The tension in this book starts at a high level and builds and builds.
The characters, as believable as your own friends and neighbours, and that is frightening.
This is a book that begs the questions ...
‘What would you do?’
‘How would you react?’
‘What would it do to your life?’
If you’re going to read one thriller this autumn, make it this one.
S.E. Lynes at her very best.
#TheHousewarming
#NetGalley
https://www.netgalley.co.uk

A devastating portrayal of loss, grief and the effects on your emotional and physical health.

I really wanted to love this book more than I did. I can’t fault the writing or the character development, it really draws you in and you really feel like it’s happening to you. It’s a real tear jerker.

What I didn’t enjoy was just how much inner dialogue and emotions this book focuses on. The first 52% of the book is very repetitive and harrowing without any progress or revelations. Then the party happens and it picks up speed for another 17% then it’s all over and done and the book returns to its comfort zone of reflection and denial.

I wanted something a bit more dramatic and perhaps a little shocking but instead I wasn’t surprised by the ‘twists’ and just left feeling a bit depressed and sad like it was my own child that I’d lost. The book, for me, was much more family drama than crime fiction as the police feature very little in this book and the emphasis is much more on the shockwaves left behind after their daughters disappearance.

Luckily, it would appear I am in the minority with my review. As I agree that it’s a good read but just wasn’t for me.

I have been a fan of all of this authors books and was excited to read The Housewarming. This one felt a bit different, more of a family drama than a thriller. It kept me hooked right through and was a great read, although I had my suspicions quite early on what had happened.

Ava and Matt are living every parents nightmare. A year ago thrower daughter Ava disappeared when the front door of their house was left open. The police and neighbours did everything that they could to find 2 year old Mia. Now the investigation is being scaled down but Bella is still grieving. No way their neighbours are having a housewarming party to show off their renovations. Begrudgingly Bella goes along and as the alcohol flows the secrets start to come out. Could they finally find out what happened to their daughter?

Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read

This book is every Mother's worst nightmare! Mum Ava comes downstairs to find her front door open and 2 year old Abi missing, Ava starts the search hysterically looking all over for her. The story jumps between past and present to find out what really happened that day. A tangled web of lies and deciet between family, friends and neighbours. The author makes us feel the Mothers pain. Will she ever find out what happened?

3* gore score 0.
A new author to me. Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read the arc.
Every parents nightmare a child going missing. You get a real sense of the panic and distress. How their lives and relationships are affected.
Although I felt the middle section lagged.
Whose finger prints were on the buggy catch?? Not sure we got to find out.
The time frame switches between the past and the present. Told from the perspective of Ava and Matt.
Found the repetition of the phrase yesterday last year today tiresome after the first few times.
Is Evas reaction to Matt an over reaction?
This grabbed my interest initially but didn’t maintain it throughout. I didn’t buy into the penultimate reveal, so the ending didn’t really work for me.
#netgalley. #thehousewarming

Not one of my favorites. Just ok. Ava is going thru every mother's worst nightmare of a missing child. All this book seemed was a lot of self narrative of would have could have should have. Ava puts little Abi in a"push chair" turns her back to do some errands, then Abi is gone. Ava describes Abi as a wanderer and looks on odd places for her like a hamper and her neighbor s house. The child is 2! Mother made herself sound irresponsible. Not the best read and did not grab me

Ava only left her daughter in the pushchair for five minutes. The buckle was fastened, and she was sure it was safe. But when she came downstairs, the door was open and Abi was gone.

I can't imagine the sheer terror Ava must have felt when she ran up and down the streets looking for her daughter, she must have been frantic. My heart bled for Ava and Matt as they tried to go on day after day wondering what happened to their daughter.

I felt every emotion possible reading this story and I'm sure you will too. A heartbreaking read but it's beautifully and sensitively written by the author. Amazing.

It’s been a year since the fateful day that Ava and Matts daughter Abi was taken from her pushchair, now the Lovegoods are throwing a housewarming party to show their new house renovations. Ava doesn’t want to go as she can’t bear the idea of being around people who know nothing of her pain and suffering. Her husband Matt is worried about her introversion and persuades her to agree to go. Will they find out any details of what happened to Abi?

A fantastic novel with richly developed characters. Another hit by S.E Lynes!

Although sad, I loved this book. SO well written, believable characters you can emphasize with, and a great story line. Don't miss reading this one.

The author of this book never fails to please. Fast paced all the way through with the usual standard of twists. Keeps the reader hooked from one page to the next. Definitely not one to be missed!

A new book by S.E. Lynes is always a cue to drop everything else; she certainly knows how to craft a page turner, but also writes really really well.

A year after her two year old daughter Abi disappeared from her own home, Ava is hanging by a thread torn apart by guilt and grief, her new baby all that's keeping her going. With no new leads to go on, the police investigation into Abi's disappearance has ground to a halt - it seems impossible Ava and husband Matt will ever find out what really happened, and life as they knew it has also more or less ground to a halt. Best friends Neil and Bella, initially supportive, have more or less disappeared into the woodwork.

(The women have very currently-fashionable names which sound more like they should belong to the children - Ava, Bella. I don't think I've ever met an adult with these names!)

A turning point comes when neighbours Johnnie and Jennifer Lovegood throw a housewarming party to show off their dazzlingly remodelled (largely by builder Neil) home. Johnnie seems kind of a jerk, but Jennifer seems lovely. And at this party, reluctant though Ava was to attend it, the truth gradually begins to unfurl.

There are countless missing-child thrillers (not that this could be called a thriller) on the market, but the quality of the writing and the insights here makes it stand out. And the whole truth, once finally revealed, is devastating and jaw-dropping - I certainly didn't see it coming.

A moving story about responsibility, loss, and looking out for each other - recommended.

When two year old Abi disappears her mum, Ava, realises she never closed the door to the house and fiesty Abi was able to escape her pushchair and sadly was never seen again. Existing in a world without Abi, Ava can’t cope. She is in pain next to her husband, Matt, and their small baby Fred. Ava eventually decides to attend the housewarming of her neighbours new house extension and a comment throws Ava into another world of pain and heartache where not all is as it seems.
This book was brilliant. Susie’s characters are always packed with emotion and the stories leave me pondering them for days and this is another one that will do that. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Not the thriller I was expecting but a good drama with well developed characters. Depicting the guilt and profound grief of loosing a child and its effect on both family and friends, it made for a heartwrenching story. I found the beginning a bit confusing and repetitive. The story definitely picked up in the second half as secrets are revealed after the housewarming. A twist I saw coming and one I definitely did not made for a good read.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

I haven’t been so heartbroken for so long. This book truly made me sad. It’s a depressing, dark drama about guilt, feeling deeply miserable, helpless after losing your loved one. Of course there is still intriguing mystery keeps your toes but I have to warn you this book should be defined as women’s fiction/ psychological mystery and drama. It’s not the regular, fast pacing thriller!

The story develops slowly. You witness Ava’s heartbreaking story about losing her two years old daughter. You hear her guilt, her self destruction, her nonstop questioning about what she’d done wrong!

Personally I love more exciting, gripping, twisty thrillers and this one was a little slow burn for my own taste. It still kept my attention intact with great characteristic analysis of people who are or may be involved into little girl’s disappearance.

Let’s check more about story’s processing:
Ava just left her daughter Abi in the push-chair for only 5 minutes. Her belt is secure and tight. They have been living in a safe neighborhood. What could go wrong? So she goes to upstairs and when she comes back she realizes her daughter is already gone and the door is wide open. Did she pass Lovegood’s house?

Throughout her searching to her daughter and grieving process, nobody in her neighborhood shared her pain and help her to find her daughter.

Now the same place her daughter got missing, Lovegood family (interesting name choice) throws a housewarming party where Ava’s husband encourages her to join.

And finally Ava does what he says and returns back to the place where her most traumatic experience happened.

Everything seems fine at first. People are friendly, talkative and suddenly one of them blurted out a sentence which shouldn’t be told. Yes, it’s about Ava’s daughter. Somebody knows additional information about her disappearance and hiding from her which will push Ava dig out more to learn the truth.

Ending of the story is foreseeable but it was honest, sad, tear jerking, emotional story about loving your child, processing your grief, facing your guilts.

It’s not what I expected but it was still meaningful and well-written. I’m giving 3.5 stars and rounding them up to 4 slow burn, teary, poignant, motherhood stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Bookoture for sharing this digital copy of this powerful book with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

"𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦. 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶."⁣
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Thank you @NetGalley and @Bookouture for a free ecopy in exchange for an honest review!⁣
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝟭𝟬/𝟮𝟯/𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬!⁣
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𝗠𝘆 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀⁣
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Ava obsesses over a span of 15 minutes in her past. She buckled her daughter, Abi, into her carriage for just a few minutes as she went upstairs to grab a load of laundry and a few other things before their morning walk. When she comes downstairs, Abi is gone. She did buckle her into the carriage, right? Right?⁣
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Almost a year later, her neighbors are throwing a party to show off their new renovations. Mrs. Lovegood has always been sweet to her ever since that horrible morning, but Ava can't shake the dread of going. Matt, Ava's husband, convinces her to go, that they need to return to a "normal" life...a life without Abi.⁣
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At the party, Ava discovers new information about that fateful day Abi disappeared and she's willing to look at anyone like a suspect, no matter how close they are. ⁣
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𝗠𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄⁣
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I can't imagine the spiral of mental anguish a woman would go through after losing a child, but this book seems to be like a peek behind the curtain. The author gives us a fantastic look into Ava's head, and even though the chapters alternate between multiple characters, I always found Ava's my favorites. Watching her progress from start to finish was fantastic. I really love the woman she became. ⁣
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While some parts come off a little repetitious, especially in the beginning, I realized as I progressed they were to give more shock factor when a revelation was made from another character's perspective. Even if you try and guess the ending early on, I guarantee you that you will not see a particular plot twist coming. It made my jaw drop as I was reading. ⁣
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If you liked Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell, consider that another reason to add this to your TBR!⁣

This is my first book by S.E. Lynes but it won’t be my last. Wow. The tension in this book starts from the first chapter and never lets up. Whether you are a parent or not, the fear and panic described when Ava’s two-year-old daughter goes missing is palpable. Each chapter reveals more pieces of the puzzle, with surprise twists and turns, making for a thrilling and interesting read. This was a book I didn’t want to put down. Well done!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I will be very surprised if this book does not become a bestseller. I did not want to put it down. Abi, a two year old girl, goes missing. We get to find out what happened to her and why. Throughout the book, the author shares valuable life lessons for dealing with people that hurt us emotionally and the very real feelings we go through when coping with trauma.

Every parent's worst nightmare comes true for Ava and Matt, this story was gripping and brilliantly written and captured all the emotions that you expect but never want to experience first hand. This is my third time reading one of Susie's books and it is every bit as good as the others. I got this as an arc and would like to thank Bookouture and Netgalley for letting me have it to read. The opinions expressed are entirely my own views and are completely unbiased.

Ava is completely and utterly devastated when her 2 yr old daughter Abi goes missing. It happened a year ago but as we read, it feels like today as Ava plays the gut wrenching details over and over every day. All day. All night. Time stands still and the grief is engrained and excruciating. I’ve read many missing/kidnapped kids novels this year but none can touch the way the author writes Ava’s agony and pain so deeply that it elicits a visceral reaction from the reader. Told in the past and present, which seem to merge for Ava and me, it’s a powerful story of love and betrayal, grief and guilt, consequences and circumstance. Brilliant Writing and the last third develops into a heart stopping thriller.. highly recommended.

I honestly do not know where this writer gets all her ideas from that makes all her books so brilliant and compelling. Her name conjures up roller coaster rides, mixed emotions and a lingering sense of loss when you come to the end of the book. This latest story had me in floods of tears and I thought that I would have trouble reaching the end as the story was so depressing, upsetting and traumatic, which shows how good this writer is. to be able to make me feel this way. I feel empty now. I have reached the end and cannot wait for the next book. Thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and most of all the author for giving me the opportunity to read this amazing book.