My Wife Is Missing is the exciting new thriller from D.J. Palmer. The plot moves quickly as the story is alternately told by Michael and Natalie. Michael thinks he is on a family vacation to New York with his wife Natalie and their young children Addie and Bryce. When Michael returns to the hotel room with pizza for his family he is stunned to discover they are gone. From viewing hotel CCTV Michael learns that Natalie took the children and was picked up by a driver at the hotel. Natalie is protecting her children from Michael and the horrible crimes she believes he has committed. Natalie has been suffering from insomnia for months-can her thought process be trusted? Michael admits he is keeping secrets from Natalie, but doesn't understand why she is running from him. This novel is filled with great characters and interesting twists. A definite must read!

okay wow this book was a roller coaster I had no idea what was happening the entire time

I went into this one blind (highly recommended) & all I knew was that … michael’s wife was going to go missing lmao 😅

what progressed in the plot line was a typical secret life I don’t know who I married type of story, except it kept me so intrigued! I wanted to know who would get away with their secrets and whose past life would get blown into pieces!!

and then it all came to such a satisfying conclusion … and then I noticed I was only 85% through the book LOLOLOL I WAS FOOLED FOLKS

I knew it couldn’t be too easy, and I was right - I won’t give any spoilers but it’s definitely not over until it’s over with this one!! so so well written!

this was my first book by palmer and it certainly won’t be my last!! such an intriguing domestic thriller!!

thank you to st martins press and netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! this one’s out now!!

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: finger lakes cabernet franc

This was a decent thriller. It centers on a family that includes father Michael, Natalie the insomniac mother, and their two children. Their marriage is sadly on the rocks, so the family takes quick vacation to NYC in an attempt to mend it. Natalie has been suffering with terrible insomnia which is one of the obstacles they are facing (it becomes a little repetitive how many times it is mentioned). Natalie and the children disappear from the hotel room but eventually it is revealed that she left of her own volition. Michael, obviously, is then determined to find them and also find out where & why they are gone. The story has a lot twists in it and as each is revealed, the turns changed my allegiance to Natalie from Michael, where it was initially. There was quite a bit to follow and the book is very long too, but when it finally ends, the outcome is a little bit unexpected. Not enough to make it an outstanding thriller, but all together a good story.

The Hart family heads to New York for Spring Break. The father, Michael, leaves to grab dinner for everyone. When he returns, his wife and two young children have disappeared. But they weren’t kidnapped. Why did his wife leave without him? Where is she going?

Hooked from the beginning, the mix of dual timelines and dual POVs kept the story moving for me. There is a bit of repetition around the wife’s insomnia and its impact on her, but it wasn’t enough to bother me.

My Wife Is Missing is full of characters hiding something, revelations related to secrets — old and new, and a battle with insomnia. This fast-paced, twisty psychological thriller kept me engaged and guessing throughout. I enjoyed this one and recommend it to those who enjoy surprising twists and an entertaining, suspense-filled read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this voluntary review are my own.

I spent the beginning part of the story thinking I was so darned smart and that I had it all figured out. To the point of being just a tad bored to be honest. But then, things started twisting and turning and taking deep lefts instead of rights and once again, I thought I figured it out. In the end, there were some great twists that although I may have pinpointed a person of interest, I never saw the actuality of it coming. THAT is the mark of a good thriller. The epilogue left me a bit perplexed but all in all a good twisted thriller.

3.5 stars!
Michael Hart’s world is turned upside down when his wife, Natalie, and his two children go missing from their hotel they are vacationing at in New York City. Natalie suffers from insomnia and they have been struggling in their relationship lately. When it is revealed that Natalie took the kids on her own volition, Michael sets out to find his wife and uncover why she took off.

The beginning of this story had me hooked. The set-up was gripping as you start out rooting for Michael, but that quickly turns once you learn more about the circumstance of Natalie’s escape. There were lots of twists and turns that kept you guessing about who to trust. Natalie’s insomnia made her extremely unreliable, which made the reader unsure at parts if she was living in reality or not. I did find Michael and Natalie to be unlikeable, which led to me not really being that invested in the plotline. I also found the methods of the detective, Kennett, to be questionable. It was a page turner at the start, but I think some of the length could have been trimmed! The ending was very cinematic. Thanks to @stmartinspress, @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for my review copies.

Natalie can’t sleep, her insomnia is becoming debilitating. Lack of sleep is causing her to black out, have dreams in the middle of the day and hallucinate. When she suspects her husband, Michael of having an affair, she has no idea the secrets that will come to light as she digs deeper into her marriage and her husband. When she goes missing on a family vacation in New York, Michael is frantic, but is he frantic fir the right reasons? Is Natalie in danger or has paranoia pushed her over the edge? Told in the alternating voices of Natalie and Michael, the reader knows that there’s more to the story, but is Natalie an unreliable narrator is Michael? Only time will tell in this fast paced story that had a coupe of blind corners and some hair pin curves! D.J. Palmer just keeps getting better and better!

This book pulls the reader in immediately with a powerful start. When Michael Hart discovers that his wife and children have disappeared from their New York City hotel room while he was out picking up dinner, chaos breaks loose. The book is told from several viewpoints - - Natalie (current day), Natalie (before she disappeared) and Michael (current day). As the reader, you are much like a detective - - trying to sort through the evidence and details that are being provided to come to a conclusion. The tough thing is trying to determine if you can rely on the evidence or not.

Even though this book felt like it drug a bit in the middle to me, the author still does a wonderful job with it. You aren't sure exactly what to believe is truth and what could be hallucination or misinterpretation because of Natalie's insomnia. In the end, some of the twists I thought I had pegged weren't quite right which thrilled me. I love to be surprised.

Overall, I recommend this book. I would just encourage anyone sitting down to read it to invest in a wee bit of patience and let he author unwrap the story gradually. Even though it made me crazy at times when I was reading it, the slow development of things really did lend to the flow of the novel. At least in my opinion, it did.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review this book and the opinions contained within are my own.

I received a complimentary audiobook ALC for MY WIFE IS MISSING by D.J. Palmer – thank you to St Martin's Press and Netgalley!

MY WIFE IS MISSING begins with a family vacation to New York. When Michael goes out to get pizza, he returns to an empty hotel room with no word from his wife. He immediately fears that something has happened to them, but cameras show that his wife and their two kids left on their own. Michael may know why she left, but they aren’t things he’s likely to volunteer to the police.

I have enjoyed all of the books that I have read from D.J. Palmer and this one was no exception! The story had me immediately intrigued to find out what was happening! We are following Michael originally, but we begin to get chapters from his wife Natalie’s perspective too. Michael clearly has secrets he’s trying to keep under wraps and it is soon apparent that Natalie has uncovered some things that give her more than enough reason to be on the run. The reader is slowly let in on some of the dirt and it makes for a very intriguing and engaging read.

This is a good book to go into without a lot knowledge about the plot. It definitely kept me trying to figure out where the twists were going to come into play! The audio really worked well for this book too!

This book takes you on quite a roller-coaster! Just when you think you know what will happen next, Palmer throws a surprise your way. Lots of secrets - new and old. The personalities of the characters often make you question who to trust. The story is written in alternative views - past and present. A wife disappears with her two children on a family vacation to NYC. The husband, struggling with their disappearance and doing everything he can to find them (while his wife is doing everything she can to stay hidden!) Although some of the story is unrealistic, he did not detract from my enjoyment!
Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy!

My Wife is missing was a twisted domestic thriller. Natalie runs off with her and Michael’s two kids on a family trip to New York. Natalie’s been suffering from insomnia or has she? Definitely one of the best thrillers in a while. Did Natalie murder Michaels mistress or is Michael a murder that Natalie is running from. And that ending I truly didn’t see coming!!

While on a family vacation, Michael Hart's wife and children disappear. While searching for them, his past rears its ugly head and may bite him before he can find his family. Can he find them before something happens to them?

Read if you like:
✫Domestic suspense
✫Psychological thrillers
✫Dual POV
✫Cat and Mouse thrillers

Rating: 4.5★

Summary: When his wife and kids vanish on a family trip to New York, Michael Hart is distraught, fearing they have been kidnapped or worse. When the police are called in, they determine that Natalie left of her own volition.

As Michael investigates to get to the bottom of where they have gone and why, his long held secrets threaten to come to the surface, especially once he begins to rely on a suspiciously helpful detective with ties to his past. And as Natalie tries to vanish with their kids, her insomnia makes her unable to determine fact from fiction, with particularly detrimental consequences.

Thoughts: This book was a rollercoaster of twists from start to finish centered around a great game of cat and mouse. I was hooked from page one and did not want to put it down until I had all the answers. I had no idea who the good guy was, nor the bad, which is ultimately my favorite kind of thriller.

Palmer’s character development was excellent, particularly for a thriller where characters usually takes a backseat to the plot line. I connected with Natalie, with all of her insecurities and all of her physical and emotional manifestations of sleep deprivation, while also connecting with Michael, yet another morally grey individual I wasn’t sure whether to root for or despise.

The pace of this book was also excellent. Unlike some books I have read recently that save all of the reveals for the ending, Palmer does a great job of spreading out his revelations throughout the book, and then quickly turning everything on its head. I think this is the main reason this book became impossible to put down.

What prevented it from being five stars was that the ending felt a bit too contrived for me. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Michael Hart takes his family to New York City on a vacation, only to find them missing when he brings some pizza back to the hotel room. The opening of this mystery/psychological thriller grabbed me right away.

The first complication is that Natalie isn't all that stable -- she has insomnia and some other issues that may or may not be related to her sleep deprivation. There is a dual pov to help fill in the blanks, and at times both characters are unlikable.

Since this is a mystery, I don't want to spoil anything, so I'm not going to get into the details of the plot. There's more to things and bigger reveals as the story moves along. The middle is a bit slow and repeats and the big payoff is in the last twenty five percent of the book. There are secrets. There are twists. The question becomes which one do you believe? Even though some of the plot elements were a touch unrealistic, it did keep me guessing.

Overall, I did enjoy this story and it worked for me as a mystery/psychological thriller as long as I didn't spend a lot of time questioning things and just went with the flow of the story, which was okay by me.

Wow! This book was so good! Clues to what’s really going on in Michael and Natalie’s marriage that has caused Natalie and the children to go missing are dropped slowly bit by bit keeping you riveted to the pages. D.J. Palmer has successfully written another fast paced, twisty thriller that will keep you guessing and thinking, ‘Wow, I didn’t see that one coming!’

The plot of this psychological thriller was intriguing. I could Natalie to be a very annoying character. It could have been a shorter read. The twist at the conclusion was surprising, but it took too long to get there. All in all, it’s a very entertaining mystery. *this honest, voluntary review is based on a complimentary copy from NetGalley*

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It held my interest and I wanted to find out what would happen next. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

My Wife is Missing by DJ Palmer was an edge of my seat read full of suspense and twists and turns! The story starts as we see how the Hart family’s life has gone wrong and waiting to see how it would all end! When they take a family trip, Michael is shocked to see his family is gone after leaving to get food. But were they kidnapped or did Natalie leave on her own with their children? Then we learn Michael has secrets that can cost him everything and Natalie is trying to determine what is real or not? Who can we trust? What follows will keep you guessing and captivated until the very end!

Happy reading!

—Pub Day Book Review—

Title: My Wife Is Missing
Author: D. J. Palmer
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
@stmartinspress
Genre: Thriller/Domestic Suspense

I have enjoy this author’s previous books, so I was grateful when the publisher @stmartinspress honored my request via @netgalley to read and review this title.

Michael and Natalie’s marriage has been out of sync. Natalie has been dealing with Insomnia. Despite these things they decide a family trip away with their two young kids to NYC is just what they need. Shortly after they arrive Michael goes to get carryout pizza for the family. When he returns, his wife and kids are gone. The only thing left is a his son’s beloved teddy bear left in the hallway. Did they leave willingly in a rush (and why) or did someone take them!?! Dun… Dun… Dun…

Rating: What a roller coaster ride. The chapters are narrated by Michael in present and Natalie narrates both in the past and the present. Both are pretty unreliable. Natalie especially because of the Insomnia. And Michael because you don’t really know if he is good guy or a bad guy. I was invested in this story until the ending. The ending was stupid, came out of nowhere and kind of had me rolling my eyes. Sorry 😬. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Happy Pub Day! This Book is out today - 5/10.

This was a really good book. Lots of plot twists and turns that kept me page turning till the end. This author is a favorite of mine, and he did not disappoint. A most excellent read.