This book was full of suspense.
Although the story starts quite slowly it soon picks up pace as more details are revealed.
A few twists and turns.
The characters were well written, told in a dual timeline and from multiple points of view.

This is definitely an edge-of-your-seat thriller, with some quite scary parts that really built up a lot of tension! But otherwise… for me it was just a bit too silly, the characters too unlikeable, and too many “that makes no sense” moments.

Saffy and Leona have been friends since they were teenagers and Leona moved into Saffy’s home. Lately Leona has become more and more closed off from Saffy and she is worried about her and her controlling new husband, Ash. One day, Saffy is just going into a job interview and she gets some worrying messages from Leona asking her to come straight over and not call, and then the messages are instantly deleted. She heads straight over there but Leona denies all knowledge of the messages. Next thing, Leona, her husband and daughter have all disappeared. And Saffy, the last person to see them, is top of the list of suspects.

Then we have a classic combination of flashbacks to Saffy and Leona’s childhood friendships, hints at numerous secrets and regrets from the past, unreliable narrators left, right and centre, and as much “but that would never be anyone’s actual reaction to that” as you can throw a proverbial stick at.

The end starts wrapping up about half an hour’s reading before the actual end, giving us far too much daftness to erode any chance of remembering the ending as being a good one. It was a surprise for a moment and then just silly upon silly.

Definitely a bit of escapism and not a terrible read, but, for me just a bit overly Scooby Doo.

Message Deleted by KL Slater sees our main character, Saffy, waiting to start a job interview when she receives a text from her best friend…

Can’t speak… don’t text or call… please just come.

The messages are deleted straight away. But when Saffy bails on the interview and arrives at her friend’s house, everything seems fine. Her friend insists she never sent the messages. They’re happy and laughing, cooking dinner, celebrating successes. Confused, Saffy leaves them to it. But later on, the police are calling as the family are missing, leaving the front door open and the dinner in the oven, setting off the fire alarm. Saffy finds herself thrown into the mystery, being the last person to see them.

It took me a while to get into this story but I’m glad I stuck with it as the second half of the book took a big swing in the right direction. I was really hooked with how all of the different flashbacks and characters started to show how they’ve woven together. I would say the ending was a little too perfectly sewn up, and it would have been nice to leave some questions unanswered, but overall a good read.

This book comes out 18.07.24! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Another excellent thriller from K L Slater (Kim)

I loved this great thriller from the kitten of an established writer who doesn't disappoint. From the moment Saffy gets the texts to the final conclusion this is suspense and fun all the way. We'll fun if this is your sort of book, it is mine. Leona her best friend from school days well no story line you can read that in the blurb, but her actions may surprise you when Saffy arrives. Mind for that true of all of the charters, they will probably surprise you at one point or another but then that's what helps as the twist and turns that will keep you guessing.

There are the loveable well not many the wierd and the hmmm I'm not sure of them, this has them all as I hinted it's a great read. The hold on what the dickens (there are more modern words) and the no don't be stupid to the go girl go and ask much to else I loved this read and really hope You do as well. If you like whodunit or Physiological Thrillers this is a must read in my opinion. .

It's another amazing psychological thriller by K.L. Slater. It had me gripped from the start and not wanting to put it down. Love how when you think you have an idea about what has happened a twist comes along.

Thank you K.L. Slater, Michael Joseph Penguin Random House and Netgalley for this ARC. I absolutely loved it.

We meet Saffy at the beginning , a woman trying to put her life back together after a traumatic event led to the breakdown of her marriage with main custody of her son going to his father.

At a job interview, Saffy receives three worrying texts from her oldest friend Leona who she has known from school. The texts urge her to go to her house ASAP however are all quickly deleted by the sender, worried, Saffy exits the interview and heads to Leonas.

Leona answers the door with no knowledge of the messages, Saffy goes in and is warmly greeted by Leonas husband Ash and her daughter Rosie. She is confused by Ash's friendliness as they have never got on and Saffy has good reason to believe he has been abusing her.

Saffy leaves them cooking dinner and returns home only to have the police at her door 6 hours later. Leona, Ash and Rosie have disappeared, the oven still on, the front door wide open and there's blood everywhere. As the last person seen leaving the house, Saffy is a definite person of interest to the police.

With flashbacks to childhood, memories of a previous trauma and complicated relationships, the chapters weave together nicely to wrap up at the end. The ending is slightly far fetched with certain information only coming to light at the very end but I enjoyed getting to know Saffy and her sister Poppy. The characters are all pretty flawed but who isn't?

A nice, light thriller in-keeping with K L Slaters previous novels, I'd recommend.

*3.5 stars*

Saffy and Leona have been friends since childhood, so when Saffy receives a text from her friend saying Can’t speak… don’t text or call… please just come, she doesn’t hesitate to do as she’s asked, even though she was just about to be interviewed for a new job.

Immediately after receiving the text it’s deleted and when Saffy arrives at Leona’s home, she denies sending it!
Six hours later, the police arrive at Saffy’s home saying that Leona and her child Rosie are missing, and apparently there was blood everywhere in the house.

A neighbour reported that she’d seen Saffy leave the house just before the family went missing, which makes her a person of interest.

A bit of a slow burner at times, but there were also some tense moments and twists and turns, so I never quite knew where it was going.

When Leona, her husband Ash and daughter Rosie go missing, Saffy is under suspicion because she was the last person to see them. Saffy's sister Poppy was attacked nearly 3 years ago & Saffy disturbed the attacker. Are the two incidents connected?
Who can Saffy ask for help, she and her husband split up after the attack on Poppy and he has custody of their son. An intense thriller, who is behind everything?

This is my 1st read by this author and it didn't disappoint. I was invested in the characters from the beginning and could see how the dynamics would change. I was hoping that Saffy stayed for her interview and didn't get sucked into the problems of her friend. There were lots of twists and turns and i was kept guessing until almost the end.

A well paced saga of a friendship between two women which is tested by events.
I found it more of an unfolding story than a biting thriller but it was excellently written with likable characters and an overall good plot.

Saffy receives WhatsApp messages from a friend seeming to ask for help but these are quickly deleted. Saffy leaves her interview to go and check on her friend, Leona, who denies knowledge of the messages. All seems to okay if not a little uncomfortable in their house but less than 24hrs Leona, her husband and daughter are all reported missing.

The storyline flows a few subplots from the past and present day which interweave together as we discover more of Saffy’s past and what has happened to Leona and her family. The pace for the most part was okay but there were definitely sections that were felt a little lacking and slow. I found some of the authors writing techniques such as puttingwordsaltogetherlikethis kind of annoying. I didn’t particularly like or connect with any of the characters either which left me a little underwhelmed.

My first experience with this author. I’d perhaps try another book but this wasn’t my favourite.

What a fabulous thriller. This book is so well written and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.

A very clever story which keeps going to the very end.

Brilliant

This was a brand new author for me, and I was NOT disappointed! There were several very strong story lines that at first seemed to be unrelated, and the author kept me guessing on many things right to the end. Despite the often convoluted twists it wasn't confusing at all, and was instead a really enjoyable read.
This story really is a lesson in why you should always be honest, and I'd like to think Saffy learned from it. Saffy was a great main character, if maybe a little ditsy, but given the history that's actually not surprising.

I'll definitely be looking out for more by this author.

An engaging read, though not my favorite from K.L. Slater, and I've devoured all of her books.

The story kicks off with Saffy receiving urgent SOS messages from her best friend Leona, only to see them vanish instantly. Ditching an important interview, she rushes to Leona's side, only to find Leona denying ever sending the messages. Saffy’s instincts tell her something's off, especially since she’s never trusted Leona’s husband, Ash.

The plot thickens when Leona, Ash, and their daughter Rosie disappear. With Saffy being the last to see them, suspicion naturally falls on her.

There are plenty of sub-plots that weave together nicely in the end (no spoilers here), but I felt the story dragged in parts. The repetitive police interviews with Saffy became a bit monotonous, slowing down the overall pace.

Saffy gets a message from her best friend Leona and then it's deleted which upsets her so leaves an interview to go to her house but all is ok there so no problem, but 24hrs later the family goes missing and Saffy is the last person to see them and a major suspect.
Plenty of twists over present and past.
I just couldn't find any character likeable.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC and I give my honest review.

Fantastic book , I thoroughly enjoy it . I do love novels by this author but this one was better than ever . Great characters and just the right amount of tension . I had no idea where the story was leading and certainly didn’t expect that ending . I would highly recommend this book . Five Stars from me , can’t wait for the next

Publication date: 18 July 2024

An interesting read but I wouldn’t say it was the best one from K.L. Slater and I’ve read them all.

When Saffy receives SOS messages from her best friend Leona which are immediately deleted, she ditches the interview she’s about to have and runs to her rescue. When she gets there, Leona denies having sent the messages and Saffy knows something isn’t quite right. She’s never liked Leona’s husband, Ash, and there doesn’t appear to be any love lost.

Leona, Ash and her daughter Rosie then go missing and with Saffy being the last one to see them, she becomes the prime suspect.

Lots of sub-plots which all tie in later (no spoilers) but I did think this dragged on a little bit in places - Saffy was interviewed time and time again by the police and it was the same thing over and over for me. 4⭐️

Another fabulous twisty read from K L Slater. Another book where the characters get right on your nerves and are despicable. The book kept me guessing all the way through. I do think there were some unanswered questions but the main plot of the book all came together at the end. I recommend this one.

Intriguing, a page turner and it will keep you guessing.

I enjoyed this book and the idea behind it, great read and I'd recommend to a friend.
The last quarter kept me awake way past bedtime as I had to finish it.

I've never read anything by this author before but I will definitely try her other works.

I have to admit to being a little bit disappointed with this not so thrilling thriller.

Saffy and Leona have been best friends for years, yet lately Saffy feels that Leona is slipping away from her. Leona's husband Ash is less than thrilled with their friendship and has preferred to keep them apart and now Saffy has suspicions that Leona is being abused by Ash due to some suspicious bruising. Saffy has issues of her own due to something in her recent past that caused her to seek therapy and broke up her own marriage to Neil, who has custody of their little boy, Fox. Into this mix is added Saffy's sister, Poppy, who is also dealing with trauma from the past and choses to tackle her demons by making dangerous choices with a string of unsuitable men.

One day, Saffy receives a Whatsapp message from Leona asking for help, which is then mysteriously deleted. Rushing to Leona's house, Saffy is mystified to find that nothing is wrong and Leona seems anxious to get her out of the house...Later that night, Saffy receives a visit from the police - Leona, Ash and their daughter Rosie are missing and she was the last one seen leaving their house...Soon, Saffy finds herself a person of interest and struggles to prove her innocence. Can she find out what has happened to her friend before she ends up going to jail.

I was hoping to be thrilled by this book but sadly I just wasn't. The story had a good premise and started well but it went downhill when Leona went missing. I had already figured out that things weren't as they seemed - it was too obvious that it wouldn't be. The reveal seemed far fetched and I just didn't buy into it as believable. I was also not a fan of the ending chapters being six months later and then a year later - I felt that they weren't really needed and were more suggestive of being short of word count so put in as extra padding as they didn't add anything really.

If you like your thrillers a little lighter then you will probably enjoy this, however if, like me, you want them a bit more thrilling then you should look somewhere else.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review,