Slater grabbed me from the jump with this one! It was a twisty roller coaster ride to figure out what happened to Leona. Slater if definitely one of my favorites for "edge of your seat" thrill rides. Slater kept the tension and stakes high throughout. I am working my way through her catalog but this is definitely on my favorites.

Your friend sends a few urgent messages. And then deletes them. And now she has vanished…
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Talk about an addicting whirlwind of a thriller! So much mystery and suspense and the unanswered questions just kept piling up. 🧐 It kept me wanting more. There are so many secrets revealed and the way everything is connected had my head spinning! I’m so glad I had the chance to read it!

This awesome thriller was wildly entertaining. I was captivated by this story from the beginning. Its full of action and suspense. I realised while I was reading that I was tense and on edge and holding my breath to find out what would happen next.I couldn't put this book down. I recommend this book for anyone who loves thrillers.

So many unexpected and shocking twists. I was immediately hooked with the explosive start to this story. And it didn't let up for a second. The ending was so satisfying.

This starts off with a bang and keeps going until the very end. With multiple perspectives and alternating timelines, this easily keeps the reader engaged throughout. The characters are perfectly developed with all their flaws, back stories, and complex personalities. The plot was detailed, well thought-out, and unpredictable. This was another addicting read by K.L. Slater. Four stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Bookouture, for this ARC.

Saffy got what she deserved in the end, I’m glad of that. I liked seeing her growth throughout the book. Didn’t see all the twists coming though! Only thing I didn’t like was the narration in the third person. It always feels a little awkward to me.

This was my first foray into K.L.’s books, and boy did I like it. Comparing her to Lisa Jewel and Frieda McFadden was a big selling point. I didn’t know what to expect with this one. I figured there would be a lot of unlikeable characters, and surprisingly I liked most of them. I felt bad for Saffy. She suffered from such severe anxiety, and I felt like she deserved more support instead of what seemed like manipulation because of her ‘issues’. No one believed her when she expressed her concern about Leona and her husband’s relationship.

I didn’t expect the twists at the end, but that’s what makes a great book for me. If it’s too predictable, it’s not nearly as fun to read.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for my copy of this book.

4 stars

Thank you to netgally and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read “Message Deleted” in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever told a lie and it completely ate you alive and affected your life in ways you never realized? This is what happened to Saffy.

Saffy & Poppy are siblings, but Saffy is a bit more maternal with poppy due to her mother dying and instilling her trust in Saffy that she wouldn’t let anything bad happen to poppy. But can we ever truly give that promise?

Poppy is brutally attacked after she starts university. She may have siding it weren’t for Saffy saving her. The perpetrator was never caught and it was assumed it was a random attack. But was it?

A family (which just happens to be saffys bff, Leona’s family) is abducted and Saffy was the last to see them. She is the suspect in an investigation which turns out to be a murder investigation because Ash if found dead, but Leona and Rosie are still missing without a trace.

But it turns out Saffy has been keeping quite a few secrets.

We find out the motive of the abductor. I won’t spoil the ending, but it was an interesting one.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good whodunit!

This diabolical read by K L. Slater will definitely keep you turning pages from beginning to end. When Saffy receives a frantic text from her best friend Leona, she rushes to her house. But when she looks at her phone again, the message has disappeared. Apparently it has been deleted. Leona seems fine when Saffy arrives. What’s more is she says that she knows nothing about what Saffy is talking about.

Although Saffy has uncomfortable feelings about what could be going on, there’s nothing left for her to do but to go back to her own home. However, the police soon appear at her door saying that the family has disappeared, and it looks like something violent has taken place. Since Saffy was the last to see the family, she becomes the prime suspect. The question lingers: what’s happening? Where is her best friend, Leona, and her precious little girl?

That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this latest novel by K. L. Slater. In fact, the story goes back-and-forth as we learn about Saffy and her relationship with her much younger sister Poppy. At some point Poppy had experienced a a tragic event that has affected both Poppy and Saffy. But, what about Leona and her family? With now deleted text messages, Saffy has very little to go on, but she is determined to find answers.

With a few shocking surprises along the way, as well as various perspectives and alternating timelines, this story was a suspenseful domestic thriller.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

I love a book that hooks me right from the first chapter. I was excited to find out who actually sent the texts and what was going on. The book is a bit of a slow burn once you get going but still a really good thriller/mystery.
I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys fast paced stories that keep you on the edge of your seat and has some good ole twists.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Bookouture for the book #MessageDeleted by #KLSlater. I was already a big fan of K.L. Slater and this book is absolutely what I was wanting to read. Saffys best friend, Leona and her daughter, Rosie, have turned up missing only hours after Saffy rushed over to see her friend was ok after getting messages from her that immediately got deleted. Things go from bad to worse and Safe starts spiraling. Can Saffy find Leona and Rosie? Will the truth come out?

What a twisted and tangled web we weave! Message Deleted is a gripping, tension filled, twist filled, book that kept me on my toes and turning the pages. K.L Slater instantly grabbed my attention with a single text, and I found myself questioning what was happening and wondering what was going to happen next!

Message Deleted begins with a message which says "Can’t speak… don’t text or call… please just come." which is then deleted! What would you do if a friend texts you asking you to come over then the text is gone???? That is what Saffy experiences when she receives the alarming text from her best friend, Leona. When Saffy arrives at Leonas home, Leona denies ever sending her the text. Six hours later, Saffy is being questioned by the police as her friend, Leona, and her child is missing and her home looks like a crime scene!!!! What?????

This book had a nice amount of tension, twists, turns, reveals, and suspense. I never knew where K.L. Slater was going to take me, but I enjoyed the ride! I found this book to be well thought out and enjoyed how the story was built and built adding layer upon layer. There were times when I wondered where things were going but I knew I was in good hands with Slater and she brought the past and present together wonderfully.

Gripping, twisted, thrilling and well thought out!

Complex and twisty mystery - secrets and lies everywhere - is anyone innocent? You may like or really dislike the main character who's snooping, controlling, and anxiety drive everyone bonkers, but in the end has good intent. Strong characters, strong themes, and solid plot.

What would you do? Your best friend sends you a desperate request. “Can’t speak…Don’t text or call…Pls just come”. You would go, wouldn’t you? Well, so does Saffy Morris. When she arrives at Leona’s house. Leona says there is nothing wrong. She and her husband Ash are happy, her daughter Rosie is happy, all is well and..look at the phone, no messages sent. Saffy’s message is deleted. Hours later, the police arrive at Saffy’s home. Leona and her family are missing. Their house is empty, the front door ajar. And Saffy was the last person to see them.

Welcome to the wild ride that is Message Deleted. There are many characters here with intertwined lives and no one is the person you thought he or she would be. The plot twists and swerves, keeping you turning the pages as fast as possible. You will never guess the ending. This psychological thriller should go to the top of you TBR pile! 5 Stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and K.L. Slater for this ARC.

I love a popcorn thriller but I was really not a fan of this. I was bored throughout most of this book.

There’s one thing I always know before I start a book from the author, I’m guaranteed a unique premise! The idea of a text message being the catalyst for a world of mess was intriguing to me and a deleted message is just the tip of the iceberg for poor Saffy. This was both well written and incredibly well plotted, there are several threads here that the author managed to tie together in such clever ways in the end, definitely not in any ways I would’ve ever thought to. As the story unfolds I found myself really invested and I appreciated how the past really played a role in the present timelines happenings. Another winner from one of my fave domestic thriller authors!

Message Deleted by K.L. Slater is a gripping psychological thriller that showcases her talent for crafting intense and suspenseful stories.
Slater consistently writes stories that grip you fromt he very first page, and dont let you put the book down. This is another!
I found the book very engrossing, and the characters are well developed.
Another great suspense read from K L Slater. Kept me hooked and wanting more. Definitely recommended for a good fast paced read.

SYNOPSIS
- Right before a big job interview, Saffy gets a cryptic text from her best friend, Leona: Can’t speak… don’t text or call… please just come.
- Before Saffy can make sense of it, the message vanishes — This message was deleted.
- When Saffy rushes to Leona’s house, Leona insists everything’s fine. Hours later, police show up at Saffy’s door. Leona and her young son are missing — and there’s blood everywhere. Saffy was the last person to see them alive.

MY THOUGHTS
- The premise hooked me right away — the whole “vanishing message” setup felt fresh and had so much potential.
- Unfortunately, the execution didn’t match the concept. The story dragged, and the book could’ve easily been 100 pages shorter without losing anything important.
- The characters? Absolutely insufferable. Not a likable one in the bunch, which made it tough to care what happened to any of them.
- The police were cartoonishly incompetent, to the point where it felt less like a thriller and more like a parody of one.
- Also, can we talk about the names? Lol. Idk I didn’t like them.
- For a thriller, there wasn’t much actual thrill — just a lot of repetitive dialogue and characters making baffling decisions.
- Overall, it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever read, but it definitely didn’t live up to the hook that drew me in.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️intriguing premise but quickly fizzled out thanks to a bloated plot, irritating characters, and a total lack of suspense.

Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published on March 3, 2025.

3.5/5 stars

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book.

The goods:
- I saw none of the twists coming. I feel like I was kept on my toes for the majority of the book.
- I thought Poppy was an interesting main character and that the cast of people surrounding her definitely made me question everyone around her.
- The premise is extremely interesting, especially when you see what happens right after the messages are deleted. I was not expecting it and it felt like a fresh read.

The loss of a star and a half:
- While I love everything being wrapped up with a bow, I feel like it was explained a bit too long and dragged after the final twist. It dragged the last 15% of the book in my opinion, which took down the rating for me.

Overall: If you're looking for a twisty mystery, this should be your next read.

From the second I started this book, I could NOT put it down. Message Deleted is a psychological thriller that follows Saffy, who receives some alarming text messages from her friend Leona. But then the messages disappear and Leona denies ever sending them. Not long after this, Saffy is shocked to find out that Leona and her family are missing and she was the last person to see them.

This fast-paced novel will keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing until the very end!