Wow! That was utterly incredible. It’s always so refreshing to read a crime thriller that puts a whole new twist on and takes you on a wildly different journey. 

Chris Hills reports his wife (Leah Hills) missing at a service station in the middle of nowhere whilst they were on holiday. She seems to just completely vanish without a trace. 

The novel is gripping, well written and the characters are fascinating with excellent prose. 
I won’t say too much because I don’t want to spoil it for future readers but go get a copy!

I haven’t heard or seen of this author before but I liked the front cover so thought I’d give it a go. So glad I did because I throughly enjoyed it! Well written and looking forward to more from this author.

Many thanks to net galley, Mirror Books and Sue Welfare for the digital copy of this book. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this debut crime thriller by Welfare. Leah has suddenly disappeared while she and husband Chris are on their way to enjoy a vacation. Chris reports her missing and assures detectives she would never leave him, they were destined to be together. However, as the story unfolds, detectives become more and more suspicious of Chris because things just don’t seem to add up.

I was not expecting some of the twists this book provided, and it kept me on my toes wanting to read more. I’m looking forward to more writings from Welfare.

I would like to thank Mirror Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Losing Leah’ by Sue Welfare in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Chris and Leah Hills stop off at Hoden Gap Services on their way to the Welsh holiday home Chris owns.  Chris goes inside to order coffee for them both while Leah makes her way to the toilets, but although Chris waits for her to return Leah disappears and is nowhere to be found.  DS Mel Daley and her boss DI Harry Baker arrive to question Chris and organise a search of the surrounding area but they can’t understand why there’s no CCTV coverage of Leah anywhere.  Although Chris Hill insists their marriage is blissful and loving, he comes over as jealous, manipulative and a liar, but there doesn’t appear to be anything that links him to Leah’s disappearance.  
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Losing Leah’, the plot is well thought-out and becomes very tense and exciting.  From looking at previous novels written by Sue Welfare it’s easy to imagine that she writes only chicklit, but this novel certainly proves she’s capable of deeper and more thought-provoking work.  It’s easy to read, has lots of twists and turns that managed to keep me guessing, and an ending that I wasn’t expecting.  Well done Sue!

Unfortunately 'Losing Leah' was very dull and utterly predictable.  Snooze.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the concept of this book - man's wife goes missing at a rest stop,  she isn't on any CCTV footage and there is no sign of her anywhere. I thought the author did a good job of throwing in a few surprises - there were things that happened that I totally didn't see coming. For me, the characters were impersonal and I had a hard time connecting to any of them. I also felt like the story was a bit slow at times. The ending of the book was definitely unexpected, but a bit abrupt. I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Loved this novel, with a shocking ending that will leave you breathless.  Don't miss!

Thank to Netgalley for the advanced copy...

I really enjoyed reading and it was great as well!

The book begins with Chris Hills being found in the ladies toilets of a service station searching for his lost wife, Leah.  She had disappeared after going into the service station,  DI Harry Baker and DS Mel Daley arrive to investigate her disappearance and find that there are no sightings of her on CCTV and begin to have their suspicions about Chris and his story.
The book then turns into a great read.  It is quite a short book but very absorbing, with a good plot.  It starts off as just a missing person investigation but you know that there is a lot more going on and will leave you guessing right until the end.  I hope this book will turn out to be the first in a series featuring Harry Baker and Mel Daley.
Thanks to NetGalley and Mirror books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Mirror Books for an arc of "Losing Leah" by Sue Welfare.
It took me a few pages to acclimatize to the writing style of this book, Once in though, I was hooked! Wow - what an intricately clever plot to keep the reader guessing what has happend to Leah! 
Definitely a book for those who enjoy a good mystery.

Really enjoyed this even though the ending was predictable. Read it in a day.

Losing Leah is a debut crime thriller by an established author. The novel centres around the disappearance of Leah Hills and her husband’s insistence that she has come to harm. 
The novel opens as security staff attempt to comfort a man stating, “I can’t find my wife” & “you have to find her”. 

When the police arrive at Hoden Gap services. We the reader discover the formalities of missing persons cases. That there are 80+ missing people per day. That each case is assessed for its level of risk and the greater the risk the more complex the case and the more resources that are available. 

What happens when a simply weekend away, turns into a living nightmare….

The police officers decide there are four possible solutions with the case. That either Leah left of her own volition, she was abducted, she is still present at the services or that she was never there at all. 
They hope she is located soon and this was all just one big misunderstanding. But things are rarely as simple as they appear at first…..

If in doubt, think murder

None of the staff at the services, report a single sighting of Leah that day. Although the CCTV images are poor, none lead to visual image of Leah either. Which just leaves the police to gather information and evidence from the husband Chris Hills. 

Chris is rude, abrupt and obnoxious. I instantly disliked his character, I found him to be controlling and domineering with his attitudes towards his wife. But this alone, doesn’t make him a killer. 
He tells the officers that They were travelling from their home in Norfolk, to their holiday cottage in Wales. That although Leah was needy, weak and needed ‘looking after’ she was not unhappy about their trip. He reports that she had only recently stopped taking her antidepressant medication, after the death of her best friend 18 months ago. Every time Chris spoke, I found myself loathing his character more and more. 
The police organise a full-scale search of the area and begin to look into, EVERY aspect of the couple’s lives. Chris hands them the keys to the properties and car. Is he confidant or cocky? 
One thing is for certain, the police will leave no stone unturned to find a vulnerable woman. 

The novel is an interesting exploration into ‘what goes on behind closed doors’ and surrounding people the couple interacted with. The ending was cleverly done, but I felt there could have been more depth and details. The greatest element that kept me hooked, was the theme that being an oddball or unlikeable doesn’t necessarily make someone a killer. I kept reading on and on trying to guess the plot and conjuring up various theories. 4*

A good thriller that kept you speculating all the way through.  Would recommend.

Losing Leah
by Sue Welfare

Mirror Books

General Fiction (Adult) , Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 22 Mar 2018


I am reviewing a copy of Loosing Leah through Mirror Books and Netgalley:


Chris and Leah stop for Coffee at a isolated service station, not far from the Welsh border on a cold February Morning.  While Leah goes inside to order their drinks.  Chris locks up the car.  Minutes pass and Leah doesn't come back.  When Sergeant Mel Daley along with her boss , Detective Inspector Harry Baker arrive to begin the search on the missing women, everything is called into question, and they cannot help but wonder if she is even alive.

Could she have left with another person?

Did Leah even leave Norfolk?

As the mystery unfolds the Detective and Sergeant begin to unravel dark secrets from the past?


Five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

On their way to their cottage in Wales on February morning, Chris and Leah Hills stop for coffee at a small service station. When Chris can't find Leah he raises the alarm.. where did his wife go and why did nobody see her enter or leave the shop. DS Baker and DS Daley are on duty and turn up at the location to begin the search. 

This was a very quick read that I finished in just a few hours. Some very unlikeable characters and a great story that keeps you guessing.  Thanks to Mirror Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book to read in exchange for my honest opinions

Although I tend to read mostly historical fiction, I was intrigued by the premise of this contemporary novel - a woman disappearing without a trace from a service station and the quest to find her. I have also read some of Sue Welfare's romantic fiction before, so was interested to see how she would tackle the mystery and thriller genre.

I found the book really engaging and couldn't put it down. I liked the female police sergeant and the way that the plot unfolded with plenty of clues and red herrings. The settings were also interesting - the service station, something so everyday that people don't really register, becoming something slightly mysterious and sinister.  

However, there were a few niggles that meant the book wasn't perfect for me. For example, the solution is clever, but has a few holes in it.  I also would have liked to see more development of the other characters as they did seem a little flat in comparison to the main detective.

Overall, this is an engaging read with plenty of twists and turns. I'd recommend it to people who enjoy contemporary crime novels, even if it never quite reaches the levels of menace and tension that it perhaps could.

Not the most exciting thriller I've ever read but it did pick up about halfway through.  The last paragraph left me wanting more!

If you’ve watched and enjoyed films like The Vanishing and Breakdown you’ll love this book. Chris Hills is distraught when his wife Leah apparently vanishes at a service station on the way to their holiday cottage in Wales. Can Sergeant Mel Daley and her boss, Detective Inspector Harry Baker find her? Is Chris as innocent as he appears? I thought I’d guessed what was going on but it didn’t stop me enjoying the read to see if I was right.
If I’m honest there was a little too much detail (courtesy of Sergeant Mel) & explanations on police procedures (YAWN) for me but luckily I have speed skimming down to an art so I read like a cheetah over these bits :). 

All in all a good book that kept me engaged and interested.

Losing Leah had me gripped from the start.  
It starts with a man you later learn is Chris Hill frantically searching the ladies in a service station for his wife.  
DS Daley is one of the officers on the case, which takes them from Norfolk to Wales looking for clues to help them find Leah. The detail of the police investigation makes it a really interesting read.
There numerous twists and just when you think you know whats about to happen it turns again.

Losing Leah by Sue Welfare was great. Thats the best I can summarize it. I have to say I was so caught up in the story I was able to finish it in about 2 hours of reading. i couldn't put it down. She did such an incredible job of painting a picture in your mind of story that it was like I was right there alongside the lead detective as she was solving the mystery. I couldn't wait to find out what happened to Leah and figure out who-done-it! I would be very interested in reading more novels by Sue with this cast. I for sure recommend this book to everyone!

Thank you to Mirror Books and Sue Welfare for providing me with this reading copy!