“TILL DEATH DO US PART” is a wild ride from start to finish. Set in the gorgeous Napa Valley, this book is packed with twists, secrets, and a whole lot of drama. If you’re into thrillers with shocking surprises and dark, juicy secrets, you’ll love this. The plot is as twisty as a vine, and it kept me hooked with its sexy, gritty, and gripping storytelling. The characters are intense, and the themes of love, loss, and family make it all the more compelling. Flynn’s writing is as rich as the Napa wine, making this an addictive read you won’t want to put down. Perfect for fans of twisty thrillers and sultry drama. 5 magical stars!

A chilling novel of lies, secrets, and countless deceptions. Almost everyone is harboring something and the story gets scarier as it goes along.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you @simonbooks and @netgalley for the ARC. I really enjoyed Flynn’s last book, The Girls Are All So Nice Here, and I was excited to read another title by the author. I love thrillers and I love wine country, so I was *ecstatic* to read this thriller set in St. Helena. All the Napa Valley cab, please! 🍷

This is the story of June, who lost her husband Josh it was appeared to be a drowning accident (his body was never recovered) just one week after their wedding. Ten years later, June is engaged to a new man she loves, owns a natural wine bar In Brooklyn, and is thriving until she starts seeing a man that looks just like Josh following her around in New York. June begins to question if she’s hallucinating or if Josh even really died? Told primarily from June’s POV and Josh’s mother’s POV back in 1999, this was an addicting read and I did not want to put it down. This was so much more than a thriller and examined the identity of a woman, the sacrifices made in motherhood, processing grief, and so much more. Highly recommend to anyone who loves a good mystery.

This novel started slow but really hooked me as I got to know the character and style of writing. This is told from dual POV, with half the chapters in the past and half in current day. There is a cast of half a dozen characters that took me a bit to understand who was who. The twists and turns at the end caught me off guard in the best way.

Thank you Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for the ARC.

June’s husband drowned on their honeymoon. Now, ten years later, June is happily engaged and running a thriving natural wine bar. The only problem is she keeps catching glimpses of her first husband Josh. Is he still alive or is she just feeling guilt for moving on?

And when she sees her husband’s face on the website of a winery in Napa, June’s life starts spiraling out of control. Before she can move on, she needs to head to Napa and search for answers. What she finds there is more than she bargained for.

I really enjoyed the alternating POVs and kept reading to see how they were connected. Additionally, I found the descriptions of the Napa Valley, wineries and wine education to be interesting. The pacing was good, and there were many new secrets and turning points that kept me going.

The only thing I struggled with in this book was the ending. I’m interested to see what others think now that the book has come out. I think this was a solid read and look forward to seeing what the author comes out with next.

Thank you to Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance e-copy of the book for an honest review.

The Prologue of this story led me to believe that the book would be a mystery/suspense thriller. While the mystery of what happened to Josh Kelly wove itself through the novel from the first word until the last, the book focuses on the family drama of Bev and David Kelly and their children (including Josh). The driving force throughout is Josh’s widow, June.

Josh and June married after a whirlwind romance, the wedding along the beach of Santa Barbara California. Their ocean side honeymoon lasted the full week of their marriage, ending with the apparent drowning death of Josh. The only clue was the text message on June’s phone that indicated his intention to go for a quick swim alone. Something about that text never set well with June and she without the body of her dead husband, she never believed he had actually died.

Things began to puzzle her more when she began to see what she believed was the image of her husband stalking her. No one believed her, so June decided to investigate on her own. Ultimately her probed took her to Napa Valley California, to the vineyard owned by Josh’s family. There she discovered pictures of a man who looked exactly like Josh. She also discovered Josh’s mother Bev.

Woven throughout the novel is the complex drama of Bev and her family. We learn about Abby, Josh’s first love. Eventually something happened and Abby not only dumped Josh, but moved to a new school. Then there was Michelle. Their love might have been lasting, but after graduation, Michelle drown in a small lake on the Kelly vineyard. There are a lot of unanswered questions to drive June’s investigation. Why did Abby disappear from Josh’s live? How did Michelle die? And, of course, how and why did Josh die?

I found the first half of the book to be a slow drag but after some surprising new information that June learns at about the book’s middle, the drama build. While this was not the mystery/thriller that I anticipated, it was a good family drama with more than its share of dysfunctional elements and a bit of suspense at the end.

I appreciate NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and fairly review this book.

Thank you to the S&S and S&S audio for review copies!

I have to admit, I was genuinely excited to read this book, I enjoyed the author's debut and thought the setting and plot themes for this book would be a big win for me. However, little in this book overall worked for me and I struggled to engage with the plot, often frustrated by the main character and left confused about the lack of clear resolution for part of the mystery. I suspect I know what happened in terms of one of the likely murders but some resolution would have been better.

What really engaged me was the backstory with Josh's mom and the background on the twins, this book might have been far more compelling if it was presented more as a complex family drama, one that explored the themes on marital affairs, sexuality, as well as toxic male behavior, with more depth. So many strong themes were there, ready for exploration, but the book for me got bogged down in June's story and the plot about Josh.

June lost her husband, Josh, on her honeymoon. Fast forward 10 years, June is about to marry Kyle and she’s trying to reconcile her memory of her lost love with the new life she’s about to start. After Josh’s death, she restarted her life and built a business around their shared passion, wine. She thinks she sees Josh in a crowd which drives her to seek closure over his death by going back to the place where he grew up.

To me, this was a complicated, but interesting mystery thriller with twists and turns that kept deepening the mystery. Is Josh still alive? If yes, does he have a whole other life that he kept secret before their marriage? Who is his family? I found it a great read and really enjoyed the ride.

I’m not really sure how to rate or categorize this story. I thought it would be more a thriller or whodunnit kind of thing.

But as it alternates between past and present, it seems like the themes are more about grief, and choices, and love, and trust.

I almost felt myself more interested in the flashes back, from Bev’s perspective, than the present day narrative. I was more interested in her and her life, she seemed to come to life more, than June. Something about June just didn’t resonate with me so I looked forward to getting back to Bev.

In some ways the stories had little to do with each other, as the past doesn’t really resolve itself much. I’m not really sure how Bev’s story really impacted June’s. But despite that, I still found myself interested and invested in the story and how everything would come together in the end.

This is a bingeable read that left me flipping the pages. I love how the author ended every chapter on a sort of cliffhanger which kept me invested throughout!

Sadly, I did not finish this book. At around the halfway point, I was very bored and frustrated with the main character's actions.

In the book we get the viewpoint of June who quickly fell in love and got married to Josh, but he drowned one week after they got married. Now June who has started over in NYC with her own little wine bar thinks she sees Josh. She goes to Napa where Josh grew up and we learn so much more about his family. There is another perspective throughout the story that I loved as well. I wouldn't say I loved the character's decisions, but this book was so good without loving every choice the characters made. The underlying mystery kept me reading and got me wanting more information to be shared! I loved the setting in Napa and NYC!

Ten years ago, June and Josh had just gotten married after a 6-month whirlwind courtship when Josh disappeared while out for a swim on their honeymoon. Although his body was never found, he was presumed dead, and June has been grappling with her grief and denial ever since. Even though she’s got a new fiancé who has been patient and loving, June still thinks about Josh and even thinks she sees him. After another suspected Josh sighting, she feels compelled to head out to Napa to find out what really happened to Josh.

This atmospheric domestic suspense may be for you if you like:
• Dual POV
• Dual timeline
• Unlikeable but well-developed characters
• Napa Valley / winemaking setting
• Lots of surprising twists!

The audiobook version is extremely well done, with alternating narration between Cassandra Campbell and Caitlin Davies. The narrators do an excellent job of bringing June and Bev to life, making for a dramatic and compelling audiobook experience.

All that said, unfortunately this book didn’t work for me. I was completely gripped in the beginning and stayed that way for more than half of the book, but eventually I felt that Bev’s POV was so depressing and repetitive that it dragged down the whole momentum of the story. I also felt like for the plot to work, I had to suspend disbelief to too great of an extent. The reader has to believe June is devastated for ten years after a 6-month relationship? But it really went off the rails for me when things started wrapping up. I love a good twist, but the ending is too implausible, both what happens to Bev and what happened to Josh. I can’t say more without spoilers, but it was just too unbelievable.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, BookSparks, and Simon Audio for the advance copies.

Title: Till Death Do Us Part
Author: Elizabeth Flynn
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
'Till Death Do Us Part' by Elizabeth Flynn

My Perception:

"Till Death Do Us Part" was interesting because the author gives the reader something to think about long after they read this Wine story. We find out that June has married Jost, but he drowns during their honeymoon. Quickly passes away after one week of their marriage. What was even stranger... Josh's body was never found. After ten years, she becomes engaged to Kyle, but something strange happens. It seems like June is seeing her first husband, Josh, who is supposed to be dead. That's when this story picks up...as June starts digging into Josh's past. What is up with that? The reader must keep up with this read to fully understand what is going on or has gone on. Be ready for many twists and turns, grief, secrets, friendship, heartbreak, and drama in this thriller as you continue to read this story, as shocking revelations come out at the end and the horrible truth emerges! I will stop here because I don't want to give out any more spoilers. Be ready for two stories that come together in the end.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Net galley.

With its layers of mysteries and revelations, Till Death Do Us Part can be a tense and gripping thriller, though one half is definitely more interesting than the other. The setup is strong—but the distractions and unanswered questions and strange coincidences make it all feel too messy and maddening.

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery.

This book definitely didn’t go where I thought it was going a few different times! There are twists and turns abound. It also deals with some heavy family and motherhood issues. I felt horrible for June because her experience isn’t something she’ll ever get over and she has to live in the grey because sometimes you never have answers.

I was looking for a good slow burn mystery and honestly love anything set in a location I recognize. This novel is set in the gorgeous wine country backdrop of Napa.

June’s husband drowned ten years ago while they were on their honeymoon. She’s slowly moved on and yet has never recovered despite opening her own natural wine bar and recently getting engaged. Feeling his presence around her constantly and then literally recognizing him in a photo taken of a winery’s owner in Napa gets her to investigate further.

The story is told in two POVs over two timelines which were a bit hard to follow. However I did enjoy this mystery/thriller.

June is just recovering from the presumed drowning of her first husband on their honeymoon 10 years ago. She believes she sees him watching her on the streets of NYC though she cannot catch up with him. In doing some research on wineries in Napa Valley where her husband had grown up, she sees a recent photo of him. June travels to Napa and believes he’s married and wants to confront him. She learns of dysfunctional family history and secrets.
This novel is told by 2 POV over a period of over 2 decades. There are surprises and a twisted ending.

Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley

Thank you @simonbooks for the gifted ARC!

🍷 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 🍷
This book had a hold on me! The atmospheric setting in the vineyards of Napa Valley was so interesting and I loved the detail the author put into the setting, and the love that each person had for wine making.

This story follows June, who was a newly wed 10 years prior and lost her husband Josh to a drowning on their honeymoon. Now June has moved on and is engaged to be married again, but suddenly sees her dead husband from far away and obviously has questions!

This story also follows Bev, in a past timeline, and her family who own a vineyard in Napa Valley. She is a mother and is going through some family problems. Bev’s timeline was relatable as she was a mother trying to figure out if she was doing the best she could by her kids.

June’s story had more of the interesting suspense elements to it, and I was along for the ride in trying to figure out what was going on. I kept guessing and going back and forth, and I love when a story has me engaged like this one did!

The ending had my mind blown! Out of left field, I wouldn’t have guessed that ending. Overall this was a really engaging read for me, and at the end of each chapter I needed to know more!!

🎧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
🍷 Suspense Thriller
🍷 Atmospheric Vineyard Setting
🍷 Complicated Mother/Child Relationships
🍷 Mysterious Deaths
🍷 Unexpected Twists

•••••

This book was gripping and hard to put down. It didn't feel like everything else you see out there, it felt very fresh. I really enjoyed this book!