This book was wild, but will be hard to review without spoiling, so bear that in mind.

A woman is on the run fleeing in her car with an injured arm, a child in the back seat, and a bloody veil in the passenger seat.

This story is dual timeline, and I loved this way of telling the story. I felt it kept the mystery and tension growing with each switch.

A definite psychological thriller with spousal relationships, parent/child relationships, some serious gaslighting and the need for control. And huge lack of communication between virtually everyone.

There was a HUGE twist that I did not even have an inkling about, but I cannot disclose more of the book without giving it away.

Many of the problems could have been resolved if the characters had tried communicating with one another rather than keeping everything locked up.

I will definitely look for more from Georgina Lees. I love a good psychological thriller, and she got me good!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

EXCERPT: Do you know what I loved most about you, Harry? It was how little you spoke; you were all actions instead of words. You'd leave arguments before they even began. You'd kiss me instead of telling me you loved me. You'd not come home if you were mad at me. I got more from your actions than I ever did from your words, but they could not save you - save us - in the end.
When I found out who you really were, I surprised you, didn't I? That's why we're here, because your favourite thing about me was that, as you said, 'You're always full of surprises.' You underestimated me, Harry, made me your puppet, satisfied me when I needed satisfying, but you went too far, and so did I. We never should have gotten married; that day should never have been allowed to happen. I guess if we spoke, if we used words, it wouldn't have. Because our worst trait, our shared deplorable quality, is that we're liars, to each other and to ourselves.

ABOUT 'THE LOST WIFE': You always underestimated me and I always overestimated you.
Maybe that was our problem.

A woman and a child arrive at a cottage in the Peak District in the dead of night.

Alone. Desperate. Hunted.

She knows they’re coming for her. It’s only a matter of time.

Because her husband kept a secret from her. Until he was ready to destroy her.

Now, it’s her turn.

MY THOUGHTS: I really wanted to love this, just as I loved this author's previous book, The Girl Upstairs, but unfortunately it just didn't happen.

There's not a great deal of happiness in The Lost Wife, not exactly what you'd expect with a wedding in the offing.

The author has written a relatively suspenseful novel, but spoiled by the amount of repetition it contains, and whingeing. Lordy, Lea is a whinger! 'If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen,' is the saying that comes to mind. It is told over two timelines, the present and one year earlier.

None of the characters are particularly likeable except for Lea's mum, although I did have, by the end, a modicum of liking for Felicity. The men are, by and large, terrible. I felt so very sorry for the child, Josh. No child deserves parents like his.

I didn't like the letter at the end. It didn't really clarify anything and was totally unnecessary.

The Lost Wife is a slightly better than an okay read, but definitely doesn't live up to this author's first book.

⭐⭐⭐.2

#TheLostWife #NetGalley

I: #georginaleesauthor @onemorechapterhc

T: @GLees_author @OneMoreChapter_

#contemporaryfiction #domesticdrama #psychologicaldrama

THE AUTHOR: Georgina studied creative writing and film at university and has since pursued a career in video-games journalism, covering some of the most popular games in the world. Her psychological thrillers are inspired by her surroundings, from the congested London streets to the raw English countryside. She can be found playing games, writing stories, and reading anything from fantasy to crime fiction.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter, via Netgalley for providing both a digital and audio ARC of The Lost Wife by Georgina Lees for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

First off: Huge trigger warning of animal abuse. If this is an issue for you, please be aware that this takes place. It’s not a major plot line or anything, but it happens and I would have liked to know about it ahead of time, so I want to make sure to make others aware.
Ok, that being said…
The story takes place in two timelines, the present and the months leading up to the present day. When the book starts, a woman is leaving in a hurry from something dramatic with a child in the backseat. She’s on the run from the “bad people” as she refers to them to the child, but why? And who are they?
I have mixed feelings about this one and it’s hard to go into without spoilers so I’m going to leave it at that. It wasn’t my favorite but I’ve definitely read much worse.
Thanks to One More Chapter and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review

I’m sorry but I couldn’t finish this book. The child neglect and the unlikeable characters were bad enough but when Ms Lees decided to bring in gratuitous violence against a dog, well that was the moment this drivel became too much for me. We are introduced to a two timescale scenario with two different voices. One who has run away from a wedding with a small child and the other who is living a life with her fiancé whom she clearly shouldn’t be marrying as there is no trust in their crumbling relationship. I really don’t care what happens to any of them but am sure there are better things/books I can be exploring with my time.

Lea is the.main female character along with her husband Harry and son Josh. The novel tells the story through past and present chapters until they converge. Lea and Harry do not seem like a couple who would get married , but it's as if Lea feels she has no options left as she has been alienated from her friends,and family and feels she only has Harry to rely on. Just what is Harry hiding? And will Lea be able to find out before it too late? I feel sorry for Josh there is so much that goes on in this book that he is witness to, goodness knows what effect this will.have on him in later life. The twists and turns in this book I did not see coming and nothing I though about Harry was what actually was going on. Just who.are the bad people
and why are they coming for them?
I have read other novels by Georgina Lees and this does.not disappoint. Highly recommended especially if you love thrillers Can easily see.this being adapted for screen!! Many thanks to NetGalley for.letting me read this novel and can't wait to read Georgina's next book.

I found this to be a fast paced story told from the perspective of two time lines the past and the present with the past closing in nearer to the present as the book went on.
The book focuses on the main character Lea on the run after her wedding day where she goes an stays at a isolated cottage in the country. However her new husband Henry isnt part of her plans and she travels there alone with her young son. While there events gets even more interesting resulting in even more tragedy occuring. I took a dislike to Henry from the word go and i knew that there was more to him than meets the eye. I found the fact that he had hidden camera in every room in the house to be extremely creepy and unnecessary and id say he had a jealous personality and this led to its own complications. I had mixed opinions on Lea throughout i felt sorry for her at the beginning as she was so young and i feel her relationship was more of a convenience than true love. However i feel she was well warned about Henrys character by several people so she had ample opportunity to break away and maybe she would have been better off for everyones sake. I wasnt expecting the plot twist at the end and its a story that could be continued

Excellent psychological thriller that uses dual timelines effectively to build tension and ultimately a great read.

Secrets and twists galore, read if you like a good thriller.

This is definitely one of those books that kept me guessing, and that ending left me shocked, in a good way, as its been a while since I've been truly confounded. This was such a taut thriller, which truly blew my mind. Prepare to be completely hooked by amazing writing, a faultless storyline and incredible twists and turns. This is one of my favourite books this year.

Overall this was a good book. The main character was a little whiny at times, selfish, and immature, which was annoying. There were lots of twists and turns to keep your interest.
The ending was a surprise for me. I had to go back and reread a few parts for it to make sense.
I received this galley from NetGalley.

The Lost Wife follows Lea who for reasons unbeknownst to us is on the run after her wedding, with only her son and not her husband.

The book then flashes back to Lea and her husbands relationship showing us snapshots to help piece together what happened and why she is running.

This was such a great twisty thriller! I’m purposely keeping this review brief as I went in pretty much blind and was completely shook by the plot twist!

Very fast paced and almost impossible to put down! Great if you need something to get you out of a slump!

The Lost Wife by Georgina Lees is a tense and twisty psychological thriller. However there is a big trigger warning for animal lovers. This book features a fair bit of violence to humans but also includes an animal death.

The plot is fast and addictive and I just couldn't put it down. The story is told over dual timelines, before the wedding of Harry and Lea and the present. I did like the reveal when it came and it made sense out of the events leading up to the wedding and how I felt about what was happening in the present.

The Lost Wife by Georgina Lees.
A woman and a child arrive at a cottage in the Peak District in the dead of night.
Alone. Desperate. Hunted.
She knows they’re coming for her. It’s only a matter of time.
Because her husband kept a secret from her. Until he was ready to destroy her.
Now, it’s her turn.
Brilliant read. Twisty and gripping and tense. Loved it. 5*.

The Lost Wife is a psychological thriller about love, secrets and lies. It explores the themes of infidelity, gaslighting, motherhood and regret.

This is my first thriller and I must say I enjoyed reading it. I’m so glad that I got picked to read The Lost Wife. @glees_author you have converted me to a thriller lover.

This book will keep you guessing from the beginning, leaving you in a twist. It has so much twists and turns in the plot that none of us could accurately predict what was going on or how the story will end.

Written from a single point of view, it weaves into the past and present tantalising readers to make a decision (enticing readers to look for clues as to what has happened).

The suspense and intrigue are nothing like I ever read and I did not see the end coming.

All of the characters were amazing and gave nothing away-they were so perfect that it was hard identifying the villain.

If you enjoy thrillers and psychological thrillers then I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not too sure about this book. As an animal lover, I found the pet abuse disturbing. Overall an average read.

General Thoughts 🤔

I was really looking forward to this readalong as I think a good thriller is a perfect pick for a readalong. I love hearing people’s thoughts and theories as we progress through the story. I had a few theories about this particular story and I was so far off the mark it’s unreal. In my defence, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else who was able to guess the twist so I’m definitely not in a minority.

This story had me thinking and guessing the entire way through and unfortunately I actually ended up feeling a little bit frustrated by it. Of course I love a twist and I love a surprise, however I very much enjoy piecing the story together from what I’ve already read; backwards following the breadcrumbs so to speak. This book had no breadcrumbs. The reason I was so shocked was because there were no clues to lead to the conclusion.

Characters 👫👭👬

Lea was the main female character in the story and I had a lot of empathy for her. I wanted and needed for her to be much stronger and make better decisions for herself and for her son. It was easy enough for me to think this though. In reality I think she was far too vulnerable and she’d been distanced from her family and friends so much, she didn’t see any other option for herself.

The character I felt the worst for though was Josh. Poor little lad. No child should have to go through that much trauma and I can’t imagine that it would be something that a person could ever get over. They could learn coping mechanisms I’m sure, but it would forever live with them.

Writing Style ✍️

Georgina Lees certainly knows how to build some tension and I really enjoyed it. Chapter by chapter, I got more invested into the plot and I felt like I was building up to a crescendo of drama. As mentioned above though, the crescendo was what somewhat disappointed me. It was so out of the blue that I had to go back a few pages and make sure I hadn’t missed something earlier on. I’m not saying that I wanted the twist to be easily guessable, but intricate and well placed clues make me feel much more satisfied.

Interestingly, I reviewed another book from this author; After the Party and in my review I said that I felt like the author had played it safe. Maybe I’m looking for the unicorn of thrillers that sits somewhere between these two books.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

Overall, this was a good thriller that gave me all of the tense and eerie feelings throughout. The story hooked me well enough to make me keep picking the book up everyday and I enjoyed theorising and reading the other readalong bloggers thoughts and plot twist guesses. Unfortunately, the final twist was what took this book from amazing to good for me, however I fully appreciate that my reasoning is personal preference. I enjoyed the readalong and I would definitely read more from this author.

Thank you so much, publisher One More Chapter, and author Georgina Lees, for allowing me to participate in the read-along for The Lost Wife this week.

THIS BOOK IS OUT TODAY! 🥳

💭 𝘔𝘠 𝘛𝘏𝘖𝘜𝘎𝘏𝘛𝘚
Thriller lovers, please add this to your tbr immediately! This story is twisty and shocking, and I would be surprised if anyone can predict the ending. I know almost everyone in our read-along was unable to make an accurate prediction.

I enjoyed the way the author wrote this book. For example, without spoilers of course, the author uses a duel timeline and moves the past closer to the present throughout the book. It never jumps around which makes it a lot easier to comprehend and follow.

However, the ending did have some misguided information about the characters ages that our read-along team noticed. However, it was pretty insignificant and it could have been the author's intention or possibly because it was an ARC copy. Let's face it, ages are tricky to determine with appearances alone. I should know personally, as I get mistaken for a twenty-something-year-old frequently.

𝘖𝘝𝘌𝘙𝘈𝘓𝘓...
I highly recommend this book to thriller, suspense, and mystery lovers alike! It's a fast read at only ~255 pages, and short chapters. Go download your copy today and you will have a great read over the holiday weekend.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 (CAWPILE 9.57/10)

An interesting drama Do the happy couple have the idea life including adorable child and happy to oblige grandparent on hand? Or is there more to their relationship than looks from the outside?
The constant flipping between past and present became tedious and led to my not caring about what happened to any of the characters. The scenes in the Peak District could have been a good route for the plot but were totally unbelievable.
The finale explaining it all– in case we couldn’t work it out ourselves was totally unnecessary. The author should trust her story telling to that point.

I love this authors books-she really does deliver on the twisty turny psychological thrillers that I love. The Lost Wife really kept me on my toes because I could tell that something very odd was happening to the characters but I really couldn’t work out what! The main character is incredibly annoying but obviously scared so I could see that she was running for the lives of herself and her child but why? The truth when it’s revealed is shocking and disturbing but very cleverly done! The writing kept me gripped and so this was a one sitting read for me. Happy to recommend for fans old and new!

The Lost wife by Geogrina Lees

Readalong @onemmorechapter

We follow Lea and Harry through thier realtionships and some ups and downs we have chapter going to the past and in the present day. The description make this book very eerie as you are following these
characters. I really like Lea and feel for her within this story. Lea and Harry realtionships makes you think Of about dynamics and how they fit into your outer realtionships within the world. I really didn't expect that twist at the end of the book I really enjoyed this one.

This soon became a real page turner.

She's on the run from the bad people - what is going to happen if they catch up with her? The book is told in the past and present. We learn in the past that Lea is getting married, but with each flashback to episodes before the wedding, it seems that the relationship she has with Harry is not the right one for marriage.

One of the tasks that the @onemorechapter readalong set, was to predict the ending. I was way off on this! I did figure out part of a clue as to what was happening, but I mis-read into it.

I wasn't too keen on the character Lea, she seemed a little insipid. So many things were happening to her and she just seemed to go along with it all despite having friends and family to fall back on. Later on I thought I saw a very different side to her.

Such clever writing with so many red herrings, twists and turns that it really did have me turning the pages faster and faster. I have mixed views once I reached the ending, but one to remember it certainly will be. I kept replaying the events of the book over in my mind to come to terms with it all.