I was not sure about this book, the main character was not that likeable, but perhaps that was because of all the issues she had. Seemed like most of the characters weren’t very nice or likeable and I found the story a bit far fetched. Not sure if I would recommend the book, but the conclusion was good

3.8

You receive message from your best friend asking you to not text or call. And just after seeing it, the message is deleted.
What would you do? Especially since last week your best friend, Leona, told you her husband was being abusive.
Saffy walks out of the job interview and goes to her friend, but all seems fine....

Shortly after returning home, she gets a visit from the police informing her Leona, her husband and her daughter have disappeared!
Saffy is the main suspect.

What happened?
A page-turner, with many twists. I could not put this down!

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Books for the ARC of this book.
In the age a technology this is easy to believe. I didn't actually like the characters in the book at all at the start but as you read more you get to understand them and why they are putting up their barriers. Was glad it worked out in the end but it could have been over so much quicker.
I normally really enjoy K.L.Slater books but this one took a bit of reading.

I usually love a K.L Slater book! They are my go-to books and fail-safe books to get me out of a reading slump or give me a super fast page turning thriller.
However, I just couldn't get into this book. From the beginning, it just didn't grab me - it didn't start in the middle of the action, but took a bit of a 'run up' so to speak. This was really disappointing for me, just purely because I always look forward to a Slater book. I wish I knew why I didn't get on with this book, but just didn't grab me.

I still liked it, but nothing like their usual books. It was just OK.

If you received 3 worrying messages from your best friend that were then deleted, what would you do? When Saffy experiences this from Leona, she immediately leaves her job interview and heads to Leona's house to make sure she is ok. Leona doesn't seem to know what Saffy is talking about, but when the family go missing later that day, Saffy is thrown into the investigation as the main suspect. While still coping with personal issues, this really is the last thing she needs.

I loved the premise of this book and after a slow start it did pick up and turned into a pretty twisty, tension-filled read. I did struggle with the main character and the decisions she made though, which made it difficult to care very much!

This was a great thriller, full of twists. I found it kept me guessing up until the very end. A great holiday read and once I started I couldn't stop!

Really great writing and I look forward to reading more from the author.

When Saffy receives messages from her best friend Leona that sound as though she is in desperate trouble and asks her to come straight away and not call, Saffy immediately aborts the job interview she is attending and rushes to her friend’s home. On arrival Leona denies ever sending the messages and insists all is well. Saffy is not convinced and when Leona, her husband Ash and daughter Rosie disappear very soon after she leaves their home it begins a devastating chain of events. A well woven book that has several twists and with mostly troubled characters who have had difficult pasts that now shape their lives. A good story that keeps you guessing throughout with many complex relationships that are intertwined and in some cases, toxic. A good read with an original idea.

A blooming exciting book to read! Five stars from me!!!!!

Each page drives the reader forward to read more more and more quickly. I loved the entertaining and creative style the author uses and that keeps you on edge as you want to find out more.

The author truly excelled in creating a very relatable plot with characters that were both human and mostly sensitive to the needs of their friends and family.

The book must surely resurface as a film or even better a TV series. It would be a huge success. Netflix?

Toxic relationships are an ongoing theme and the plot evolves to show how the pain involved impacts other family members and friends! I totally loved the main character, Saffy, and her sister,Poppy. I was also delighted to see that not all male characters were violent, totally selfish or narcisists! Well, not all of them.

I am really looking forward to reading more books by this author, K.L. Slater.

. L. Slater is not an author I’ve read before, so I came to Message Deleted with no preconceptions, having said that I think this one is being filed in the ‘not my cup of tea drawer’.

I was drawn in by the premise but was a bit disappointed with the execution. The writing was ok but I found myself constantly questioning characters motivations to do quite a lot of the things they did (in particular the Police, I mean, just, why focus on Saffy or Poppy or Saffy and Poppy, where is the joined up thinking?) and as a reader once you start thinking that you are just reading a plot device, that’s it, you are no longer absorbed in the novel and that is, unfortunately where I kept finding myself.

I have awarded 3 stars because I read right to the end so was involved enough to want to know the ending and I may well visit K.L. Slater’s back catalogue as she seems to be a well thought of author, this one though, just wasn’t for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for a honest review.

What would you do if your best friend messaged you asking for help and then the message was deleted?
Saffy understandably checks on her friend and everything seems fine. But then the police get in touch to say her friend is missing and she was the last known person to see her.
This was an enjoyable, fast paced thriller that was well written and thought through. A perfect beach read

I did want to like this as I normally enjoy these ubiquitous domestic thrillers, as long as there is authentic motivation and reactions, they crack along at a reasonable pace and don't stray too far into the realms of the unbelievable.
This one however suffered from having an almost insufferable main character, Saffy was probably one of the most annoying protagonists I have come across in a while, a stalkerish friend, suffocating sister and quite ineffectual investigator.
The attack on her sister Poppy had coloured her life so much she was barely able to function or make normal decisions, so I found her quite annoying I'm afraid.
There were some possibly interesting elements to everyone's back story, but even the past couldn't make up for the quite stupid predicaments everyone found themselves in when Saffy's friend and family went missing, and the big 'reveal' was rather uninteresting.
Sorry, not for me.

Another fab read from KL Slater! This book has many twists and turns throughout to keep you guessing. Saffy and Poppy are brilliant, relatable characters and I enjoyed this read.

A gripping complex clever story with twists galore as expected from this author. No way could I have guessed the outcome but all the ends got tied up nicely. A great story that I would definitely recommend
Many thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review

A twist every minute and a turn every two minutes and the plot gets better as the pages turn.

Yes, I did enjoy Message Deleted and the ending certainly justified all those twists and turns; no clues from me though.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Lots of twists and turns here with everyone having secrets

This started really well and engaged me immediately then it turned into a bit of a slow burn and I started to flag around three-quarter of the way through. Then there were more twists and the pace picked up and the book redeemed itself.
The characters were well described although I must admit the main character irked me at times and made some poor decisions but overall a good read.

There's no love lost between Saffy Morris and her best friend's husband. So when Leona and her family disappear shortly after a visit from Saffy where she responded to strange messages, she becomes a person of interest to the police. Already fragile following a horrific attack on her younger sister, Poppy, a few years earlier, Saffy has lost custody of her son and has been to the very bottom. Determined not to crumble, Saffy decides to investigate. She makes mistakes, lands herself in more trouble and Poppy gets involved. I really didn't know which way this was going- a well planned, great read. #netgalley #messagedeleted

I have read a few books by this author and this one certainly didn’t disappoint. The story got started right at the beginning and you just have to keep reading to find out what is going on. It is a good tale with a satisfying conclusion and plenty going on in between!

2.5/5 stars. This was a slow burn with slow pacing throughout and unfortunately at times where I thought there should have been suspense, it fell a bit flat. We were left for too long not knowing ‘the thing’ that happened, the plot became predictable and there wasn’t enough suspense for me sadly. The plot felt far fetched and I know sometimes that’s the point in fiction but this left me questioning it rather than thinking why!! Unfortunately not for me this one.

A great psychological thriller.
Saffy is an anxious young woman and once we learn her back story you can realise why .
She receives a strange message from her best friend Leona , so Saffy goes to see her .
Leona seems fine and is adamant she didn’t send the message .
Saffy doesn’t like Ash Leona’s husband and is convinced that he is abusing his wife .
Later that day Leona and her family go missing and Saffy was the last person to see them and is the prime suspect for their disappearance.
There are plenty of twists and turns that kept me gripped !
An enjoyable read!
Thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House .