This wasn’t for me. I prefer grittier books. But! It will appeal to lots of other people who want an easy read with suspense and a bit of love affair type stuff. I prefer psychological thrillers and felt it didn’t quite hit the mark

WOW! This is a gripping read from the start, plenty of suspects to keep you guessing as to the fate of Donna Joy, and a twist that had me thinking 'why didn't I see that coming' ?!! I loved it and can't wait for the author's next book.

This is a novel of psychological suspense where a divorce lawyer, Francine Day, risks her career when she becomes entangled in a secret affair with a client, Margin Joy, who is the primary suspect in his estranged wife’s disappearance. Although Martin insists his marriage is over, Francine isn’t certain because certain things he has said don’t make sense. Francine follows his wife, Donna, one night and finds Donna and Martin having dinner. The next morning Francine awakes in her neighbor’s apartment to find her clothes covered in blood and no memory of what happened the night before. Even more devastating is that Donna has vanished; the dinner Francine witnessed was the last time Donna was seen.
The book starts out a bit slow but does pick up and become more fast-paced. The characters were well-developed, and the plot was suspenseful and intriguing. There were enough twists and turns to keep me reading to the end. It was an entertaining and enjoyable book.

Francine is a divorce lawyer who has worked hard to achieve her success and who then falls hard for a client. They have a steamy affair and then, his wife disappears, is he guilty of her disappearance? Francine is a hugely frustrating character at times, but, her waking one morning with memory loss, having followed her client and his wife, had me gripped.

This is a well written psychological thriller with detailed characters and a good plot. It's based in Islington, London and I also enjoyed the occasional London references, restaurants, bars and areas.

Overall a strong 3.5 star read and I thank net galley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to preview.

This is a good holiday/beach read. Keeps flowing nicely and has an interesting, tangled plot. There are a few eyeroll moments but overall as a psychological thriller the book delivers a tense and interesting plot and the ending was very good!

Whilst this book is an exciting psychological thriller, it couldn't escape from the cliches of the genre.
I enjoyed the book as a light, beach read. However, I think you shouldn't expect a really original plot, twist or characters.
The narrator is a London divorce lawyer named Francine and she falls in love with her rich client, Martin. They start to have an affair, but she feels really insecure and stars to follow him. Then, all of a sudden his wife disappears and we take the story from there.
Again, I did like the writing and simple, yet addictive plot. But, again I didn't find it a book with a very original idea.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and did not expect the culprit to be who it was. Will recommend this title to my book club.

A dark, disturbing story of where placing your trust in the wrong person that you think is the right person can lead you.

I loved how well the book is written and the clever twists and turns.

Firstly thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for a fair review.

To start, this is a very well written story with twists and turns and all that you want from a good psychological thriller. However, I personally found the main characters rather annoying which took away some of the thrill of the story for me. I did read the whole book and I enjoyed the storyline, it just hasn't been a favourite of mine.
Also unsure why Mersea Island got renamed Dorsea Island when every other place name remained real?! But hey, that's just a local gal being picky!!

This is a fantastic read. I didn't want to put it down . Fran,, the main character, had many flaws and yet overcame them to become a barrister. The plot has many twists and turns and was very engaging. I loved it all and cannot wait for the next book to be released.

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.