I honestly don't know what I expected. I absolutely hate cheating stories and this one made my blood boil.

I've read some reviews that you'll feel for Hannah and her Backstory but for me she was plain and simple a selfish and and mean person.

She wanted Mark, a married man and she got him, just beCauSe shE coUld.... OH I hate people like this! I know it takes two to cheat so let's check out Mark. What a whimp and wet loaf of bread of a man he is! Not even ONCE he thought about Susan and to be honest it seemed out of character but here we are.

Susan, was also not the greatest character and she really, REALLY annoyed me - she could have said or done more - well at least at the end she redeemed herself.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. Another great edge of your seat thriller from Valerie Keogh that I devoured in a couple of hours. Great characters with an intriguing story full of twists. I personally loved how Susan’s character developed and the ending was perfect. Highly recommended. 4 stars.

Hannah Parker is a woman that always knows and gets what she wants. She has had many a many a man and met an older man called Ivan and married him for his money. But he turns out to be a wife beater. She wants to leave him. The only man that she really cared about was Mark that she met in her university days. Now she is nearing forty and now wonders what he is doing. Does he still think of her. She devises a plan to get back Mark. Even though he is now married to Susan, and they have one son Drew that has just left for university.
Hannha and Mark meet and they start an affair. Susan is oblivious to this until Mark starts working late and Susan hires a private investigator to follow Mark.
I have read several of the authors previous works and enjoyed them. They never disappoint. And the most part I enjoyed the premise of the story. I did find the character of Susan a bit irritating, she need to stick up for herself a bit more and I thought I knew where this was heading. But I was so disappointed with the ending. It for me was a bit flat. I was expecting more but it didn’t deliver. 4 stars

My first arc of Valerie keogh… wow! I’ll be searching for further novels. This, told from 2 perspectives, was just the novel I needed to get me out of a slump. Some repetitiveness but this drilled certain points home to the reader I felt. And throwin in a twisty ending is always a winner for me ;)

Told from the point of view of two women - the wife and the mistress - this story rattles along at a great pace thanks to short chapters and constantly evolving plotlines.
Hannah is the mistress here and grew up without her father and with a mother who lacked any kind of maternal instinct. Feeling abandoned by her father, she takes solace in relationships with older men in return for a life filled with material goods and little else. Mark was her boyfriend at college, and possibly the one man who loved her for being herself, yet she couldn't commit and broke things off as soon as she felt too involved. No man would hurt her again like her father did.
Roll on twenty years and she has finally married. Ivan is now in his seventies and wants a child, but Hannah has no intention of becoming a mother, not wishing to impose on any child the life she had with her unfeeling mother.
Ivan doesn't take this well and beats her badly, which leads to a lengthy recovery and time on her hands to reflect on what might have been with Mark. Suddenly she has a new plan to win him over again... so what if he's married?!

Susan is Mark's wife of twenty years, mother to his son, Drew. With Drew now at university, Susan suffers badly from empty nest syndrome and struggles to fill her days. The last thing she expected though was for Mark to cheat on her, now of all times.

And so begins the conflict, and the opening chapters move along swiftly... but then it becomes a case of more of the same in that Hannah is delighted with how her plan is working and Susan is depressed at how empty her life is. Neither of the female protagonists are that likeable, being polar opposites and a tad predictable in their reactions.
Inevitably they have to meet, face each other and the issues in their lives (Hannah & her mother, Susan and her empty life). The ending is somewhat unusual and somewhat contrived, yet not the ending either woman deserved.
A book to devour quickly with many twists thrown in to keep you engaged. Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for a gifted copy of this new release by one of my favourite authors. .

I just could not get into this book:
1. Unlikeable characters - did I feel sorry for Hannah yes but not enough to think it is okay she wants to take a married man. Also Susan we get it you miss your son, get over it and move on with your life - he's at uni at Scotland there's nothing tragic enough to be depressed about
2. Unrealistic - Are you seriously telling me that this woman is domestically abused, beaten to a pulp and bleeding and number 1 the doctor decides to one talk about her husband first rather than her injuries and two doesn't notice the signs of domestic abuse???? Number 2 is hurt so badly by a man decides to steal her ex from his new wife rather than get away from her abusive ex or at least report him to the police??
3. Everything is so repetitive - unless its important to the scene there is no need to repeat especially about Susan missing her son

Seriously what even is this book

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, what a gripping read. I always enjoy Valerie Keogh's books this one tops the charts. Recommended.

This was a DNF @ 20% for me. I could not get past how repetitive it was. It’s a huge pet peeve of mine when an author repeats the same phrase more than once in a short amount of time and this book did it so often it made me cringe. It just feels uncreative and lazy. The characters also just kept repeating the same mundane emotions over and over—we get it, Susan, you miss your son, get over it.

I wanted to like it, the story sounded promising, but I find it hard to care about vapid, wealthy women who have no substance or driving factor.

This book literally had my jaw dropping throughout the whole experience! Valerie Keogh, has another hit on her hands.

Hannah's fed up with settling for less and believes she deserves more from life. After stumbling upon yet another lie from her hubby, she starts toying with the idea of a new relationship, making us wonder who's really the lucky one here.

An old photo of a past flame, Mark Shepherd, kicks up a storm of feelings in Hannah. She starts daydreaming about the good times they had, and how much he cared for her. She's hit with the thought that giving him up might have been a bad call. But reigniting an old love is never easy, especially when there's another woman in the picture - Mark's wife, Susan.

This story lets us see things from both Hannah's and Susan's point of view. It helps us understand what's at stake for each woman, and makes us rethink is it always best to get what you want

The book's a total page-turner, littered with unexpected twists that'll keep you on the edge of your seat. The author does a bang-up job unpacking the complicated nature of love, showing us the good, the bad, and the ugly of human relationships. The characters are well-drawn, and their struggles and emotions are laid bare. I loved this book and couldn't put it down if I tried.

That ending!!!!! Why??? I was completely not expecting that!! I need to know what else happened!!!

I absolutely loved this book!!!!! I want to thank Boldwood Books for the ARC copy of this amazing book!!! So much happens but that twist at the end and the ending I never saw it coming!!! I am absolutely screaming!!!!!

I absolutely highly recommend this book to everyone!

A twisty tale of how Hannah and Susan's lives intertwine after Susan's Husband Mark starts having an affair. It also touches on domestic abuse and how far a desperate woman will go to rekindle a university romance and, on the flip of that, how far a woman would go to save her marriage even though she is being cheated on. With a few other sub stories thrown into the mix this was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Valerie Keogh has written a blockbuster with The Mistress.
From the beginning of the story to the spellbinding ending, The Mistress is a great read.
One thing I learned is that it’s never to late to write a new narrative to my own story.
#TheMistress
#Netgalley
#BoldwoodBooks

My fav read by this author so far
Such a dark twisted tale with a main character ( Hannah ) who actually made me message the author half way through the book to talk about how bad ( good bad! ) she was, she really got under my skin and will yours, we do see reasons for this at the end but goodness she is a sociopath and a half and totally awesomely brilliant to read 😀
Mark and Susan have no idea what the re introduction of Hannah Parker into Mark’s life is going to do, Hannah knows exactly as she has planned it and planned it meticulously….
I liked Susan mostly, Mark was easy to despair of/with but with Hannah a trio of excellent characters made a book of curdling psychological extremes, I keep saying it re Hannah but what a character, without doubt one of my worst favourite’s ever in a book
Can only recommend you meet her and see just how sneaky and disgraceful she is
A fine read indeed

Another brilliant twisty read by Ms Keogh! I disliked the main character and by the end, felt sympathy for her plight. The ending completely took me by surprise and I definitely didn't see it coming. A full 5* from me!

A dark, interesting domestic noir told in a very engaging POV format. The plot unfolds at an engaging pace and the characters are developed well. to create frustration and dislike in the reader.
The writing style give nuance and depth to what, in a lesser authors hands could become a simplistic cheating husband trope, The characters are well enough developed to create a range of emotions towards them in the reader.
A really enjoyable read with a fantastic ending.

THE MISTRESS is a mystery thriller by international bestselling author Valerie Keogh. Having read and enjoyed five of her stand-alone novels, I was anxious to start her latest novel.

Her Standalone Novels
The Trophy Wife (2014)
aka Exit Five from Charing Cross
Secrets Between Us (2018)
The Housewife (2019)
The Three Women (2020)
The Perfect Life (2020)
The Lawyer (2020)
aka The Deadly Truth
The Little Lies (2021)
The Lies He Told (2021)
The Couple in the Photograph (2021)
A Taste of Deceit (2022)
The Lodger (2022)
The Widow (2022)
The Librarian (2023)
The Nurse (2023)
The Housekeeper (2023)
The Mistress (2024)

This is my review of The Mistress.

Thirty-nine-year-old Hannah Parker marriage to 70-year-old Ivan Butler, a wealthy landowner was falling apart. Hannah had always used her good looks to reel older men in, like honey. She made good money. Ivan only married her because he wanted a child, but he later found out that Hannah had tricked him and was on the pill. He became violent and beat her.

When Hannah is released from the hospital and goes home, she remembers her lost love from university, 20 years ago, Mark Shepherd. She should have never let him go…

Hannah leaves Ivan and goes home to her mums and decides to lure Mark again. But there is one problem…Mark is a successful partner in a law firm is married to Susan and have a son, Andrew attending university in Glasgow.

Hannah Parker is a woman who always gets what she wants.

But Susan suspects Mark’s infidelity but is not going to give up without a fight to claim what is hers.

Who will be the winner? What will be the consequences of the infidelity, and of all the lies and deception in the marriage?

The chapters alternate between Hannah’s and Susan’s viewpoints. The plot is well-paced, and the characters are well-developed. I found this a very enjoyable read.

Many thanks to the author, Boldwood Books and NetGalley for my digital copy.

Thanks to NetGalley, Valerie Keogh, and Boldwood Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of The Mistress in the return of an honest review. I received an advanced reader copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Finally a book with a premise that concluded with an ending which was a completely different outcome than originally believed. It started going in a direction that seemed to be overly predictable. It was very refreshing with how the story turned out.

The characters were not at all bland and the story was fast paced. Recommended for those that enjoy a good thriller.

Overall a good story, bit the ended abruptly..I was waiting for more.
Had me intrigued in some part mostly the second half, abd bored in others. None of the characters were really likeable. Not my favorite book of this authors by far.
3.5* stars

Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an early release of this book.

Formulaic thriller that kept me interested. The second half of the plot kinda of wavered off but it found its way back.

I have mixed feelings on this one… I typically enjoy Valerie Keogh’s books, but I struggled to get through this one. The plot was interesting, but both main characters felt extremely one-dimensional and were unlikeable. I don’t mind unlikeable characters in general, but they just felt very unrealistic and unrelatable.

The book did pick up in the second half and was enjoyable, although I was not a fan of the ending.

Overall, I’ll give this book 3/5 ⭐️.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.