Kat is a woman I could really relate to. The concerns you have for your child is something that for me, grows as they get older. When they are toddlers you worry about the small things but as they get older and more dependent, there is so much more to worry about.

Having not had a child go to university, I could still feel the anxiety that Kat does in the story. To not have them close by if anything was to go wrong. As a parent you can only trust that they will look after themselves and be okay. A mother’s instinct is a truly wonderful gift and like Kat, I just new something was terribly wrong.

The author is very good at leading you down the wrong path. I thought I had sussed out who was behind Amy’s disappearance very early on. Sitting all the way through feeling smug to myself that I was positive I was right. I should have known better as that smug feeling well and truly vanished when it all comes to light. I was so gobsmacked as I hadn’t seen it coming whatsoever!

The Empty Nest is a story steeped in secrets and lies. The suspense and tension surrounding Amy’s disappearance, builds up wonderfully and had me totally hooked, tearing through the pages to see just what had happened to her. I was like a woman possessed as Kat’s concerns became my concerns. There are some very clever twists and turns and hats off to the author as I so did not see that outcome.

An author whose books keep getting darker and even more fabulous than the one before it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Sue Watson for an ARC of 'The Empty Nest' in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

Well, Kat got my vote for 'The Mother' of all mothers! I really liked the idea behind this novel. It goes without saying that any parent would absolutely freak out if their child went dark on the net for over 24-hours. Did Kat go overboard or was her reaction justified? The narrative was well-written and the story flowed well. Kat came across as a hyper-neurotic mess.

What I struggled with as I was reading was at the 35% mark, I found that the story had not progressed past Kat's initial suspicion that Amy might be missing. Kat & Richard were still debating as to whether something happened to Amy; if they should be taking action; Richard accusing Kat of being the Uber-Helicopter Mom (once again), etc. Also, I have fairly liberal standards when it comes to realistic plot twists. If circumstances are at least plausible, I am of the mindset of "Buckle up, kiddies!", then it is simply a matter of sitting back and enjoying the ride. As far as plausibility was concerned, I felt the ending was borderline.

I enjoyed the author's writing style and will seek out her work in the future. However, I believe this is a case in which the novel simply did not strike a chord with me.

Wow I never saw that ending!
Kat and her daughter Amy have always been close particularly so because Amy had a serious childhood illness, during that time tony,kats husband and father of Amy feels sidelined and has affairs etc so the marriage ends acrimoniously,enter staid dependable lawyer Richard who represents kat and later marries her.kat Richard and Amy have a good settled life until Amy leaves to go to university. Poor kat feels lost, unneeded and redundant as a mother with Amy away and finds it hard to maintain the relationship they had, relying a lot upon her friend Zoe and her daughter Jodie as emotional crutches.kat doesn’t hear from Amy one day which is unlike her and with a mother intuition knows something is amiss, what follows is a huge rollercoaster of events that will keep you enthralled right to the end and demonstrates the power of love between a mother and her daughter!
Thank you net galley for this great read thoroughly enjoyed!