'The Lost Wife' by Georgina Lees has two timelines. One is set in the present day and the other one is set a year before Lea and Harry's wedding. As the book proceeds you get closer and closer to the day of the wedding and this allows the reader to learn more about Lea and Harry's relationship. It feels like our groom has something to hide. The story is full of tension and is very mysterious and has several plot twists.

‘The Lost Wife’ is a story that I was quickly immersed in. It is a fast paced and tense read. I found myself trying to figure out the story and it had me reading long past it was time to go to bed. This is a thriller. It is definitely not a book where you will find yourself rooting for any of the characters. The characters are genuinely unlikeable and are peculiar to say the least. There are some parts that you will quickly read because there are some uncomfortable topics. (I.e animal abuse and child neglect) Ms. Lees does a great job of keeping the twists and turns undetectable.

The writing was good and the transitions between the chapters were smooth. Ms. Lees is careful to give nothing away until it was time. This is not usually my genre but it was an interesting read.

Thanks very much to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

R E V I E W:

This review will be published on www.instagram.com/kayleyisreading week commencing 10th April.

I loved this one!

This one gets off to an action packed start and keeps on going! It uses a casual writing style which really drew me in and makes it really readable.

This one tells the story from two different points of view: one from the past and one sort of from the now perspective. One of the points of view is addressed to the husband, who we know very little about to start with. This was something I really loved about this one as it's still quite a unique way of the reader getting to know a situation and characters.

Information felt dripped in, at just the right intervals to keep you interested, and keeps the pace and the tension up. and this one is certainly tension packed! It feels like this one is the perfect 'popcorn thriller'! The twist at the end was well executed and didn't leave me with unanswered questions (you know I hate unanswered questions! 😂)

The characters in this were flawed and they were open about it, the narrator particuarly! I love a flawed narrator, and this one really fulfils that brief.

I finished this one in two sittings as I could not put it down. I'd recommend this to any popcorn thriller lover 🔪

R A T I N G

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Loved this book , read this book apart of a book club we were set certain pages per day,I must admit I read in one sitting it had me intrigued from start till finish. I never seen the twists and turns coming with this book ,great thriller and would definitely recommend it to everyone.

i have a lot of mixed opinions about this book. starting off, the writing in this book was super good which made the plot twists land well! i liked reading between the different time zones as well! the pacing of the book was also superrr good which made the story even better!

unfortunately, i feel like parts of this book were very confusing which made it difficult to read and understand. i also wasn’t a big fan of any of the characters especially lea and how naive she was. additionally, i didn’t like the ending and how the author decided to explain the book rather than let the reader interpret it and figure it out.

still, this book was definitely a thrilling, page turner, and with the exception of a few parts i really enjoyed it!

The Lost Wife
It’s late at night as a woman with a child drives fast along deserted country lanes. She knows they are coming for her but maybe by hiding in what was to have been a honeymoon cottage she can buy herself more time.
The boy, Josh, is asleep on the back seat and next to the driver, on the passenger seat is a bloodstained wedding veil. She only has £23 in her handbag and a car that will need a refill of petrol very soon. Today was a wedding day that no one will forget.
Harry is a man who keeps secrets from his partner, Lea. Ten years older than her and an apparently successful businessman who works very long hours. She works in an art gallery and has unacknowledged artistic dreams of her own. He’s always disappearing without notice or explanations which has become worse as the wedding day approaches. Also, slowly but surely, he is isolating her from her friends and her life as she loses her job and becomes a stay at home mum. She doesn’t like it and feels that life is passing her by. It’s almost as if he’s changing her into someone else. But she focuses on the forthcoming nuptials when everything will come together and life will be perfect again.
But she feels watched all the time and strange incidents keep happening. A hit and run accident, an unknown intruder in the house and when she confronts Harry’s work colleagues about his repeated absences, apparently on business, they don’t want to be involved. However, it’s clear that they know something and don’t want to tell her.
Will the wedding day be the happiest day of Lea’s life or the worst?
The narrative is told in both the past and the present. The past is the year leading up to the wedding and how Lea gets caught up in the dream while she feels uneasy about Harry and the life choices that she’s made, I found Lea to be quite self absorbed. She is uneasy with Josh and yearns to be out with her friends of her own age clubbing and pubbing instead of staid nights staying in and watching TV.
It's difficult to say much more because of spoilers but I will warn about animal abuse. The plot twist comes near the end. I was expecting it but it did make me want to read the book again to see what I’d missed. However, at times the book’s pace flagged a little as Lea’s musings about her dissatisfaction with her life and concerns about Harry slowed the book down. Harry remained more of a cypher as Lea doesn’t seem to challenge him enough. Is he a gaslighter? Is he coercive and controlling?
I thought that the author handled the two timelines deftly as they collided at the big reveal. I found that Lea was an ambivalent character who seemed to go with the flow without acknowledging her own desires and doubts about Harry and their relationship. It was a one sitting read as I rattled through it and this would be a great holiday read.

I enjoyed the way the author ramped up the tension in this book throwing in a few red herrings and plot twists on the way. However, I found the ending a bit disappointing and felt sad for poor traumatised Josh
Thank you to netgalley and Harper Collins for an advance copy of this book

This was good. The story veers so much from the blurb that you wonder what you have missed but it all comes together in the end.
I knew something was off with the misuse of pronouns early on and I had to reread the early chapters a couple of times. However we don't find out the final twist till much nearer the end so I was left confused for a while!
Quite dark at times, the only character worth any sympathy was the poor son, I can imagine he will be in therapy for years! Very enjoyable thriller.

A very clever twist saved this book for me. I never came close to guessing so was delighted with that. However would anyone make the decision Lea made to get married to such an oaf? The distressing side of the book is the way the little boy and the dog were treated. Very upsetting and for this reason I don’t feel I could recommend to my book club pals.

I so very much enjoyed this book very twisty and addictive. Lea and Harry have a son Josh .Harry has never asked Lea to marry him but one night all that changes he proposed over a romantic meal in a restaurant but does Lea want that ? she loves her job at the gallery but on the night of her engagement party something happens and she loses the job that she loves and other things happen. and Lea is scared what if you dont know the person that you live with. I so recommend this book so good

I have only good things to say about this bone-chilling, mind-numbing, dark domestic thriller. I cannot choose a favorite scene from this book. The story alternates between past and present, and both were equally gripping, dark, and filled with unexpected twists and turns.

Speaking of unexpected twists, the ending - boy, now that's what I call a mind-blowing ending. Totally UNEXPECTED and SHOCKING. I was like, wait what?? What the heck just happened? I didn't see it coming - I definitely didn't!

It's made pretty clear to the reader that Lea and Harry's relationship wouldn't survive for long as Harry was manipulative and controlling. Her friends and her mum were worried about her, even on her wedding day, they ask if she's sure about this. Yet, Lea went ahead and married Harry... only to run away that same evening with her son.

Excellent storytelling. Mind-blowing twists. I was hooked from start to finish and I read this book in one sitting. I suppose this is one of the best and twisty domestic thrillers I have ever read.

The cover of this book and the tag line hooked me in but unfortunately it didn’t live up to my expectations. I do enjoy a dual time like but this was dragged out and took a while to get through!
I was quite upset by some of the storyline (animal abuse) but I persevered.. I didn’t see the twist coming, that was a positive as usually I’ve guessed!

2.5 stars

This is my first introduction to author Georgia Lees, and if this story is anything to go by it won't be my last.

As I was drawn in from the very first chapter. When a woman injured, clutching a bloodied veil and with a child arrive at a cottage in the Peak District in the dead of night.

A cottage you soon learn was originally booked for her honeymoon.

But where is the groom?

And why does this woman believe she's being hunted?

And as the story switches seamlessly between the past and the present. You start to learn chilling details about a seeming happy family; and what happened to make this woman run.

And with characters that really drive the story and great pacing. This was an extremely engaging and enjoyable thriller. That I'd happily recommend to others.

If you like a clever psychological thriller, this books definitely for you.
I raced through it and the twists just kept coming.
I didn’t guess the ending and it certainly took me by surprise.
A great read and one that I’d recommend.

It should have been have been the happiest day of their lives. They should have had a lifetime of happiness together. But at the end of the wedding, she is fleeing her husband covered in blood…

The Lost Wife is a story that I was quickly immersed in and that I raced through. The story unfolds in two different timelines - the lead up to the wedding and the aftermath of the wedding day. It’s not a book where you will find yourself rooting for anyone. Aside from one minor character and a small child, the characters are fairly unlikeable, and act in fairly peculiar ways. There some very uncomfortable reading featuring animal abuse and child neglect.

On the flip side, it’s a fast paced and tense read so I flew through it. I didn’t guess a major twist and when I looked back all the clues were embedded in the story all along.
I would recommend it to my fellow domestic thriller readers but perhaps not as the best example of the genre.

Thanks to the author, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

Think about your worst case scenario - you're on the run with a small child, injured and almost out of gas, heading for a remote cabin in the woods, and you need to move from there quickly to stay ahead of the "bad guys". But then there's a snow storm...

Yes, this book is just as tense as it sounds! It's a quick read with the tension sustained throughout. As many reviewers have noted, the letter tying everything together at the end was unnecessary and even left some things unresolved. However, I would still recommend the book for it's ability to set the tone and keep the reading feeling on the edge of terror!

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the advance reader's copy and blogger readalong.

Thank you to @onemorechapterhc for my copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I was supposed to read this as part of a readalong but once I started, it gripped me and I couldn’t put it down! Each chapter is set either in the present or a year countdown to the present day and narrated by our main character, Lea. She is telling the story of their life, and how it all unravelled.

I loved this, thrilling, page turning and suspenseful. And the twist, wow didn’t see that coming at all. Even after finishing and having all revealed, I’m still not sure how I feel about Lea. She seems to be a strong determined woman but at times, seems a bit weak and gives in far too easily. Harry is not a nice character, secrets galore and mood swings like you’ve never seen!

A fantastic psychological thriller that’ll keep you guessing.

Thanks to Netgalley et all for the chance to read this book. It was a fast paced and gripping thriller. When the book begins a woman and her son have gone on the run. This book is fast paced and gripping and perfect for a summer holiday!

Moving between the present time and then moving from a year before gradually closing the gap, this story left me with mixed feelings. I felt I was reading about a woman who was gradually being separated from friends and work by a controlling partner - which to some extent was true. Yet Lea had so many opportunities to escape this relationship, right up until her wedding day. The relationship between Josh and his parents did not seem natural - a father who was always working but invariably there with a solid close relationship with his son and Josh's strained relationship with his mother.
The twist in the plot was clever and explained much once the twist was revealed.
The letter of explanation at the end was a spoiler - did the author not trust the reader to read between the lines?
Nevertheless a page turner. Three and a half stars for me!
Many thanks to Netgalley/Georgina Lees/HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

A woman and child are on the run, all because of the woman's husband. What did he do and why must they hide?

A thrilling and tense plot that keeps you turning the pages. With brilliant twists and turns and shocks! I liked how it went between past and present. Loved it, a brilliant book!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.

Fun read! Checked off all the boxes for me! Compelling characters, edge of your seat story, more twists than a pretzel and a very satisfying ending!