I feel like this book had potential but there were a few things that weren't cohesive for me. Hannah (the mistress) was in an abusive relationship so bad that she couldn't (or wouldn't) leave but when she did, she's all of a sudden Ms. Independent, I'll get whatever I want, however I want. Then there was Susan, the spouse who was being cheated on, and even in the face of the knowledge that her husband was cheating was still saying "I would kill for him".

There were a few good twists, and I especially liked the interaction between Susan and Hannah, but the ending seemed like a predictable tie-up and then ended very abruptly.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for giving me the opportunity to read this advance reader's copy.

Once again, the author Valerie Keogh does it again ! She never disappoints, The suspense, the twists, it's all in there ! Of course, the soft side in me would have loved another ending😂, but I can't imagine a better ending for a thriller, it SHOCKED me big time !! I would totally recommend this book and all books of Valerie Keogh.

Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for access to this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book until the end, Such an anti climax and left me feeling like the author had given up and ended the book as they had run out of steam. Such a shame as the actual story was engaging and a good read.

The Mistress
by Valerie Keogh
Pub Date: March 25, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Pre-order the next psychological thriller from the NUMBER ONE bestselling author Valerie Keogh!
She wants what you have...

Hannah Parker is a woman who always gets what she wants.
When her current husband discovers she has been lying to him – again - she knows it’s time to move on and find someone who can give her the life she desires… The life she knows she deserves…
The book moves at a fast pace and I was thoroughly taken in by the plot and the characters. Totally unlikeable people they are, but this often creates an intense toxic environment that has all the hallmarks of a great book, I loved it.
Fans of Gone Girl and also other domestic suspense stories with alarming antiheroines will swiftly turn the pages. Keogh delivers a tense, immersive portrayal of the obsession and homewrecking.

Oh my god! This book was twist after twist! I loved it. I literally couldn't pull myself away from this book. It is completely gripping and will have you hooked. Plenty of characters to love and hate mainly! Shocked at the ending! Superb read.

It is a fantastic story, exhilarating plot, well developed characters, and a well executed shocking ending. I read in one day, unputdownable and very addictive. Recommend to every thriller reader.

Trashy, but fun. Unrepentant homewrecker Hannah, whose gold-digging marriage has crashed and burned, sets her sights on ex-boyfriend Mark Shepherd (not the actor). His wife Susan, though, has other ideas.

There's not a single likeable character in this book. Hannah is an amoral nightmare. Mark is weak and easily manipulated. Susan doesn't appear to have a thought in her head outside of hanging on to her husband and (university-aged) son. All the side characters are also awful. It's hard to care about these people. Not one person acts like a normal human being.

Hannah's narrative occasionally switches from first to third person and back (on one occasion, on the same page), which was confusing.

Overall it was an entertaining enough read which did lead me up the garden path once or twice. Ultimately, though, it felt a bit unsatisfying, and the ending was just silly.

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review.

Solid 3.5 stars. The first half of the book I struggled....I felt it was slow and over doing the background of the characters. Turns out, that actually brought the whole book together nicely. I loved the surprise twists at the end.
Thanks to. Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced copy, for an honest review.

This is my third book by Valerie Keogh and all have been ARCs. I can’t wait to get my hands on all her others!

Oh this was SO juicy, I devoured it!! “The Mistress” it says it all in the title. The ending wasn’t what I expected, still good. But the rest of the book was 👌🏼

“Hannah Parker is a woman who always gets what she wants.

When her current husband discovers she has been lying to him - again - she knows it's time to move on and find someone who can give her the life she desires... The life she knows she deserves...

But who will be the lucky man?

When her eye catches a glimpse of an old flame in a photograph, she's sure it's a sign. Mark Shepherd has always been in her thoughts - they'd been happy once, he'd adored her, but she'd made a mistake and let him get away. She won't make the same mistake again....

Hannah is older now and wiser. She knows what men want and she knows how to keep them happy.

So what if Mark is happily married with a family of his own”


Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for a DRC. The Mistress is available March 25!

I loved this book SO much!! I read it in 24 hours because I physically couldn’t put it down! Thank you, NetGalley for allowing me to read it before it's released!

I've read other books by this author and loved them. I can't wait to read more of her books! 😍

Thriller fans… you're going to want to read this one!

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't root for any of the character, the wife, the husband nor the mistress. The wife was so whiny, her son went to university in another country near by, and she's whiny and not able to function. The husband was wimpey, one sniff of an old fling, and hes willing to throw away everything in his life. The mistress was cartoonishly manipulative and one- dimensional. aThe book's ending left me confused, and it didn't resolve some of the questions I had.

Hannah is the mistress and is super-manipulative! The book alternates from Hannah and the wife of the man Hannah targets to be with her.
This had some components of a thriller, but wasn't the most engaging and characters weren't very likable.
Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for access to this e-ARC.

This is a hard one to review as I really didn’t like the main characters. Having said that, towards the end one of them surprised me. I appreciate the psychological research that had to have been done to make this story come together but the characters were a little two dimensional for me. However I would read another Valerie Keogh book as I think she has great potential.

I honestly don't know what I expected. I absolutely hate cheating stories and this one made my blood boil.

I've read some reviews that you'll feel for Hannah and her Backstory but for me she was plain and simple a selfish and and mean person.

She wanted Mark, a married man and she got him, just beCauSe shE coUld.... OH I hate people like this! I know it takes two to cheat so let's check out Mark. What a whimp and wet loaf of bread of a man he is! Not even ONCE he thought about Susan and to be honest it seemed out of character but here we are.

Susan, was also not the greatest character and she really, REALLY annoyed me - she could have said or done more - well at least at the end she redeemed herself.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. Another great edge of your seat thriller from Valerie Keogh that I devoured in a couple of hours. Great characters with an intriguing story full of twists. I personally loved how Susan’s character developed and the ending was perfect. Highly recommended. 4 stars.

Hannah Parker is a woman that always knows and gets what she wants. She has had many a many a man and met an older man called Ivan and married him for his money. But he turns out to be a wife beater. She wants to leave him. The only man that she really cared about was Mark that she met in her university days. Now she is nearing forty and now wonders what he is doing. Does he still think of her. She devises a plan to get back Mark. Even though he is now married to Susan, and they have one son Drew that has just left for university.
Hannha and Mark meet and they start an affair. Susan is oblivious to this until Mark starts working late and Susan hires a private investigator to follow Mark.
I have read several of the authors previous works and enjoyed them. They never disappoint. And the most part I enjoyed the premise of the story. I did find the character of Susan a bit irritating, she need to stick up for herself a bit more and I thought I knew where this was heading. But I was so disappointed with the ending. It for me was a bit flat. I was expecting more but it didn’t deliver. 4 stars

My first arc of Valerie keogh… wow! I’ll be searching for further novels. This, told from 2 perspectives, was just the novel I needed to get me out of a slump. Some repetitiveness but this drilled certain points home to the reader I felt. And throwin in a twisty ending is always a winner for me ;)

Told from the point of view of two women - the wife and the mistress - this story rattles along at a great pace thanks to short chapters and constantly evolving plotlines.
Hannah is the mistress here and grew up without her father and with a mother who lacked any kind of maternal instinct. Feeling abandoned by her father, she takes solace in relationships with older men in return for a life filled with material goods and little else. Mark was her boyfriend at college, and possibly the one man who loved her for being herself, yet she couldn't commit and broke things off as soon as she felt too involved. No man would hurt her again like her father did.
Roll on twenty years and she has finally married. Ivan is now in his seventies and wants a child, but Hannah has no intention of becoming a mother, not wishing to impose on any child the life she had with her unfeeling mother.
Ivan doesn't take this well and beats her badly, which leads to a lengthy recovery and time on her hands to reflect on what might have been with Mark. Suddenly she has a new plan to win him over again... so what if he's married?!

Susan is Mark's wife of twenty years, mother to his son, Drew. With Drew now at university, Susan suffers badly from empty nest syndrome and struggles to fill her days. The last thing she expected though was for Mark to cheat on her, now of all times.

And so begins the conflict, and the opening chapters move along swiftly... but then it becomes a case of more of the same in that Hannah is delighted with how her plan is working and Susan is depressed at how empty her life is. Neither of the female protagonists are that likeable, being polar opposites and a tad predictable in their reactions.
Inevitably they have to meet, face each other and the issues in their lives (Hannah & her mother, Susan and her empty life). The ending is somewhat unusual and somewhat contrived, yet not the ending either woman deserved.
A book to devour quickly with many twists thrown in to keep you engaged. Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for a gifted copy of this new release by one of my favourite authors. .

I just could not get into this book:
1. Unlikeable characters - did I feel sorry for Hannah yes but not enough to think it is okay she wants to take a married man. Also Susan we get it you miss your son, get over it and move on with your life - he's at uni at Scotland there's nothing tragic enough to be depressed about
2. Unrealistic - Are you seriously telling me that this woman is domestically abused, beaten to a pulp and bleeding and number 1 the doctor decides to one talk about her husband first rather than her injuries and two doesn't notice the signs of domestic abuse???? Number 2 is hurt so badly by a man decides to steal her ex from his new wife rather than get away from her abusive ex or at least report him to the police??
3. Everything is so repetitive - unless its important to the scene there is no need to repeat especially about Susan missing her son

Seriously what even is this book

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

Wow, what a gripping read. I always enjoy Valerie Keogh's books this one tops the charts. Recommended.