Kathleen is missing. No one knows where she is, or does someone. Siobhan, her sister, goes home to visit and gets caught up in the mystery when her missing sister's purse shows up. More of the townspeople are found to be involved, as Siobhan tries to unravel the mystery. 3 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this advanced read copy.

Siobhan's sister Kathleen has gone missing and Siobhan is desperate to know what happened to her. Six months after she disappeared, Siobhan gets a phone call that Kathleen's purse is found with nothing inside but some bus tickets and a torn up piece of paper hidden in the lining that says "Help Me". Siobhan travels to the town she grew up in with her daughter by her side to try to figure out what happened to her sister and who was involved. Who can she trust?

The word I would use to describe this book is fine. It felt a little lack luster and never as twisty and turning as the synopsis made it out to be. I never felt like any of the reveals were shocking and surprising, that you didn't see it coming. I also felt the reason Kathleen went missing and the premise for what went on wasn't as major as the characters made it out to be.

I did really like Siobhan. I felt she was relatable as a mom who felt pulled in a ton of directions, trying to connect with her spouse, navigate raising a teenage daughter, loyalty to her sister, a strained relationship with her parents. I felt for her and found myself routing for her.

Thank you again NetGalley and Storm Publishing!

The story is set in a small town on the west coast of Ireland where everyone knows everyone's business. It's my first time reading a Sue Fortin book and it didn't disappoint. It's suspense/mystery and some parts were a bit dragging but it's understandable because it somehow justified the entire narrative. I was able to relate to Siobhan's personality at some point. 

I was supposed to give this 3 stars but it ended fairly well, so I reckoned it deserves 4 stars. You will like this if you're a Shari Lapena fan.

Some of the TWs are:

- abduction
- bullying
- grooming
- mental/physical abuse

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

This book took me a while to get into, but was pretty fast paced after the slow burn beginning. There really weren’t any big twists or anything that made this book unputdownable but I enjoyed it. This was my first novel by the author but I would give another one of her books a chance.

The Missing Wife by Sue Fortin
Genre : Thriller | Mystery | Fiction
Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Everyone knows about the fight between Kathleen Walsh and her sister on the night she disappeared. For six months, no one has heard from Kathleen. Not her bullying husband, not her teenage son, and not her devastated sister Siobhan. But then Kathleen’s purse is found by a walker high up on the rocky Irish cliffs. The only thing inside is a torn scrap of paper with the words ‘HELP ME’. For Siobhan, it’s a chance to find her sister and fix the mistake she made six months ago. But not everyone in the tight-knit community welcomes Siobhan’s interest in the disappearance, and after a tense exchange with Kathleen’s old colleagues, Siobhan starts receiving chilling threats. She won’t stop the search, but has she made a terrible mistake? When Siobhan’s daughter goes missing, she realises the lengths someone will go to hide the truth. Now they’re going to learn how far she’ll go to save her family…
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Lately, I've found myself drawn to books set in Ireland, which seems like quite a coincidence. If you're not a fan of slow-burning thrillers, this book might not be your cup of tea. However, if you stick with it through about 70% of the story, you'll notice the pacing starts to pick up. I found the characters crafted by @sue_fortin_author to be particularly engaging, with some of them eliciting strong emotional reactions from me. The story unfolds in a close-knit small town where familiarity among residents is the norm. Personally, I found reading this book to be a rewarding experience. When delving into this type of slow-paced thriller, I expect all the questions raised at the beginning to be satisfactorily answered by the end, and in this regard, the conclusion of this book did not disappoint.

Thank you @netgalley and @stormbooks_co for the ARC. ✨🤩

Siobhan had a fight with her sister Kathleen over six months ago. Since then Kathleen Walsh has been missing. The family have no idea what has happened to her. At home she left her violent husband and teenage son.
When Kathleen's purse is found by a walker on the cliffs in Ireland, Siobhan realises she must go home to try and find clues to what happened to her sister. However, she is not met by welcome arms. The community seems to close in to hid it's secrets. Then she finds her own daughter is in peril. Siobhan then has to race to save Freya.
At times I found the book a little hard going. However, as the plot evolved I became more invested in the storyline.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read a DRC

Good suspense. After a fight between Kathleen and her sisters, she disappears with only a trace of blood left at her home. No one can believe she would leave her son. Over a 7 month investigation there are numerous possible reasons why she has disappeared: religious husband, trafficking of women, dispute with sisters, etc. Unexpected surprise ending.

A brilliant fast paced read I found this book very hard to put down once I had started it. Keeps you hooked from the very first page.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

This story is set in a small Irish town where everyone knows everyone else's business, or at least thinks they do.

The Regan sisters are out one night and get into a terrible fight after Kathleen, the eldest sister, drops a bombshell about her past. Then, she disappears without a trace after allegedly asking her sister, Siobhan, to help her. Siobhan ignored the call and now she feels so much guilt about her sister. Six months later and there is a possible lead on Kathleen's disappearance so Siobhan returns to Ireland to try to figure out what really happened to her sister. The closer she gets to the truth, the more danger Siobhan and her family are in.

There were some really good twists in this book and I enjoyed the story and the characters.

I liked this book for the mystery, the change in timelines, and the multiple character POV’s. The story had enough to keep me guessing, I pretty much figured out the bad guy a little early, but there were other twists that made me feel like I didn’t quite have it all figured out. There was so much going on, I could see this being the beginning of a little series actually. I would like to read a follow up book by this author about everyone involved. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

The characters in this book are well-developed and relatable, each harboring their secrets and flaws. Readers are taken on a rollercoaster of emotions as the protagonist delves into the mystery surrounding her husband's disappearance. This story builds tension, leaving readers guessing the character's true nature and motivations.

Fans of the genre will find themselves thoroughly engrossed in this tale of secrets, deception, and the search for truth. "The Missing Wife" is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a thrilling and thought-provoking mystery. A suspenseful narrative filled with twists and turns, making it a captivating read that is hard to put down.

The Missing Wife
by Sue Fortin
Pub Date: February 16, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
When Siobhan’s daughter goes missing, she realises the lengths someone will go to hide the truth. Now they’re going to learn how far she’ll go to save her family…

A twisty and gripping page-turner from a USA Today and #1 Kindle bestselling author. The Missing Wife is the perfect read for fans of The Couple Next Door and The Wife Between Us.
Again, a new author for me.
The Missing Wife was a tense and gritty thriller by Sue Fortin where most people had dark secrets. One thing that did bother me was the mix of past and present tense throughout the story, but other than that, I really enjoyed it. Recommended.
4 stars

I did not enjoy this book . It dragged too much and I was not invested in any of the characters or the plot. I had pretty much guessed the outcome half way through, though was not sure about the perpetrator. After the first 40% I skim read a lot of the book up until the last couple of chapters, without missing very much.
Siobhan was irritating when investigating the disappearance of her sister, the location of Dingle in Kerry came across of very non-descript where everyone knew everyones business, except seemingly about the abuse of vunerable girls by an older pillar of society. So I'm afraid this book wasn't for me
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC

As you can understand from its title, this novel is about a missing wife. Our narrator is mainly Siobhan in most parts. But who is Siobhan? The sister of the missing wife.

The "missing wife", Kathleen Walsh, is Siobhan's older sister who lives in Ireland. After a rowdy night with her sisters, Kathleen suddenly disappeared six months ago. The idea that the married woman, a mother of one, had left her husband for someone else became more and more settled in everyone's minds, so the search efforts ended in a short time without any results.

And this 6 months affects Siobhan as well; Siobhan's marriage, who took a break from journalism by taking unpaid leave after Kathleen, was also having hard times, especially after her husband left home. Now she's a woman who lives with her 15-year-old daughter named Freya. Untill...

Six months after Kathleen's loss, Siobhan, living in Brighton, receives a phone call. The phone informs that Kathleen's wallet has been found. Siobhan, who has no idea about the identity of the caller, becomes curious when she hears her name and surname with her phone number written inside the wallet. Why would Kathleen's prospective wallet have her name on it? Siobhan gives the address of her other sister living in Ireland to deliver the wallet, and then takes her daughter with her and returns to Ireland, where her family lives and Kathleen used to live before. She has a plan in mind; if she finds out what happened to Kathleen, she will be able to put her marriage back together and get back to work.

The events are more than just a case of a missing wife, they touch upon an organization where multiple crimes are intertwined. What are these events, what is the secret in Kathleen's past, is her disappearance a murder or is she hiding somewhere? To find the answers to all of these, Siobhan must confront both her own life and Kathleen's past. For this reason, she sets out; she begins to examine the institution where her missing sister works and her marriage and husband.

Although it is a small community, Siobhan also touches upon the network of secrets, mysteries, confusion and interests in this small community to understand what happened to her sister Thus, she slowly brings herself and her loved ones closer to danger.

Features I liked in the novel: It consists of easy-to-read, non-boring chapters, and although there is no single narrator, it does not distract attention between chapters. However, towards the end, while the pace accelerated, there were sections that felt a little long for no reason. For a mystery story, the fiction manages to make the reader curious. It doesn't have a very different, unique plot or a very complex plot. However, it is the kind of novel that you will want to sit down and read at once without putting it down. Therefore, I recommend it for those who love crime/mystery.

Thanks to to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for ARC.

I was so excited to start a new crime book and even more excited that it takes place in Ireland! The background of this photo was a personal one I took when we visited in 2022 and I fell in love with the scenery😊 such a gorgeous country!

Now about the book:

Siobhan has felt guilt over the secrets she’s been keeping and the fight she had with her sister the night she disappeared. It’s been six months since her sister Kathleen vanished and no one has heard from her. Not her abusive husband, not her teenage son, and not her sisters.

Then Kathleen’s purse is found on some rocky Irish cliffs and Siobhan knows it’s time to go home. This will be a chance for her to find her sister, but not everyone in her Irish hometown is happy Siobhan has returned. Tense exchanges and vandalism begins and Siobhan knows that more people in this town have something to say. Things they’re keeping secret.

She’s refused to stop the search…until her own daughter goes missing.

This book was twisty and has a lot of characters! You will definitely want to pay attention while reading this so you don’t get confused. 😅 despite that I really enjoyed the different views during the story and I also loved the ending!

2.5-3/5 stars: Thank you to NetGalley, Sue Fortin, and Storm publishing for the ARC of this in exchange for my honest review.

The last few chapters of this book were good, but it was mostly slow and hard to get into. The main character, Siobhan, embarks on a journey to find her missing sister but finds herself and her daughter in harms way as a result. I always appreciate a dual timeline, but I struggled to get sucked into this book. Silly, but I couldn’t get on board with the main character’s obscure name when her sisters had pretty standard names.

I would try another book by this author, but this one wasn’t my favorite.

I just finished reading "The Missing Wife", by Sue Fortin. Thanks to NetGalley, Sue Fortin and Storm Publishing for giving me an advancec copy in return for an honest review. This novel can best be describes as a family mystery or mystery thriller. It is about three sisters who grow up in Ireland. One day the oldest sister Kathleen goes missing, and noone knows why. The middle sister receives a mysterious phonecall one day and rushes back to her hometown to thry and find out what happened to her sister, and stumbles upon a suspicious set of events that she and her daughter get caught up in. Throughout the book, we find our Kathleens big secret, why she left and what happened to her.

The way the author goes back and forth between present and past makes the story interesting because we slowly find our clues to what happened to Kathleen, while at the same time we find out the reason why she left... and is missing. The story contains interesting suprises but remains focused on providing the answers to the questions about where Kathleen is.

I liked the family dynamic between the three sisters and the parents. I liked how the story make the bad guys (and girls) layers so that the readers kind of felt sorry for some of them. I liked the main character and her resolve to find her sister.

I really liked the setting of the novel, and how it made me feel like I was actually in Ireland, by writing how some words were pronounced in Ireland. I liked that there was a back story that made sense to the outcome of the story.

Now the backstory...I think I was expecting it to be a bit more juicy. I don't know. I was a little underwhelmed by it all. But that didn't take away from the fact that I enjoyed learning about Kathleen as Siobhan her sister did. It was well paced, entertaining, and had a satisfying ending.

Happy Reading

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for a fair and honest review.
The Missing Wife is the story of three Irish sisters, one of whom goes missing one night. It's a month later and there have been no leads as to where Kathleen might be. When Siobhan is contacted by a woman saying that Kathleen's purse has been found, she travels to her hometown to try and determine what happened to her sister. But Siobhan hasn't been honest about what actually happened the night Kathleen went missing.
This is a decent psychological mystery. As the book goes on the reader learns more and more about Kathleen's last night with her sisters and who might be involved in her disappearance. The reveal is less than exciting, but not bad. Overall, a decent Irish mystery that will keep you guessing.

I really enjoyed this book. It is extremely gripping and you won’t want to put it down. Kept me guessing, with many twists and turns.

A gripping psychological thriller that explores the dangers of secrets and betrayal, with a twist-filled plot and a shocking final reveal.