This is a compelling read. The Mistress, Laura, only occupies half of this book as the reader learns about her ill fated affair with English teacher Ralf Wilson. The other half of the story is told from wife Helen's viewpoint. It's one of those reads that you have difficulty putting down. It's also one where you think you have it all worked out and then you get hit but something totally unexpected. The book grips and holds you prisoner. You simply don't want to put it down until you've finished.. No one is quite what they seem and I really didn't see the ending coming at all.

Brilliant and worth every one of the five stars I have given it.

oh this was good! Took a totally different turn than what I expected and I loved it!
Very good character details. well written.
This is 4.5 - 5 star book!
Thank you for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Laura, the soft-spoken schoolteacher with the faded cardigans and flat shoes, is smitten with Ralph, a teacher of literature. So, when he asked her to go out with him, she immediately agreed only to end up being his mistress.

Ralph tries to break it off with her but she is unwilling to let go. He invites her to his house to talk and things get out of hand. As if right on cue, Ralph's wife, Helen, appears and hatches a plan that will change Laura's life forever..

This is a book that focuses on infidelity, with the plot being divided into parts each narrated by Laura and Helen. This was a fast read with some predictable twists. All the characters were well written. While it was possible to relate the actions of Laura and Helen, I was filled with pure hate for Ralph. I found him to be a loathsome character who deserved nothing less that what he got.

Overall, an okay read!

Thank You to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

This was a decent read, centered around Laura, the mistress, and Helen the wife. The book starts off quickly with Laura being summoned to Ralph's house- Ralph has been trying to break it off with her and she has been unwilling to let go, and things get out of hand. His wife, Helen, shows up in the midst of this situation and they together handle the next steps out of necessity rather than anything else. The first half of the book is narrated by Laura and the 2nd half of the book is narrated by Helen, which is a writing style I enjoy, as the reader gets to know both characters pretty well rather than jumping from one to the other.

Though this was a fast paced read and I could empathize with both Laura and Helen to an extent, I also figured out both plot twists early- I kept hoping I would be proven wrong but the book went pretty much how I expected it to go. There is no truly likable character in this book but you also don't hate them.

Overall, it was a decent read, but would have been better if i had not seen the twists coming. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank You NetGalley & Publisher for this gifted e-ARC!

Summary----
I didn’t turn up uninvited. He asked me to come.

He didn’t need to ask twice. He knew I’d agree. Kind Laura. Obedient Laura. Laura the soft-spoken schoolteacher with the faded cardigans and flat shoes. Nobody ever suspected someone like me would appeal to handsome, charismatic, happily married Ralph.

Review----
This was a gripping thriller. I really liked this book. It was full of twist and surprises you don't see coming.
I read this in nearly one sitting.
Overall a really enjoyable book.

Rating---- 4/5

Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for the ARC which I received in exchange for my honest review. The Mistress is a fast paced psychological thriller about infidelity and how easy it is to blur the line between devotion and obsession. Like many novels in this genre the author employs dual narration. The story is told from the viewpoints of Laura the mistress and Helen, the wife. However, the author has chosen not to alternate narrators by chapter and instead has the first half of the novel narrated by Laura and the final half by Helen. I liked this plot device and I think that depending on a reader's age and marital status, they will likely find themselves naturally gravitating to one of the women.

The novel opens with Laura showing up at the door of her married lover's home. Laura is desperate to retain the affections of English teacher and poetry writer, Ralph. After a quick tryst which ends in Ralph reaffirming his desire to end things with Laura, a fight ensues which culminates with Ralph at the bottom of a stairwell. Helen chooses just this moment to walk in the door and thus an unlikely alliance is formed. Or is it?

The story has a lot of twists and turns. I did see the big twist coming but it did not detract from my enjoyment of the book. I found Ralph to be the only loathsome and irredeemable character and I could understand the actions of both Helen and Laura.

The book is a quick read and an interesting exploration of the lengths people will go to in the name of love. I found Helen's actions at the end of the novel to be refreshing and pragmatic but the final mysterious development seemed unnecessary to me and more suited to a bad tv movie rather than a solid thriller.

This one just hasn’t been for me. I’m not going to provide a negative review. I DNF at 49% unfortunately.

Thank you Bookouture and Netgalley for the advanced copy! This book started out really slow me but then it got juicy suddenly. The plot twists were interesting. After the first twist, I was sure I figured it out but the second twist was definitely unexpected. If I could mention one negative feedback, it would be that the author tried to narrate too much through characters to the point that it lost its value. There was too many internal monologue paragraphs. The book could have been a lot shorter and to the “punch.” Overall, it was a quick fun read. Perfect for a rainy afternoon and a cup of tea.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3468540610

By the first chapter, you know this is going to be gripping, Laura has inadvertently killed her lover, Ralph and right at the moment of the crime of passion, her lovers wife is the only witness.

However, rather than calling the police, the wife, Helen decides it's best that Ralph 'appears' to go missing to save any scandal and so her daughter doesn't grow up with bad memories of her dad. The two womwn embark on hiding the body.

The story is told from Laura's POV in the first part and it's clear the trauma is having a huge impact on her and her mental state.

Then we hear Helen's side of the story, despite her husband's indiscretions, she still loved him and wants to protect her daughter, that's her reasonings for her actions, but it appears dead men do talk, and she discovers more about her husband she questions whether she did the right thing.

Really enjoyed this book, the twist, I did see coming...

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book, this is my honest opinion.

The Mistress by Jill Childs is a dark, twisty and compulsive read that will hook you immediately and keep you guessing until the final page.

Laura is a soft-spoken, introverted schoolteacher when she meets Ralph, a teacher of literature. He is charming, articulate, and very much married. Nonetheless, Laura is smitten and the two become lovers. It is on a night when passions escalate to the point of no return that Laura meets Helen, the unsuspecting wife, and expects her world to be irretrievably blown apart. But Helen has an idea, and will shake Laura to her core with an unfathomable suggestion.

Told from the perspectives of both the mistress and wife, Ms Childs has deftly created a unique spin on the old adage 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.' I am looking forward to reading much more from this author.
4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

Twists and surprises that you don't see coming. Was such a great read. Flows beautifully. Read this one in one sitting.

Thanks to the publisher and Bet Galley for an early release of this book.

Ralph is a complicated guy he has a mistress and wife. The mistress is a shy unassuming with women that flattered by his attention. His wife on the hand...
I highly recommend this read. Characters are extremely layered but adds to the story.

#TheMistress #NetGalley
As twisted as a mountain road.
The story starts with Laura, a soft-spoken schoolteacher with faded cardigans and flat shoes is telling the first part of the story. And the title of the book is based on her, The Mistress. She's doing her makeup to meet her lover, Ralph.
Ralph is a happily married person who has a happy family. There are two things about him. One, he doesn't only teach literature but he lives and breathes it. And second, Helen organises his everything, even him.
The story starts very seriously. In the starting Ralph makes it clear to Laura that he wants to end everything between them. He doesn't want to see her again. On the other hand Laura protests and says that he should have thought about it before and threatened to finish him.
Although the opening scene of the story tells that Laura did something terrible to Ralph.
Second part is of Helen. I was thinking that the story misses its pacing but after a few pages I came on the track again. Helen and Laura. Laura and Helen.
They both are deepest characters I've ever read in my life.
The story ends with an original twist I won't see coming. And I must say that I'm looking forward to Jill's next book.
I loved the characters of Ralph, Helen, Laura, Anna. Mainly these are main characters but other supporting characters are also good in their jobs.
Jill's narration of telling the story is no doubt brilliant. I was blown away with the twists and emotions.
I'll ask all my fellow Authors, Bloggers, Followers, Friends and Family to go through it. I'm sure everyone is going to love this psychological thriller as much as I did.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me an advance copy of this brilliant psychological thriller.