there would of been a year later epilogue to see what had happened with all of the characters and the aftermath of the events in the last chapters.

2 calculators out of a potential 5. I’m sadly thinking that Adele Parks may not be for me. However, I would read another book centered around DC Clements, I really enjoyed that character.

Thank you to Netgallery and Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin MIRA Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest psychological thriller by Adele Parks - 4 stars for an intriguing mystery!

Leigh Fletcher is happily married to Mark and has two stepsons she adores. Kai Janssen is married to wealthy Dutch businessman, Daan, and they live an exciting, glamorous life. When both of these women go missing on the same day, Detective Clements feels that they are somehow connected, but she has to prove it. Did both of these women walk away from their happy lives?

Best left to discover all the twists and turns yourself, so don't look too much into a synopsis for this one! I enjoyed the tension and suspense in this book, as well as figuring out all the characters' motives and thoughts. Without going into any spoilers, it was interesting to go into the minds of these women and why they behaved the way they did. Another compelling read by Adele Parks!

Woman last seen by Adele Parks.
Detective Clements knows that people disappear all the time—far too frequently. Most run away from things, some run toward and others are taken but find their way back. A sad few never return. These two women are from very different worlds. Their disappearances are unlikely to be connected. And yet, at a gut level, the detective believes they might be. How could these women walk away from their families, husbands and homes willingly? Clements is determined to unearth the truth, no matter how shocking and devastating it may be.
A great read. I do love this author. I love the Story and characters. Good cover. 4*.

I’ve read a lot of thrillers lately that there is no thrill or imminent danger, which I have a tendency to not think they are thrillers, but I’m happy to report this one is definitely a thriller. Right from the start you know someone has been kidnapped and we get snippets from her point of view. Now I can’t say you will like or sympathize with her. I won’t say she is an unreliable narrator, but as you learn about her, she doesn’t really have a grip on reality. At least not the reality I live in.

About halfway through the book, I made up my mind what had happened and I was right, but up until that point, there were many suspects to who kidnapped Leigh with pretty compelling motives. I’m quite adept at figuring things out in thrillers and I saw most of the twists coming, except for the very end. I have respect for the author’s choice. I don’t want to ruin the twists or ending, but it definitely made it worth the read and stand out a little from the average domestic thriller.

In addition to the obvious, the book also made me think about the truth and secrets. Does your truth align with what others would see and what secrets shouldn’t be so secretive.

I think thriller lovers will be entertained by this one.

This book started strongly and quickly went downhill from there. With a totally implausible twist that would take way too much duplicity to carry off, a completely predictable plot and a rather dull ending, this book was a tedious read.

Two wives/mothers are missing. Two families are devastated. What is the connection? And who would do such a thing? Well, honestly, the answers to both questions seemed a little too easy to guess for me. And once I knew, I had to keep reading in order to find out that I was right. That made reading what should have been a really good twisty mystery a bit of a chore. Because, do not get me wrong, the premise for this story is a good one! And the execution was only good, not great, a bit dragged out, and the red herrings got to be a bit over the top. At 400 pages, I feel like if it had been pared down to a little over 300 and this would have sped up the pace, tightened up the twists, and made for a much stronger read.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy - all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this one - it was completely addictive, easy to read and intriguing. I loved the premise of two women going missing at the same time and the reality of the overlap of those cases. I loved the movement on perspective and timeline and I LOVE when a story has a morally ambiguous and somewhat unlikable main character.

I don't want to even hint at a spoiler, but I will say that while I bumped about on a few theories behind the whodunnit villain, it actually took me forever to figure it out. I was pleasantly surprised.

Overall, this is the kind of delicious popcorn thriller that makes for great winter reading.