I loved this edge of your seat thriller. Was completely hooked right from the first chapter. A whole list of suspects but I was surprised by the villain. Perfect page turner.

This is a great psychological thriller. The writer leads you on lots of twists and turns and keep you guessing right until the end. Brilliantly written. Brilliant for fans of this genre. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

A very enjoyable book to read that kept you gripped all the way through with the various twists and turns.

In this book, we meet Francine. A divorce lawyer/barrister working out of a London Chambers with the prospect of attaining Silk soon. But, for all her intelligence, she is emotionally a bit of a mess and this is reflected in the fact that, against the rules, and indeed all common sense, she falls for Martin, her latest client who is in the early days of starting divorce proceedings with his estranged wife Donna. Francine and Martin begin a wild, passionate, illicit affair. They manage to keep things on the down low until the day that Donna fails to make a court appearance. Several days pass and she has still not turned up and no one has heard from her. And then Francine's world pretty much implodes as the Police get involved. Apparently, the last time anyone saw Donna was on the same night that Francine followed her and Martin after they shared what looked like an intimate dinner. But it's a might that, due mostly to alcohol combined with the prescription medicine she is already taking for he bipolar, Francine has no recollection of before arriving home to her neighbour in the wee small hours with blood on her clothes. But it's Martin the Police initially focus on. Could she really have read him so wrong? Can Francine salvage her job and reputation or will she be dragged through the mire along with Martin?
And so begins a story jam packed full of secrets, lies and more that its fair share of duplicitous behaviour. A story that twists and turns on and on until a really rather shocking truth is revealed.
So, after I got over my "how can she be so blooming stupid" feelings towards Francine I did enjoy this book. I never really connected 100% to her though for probably many small reasons but, despite never having that empathy or sympathy for her or pretty much any of the other characters, I really needed to know what the heck was going on so I was loathed to give up. Normally I need that connection to the characters but I coped pretty well without that here which was a revelation to me. I just spent the book not really trusting anyone nor did I really care who got comeuppance and I wasn't really rooting for anyone along the way. But to the end I got and, when I did get there, although I had guessed a few things along the way, the whole truth was really juicy and very satisfying.
All in all, a very decent storyline played out by a whole bunch of equally horrible characters. Will appeal to the more plot-driven readers rather than character-driven ones. My thanks go to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Good, gripping psychological thriller that kept me hooked. I have to say some of the lead character's decision making was extremely questionable - especially in light of the fact that she was a lawyer! Also slightly hard to believe some of this links would have slipped through the net. A good read nevertheless.

I was so looking forward to this book and I think I might have big it up a little to much before I read it. I loved Apple tree yard and while this has been said to be similar I found I could not finish the book because of the main character. A lawyer with a high powered job and a needy personality. I found myself getting annoyed with her so much that I had to give up, which is a shame because the plot and writing is brilliant and for this reason alone I give it 3 stars.

This story is about Francine a divorce lawyer who is chosen to represent a wealthy client called Martin Joy. The two start a relationship and then shortly after the Martins wife goes missing & Martin is the chief suspect.

I raced through this book and could not understand why I was loving it so much. Francine made some really strange decisions throughout this story which was irritating at times. I was really loving this book until about 60% through it. I felt after this point the story slowed and got a bit repetitive until further towards the end of the book

Some intriguing characters, really loved the book and topic. Well written and researched. An excellent whodunit with plenty of plot twists. The legal background was well researched and described in terms a layman can understand. Intense attraction causes a clearly highly intelligent person to make some wild decisions. I thought I had guessed the outcome but was mistaken and the reveal was better than I expected. Great story with twist I didn't see coming.

A brilliantly written & suspenseful novel, one to keep reading long after it's time for sleep!
Classic who done it story with lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing.
Tells the story of Francine, a lawyer just at the cusp of her growing career who falls for her client. Francine is a women with many flaws and insecurities who becomes obsessed with her new lover/client's ex-wife who has gone missing.
A gripping page turner and a highly recommended read.

There is nothing better than a good psychological thriller, something that keeps you on the edge of your seat all the way through and leaves you wanting when it's finished. Mine, by J L Butler, ticks all the boxes.

Francine Day is a Barrister who specialises in Family Law. Within her 'set' she is the student most 'likely' to succeed and is being encouraged to apply for silk. Francine's work is her life and is gaining a reputation of the divorce lawyer to be reckoned with. As she applies for silk she knows she needs one really successful case that will catapult her to legal stardom and ensure she is selected. Unfortunately it looks like her new big case is going to ensure she loses everything she worked so hard to establish.
As the novel opens Francine is meeting her new client, wealthy Martin Joy, he is in the process of divorcing his wife but needs to ensure that he is left with his company in tact and his finances shared fairly. Despite all the years of ensuring she has a squeaky clean reputation, Francine is immediately captivated by Martin and is helpless to stop herself falling in love, so much so, that she loses all sense of self and begins an affair whilst she is still his legal council. As Francine becomes obsessed by Martin, his wife disappears and it seems that Francine was the last person to see her alive.
This fast paced, debut novel keeps the reader enthralled from beginning to end. As Francine's life begins to unravel so her obsession begins to take over and her sanity is stretched to breaking point. Where is Donna Joy? Is she dead or alive? and did Martin have anything to do with it? Mine, was an incredible read and I cannot wait to read more by J L Butler.

Amazing....just amazing. Had me from the very 1st chapter. Loved everything about this book.
Very well written, lots of twists and turns....Unputdownable!!! You’ll want to keep reading.
Can’t wait for the next book.

An intriguing storyline with a bipolar main character who becomes distracted from her aim to achieve silk and her divorce lawyer career, by her attractive and charismatic client. On the key night when she follows him to a meeting with his soon to be ex-wife, she drinks and looses several hours and needs to find out what all the main players did or had done to them. The reveal at the end was a surprise, which is always good in a thriller. Would recommend a read of this if you like a thriller.

This is a really good book. It took me a while to get into the story and I am glad that I persevered. There is a lot to the plot. Francine is not totally sure what has happened to Donna and who is responsible. There are a lot of twists and turns in the plot before the answer is revealed.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Fran is a successful Lawyer/Barrister in London but for a well educated woman she makes some exceedingly bad choices and is woefully unprofessional. After meeting new divorce client Martin she embarks on an passionate affair with him. She knows it is wrong but cannot help herself. Things only get worse when Martin's wife goes missing and as events really start spiralling out of control Fran finds herself risking her career, her sanity and maybe even her life.

I have read this author's work before, under her other writing name and I absolutely loved it, which is saying a lot as I am generally not a big fan of romantic fiction. Although this isn't the feel good escapism that the author usually writes it is still essentially women's fiction with a little suspense towards the end and a lot of sex. It didn't quite work for me and while I cannot fault the writing the story was slow and I found the the main character to be very unrealistic.

This book has been compared to Fatal Attraction and/or Apple Tree Yard. Sorry, but in my opinion the comparison to Fatal Attraction is like comparing a glass of water to a double espresso. But I guess a lot of people don't like coffee and I am sure there are plenty who will love this book. Therefore I would certainly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a sexy women's fiction read with a slightly darker edge. I just isn't quite the psychological thriller it would like to be.

A very twisted story with some much going on that you just can't put it down! Twists and turns keep happening until you get to the end and all is revealed....

I really liked this book. Francine is a divorce lawyer. When she takes on Martin as a client they start a passionate affair. Then Martin's wife goes missing and he is the prime suspect in her disappearance. Francine is determined to prove his innocence. Add in the fact that she is bipolar and an unreliable narrator, and you have a story that will keep you guessing until the end. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

A powerful and very entertaining read! Loved the guts and determination of the main character, Fran to try and prove her client's innocence. Loved the twist and turns of the story and the surprise of the real culprit. I thought the story was well-written, thought-provoking and loved the intensity of some of the scenes.

A good bed time read!

Almost finished this book and find it hard to put down. An interesting main character who is very successful and bi polar....an unusual slant on a thriller.

Brilliant book! I fell into this book so easily, finding the style of writing swept me along and straight into the story. The setting of the law firm was extremely authentic. I really enjoyed the whole obsession, compulsion, trust and distrust which ran throughout the book, all woven brilliantly into a whodunnit disappearance/murder mystery.

Thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book. It is the story of Francine Day, a divorce lawyer, who like many lawyers puts work before he personal life. Out of character she becomes involved with her client Martin whose wife then goes missing and police investigations lead to the conclusions that Martin may be responsible for her disappearance.........!!!!! To say more would spoil it for new readers BUT I found it impossible to put down and read it long into the night on more than one occasion.
I had not come across the author before and was surprised to find out , when I Googled the author JL Butler , that this author usually writes under the name of Tasmina Perry. I was left wondering why she had chosen to confuse readers by this change of name. I will now look for other books by the author under her other name.