Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Mistress by Valerie Keogh.

This story is about two women, Hannah and Susan.

Hannah is married to an older man and her marriage is far from perfect. After he discovers a secret she is hiding their marriage is over.

What will she do now? Hannah is a beautiful woman who will always get want she wants. She can manipulate men and wrap them around her finger with ease.

She is reminded of a former love, Mark, who she dated in college. She is determined to make him fall in love with her again.. problem is, he is married.

This book has two perspectives, Hannah and Susans. The book was not mind blowing but it did keep my interest. I enjoyed the two perspectives of the women and the story went in a direction I wasn't expecting. It took the trope of a 'Mistress:' in a different direction which was refreshing. This my first book from this author and I look forward to reading more from Valerie Keogh.

3.5 stars

My very first Valerie Keogh book was The Trophy Wife and I absolutely devoured it. Since then, I have been reading every book she’s written, making my way through her long list of novels. And they all have one thing in common- every book is suspenseful enough to keep me on the edge of my seat, reading way too late into the night.

The Mistress is her latest and yes I enjoyed it even though the main character, Hannah, was an awful person.

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?

This one comes out on March 25, but she has tons of other books available right now.

I am not really sure how to rate this one. It started kind of slow and I kept thinking about DNF’ing it. But there was just something in the story that kept me engaged. At around half way things started to get more interesting and at that point I was hooked.
Both women in this story were not really likable. Susan – the wife – very insecure, her main focus in life was taking care of her husband and son.
Hannah – the mistress – heartless and calculated “gold digger”, who knew how to take advantage of men around her.
The twist at the end was interesting but I thought it was kind of rushed and left me with more questions than answers.
3 solid stars from me.

Thank you NetGalley, Boldwood Books and the author for a copy of ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I would like to thank #NetGalley and #BoldwoodBooks for an #ARC of #TheMistress.
Having read, and enjoyed, Valerie Keogh books previously, I was very excited to read this book. Unfortunately, the storyline never really picked up enough for me to say I enjoyed it. It was readable, and interesting to see what might happen, but definitely not a book I would read again or porlssibly even recommend.

The Mistress is a fast paced thrilling psychological read with tension packed plot.

The story was told from both women's perspectives-Hannah, the old flame of Mark and Susie, the current wife of Mark. With the departure of the son, Susie felt her world was crumbling down as she suspected her husband is having an affair.

Overall there's never a dull moment, and the author did a great job at keeping readers engage with the plot.

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.