📚 PRE-PUBLICATION BOOK REVIEW 📚

Till Death Do Us Part By Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
Publication Date: August 13, 2024
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
(Rounded up to 5⭐)

📚MY REVIEW:

This twisty thriller kept me guessing for the entire book! I was absolutely riveted by the masterful ways in which Flynn's writing balanced character development and an underlying theme of mystery.

Offering multiple POVs and different timelines, this book's story was narrated by two women, June and Bev, each connected to the same man in a different way. Seeing the plot unfold from each woman's perspective across different timelines brought such depth to the story. I felt like so many chapters ended with question marks and foreshadowed big revelations to come.... There were times it took all of my will power to finish each chapter in order, instead of skipping ahead to find out what was going to happen next in the timeline that just left me hanging. The suspense-building was real.

I loved that the plot of this book never really gave me certainty about what had happened until the very end. I kept waiting for one of the characters to have a big revelation, and when the answer finally came, it was not the twist I expected. Flynn's use of red herrings and tangents in this plot was really well-done and led to lots of "I got it!" moments for me that were ultimately just "No you don't" moments in disguise.

The only thing that kept me from rating this book five stars was that, even after I got done reading, there were still a couple unanswered questions that I wish would have been wrapped up a little more clearly. And there were a couple times when parts of the storyline went on just a smidge too long. Both of these things might have just been my interpretation though.

All in all, this is a gripping thriller about how far we'll go for our families and how hard we will fight to protect the people we love. Set primarily in Napa Valley and with its prominent focus on wine, this thriller pairs perfectly with your favorite Cabernet or Chardonnay. I highly recommend this book -- especially with a generous pour into your glass. 🍷

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

#TillDeathDoUsPart #LaurieElizabethFlynn #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #ARC #bookreviews #bookrecommendations #thrilleraddict #thrillerlover #thrillerreads #domesticthriller #winecountry

What in the heck did I just read? Ten years ago, June’s husband, Josh, drowned on their honeymoon. He was never found but hadn’t been seen since. She then meets Kyle and they become engaged and she “thinks” she sees Josh and is on a mission to find out if it was really him. The twists and turns gave me whiplash as I didn’t know how it was going to play out and the ending was the greatest twist of all! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release. To be published August 13, 2024

Till Death Do Us Part is a domestic suspense featuring two women, different decades, a generational vineyard, and a man. To one, Josh is a son. To the other, Josh is a husband presumed dead after a week of being married. A great premise with a lot of promise.

The vineyard itself is nearly a character and the process of creating wine is deeply imbedded into the story and often acts as an allegory to what is happening or about to happen in the story. Readers who are also wine lovers will most likely enjoy this aspect of the book. For me, at times, it became a lesson on wine making and less on the furthering the plot.

What I found most interesting were a couple of plot twists that really threw a wrench into things. At one point, though, it became too much and even the characters started to remark about coincidences. I do not mind a story that doesn't answer all the big questions and leaves something to the reader's imagination. So without complete disclosure, the author offers up a whopper of an ending.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for an early e-copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

The twists in this book were twisting right up until the very end! I enjoyed this unique and complicated plot line about secrets, choices that shape the future, the complexity of motherhood, and dealing with grief.

Told in dual POVs and alternating timelines, we have June (present day) and Bev (past). This mystery about a dead husband’s return eventually comes together and wraps up nicely at the end. The twists were not always realistic, so you do have to keep that in mind. I didn’t see the twist at the end coming.

I loved the winery setting. How creative to write a thriller in a winery. The way the author described everything made it feel very atmospheric. I felt like I was there, and I enjoyed the extra wine education.

Once I got about 40% in, I couldn’t put it down. I was so anxious to find out how everything would come together, and it was definitely surprising!

There was a lot to like in this book. We have the dual timelines of June who has been grieving since her honeymoon 10 years when her new husband Josh drowned, and Bev who is Josh's mother struggling to raise a son who's behavior she is concerned about back when he was a teenager. We have the setting in wine county and at the vineyards, the wonderful descriptions of the places and of the characters in the plot.

June has always suspected that her husband didn't die on their honeymoon, and she thinks she sees him frequently. Now engaged to a wonderful man, while scoping out locations for her wedding, she comes across the vineyard once owned by Josh's family. When she thinks she sees him there, she dives into trying to figure out what is going on.

We move back and forward in time, following Josh and his family when he was a teenager, and June as she plays detective.

This was a slow burn to start with, but the pace does quicken. I loved the ending - I didn't guess the perpetrator at all, and that piece made sense to me once it was explained.

But, there was a plot twist in the second half that I just found unbelievable. I struggled along with this until the book played out, and I said - I loved the ending.

Till Death Do us Part by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
🤯🥺💕😓🙌😮
5/5 ⭐️
mystery
I just read this book Till Death Do Us Part and I’m going through the seven stages of grief. Seriously. This book comes out August 13, 2024 and let me tell you. BUY IT. Omg. This book had MULTIPLE plot twists. INSANE PLOT TWISTS. The ending had me in shock but also very sad and just bewildered. BEWILDERED IS THE PERFECT WORD.
I haven’t really read a mystery before this and let me tell you I am so happy I read this as my first.

Quick summary in my own words:
June quickly went into a marriage with a man she immediately fell in love with. Marrying him just 6 months after meeting him, only for him to die a week later in a drowning in which his body was never found. Now 10 years later, June believes she is seeing him but that would be almost impossible. Still even with all the time passed she’s seeking one thing and that’s the truth.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster and Laurie Elizabeth Flynn for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Till Death Do Us Part.
This is a slow burn family drama mystery with dual timelines that try to piece together multiple deaths. The setting is beautifully written, as I love to imagine wineries with their unique landscape. My main problem is lack of character development and pacing of the plot. Most of the characters are unlikeable and flat. They tell more lies than truths and commit multiple affairs without much regret. It felt like the author was trying to do too much at once which makes the story not very enjoyable. I liked the beginning premise of a loving husband vanishing without explanation but it took way too long to put all the puzzle pieces together. The concept of identical twins is too convenient and relied on too heavily. I like twists and turns that make sense but a few were way out in left field. There was a lot of action at the end but it felt rushed and incomplete. These thoughts are strictly my own and i gravitate toward a more fast paced mystery.

Laurie Elizabeth Flynn was the author of one of the first books I got the ARC to review because I really wanted and not just to gain experience. Although I had enjoyed a lot the story, I somehow failed to catch her later releases on my radar until this one. And though the genre is completely different from the YA back then, her style continues to charm me.

3+

June lost the love of her life in an accident she still can't believe to have been just an accident. They had just gotten married and his family never got to accept her in a way that soon they had no more contact, although June never stopped suspecting the circumstances. Years later, she's finally about to marry again when she sees someone who looks just like her late husband. She follows him to a winery, and it can't be a coincidence it's at the same place her husband's family used to own one. As the mystery unfolds, it only gets scarier, each discovery seems like a punch on the memory of her husband. Does June really want to know the truth?

This wasn't a masterpiece. At times, it made irritated me more than made me curious how many times they teased us with secrets. I wish the text had been more subtle about them, but it would repeatedly say: something happened here and we're not telling yet.

By the way, this is narrated from two points of view, June in the present days, going after the double of her husband, and her husband's mother Bev, back when he was still a teenager and something terrible seems to have happened that started to make them fall apart. Bev is bisexual but torn about living life as she really is, her parts are pretty much about self-discovery, like a late coming-of-age, as it reveals to us the pieces of the puzzle June is trying to put together so many years and events later. I don't know if I liked this mix of genres. Each story was interesting on its own but it made me feel like I was reading two books at once—which I'm not a fan of doing because I tend to forget why I enjoy each of the books.

The conclusion makes sense and it was actually a good answer to everything, but there were so many twists that I don't know anymore what to think of the characters. Some of them didn't sound so believable to me either.

This story had me curious to the last page but it could have been more enjoyable if made less convoluted. It's still one of the good.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

This was quite the ride! I have never read this author before, but Ms. Flynn definitely delivered!

Till Death do Us Part is a thriller that will leave you sitting on the edge of your seat. The story is told in two POVs during to separate timelines. Naturally, these two timelines eventually come crashing together.

The POV from about 2 decades earlier is told by Bev, the mother of our main character's dead husband. The present day POV is from the main character, June. June is finally finding happiness again when she suddenly sees her dead husband watching her in New York. She can't believe her eyes and after doing some online searching, decides to head to Napa Valley to find out the truth.

Bev fills us in on what happened in Josh's past that made him keep so many secrets from June. Her story is one of tragedy that really tore her entire family apart. And while the beginning was necessary to build up the story, it did seem like it took forever, but the second half of the story flew by!

The story kept me guessing until the very end which I appreciated. So often a thriller ends so lackluster and that was not the case with this story. I don't want to give any major plot twists away, so if you're in the mood for a great thriller, look no further.

There's a LOT going on here. A lot. Which helped keep the book on a brisk pace, and I can never argue with that.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

I was very excited to read Till Death Do Us Part for suspense, but it fell short for me. Personally, I did not enjoy the domestic drama.
I enjoyed the initial POV of widow whose husband drowned ten years ago shortly after the wedding. Second POV is her mother in law Bev’s life story twenty years previous. June feels that her first husband is still alive and that she sees him around the city and she needs to know for certain before remarrying. We learn more about Bev’s family story along the way.
I enjoyed the character June, but did not enjoy Bev or her family story. Others will enjoy the many surprises that are in this novel.
I received a complimentary coy of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher, but all opinions are my own.

3.5 stars.

This was going to be a 4 or 4.5 star book until the very end. I hate doing that with books but this one had an additional, not at all needed, plot twist that was so ridiculous and far fetched, I had to knock a star off the rating.

Up until that point, I really enjoyed the story. I really enjoyed the characters - they were imperfect and made some bad decisions but everything felt very real. I especially liked the plotline revolving around motherhood and how much Bev felt she was struggling, There were plenty of twists that were revealed throughout the book; the pacing was perfect. I think one or two were probably a bit overkill and the book would have been just as good without them.

I enjoyed this book. It was a definitely a page turner. The two timelines added a lot of suspense that kept me wanting to continue and return to June's POV. I strongly preferred June's POV to Bev's. Bev's storyline offered some perspective into what happened, but ultimately it didn't really answer anything. There is one plot line in the book that is still unresolved, and Bev's POV was a missed opportunity to confirm what happened. This book was "One True Loves" by Taylor Jenkins Reid meets any of Carola Lovering's last three novels.

June has moved on from her whirlwind romance and short lived marriage. She is now engaged to be married, for the second time, and looking forward to her new life. However, her world stands still when she thinks she sees her deceased husband one day. Putting her life on hold she does everything in her power to figure out how her husband could possibly be alive. This was such an easy read that was hard to putdown. I would say "All The Girls Are So Nice Here" was slightly better but this was still enjoyable.

I love wine, wineries and tasting rooms. They are beautiful and always full of fun and magical moments. I was totally intrigued by this setting AND Flynns' last novel. It was an easy "yes please" for me.

That being said , this starts off pretty slow. We have two POVs and dual timelines which span a decade. I couldn't really connect with any of the characters and the ending left me angry lol I thought it was random and totally out of left field.

Thank you @Netgalley for my advance copy.

After a whirlwind romance June and Josh were married only to have him drown on their honeymoon and his body never found. It’s 10 years later and June is finally ready to move on and remarry. But then she starts to see her supposed dead husband everywhere. Is she having hallucinations, or is she really ready to move on with her life? The past is never more present than when June decides to fly to Napa Valley where Josh was originally from to find out if he is alive. Jealousy, secrets and hidden motives are all part of this twisted story. Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for this excellent, engaging mystery. This review is my honest opinion.

I love these types of books and feel like I have read every twist that could be shoveled in, but this one surprised me. I loved it and never saw the end coming in waves of surprises. With two different...very different...POVs, one from the distraught wife and one from the mother of the deceased... Or presumed deceased...
June and Josh were enjoying their honeymoon when he never surfaced from the water. Presumed dead, she tries to move on. Ten years later, opening a wine bar in Brooklyn and meeting Kyle, her life appears to be moving on, although Kyle doesn't feel she has dealt with her ghosts of the past. This part of June's life is sensitive and raw with no closure. About to remarry, on a website advertising a vineyard in Napa, a photo of Josh shocks her into existence. She travels to expose him and find answers. Be prepared for shocking twists over and over again. I can't get enough of books that one disappears and resurfaces just as the healing process begins. I can't imagine suffering the pain over and wrenching your heart out of your chest under a new premise.
This is told from June's perspective and Josh's mother which brings it all full circle in the end.
Wow! Great job, Laurie Flynn. This is engaging and addictive!
Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy to read and review! These are my own, honest opinions.

•Title: Till Death Do Us Part
•Author: Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
•Genre: mystery/women’s fiction
•Format: physical and ebook
•Rating: 3.5⭐️

•Premise: June is planning her wedding with her fiancé Kyle, with the ghost of her dead ex husband stuck in her mind. As she starts to see him watching her out in public, she begins to believe it’s not a hallucination, and investigates his past. She finds out her ex husband and his family had more secrets than she could’ve imagined.

•Thoughts: I want to first say that, overall, I liked the book. It had dual timelines and POVS, which I love, and it had a good sense of mystery throughout that kept me intrigued. Even a couple of the plot twists that happened were really great! I truly couldn’t figure out who to believe or who was guilty with the mysteries woven throughout the story. I love when it’s not obvious or doesn’t seem predictable.
With that being said, here are my hang ups:
-The start was interesting but slow
-Several things went unanswered from the past timeline. Everything built up to it and then nothing was fully divulged.
-It talked about wine and the wine making process a little too much. I wouldn’t say it shouldn’t be in the book, but it definitely should’ve been downsized. If you’re reading this and do not care about wine whatsoever, you may be turned off by it.

A 3.5 rating for me means I enjoyed and liked the book, but it had flaws I could’ve see past.

Domestic thrillers are my go to and this one delivered for me, I could not put it down! With dual POVs and dual timelines that come together so seamlessly and then the end 🤯🤯 I NEVER saw that coming! I was messaging Laurie as I was reading because these twists made it impossible to put the book down! I really liked The Girls Are All So Nice Here and have been dying for another book from her! This book is filled with so much suspense while also including a little spicy romance, common parenthood struggles and a lot of family drama! I loved the setting of Napa and learning a little bit about the wine making and tasting processes. It reinforced my desire to get there ASAP!

I want to start by thanking the author and publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. I really enjoyed this one and found myself turning pages quickly to see what happened next. I highly recommend!