If you enjoy a twisty thriller that focuses on friendship, infidelity and trust then this is a great choice.
School teacher Laura is a quiet unassuming young lady who lives a quiet life and enjoys her job. She meets and falls for fellow teacher, charismatic and very marries Ralph.
The story is told by Laura initially and shows how she becomes infatuated with Ralph long after he seems to have become disinterested in her and the lengths that the obsession she has with him goes. Part one finishes with a meeting between Laura and Ralph’s wife, Helen which has disastrous consequences.
Helen tells of life without Ralph and the story unfolds as Laura’s life falls apart once Ralph has disappeared.
The characters are well written but I felt no empathy for any of them and almost disgust at the behaviour of Ralph. They told the story well though and I enjoyed the private detective angle and the unexpected twist at the end.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. 3.5/4 stars 🌟

Wow absolutely loved this , couldn’t put it down. Full of suspense and couldn’t wait to find out if the husband was dead or not . Great that the action started right from the start , really threw you in the deep end . Unsuspecting twist at the end . I’ve read Jill Child’s books before and this one doesn’t disappoint either. 5 star

The Mistress by Jill Childs is a must read for fans of Gone Girl and Big Little Lies.

“Everything’s got a price. Even friendship. Don’t make that mistake.”

Laura is having a Romeo and Juliet affair with Ralph. When Ralph dies, Laura and Ralph’s wife, Helen covers it up. From school gossip and looking back at their relationship, Laura starts to wonder how well she actually knew Ralph. Laura is alone trying to figure out what is going on. She is trying to turn to the one person that understands.

Throughout the book everyone is discovering more about Ralph. Ralph is an awful person but such a wonderful character. Every time I thought I had Ralph figured out, more lies were uncovered. Most of the characters I felt that way about where I wanted to learn so much about them as characters, but everything I learned made me like them less. Laura is a grown woman, having an affair with a married man hoping and expecting him to leave his wife. She is needy and clingy around Ralph. Helen is probably the most interesting character to me. It is unclear what her motivations are until farther in the book. Bea is a loyal friend and the only character I actually liked as a person other than the children.

I really enjoyed the mistress. There are so many lies and deceptions. Everyone is covering up so much. Nobody really knows who to trust and if their lies will be uncovered. Everyone has their own plans, secrets and purposes. The Mistress includes cheating, child abuse, stalking, manipulation and so many secrets.

The first part of the book is through Laura’s point of view. Laura is very confused and trying to figure out what is going on. I was very concerned where I thought the story was leading near the end of this section and I am so glad I was wrong. The second part of the book is through a different character’s perspective and explains a lot more about Ralph and his past.

Some of the smaller plot twists and revelations I figured out before they were revealed, but the main plot I didn’t figure out until Childs revealed it. I thought the ending and all the twists fit perfectly with the story.

I recommend The Mistress to thriller fans.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for The Mistress.

Not sure of the publisher, but it was a book I requested on Netgalley. Thank you to them.

Lauren, an introverted teacher, of lower level grades, mostly kept to herself. Until Ralph, who taught upper levels, showed an interest in her. Even after she found out he was married and had a daughter, Lauren couldn’t dowse her feelings for him. So she became his mistress.

She was a clingy thing, always asking for more than he would give, and secretly hoping he would leave his wife. Instead he broke it off with Lauren.

The breakup didn’t go well. So, when he invited Lauren to his home, he knew she wouldn’t be able to turn him down.

That’s where the fun begins and the entanglements start. Childs spins you around with her dialogue and the changing roles her characters play. Who is sending those mysterious emails to Lauren? Who has been in her flat?

With each page, more terror plagues Lauren until she can’t take it anymore.

This is one of those books you won’t soon forget. Is the ending a trick or fodder for a sequel?

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Mistress' by Jill Childs

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 14th September 2020

This is the first book that I have read by this author.

I was originally drawn to this book by its colourful cover and intriguing blurb. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of 55 chapters which are short in length so ideal to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is written in first person perspective and the protagonists are Laura in part one and Helen in part two. I enjoy books written in first person perspective as you get to know the person more and it feels like they are talking directly to you. In this case there are two protagonists which makes it even better as you can see things from both points of view.

This book is based in in the UK. I love books set in the UK as I live in Wales, UK and sometimes I have been to the places so can picture them better.

This book was very well written with a suspense filled storyline and in depth descriptions that really drew me in. I loved how it flitted from past to present to give the bigger picture while doing it smoothly without confusion.

I really enjoyed reading from both Helen and Laura's perspectives and seeing an affair from both sides of the story, well both females involved. Both characters were quite strong but Helen was definitely the strongest in character and personality. I actually felt sorry for Laura by the end which I would never have guessed I would at the beginning as I actively disliked her. This shows the talent the author has to get you to show empathy for both characters.

The storyline is fast paced and kept me turning the pages until late at night. I thought I knew what was coming, in a way I suppose I wasn't surprised by a certain event but the finalé definitely was not what I was expecting! What a bang that ended on and I must say what a cliffhanger!!!!

This would look amazing as a film if done right and I am definitely looking forward to reading more books by this very talented, now top 10 author!!!

Overall a fantastic psychological thriller that will grip you in suspense from beginning to end!!

Genres covered include Psychological Fiction, Mystery, Domestic Thriller.

I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of 'Ginger Girl' and a good read in general.

293 pages.

This book is £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I loved it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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This is a very fresh story but very twisted and certainly takes revenge to an extreme. I raced my way through this, I wished I’d started it earlier in the day as I went to bed wondering how the story would progress. I found the start very unusual but it added to the psychological pressure and unfolded well.

Since I’ve finished this book I have had a chance to reflect and really think about how I felt about the book and I still can’t decide.
I know I didn’t dislike it as whilst I was reading it I couldn’t put it down but, for me, it didn’t finish on a high.
I like book that I’m disappointed to finish or books that end with a twist but this book had none of that. I can’t work out if the ending was predictable or stupid.

This book starts with the death of Laura’s boyfriend Ralph. The married man she had fallen in love with and the book is then told mainly from her point of view until the last 25% of the book where it’s told by Helen, Ralph’s wife. Both in real time and flashbacks. As the reader we set to find out how Ralph and Laura’s disfunctional, adulterous relationship started and progressed.
I think I found the book a bit a bit flat was because I didn’t particularly like any of the characters. Ralph was like any other senior school teacher we can all remember, a bit strange looking, dresses funny, always quoting poets or Shakespeare. Laura was an innocent, naive primary school teacher who was shown a bit of attention whilst she was reeling from a break up. Helen is the long suffering wife who goes to PTA meetings. I struggled to relate to any of them and I think that’s why this book fell short for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow such a dark, twisty unpredictable read! Kept me on the edge of my seat with a totally unexpected ending!
The subject of infidelity is central to this read, a real domestic thriller with underlying deceit and danger added to the mix!
Ralph married to Helen but having an affair with timid quiet schoolteacher Laura is a complex conniving liar and cheat who schemes and plots with far reaching consequences! poor Laura is caught up in a tangled web and has to live her life wracked with guilt and remorse.Helen on the other hand isn’t the poor wronged downtrodden wife but complicent with Ralph and also working to her own agenda!
A really addictive, compulsive read that will keep you guessing!
Thank you net galley for this early read.

5* Paranoid Stars

From the first chapter you know that this is going to be a thrilling journey and I was hooked immediately struggling to put the book down. We are introduced to Laura, the softly spoken schoolteacher and mistress to the popular poet and schoolteacher Ralph where she has pushed him down the cellar stairs at his home and left him for dead. When his wife returns home earlier than expected and witnesses the scene, she takes control and together they dispose of the body to make it appear that he has gone “missing”.

The story is split into 2 parts, the first is Laura’s POV and her journey to becoming Ralph’s mistress and what lead her to pushing him down the stairs. In the second part of the book we get Ralph’s wife Helens POV, how she met her husband and the feelings she has for him despite his infidelities.

The book was full of surprises and just when you thought you had everything figured out nothing is as it seems, the twists and turns will have you holding your breathe.

This was my first read by the author and it was a fantastic unputdownable read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2 stars

The plot of this story was very intriguing but I thought the execution was a bit off. The writing felt immature to me. Every character in this book was extremely unlikable and the ending left something to be desired. This was not a satisfying read for me.

The Mistress by Jill Childs is a fantastic domestic suspense thriller that had me engrossed from the very first page. It is told from two points of view which I really liked. I loved the pace of the story and I highly recommend for fans of domestic thrillers.

This book was a slow starter for me but made up for it in the quick pace of the second half.
The story is told from both the perspective of the mistress and the wife which gave us the advantage of two very different perspectives on the same situation.
This story was dark and gritty and I very much enjoyed the twists.

Chilling, Compelling Domestic Suspense.....
Domestic suspense, both chilling and compelling. Storytelling is convincing and told from an effective dual perspective, characters credible and twists and turns aplenty along the way. A satisfying read.

I’m already a big fan of Jill’s books and know that I’m in for a good read whenever a new one comes out. This was yet another humdinger of a story. Told in two parts – the first being from the point of view of Laura, the mistress and secondly from the perspective of Helen the wronged wife. The man in the middle of all of this is Ralph, a charismatic man who loves poetry, the arts and women! Starting dramatically with the death of Ralph, (or was it murder?) and then the collaboration between the two women to dispose of his body and then attempt to carry on as if nothing has happened, adding to the general belief that he ‘just went missing’. The women react in very different ways to losing Ralph, his mistress being completely broken by it, the wife appearing much stronger and able to cope. Was she hiding something? There were some very creepy and scary moments in the book which escalate as the story progresses. I read long into the night to discover all of the secrets and conclusions to this gripping story and the shocking revelation at the end was magnificent. Definitely a full five stars from me for this fabulous book. My thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Starts with a bang and doesn’t let up until the final page! A really great read, well written characters that I was interested in. Loved it.

I always find it funny that in most books regarding a wife and a mistress finding out about the other, that the mistress gets the blame - not the husband, and so it follow in this story too. Ralph is the epitome of a Lothario and when his wife comes home to find that his mistress has pushed him down the cellar stairs where he lies dead, it is Laura ( mistress) who gets all the anger from Helen (wife). The story is told from both sides by the women in two parts and without revealing anything, there is something quite obvious to the reader by the end of part one, however as you continue with the story, the end will certainly surprise you. First time of reading Jill Childs and I look forward to reading more from this author.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review independently.

Thank you Net Galley and Bookouture for an early copy of The Mistress. WOW!! I didn’t like the beginning at all and I was going to stop it since it seemed like it should’ve been the ending but Jill Childs obviously knew what she was doing. What a great book!!! The main character really was despicable but what an ending! Loved having a good read on a rainy day.

Laura Dixon is a plain-Jane type of school teacher who lives a very quiet life and basically keeps to herself. She develops a crush on another teacher, Ralph Wilson, who teaches a writing class for people interested in poetry and Shakespeare. Laura did not know Ralph was married and then things take many twists and turns when Ralph tries to break it off with Laura. The first half of the book is from Laura's point of view and the second half from Helen Wilson, Ralph's wife's point of view. I actually liked the second half of the book much better than the first half. This book was very well written with the characters all well developed and likeable. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this edge-of-the seat book in exchange for an honest review.

Usually when a book starts with a defining event e.g a murder I lose interest in the remainder of the book as it can be predictable. This book however had constant surprises with one half of the book from "The Mistress" point of view and the other half from the wronged wifes point of view. The ending seemed a bit out there but it was still a good read and did leave me gripped until the end.

I really enjoy books by this talented author and I can certainly recommend this one. Extremely well written with good characters, it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout and had a great ending to a brilliant book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this book.