I have read and enjoyed previous Sam Carrington books so I jumped at the chance to read The Missing Wife. And for 3/4 of the book it was heading for another 5 star review. And then it swerved well off course and it lost me. It was such a shame as I was really enjoying the story but then the main character became a completely different person. Things then became far fetched and funny and I was disappointed with the end. But for the most part I really enjoyed it, I just hoped for a better conclusion.

Louisa is the mum to a newborn, severely sleep deprived and about to turn 40. The last thing she wants is a party with all her Facebook friends. But that is exactly what happens when her best friend Tiff arranges a surprise party for her. Especially when her ex boyfriend Oliver from college turns up, an ex that she has a dark past with. She drinks too much and has little memory of the night before. The next day she discovers that Olivers wife has disappeared, and the last place she was seen was her party.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased

# The Missing Wife #
Sam carringtom the missing wife, is I book I really enjoyed with many twist and turns, it’s not a fast paced book. Which to be honest is Bette for this particular novel. It’s a steady paced in fitting with the storyline. One of which becomes intriguing from the prologue. Once I had read the prologue I knew instantly I was going to be hooked. It is definitely a marvellous book, one I think older mothers at the beginning can truly emphasise with. The tiredness well everything’s so different from being a younger mother. With Louise being so tired at times you just wonder is she suffering from post natal depression. With her thoughts about her best friend Tiff, then a surprise birthday party where people from 22 years some come along and really upset the equilibrium, in such a creepy shocking way. Brilliantly written I am not putting spoilers in. It spoils boos. Now we’ll i have jaw ache truthfully because at no time at all with every twist I could never ever have predicted the last few chapters. My jaw just dropped. Wow I devoured this book. It’s the first of Sam Carringtoms books I have read. It definitely will not be my last. There are a few titles at the back of the book I have noted for further reading from Sam I really think this as got to be a definite definite must read. Fantastic novel

I enjoyed The Missing Wife by Sam Carrington. I found I was quickly drawn into the book and it held my attention throughout. I would have liked it to be more of a thriller as I felt a great deal of time was spent focusing on feeding the baby as opposed to the main plot. With this in mind I’d rate it 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author for the chance to review.

Gripping suspense from Sam Carrington. Unputdownable. Had to stay awake to read through this one. It was excellent how Sam can hold your attention and run with it. A missing person from decades ago is the cause of this storyline that twists and turns carrying you on a rollercoaster of emotions and blame.

I enjoyed this thriller though I found it a little slow at the beginning ,more about a crying baby and a sleep deprived Mother,but when Louisa has a surprise 40th Birthday thrown for her by her best friend things soon pick up.Plenty of secrets to unravel and surprises but I did feel some parts in the final chapters were a bit far fetched almost bordering on comedy .! Many thanks to the Publisher,the Author and NetGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review.

<i>Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the ARC.</i>

There's a lot to enjoy with The Missing Wife. You know exactly what kind of book you're getting based on the blurb alone - a psychological thriller with enough twists to keep you hooked until the very end.

It's an enjoyable read from start to finish which kept me turning the page, however, there were a few disagreements I had with the book.

The overall pacing of the story is inconsistent, some parts were tediously slow while the latter events towards the end felt a little rushed.
My concern with the unreliable-narrator in these types of thrillers is that they're overdone. While it does work, it seems a bit too convenient for this story. I believe the story could've had a stronger impact if it was told in the first person perspective of Louisa in certain chapters.

The drawback for me is the characters. They aren't as fleshed out as I would've hoped for - some characters, Emily, for example, seem more like placeholders than actual characters. They only seem convenient for continuing the plot rather than meaningful interactions with the others (barely any conversations between Brian and Emily, for example).

The ending was clever, I'll have to admit - albeit the build-up took away from the dramatic 'umph' of the delivery. There's a certain level of suspension of disbelief that is needed when reading this, specifically with those relating to the 'amnesiac' episodes.

Overall, a good thriller that is intriguing with a great premise- but isn't anything new.

3.41 / 5

This book was not that suspenseful for me. The end was a shock for sure, but leading up to it, it was hard to stick with it. I also feel like the "wife/mother psychotic thing" is overdone with UK authors.

Louisa is an exhausted, sleep-deprived new mother and, approaching her fortieth birthday, the very last thing she wants to do is celebrate.

But when her best friend Tiff organises a surprise party, inviting the entire list of Lou’s Facebook friends, she’s faced with a new source of anxiety altogether: a room full of old college classmates who she hasn’t spoken to in twenty years. And one person in particular she never expected to see again is there – her ex-boyfriend from college, the handsome and charismatic Oliver Dunmore.

When Oliver’s wife Melissa goes missing after the party, everyone remembers what happened that night differently. It could be the alcohol, but it seems more than one person has something to hide. Louisa is determined to find the truth about what happened to Melissa. But just how far does she need to look…?

If you get a chance to read this, do it! You won't regret it! It's a fast paced thriller that will keep you guessing throughout the whole story.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of Missing Wife by Sam Carrington
Pub Date: 27 Jun 2019

I so wanted to love this book. When I read the blurb I was automatically pulled in.
An exhausted, sleep-deprived new mother. Her extremely handsome ex-boyfriend, Oliver. The wife that mysteriously disappears. Sounds great, right?
Unfortunately, in my opinion, it fell a little flat. I didn’t really like Louisa and found her internalisations to be both boring and repetitive.
The plot was great and had a lot of potential. I thought Louisa’s husband and her best friend could’ve been portrayed better.
There were twists and turns along the way, which I enjoyed, but I was, ultimately disappointed with the ending.
I don’t like to totally diss on a book and I’m sure many of you will love it but, for me, it wasn’t a winner.
Thank you to netgalley for sending me an ARC of this book, which is due for publication on Monday June 17, 2019, in exchange for my honest review

Loved the synopsis of this book, but sadly this was a middle of the road story. I think that’s because I just couldn’t picture the story. Quite s slow burn.

Oh dear, this book will not be shooting up the rankings of my favourite novels any time soon. In my opinion, the story line is completely unbelievable. If Louisa (the constant simpering Lou Lou's drove me mad) really was as bad a parent to her baby boy as this book made her out to be, there would have been a full blown safeguarding review! Not for me.

This book was an absolutely fantastic page turner! The storyline is so truthful in a lot of ways as it shows a struggling mother who is getting used to being older and having a very young unplanned baby.
This books kept me guessing until the end and I'm so glad I requested it on here!

I enjoyed this book
Very much although I did feel that at times the storyline was a little far fetched and I felt it dragged slightly towards the end . I would recommend it though as an interesting , different psychological thriller .

Louisa is a sleep deprived new mom on the verge of turning 40 and suffering from dissociative amnesia. Her best friend decides to throw her a surprise party and invites “friends” from her Facebook page. Needless to say Louisa is not too pleased, these people are basically strangers. One of the guests is Oliver, her ex boyfriend from school, who is there with his new wife who then ends up missing.

The story seemed intriguing at first but it just didn’t quite deliver. Louisa is unlikable and whiny. Her husband Brian was a bit of a flake and her best friend Tiff is self absorbed and annoying. Also throw in Oliver who has weaselled into their lives while searching for his missing wife but still pining for Louisa.
This story unwinds slowly, I found it a bit monotonous and honestly towards the end I skimmed a bit. But it was still entertaining and there was never a moment where I contemplated not finishing.

The ending was just a bit over the top and I felt it did not fit Louisas’ character for 90% of the book.

This one was just ok for me.⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Thank you netgalley and avon books for this ARC in return for my honest review.

When the past comes back to shake up your life and mess with your head, what do you do?

Louisa has a new born at home, she’s tired. No, she’s sleep deprived. When an outing is suggested that she have dinner and sleep an uninterrupted nights sleep at a hotel Louisa couldn’t be more grateful. Instead, she receives the gift of a surprise party with a whole bunch of people from her Facebook friends list who she barely knows anymore. She knows her husband Brian and best friend Tiff meant well but all Louisa really wanted was a good nights sleep. But the gifts keep on coming. And not in a good way when she comes face to face with her ex boyfriend Oliver at the party. A man she hasn’t spoken to nor really forgiven since the day he left her and went away “for her own good” 22 years earlier. Why is Oliver here? She’s not even friends with him on Facebook. Ah yes, Tiff took over her Facebook account and invited him. Now lots of old, unresolved and uncomfortable feelings are resurfacing and she still can’t recall much from that time in her life. She just knows it can’t have been good and Oliver’s presence is only compounding these feelings.
Oliver tells her he’s now married but when a new day dawns, Louisa can’t really recall meeting his new wife Melissa. Can she? And now Melissa is missing and Oliver is everywhere telling her she owes him for the mess he helped clean up all those years ago. What mess? Louisa doesn’t remember but those flashbacks are scary. But are they real?
Suddenly Oliver is everywhere. Befriending Louisa’s husband and best friend and it’s irritating beyond belief. Oliver is not behaving much like a man who is worried about the disappearance of his wife.
This novel will keep you guessing as it follows many twists and turns until you reach its dramatic conclusion.
Special thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for my Arc of Sam Carrington’s The Missing Wife

The demands of caring for a new baby are extreme, all the more so when you give birth to an unplanned child as you approach your fortieth birthday, Between sleep deprivation, a struggle with breastfeeding and the discovery that her husband has been secretly texting her best friend, the last thing Louisa feels like is a surprise birthday party, and that us when the trouble starts. Her friend has managed to invite her first love to the party, which is not a pleasant surprise. Sam Carrington has constructed a clever tale which kept me guessing to the end, skirting issues of mental health, gaslighting and duplicity. It is compulsive reading.

I enjoyed the start of this book but the more I read, the more it became far fetched and unbelievable.
It really wasn’t for me which is a shame as I’ve enjoyed other books by this author.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC. I found this to be an enjoyable read overall. The only issue I had was pacing wasn't consistent throughout. It felt slow in parts and fast in others. Other than that I loved the story and the characters. I will be reading more from this author in the future!

I really struggled with this story unfortunately. Although I liked the sound of it from the blurb, it felt very unbelievable and a bit too drawn out with not one character that I felt I could get behind.

Very complicated and twisted story,who was the villain,who was the hero? Surprises right to the end.