Another well written book by this author. It really keeps your attention from start to end. As the book went on, the characters became so real.
Highlighting Saffy as a mother figure, always helping others, and how were picked up is very clever. She never let the grass grow under her feet. She was trying to keep her friend and sister sane, but didn't know they were well ahead with clues as well. Police were determined to arrest Saffy for murder
Wes didn't come into the story till late on so you don't make the connection. The story was so real you could almost picture what was happening.

Another edge of your seat psychological drama from KL Slater.

I was engrossed in the story from the first page and did little but read it from then on. It was perhaps a little far fetched but that didn't detract from the enjoyment of the story.

The main character Saffy was well written and believable and I enjoyed the dual time line.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for the DRC.

I'm loved the premise and dived into this one. I did find myself frustrated with the main character's choices at times however. I would have thought staying off her phone while waiting for an interview in the first place would have looked more profesisonal!

I enjoyed the story mostly but didn't find the twist all that believable. However, it was a good story overall. 3.5!

Good and interesting thriller set in a domestic situation with a hum of the unknown and possible threat from all angles.

What would you do if you were at the brink of a job interview and your best friend sent a text asking for help, to say nothing and then the messages were deleted.

Playing on the mind of a woman already struggling with mental health and the loss of custody of her som, this is a great pacy read.

I didn’t figure out the end and felt huge empathy for the main character as she tried her best to be there for friends and family.

A good read and one that I would recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting idea for a book, and well written.
The problem for me, is that as the book progressed, I cared less and less about the main character, so although the tension ramped up well, did I really care? Not so much.
For me to keep interest in a book, it has to have either a character I do care about, and it doesn't necessarily have to be the main protagonist, or a character that I really want to have their comeuppance. The 'baddie' kept changing, so there was no-one really to focus on (although that was a clever device) and no-one I liked. Mmm.
And for Saffy to leave that interview? Just plain stupid.
I also found that some of the twists were easily worked out in advance, although I do find books that actually can surprise me quite infrequent. But this one had quite a few twists, so to predict them all became a little tedious.

Message Deleted was such an intriguing and gripping read! The idea of getting a text from a friend who needs help but then it being immediately deleted is a great setup for a novel. Saffy goes straight to her friend's house but all is well, although she gets a strange vibe that things are not entirely right. After she leaves the family disappears and Saffy is prime suspect! The novel then follows the investigation into what happened to the family and how Saffy's life is affected. This is a novel where you need to suspend disbelief but it doesn't stop your enjoyment as this book keeps you reading with twists and turns and is so hard to put down.

Gosh not sure how to review this book. The description of the story had me really interested and the start was really strong. Then for me, the story just got stuck in a loop and didn’t move forward until right near the end, when it improved. I suppose it didn’t help that I found Saffy quite irritating as a character and the whole police involvement and apparent unnecessary focus on her annoying. I got quite close to dnf but I’m glad I didn’t as the ending was worth the read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy of this book.

Saffy receives three messages from her best friend Leona
'can't speak' ....... 'don't text or call' ....... 'please just come'.

Immediately worried for her friend and daughter, Saffy's goddaughter, she abandons a job interview and rushes to Leona's house. Meanwhile she receives three notifications saying each message has been deleted. Leona answers the door apparently fine and denies having sent the messages. Saffy is not convinced and asks to go inside the house however, everything seems ok and not knowing what else she can do, goes home. Six hours later Saffy receives a visit from the police telling her Leona, her daughter and husband are missing and there is blood everywhere. Saffy is the last person to see them alive so becomes a person of great interest.

As the story progresses the reader is offered tantalising snippets of Saffy's back story and that of her younger sister Poppy. The plot is very compelling and offers twists, turns and red herrings in equal measure. I did find Saffy's character a tad annoying at times, some of her decisions were questionable, especially as the plot unfolds, An enjoyable read that will keep you guessing to the end. This is the first K L Slater book I have read, pleased to see there are plenty more, which I am looking forward to reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for my advanced reader copy in return for my honest and unbiased review.

This is a really hard one or me to review, on the one hand I can tell people are goi g to love it, it reminds me of a mix of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and The Maid which were both extremely popular books, but not my cup of tea.

So while I can see that this has all the ingredients to be this summers hottest thriller I wasn’t hooked, I didn’t like the characters, and Saffy especially is an extremely frustrating narrator.

Wow… what a rollercoaster!
It’s not often I read something with such a loathe-some main character, but this was intended!
This book hooked me and wouldn’t let me put it down for long. I loved this twisty tale and would definitely recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and K.L Slater for this EArc in exchange for an honest review.

Here we have Saffy, troubled by some tragic events, trying to build herself back up to be the best Mum, Friend and Self she can be.

When her best friend messages for help, she knows she needs to leave an important job interview to support her friend. But... then the messages are deleted and all trace of them gone. Her friend is gone too! And she was the last one to she her alive!

Throughout the book we follow Saffy's desperate search to find her friend and prove everyone wrong. Just when you think you know who did what, the plot twists and keeps you on the edge of your feet!

I was hooked right from the start! A great quick read that will not let you put it down!

I was captivated by "Message Deleted" from the start; its fast pace immediately drew me in. The story was brimming with unexpected twists and featured intriguing, well-crafted characters. I cherished every page and simply couldn't put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

This thriller had lots of twists and turns, each character had their flaws but overall I enjoyed it.

I have read a few of K.L. Slater's books and have not been disappointed yet and I wasn't with this one.

The story centres around the main character, Saffy, who, whilst waiting for a job interview, receives some worrying messages from her best friend, Leona. However, the messages soon disappear but Saffy is worried. Abandoning her interview, Saffy races to Leona's house only to find everything appears to be ok however, all is definitely not what it seems and so it begins.

With great characters, an interesting and intriguing story line with some great twists and all told at a good pace, this is a riveting read that had me racing through it to find out just what the heck was going on so if you are a fan of this genre, I would give this a go.

Many thanks to the author, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this great read.

Saffy while waiting for a job interview receives some strange messages from her friend Leona.

Can't speak, Don't text or call, Please just come.

Saffy starts to panic after her friend has confided in her previously she has problems in her marriage. Saffy is deciding if she should leave her interview then suddenly

This Message was deleted, This Message was deleted, This Message was deleted,

Saffy races to Leona house where she denies sending the message. Saffy can tell something isn't right. Hours later the police are at her door the whole family have disappeared and there is blood in their house. Saffy was the last to see them alive.

This was brilliant thriller that kept me guessing till the end. It was a little slow in places but overall was a quick and easy read and I had a great time reading it. Would definitely recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley, Michael Joseph and K.L Slater for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Saffy needs a job but whilst waiting to go into an interview, she receives 3 text messages from her best friend, Leona which read "Can’t speak… " "don’t text or call… " "please just come". As Saffy wonders what could be wrong, the messages are deleted. Leaving the interview pleading illness, Saffy heads to her friend's home but when she gets there, Leona insists everything is fine. Unconvinced but with nothing she can do, Saffy heads home, but six hours later, the police call: Leona, her husband, & her daughter are all missing, there's evidence of a confrontation with blood at the scene, & Saffy was the last one to visit them.

It started off quite well with Saffy's obvious worry at the deleted messages, but once the family disappears & the police become involved everything becomes rather contrived. One major issue for me is that the police had no physical evidence which pointed to Saffy - yes she was at the scene earlier in the day & her prints were there because of that, but nothing else. No concrete evidence she was involved just circumstantial, & yet they focus all their efforts on her. It works for the plot of the book but it didn't ring true for me (although one wonders when you see some forces' solve rates) & rather affected my focus on reading it.

The narrative is told from several viewpoints including Saffy's sister & Leona & the timeline moves back & forth between now & what happened in the past. I didn't particularly like any of the characters apart from feeling a bit sorry for Saffy. The book is set in the UK city of Nottingham which happens to be my old stomping grounds & it was nice to see some of the places I know mentioned, & bonus points for the mention of my football team, Forest. Overall though, I felt it didn't live up to the initial promise of the synopsis.

TWs: mental health issues, infidelity, violent attack, death.

Thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Michael Joseph/Penguin Random House, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

I really enjoy K L Slaters books so this one didn't disappoint. She's (?) really good at building plots which keep you guessing throughout. What initially seems like an innocuous message asking for help turns into a twisty turny series of events where her best friend is seemingly missing. But all is not what is seems and our main character has to unravel what is really going on. A good page turner as always and as with all of K L Slaters books keeps you guessing right to the end of the book where all is revealed!

Oh dear, I’m in the minority again. First, how can navy suede stilettos turn into suede pumps in just 6% of the book? It was at 20% when everything just turned very amateurish for me. Inconsistent and unbelievable plot (why on earth Saffy would be a suspect???), lots of repetition, awful characters, and a writing style that I consider to be poor. I won’t be rushing to read another book by this author, sorry. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but there’s no way I can recommend this.

I found this book to be quite fast paced. It had me hooked from the beginning. I really needed to find out what had happened. Lots of twist and turns kept me guessing and everything was revealed at the end which is always good. You never really know who is telling the truth, everyone has secrets. An enjoyable read, I recommend this book thank you #netgalley

2.5 stars. I requested an ARC of this novel as the title and introduction sounded intriguing.
Unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations.
The story was just too contrived for my liking. The writing was ok, but somehow failed to rack up any tension for me.
I struggled to relate to the main characters. With both Saffy and Poppy I felt that their behaviours were unrealistic. Saffy in particular; whenever she had to make a decision she persistently made the most idiotic one possible. And never, never learned from her mistakes.
There were so many unlikely links amongst the characters that the whole thing started to feel almost incestuous.
But the police! They were pretty much cardboard cutouts. I read in confusion as they homed in on Saffy, as if all their training had come from 1980s crime series.Their suspicion of her made absolutely no sense, except as a vehicle to push her into investigating herself.
I don’t want to be entirely negative; it’s an easy, holiday read and would probably make a good TV mini series.