**Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and D.J. Palmer for an ARC of this book!**

A pretty solid and twisty thriller...IF you can get past the heavy-handedness and if a hefty dose of repetition doesn't lull you to sleep!

Natalie and her husband Michael have taken kids Addie and Bryce to NYC for a quick trip. When Michael returns to their hotel from a pizza and salad run, however, his wife---AND kids---are nowhere to be found. Obviously, Michael panics and turns to the authorities to help suss out their location. As a policeman aids Michael in his search, we begin to find out a bit more about Natalie...namely, that she's been suffering from insomnia for a LONG time, to the point of paranoid delusions, and this has caused some significant bumps in their relationship as of late. Natalie's constant state of sleep deprivation hasn't shielded her from some unpleasant realities...such as Michael's sudden long hours at the gym, coupled with a lack of action in their bedroom. Her suspicions have led her to take this opportunity to run...but will Michael be able to catch her? And has been Michael been keeping ANOTHER secret, one more dark and dastardly than Natalie even knew? Will either of these two make it home safe and sound....or at least, safe from one another?

After the long slog that was The Perfect Daughter (I STILL remember how frustrated I felt trying to get through that book...talk about a week that felt like a year!) I was a bit hesitant about picking up another Palmer book, but I was so hoping I'd feel as satisfied as I did after The New Husband, my first introduction to his work...and I am grateful to say I enjoyed this book! While simple enjoyment might not seem like an accomplishment, feeling satisfied with this read renewed my faith in this author and confirmed that I want to keep reading his work.

The pacing was fairly steady, with just enough unanswered questions and movement from Natalie as the chase commenced to keep me interested. There is a "Before She Disappeared" timeline, but it wasn't confusing (thankfully) and helped fill in the blanks as to what Natalie's motivations were and why she felt compelled to leave. I had been clued in that an unreliable narrator was at play, so I did jump back forth several times as to whether said narrator was Michael or Natalie. I also always enjoy Palmer's characters: authentic without being boring, and usually not TOO over the top.

The areas where this book lacked however, were some of the devices Palmer chose to use...namely Natalie's insomnia as the driving force behind all of her decisions and the one thing that always undermines her credibility. As some other reviewers have previously pointed out, her insomnia is mentioned A LOT, almost ad nauseum. Yes, we know, she doesn't sleep. (This may make me especially salty since I have an infant and also haven't had a full night of restful sleep in over a year....but I digress.) It was hard to feel the gravity of how insomnia affected Natalie because Palmer did more telling and showing, and since his novels are generally third person, it was hard to climb in Natalie's head and really FEEL that discombobulated feeling.

While I did figure a couple of twists out (at least partially) there were a couple interesting banks here and there that I didn't predict and that was enough to keep the narrative lively for me. There is a section at around 75% that drags for a bit, but the ending picks up again and has one nice fake-out moment before the last loose ends are tied. While the plot itself didn't feel the most fresh or unique I'd ever read, it was just entertaining and steady enough to keep me turning pages and keep me invested. Perhaps I just was so relieved to not take a week to finish this one or the fact that I was coming off a read I did NOT enjoy elevated this in my mind...it's hard to say. Either way, I'm glad I was able to stay awake long enough to finish this one...and I'd best be off to go catch some shut eye!

4 stars

This book is told in 3rd person from alternating POVs of Michael, Natalie as well as Natalie before her disappearance. I absolutely loved the alternating POVs throughout. The chapters were short and engaging. I had no idea who to trust or what to believe which left me turning the pages and reading way past my bedtime. There were multiple unexpected twists coming and I definitely didn’t see any of them coming. Definitely recommend if you like thrillers!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for proving me with an ARC and teddy bear in exchange for an honest review.

I have had the pleasure of reading and enjoying quite a few of D. J. Palmer’s books. The author’s work never disappoints, so I was super excited to receive a copy of his newest effort My Wife Is Missing. A big Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of the book. My Wife Is Missing is a high-octane, nonstop, twisty thriller. Once I started reading this book the storyline quickly grabbed my attention, kept me captivated and turning pages up until the very end. A suspenseful, tangled, edge of your seat mystery that will definitely keep you guessing! A great summer vacation read.
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Book Synopsis: A family vacation to New York City turns into a living nightmare for Michael Hart. His wife Natalie and their two children have gone missing from the hotel room they are all staying in. When he goes out to pick up dinner for his family, upon his return to the hotel there is no sign of his wife and children anywhere. He only finds his son’s favorite little teddy bear lying outside the hotel room. Security camera footage shows Natalie and the children exiting the building willingly. What is she scared of and what does she really know about her husband?

Natalie thinks she has Michael all figured out and has devised a plan to escape from him for good. There is one thing that could hinder her plan and that is her severe insomnia. Where and who can she can turn to for help? Can she even trust her own sleep deprived instincts at this point? Her husband is now on a panic-stricken chase to find them. But he will have to reveal his own hidden secrets and deception if wants to locate his family.

In My Wife is Missing, Michael, his wife Natalie and their two children are celebrating spring break in New York City. On the day they arrive, Michael goes to pick up some pizza alone. When he returns, his family and their luggage are gone. After a frantic search, Michael has to admit his marriage isn’t perfect—but whose is? Since Natalie is battling a dire case of insomnia, Michael worries that she could be delusional.

While I have enjoyed a previous book by this author, My Wife is Missing gave me a distinct feeling of deja vu. I’ve read seemingly hundreds of versions of this plot before. I kept plugging along hoping a great ending would make the time I spent reading worthwhile. It failed.

Unfortunately, My Wife is Missing is a miss for me. 2 stars.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

WOW ... One of The Best Thrillers I Have Read in a Very Long Time

This is a Psychological Thriller. The beginning of this book pulled me into it so fast, and It kept me wanting to read it. This book has one of the best endings that I have read in a long time, and I really did not see it coming. This book takes you on one wild crazy ride that I enjoyed so much. The characters were developed slowly throughout this book which really worked for this storyline/plot. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (St. Martin's Press) or author (D.J. Palmer) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭!

What a fantastic and wild ride, this is one of those stories that keeps you at the edge of your seat and guessing from start to finish. It is clever, fast-paced, gripping and fantastic. Loved it.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this gifted copy.

𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦: 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺, 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳, 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦, 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

My Wife Is Missing was a great read by D.J. Palmer. Michael Hart was on vacation with his family that quickly turned into a nightmare. He discovered that his wife and two children disappeared from their New York City hotel room. He fears that they may have been kidnapped while he was getting dinner. He frantically searches for them and finds out that Natalie seemed to leave willingly with their children. In searching for the truth, Michael has to hide his past from the police. Michael knows that untangling his deceptions may be the key to locating Natalie, but it will also lead to his undoing. Natalie believes she knows everything and has made a great escape plan. But the lack of sleep seems to be the thing that may derail her efforts. The second she found out about her husband, her insomnia has worsened to where she suffers from delusions. I enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait to read more by the author.

Natalie and Michael Hart’s marriage is heading south, so they decide to take a vacation with their two children in New York City. Michael goes out for pizza, and when he returns to their hotel, his wife and kids are gone. Michael’s frantic search eventually leads him to believe that his wife has left on purpose, but where has she gone and why is she running away? Told in alternating chapters between Natalie before her disappearance, Natalie in the present and Michael, the story uncovers why she left and what Michael may be hiding from his past. This is a weak three star rating, the story seemed to meander for a long time, and when the action picked up, the details just seemed too predictable. And the ending came out of nowhere! My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel.

I'm a huge fan of D.J. Palmer and have read all of his books. His stories just keep getting better and better! My Wife is Missing is an exciting, drama-filled page-turner that you will not be able to put down. There is suspense and plenty of nail-biting scenes as Natalie tries to escape her husband, the father of her children. But nothing is ever as easy as it should be, or as it seems.

Your heart will race along with Natalie's as she runs away from the man she thought she loved and who she thought loved her. My Wife is Missing is the ultimate psychological thriller that will grab you and make you hold on for dear life. I highly recommend it for the ride of your life.

This fun new thriller totally threw me for a loop until the very end, I totally did not see those twists coming. Natalie and Michael plan a NYC get away with their two kids hoping to ease some of the tension in their marriage and help Natalie who has been struggling with insomnia. After checking in to their hotel room Michael goes out to grab some pizza for the gang, but when he comes back his whole family has gone missing, fearing that they have been kidnapped Michael sets off to find them. Little did he know his wife had other plans... The chapters were short and not hard to follow at all - I can't say much more because anything else might give some of it away!

This book is Soo good. I found this author from saving Meghan and I have been hooked on his books ever since! This one was a page turner since page 1! I would put it down on my nightstand to pick it back up for just one more chapter! Highly recommend!

My Wife is Missing was humming along nicely. The reader can never be sure if one or both of the spouses is crazy. An ending is so important in every story, but especially in one with narrators like these. Unfortunately, the ending took this down a star. I felt let down.

After reading The Perfect Daughter, I was so excited for another DJ Palmer book, and this did not disappoint! Sometimes books have a way of sucking me in, and then letting me down. This book actually got better as it went on! This one is action packed, and I promise you won’t want to put it down! Five stars, no doubt!

Five star beginning to My Wife is Missing. I can remember thinking it would take me less than a day to read as I was totally engrossed in Michael returning with pizza for his family to the hotel in New York City and finding Teddy in the hall. Next, he found that his two kids, Addie and Bryce, his wife, Natalie and all of the luggage missing. My heart was on the floor, and I could not turn the pages fast enough. After looking at hotel security tapes, talking to the police, it looked like his wife and kids left on their own. We hear from Natalie in some chapters from times before the trip to New York. Here is where the pace of the book came to an almost dead stop for me. One word “insomnia.” I started to roll my eyes how many times it was used in Natalie’s chapters. My pace of reading was a slow crawl. I finally finished the book one week later. I sort of rolled my eyes again for the ending of the book and the epilogue. Just too many unbelievable twists for me. I loved The New Husband, so I will come back and read another D.J. Palmer book in the future. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

This is a fast paced psychological thriller that kept me invested and turning the pages the entire way through. I wasn't expecting any of the twists or the unpredictable surprise ending. Several times I thought I knew what was coming only to be proven wrong time after time. I also really enjoyed the dual POV's and dual timeline.

"𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆. 𝑬𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒅, 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒊𝒕? 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒊𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒅, 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉."

My Wife Is Missing is my first book by D.J. Palmer and I don't think it'll be my last. The premise alone had me hooked: Michael Hart walks into his hotel room to find that his wife, Natalie, and their kids are missing, which on further searching seems to be by Natalie's choice, the question is: why?!

Palmer creates a page-turning narrative, using both Michael and Natalie's points of view; Michael's in the present and Natalie's in both past and present. Sometimes multiple points of view can be convoluted, but I think it was essential to not only understand the motivation of both characters and seeing all the little pieces that had to come together. Palmer does a great job at casting doubt on both sides too; Natalie's insomnia and Michael's secrets make it a struggle to know who to believe, and both characters had their unlikeable moments. One thing I really liked was that some of the reveals played out how I expected them to in the first quarter or so of the book, but then those same reveals were twisted and turned on their heads in the last quarter, with some smartly placed red herrings. My only complaints were the constant mention of Natalie's insomnia (it got to be a bit much at times, and then didn't seem to have any real resolution at the end) and the length (it could've been a little shorter, as some parts felt dragged out). People will either love or hate the epilogue, however it did give some resolution to the last lingering plot point.

My Wife Is Missing is a suspenseful cat-and-mouse tale, leaving you wondering who is the hunter and who is being hunted. It would make for a great poolside summer read! Thank you to St. Martin's and NetGalley for the ARC!

D. J. Palmer cranks up the tension in his latest deliciously clever twisty game of cat and mouse with MY WIFE IS MISSING. This super domestic thriller with unreliable narrators will keep you guessing until the surprise-packed treat!

Written from POVs - Michael and Natalie Hart, married with two children, Allison and Bryce. Their marriage is strained, and in a last-minute effort to salvage it, they plan a trip to NYC with the family.

However, when Michael returns to the hotel room from the pizza run, his wife and children are gone. Nothing left but Teddy, Bryce's favorite bear.

They have a game they like to play, "Three Things." Could this have been a hint as to what was to come?

Natalie planned this escape carefully to get away from her husband, whom she believes is violet and their lives are at stake. She thinks he is a murderer. Natalie also has been suffering from insomnia resulting in hallucinations, paranoia, and anxiety.

However, each holds an abundance of secrets, and nothing is as it appears. Palmer carefully keeps you frantically guessing while turning the pages to determine which one is the cat and the mouse.

If you LOVE twisty suspense thrillers with an OMG ending, you did not see coming, this one is for YOU! A favorite author, one of Palmer's best; he just keeps getting better and better!

A well-crafted plot and strong characters drive a satisfying psychological thriller.

I read the e-book and listened to the audiobook narrated by Karissa Vacker for an outstanding performance and listening experience.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for an ARC to read, listen to, review, and enjoy.

Blog Review:
www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Pub Date: May 10, 2022

It's no wonder that DJ Palmer has quickly become one of my favorite authors.

I'm not even sure how to begin expressing my feeling about this book. I knew from the second I saw it that I just had to read it....and I wasn't wrong.

It kept me on the edge of my seat from the beginning and right up to the end. Each time I thought I had things figured out something else would happen that would take things in a completely different direction.

I never expected things to go down like they did, that ending came out of nowhere.

My Wife is Missing by DJ Palmer is a psychological thriller when a woman disappears with her two children and her husband desperate to find them will do everything he can- even reveal the secrets he’s been hiding. A family vacation to New York City turns into a nightmare when Michael Hart discovers his wife, Natalie and their two children, Addie and Bryce, missing from their hotel room. Fearing they’ve been kidnapped, he frantically searches the hotel and calls the police. When security footage reveals that Natalie left willingly, the question becomes why? Natalie thinks she has Michael figured out and has hatched a plan to escape him. But her insomnia makes it difficult to trust what she knows and even what she sees. Are her fears and concerns valid? Will she escape Michael? Or is there an even greater danger she doesn’t consider?
WOW! DJ Palmer has done it again! He has become a master of the psychological thriller. Stories that will keep the readers on their toes! With a man keeping secrets and a woman who suffers from hallucinations due to a lack of sleep, Michael and Natalie become characters readers won’t be sure who to trust and even ask what is real? Every character who crosses their paths may have agendas of their own but can they be trusted? My wife is Missing is a story that will keep readers guessing and even when you think you have it all figured out, DJ Palmer pulls the rug and reveals another twist. The beginning was a bit slow and reminded me of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl (2012) but Mr. Palmer has a much exciting story to tell. If you are a fan of psychological thrillers, I highly recommend My Wife is Missing!

My Wife is Missing is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook.

Michael Hart returns to his New York City hotel room with a pizza, to discover his wife, Natalie, and his two children missing. His son's abandoned teddy bear in the hallway makes him fear his family was kidnapped but the police soon disabuse him of that notion. Natalie is on the run with his children, and Michael fears if his full background story is known, the police will turn to him with suspicion.

Meanwhile, Natalie has been suffering from insomnia for months, and the lack of sleep makes her paranoid, but is she delusional? She questions whether she can trust herself and what she thinks she sees.

This story moves very quickly. Layers of the story are peeled back, like an onion, and we gradually learn more about Michael and Natalie's backstory. I found the reveals very interesting and this story kept me turning the pages. The author managed to surprise me at the end with an unexpected reveal.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and author D.J. Palmer for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.