Losing Leah

Not as unpredictable as I had hoped, this is nevertheless an interesting novel that held a few surprises along the way. The characters are well built and it's fascinating how they all have different temperament depending on who they're with. For instance, someone who may be charming to strangers may not be the best of friends and the way that Leah's personality changes as the cops follow the investigation is impressive. Poor Leah is useless without her husband, right? Maybe not, as she is a very efficient employee. One small detail that I didn't care for is how the narrative changes between first and third person. This is a pet peeve of mine because the change in POV is distracting, in my opinion. Plus, Sergeant Mel Daley, the main character, has such a strong voice that I wanted to hear more of her, not less. This is a promising debut for Ms. Welfare, I hope there are more Daleys in her future.

Enjoyable police novel. Nice linear structure. Interesting characters, and no overly graphic violence, just clever menace and intrigue.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the Publishers, Mirror Books, for providing this review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Early on a cold dark February morning, Chris and Leah Hills stop at a motorway service station just before the borders of Wales, on their way to their Welsh holiday cottage. Leah goes into the services and disappears. No one has seen her, and no one knows where she is. DS Mel Daley and her boss, DI Harry Baker turn up to investigate. Their search takes them to the desolate Riverside Cottage in Wales and all the way over to the East coast town of Denham Market near Norwich. Can they find out what happened to Leah Hills?

This was my first book by this author. I’ve never heard of her before which is a surprise considering how many books she has written!

This book was very cleverly written. I started off not expecting much if you want me to be honest. The blurb sounded interesting and I liked the fact that it was set in the UK. It began straight into the mystery with Chris Hills being found in the ladies toilets of a motorway service searching for his wife Leah. She had gone into the services whilst he was locking the car and had just disappeared. All very mysterious! As she was unable to be found, the police were called and DI Harry Baker and DS Mel Daley arrive to investigate. They both think that the couple had had a row and the wife had walked off, but I’m not sure if that would have made a good story so it’s obvious there is going to be a lot more to it.

The story is told alternatively from the perspective of Mel Daley and from a third person. Mel is obviously the main character of the story and she seems a very likeable character. She does have a separate side story going on with the mysterious Mr XXXXXX. I’m not sure whether this story was really needed as I didn’t really see where it was going, but I suppose it did show that Mel had a personal life and revealed a little bit more about the character. I love the relationship between Mel and her boss Harry Baker. He seems to view her as a valuable member of the team, and misses her input when he sends her over to Norwich to carry on the investigation there. Mel also comes across as a good police officer, knows her stuff and works well with others she comes across. She’s also like a ‘dog with a bone’ and, as it shows towards the end, won’t let up until all the loose ends have been tied.

Chris Hills’ character is a difficult one. Initially I found it hard to work out this character. His whole personality was just weird and creepy, but at times I almost felt sorry for him when he was obviously very distressed at the fact that his wife was missing. You just know though that there is something about him which stops you wanting to be on his side!

I really enjoyed this book, much more than I thought I would. As I began reading it, I started telling my husband little bits about the plot to see if he could guess what had happened to Leah. He’s partially sighted and usually listens to books rather than physically reading them, and he was enjoying my little snippets I kept feeding him that I ended up having to read it all to him! We both had our opinions as to what was happening, and they changed several times throughout the course of the book. I think we eventually worked it out towards the end, but was certainly not expecting the last few paragraphs. This is definitely one book you need to read right to the very last word.

I won’t say anything about the actual plot of the story for fear of spoilers, but the whole story was well thought out, well planned and very well researched. It held our attention from the first page and we have spent the last couple of hours sat here with me reading it out loud just to get to the end! For me, it was one of those books that hang around a little bit after you’ve finished them because it gets right into you. It did feel that it should be part of a series to follow on the story of DS Mel Daley. There’s nothing yet to say it is, but fingers crossed to there being another one!

A very gripping read, each chapter giving a cliff-hanger at the end tempting you to read just one more page!

Fab, Fab, Fab

#LosingLeah by Sue Welfare
#NetGalley
22 March 2018

Another great book from #NetGalley. Sergeant Mel Daley and her boss DI Harry Baker have been called out for a woman missing from a service station where husband Chris is wandering around crying for his wife Leah who went into the rest stop but never came out. As the story progresses several not so nice things about Chris’s past come to the surface which makes the search for Leah turn into a search for her body as it is feared that she’s no longer alive. It also comes to light that Chris has been married before and has 3 children. The book’s two detectives make a perfect team which kind of gets ruined when at the end you find out that Mel has asked for a transfer. This was the only thing I didn’t like but maybe when the sequel arrives Sue Welfare can keep them together. I unequivocally would recommend this book to friends and family. I received the book from #NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review

Losing Leah
By Sue Welfare

A thrilling case of mystery, that leaves the reader guessing to the very end.

With twists and turns, even to the last page, this book hooks you in, until the end.

On a cold, dark February morning, Chris and Leah Hills stop for coffee at an isolated service station a stone’s throw from the Welsh Borders. While Leah heads inside, Chris locks the car and goes in to order their drinks. Minutes pass. Chris waits and waits, but Leah doesn’t come back. When Sergeant Mel Daley and her boss, Detective Inspector Harry Baker, arrive to begin a search for the missing woman, their investigation calls everything into question. Is she alive? Did she leave the service station with someone else? Did Leah ever even leave Norfolk? While her husband becomes more frantic, the pair begin to unravel a tangle of dark secrets from the past.

A well written debut novel, and I am looking forward to reading more from Sue Welfare.

#LosingLeah #NetGalley

www.books-reviewed.weebly.com

A five star book all day long great storyline and characters and a plausible scenario showing how we accept people just disappear from our lives and don’t question why - yes really enjoyed this and was gripped from the start perhaps the explanation re cctv was a bit laboured but l understand why detail was needed but only a small gripe

Chris' wife Leah goes missing on the way to their vacation cottage and though clearly panicked, things aren't adding up to the police. As the days pass, more and more details emerge that point to Chris as a suspect and the growing certainty that when they do find her, it will be as a corpse. 

Controlling, deviant and frightening even to his sister when angered, details emerge about Chris' past and present that are disturbing and only support the running theory that they are not looking for Leah but her body. Chris sticks to his story throughout and the few people that knew her are of little help as it becomes clear that he kept Leah on a tight leash and that she was tight-lipped about her life. 

There are surprises along the way: the vacation cottage? A run-down, dreary place. The house? Spotless and impersonal. But the garage? A riot of color and artwork that belies Leah's lack of personality in her daily life. Things at Chris' job are not what they appear and Leah turns out to be far more resourceful and capable than her husband gives her credit for.

I couldn’t put this book down and when I had to put it down, I didn’t want to. This book starts with a husband, Chris, searching for his wife, Leah, in a service station. Then enter the detectives, Daley and Baker, who start unraveling the truth piece by piece. Did Leah even make it to the station at all?

I was guessing the entire time. I had some of the truth right but there were many other twists and turns thrown in. This was a great book from start to finish! I loved the different characters and different points of view. Highly recommended. Thank you Netgalley and Mirror Books for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

A well written first novel with a couple of twists. Chris Hill is searching a service station for his wife when questioned by the police. He says they drove there together but she has gone missing. No sign of her is found on CCTV so the police start investigating Chris and whether he has killed her. The book is written from the perspective of the police woman who is undertaking the investigation and delves into the background of all characters involved. Highly recommended.

I thought this was a fantastic debut novel. Chris and Leah Hills are heading to their holiday home in Wales when they stop at a service station where Leah vanishes. The police are called in but no one seems to know where she has gone. Sgt Mel Daley and DI Harry Baker are out on the case to investigate.
Harry is distraught about his missing wife but is there more to this missing person case? What happened to his first wife? Is Leah alive or dead?
I thought this was well written and it kept me hooked. Will be looking out for future novels by Sue Welfare.
Thanks to Sue Welfare, Mirtor books and Net Galley for an advance copy in exchange for a honest review.

#LosingLeah #NetGalley

I would like to thank Netgalley and Mirror Books for a review copy of Losing Leah, a police procedural featuring DS Mel Daley of the Mercia Police.

Chris and Leah Hills are on their way to their holiday cottage in Wales and stop at Hoden Gap service station. This is the last time Chris sees Leah. DI Baker and the team swing into action but nobody has seen her and there is no trace of her on CCTV so they begin to suspect that she was never there and focus their attention on Chris.

What a great read. I devoured this novel in one sitting, initially enjoying the procedural aspects of the hunt for a missing person but soon getting caught up in the plot. It's not a long read but it's absorbing with great plotting and pace. I thoroughly enjoyed the way the novel opens out from a "simple" missing persons case to something much darker and the way DI Baker slowly allows Chris Hills to reveal his thought processes.

The novel is split into a first person narrative from Mel Daley and a third person when she's not involved. It sounds clumsy but actually works extremely well, giving the reader a wider perspective of the investigation but still maintaining the intimacy of Mel's thoughts. Her voice is smart but inviting and natural, making the novel an easy read. I'm looking forward to meeting her again.

Chris Hills is a very well drawn character with his grief and creepy take on marriage but it's not a crime. I found myself fascinated and repulsed every time he opened his mouth but, again, what works for one couple doesn't work for everyone so who are we to judge? I also enjoyed the detectives' speculation on what he says as it seems very natural.

Losing Leah is a great read and the only thing preventing me from awarding it 5* is that I had a good idea about the main thrust of the plot from the start although there were plenty of other unexpected twists and turns along the way. I have no hesitation in recommending it.

A really well written, engaging storyline. Cleverly written and will keep you guessing until the very last chapter. I'd be interested in a second instalment.

Absolutely loved it. I simply could not put this down. I felt like I was part of the police force trying to find this missing person before it was to late, and putting the book down might jeopardize the outcome. Very highly recommend. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

In “Losing Leah” by Sue Welfare we are thrown into the search by Chris Hills for his wife Leah. She went into a service station along the highway but never came out. The big question is where did she disappear to – Chris was waiting for her and the surveillance cameras don’t show her anywhere.

As more police are brought onto the case the detective in charge seems to question what really happened – was Leah actually there in the first place? As Chris and Leah’s lives are dissected more than a few secrets will be revealed.

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Now you see her, now you don't! Leah knows her husband is keeping secrets. She also knows he's not who he portrays himself to be.
An amazing cliff hanger if a read. Mr. Hills can't find his wife. They stopped to get coffee and hot chocolate on their way to Wales, now, she's disappeared. The police are searching and have not been able to find her. Everyone knows after a certain amount of time, they will be looking for a body.
Exciting, entertaining, grabs you and doesn't let go till the very end.
5 Stars

Losing Leah kept me guessing until the end. I was instantly drawn to the premise of this book, but the well written characters and their relationships are what made me stay. Sue Welfare did such a great job because this book is a great thriller. I honestly hope there's more Sergeant Daley to come.

Thrilling! This was a great mystery that kept me guessing until the very end! I hope there will be more books with Sergeant Daley.

Chris and Leah Hills are on their way to their holiday cottage in Wales, when they stop at a motorway service station and Leah goes missing. DI Baker and DS Daley are called in to determine what has happened to Leah.

Upon first investigation, Chris Hills looks like an upstanding member of the community and he insists that Leah would never have left without him as they have a very happy marriage but slowly things come to light which have the police looking into his past and discovering he is not what he seems. In the meantime the hunt for Leah goes on with the police no closer to finding her. Has she walked away from her life? Did he murder her? Was she abducted?

A good book which looks into the way the police deal with a missing persons investigation, it has several twists which leave you wondering whether Leah is still alive. An intriguing thriller with a well thought out ending.

A little slow to start but once it got going I couldn't put it down. Well written. Just when I thought I had it figured out I was wrong. Keeps you guessing even in the end. Ending was definitely not what I was thinking it was going to be

t was just a stop to get coffee at a gas station near the Welsh Borders, but Leah never came back out of the shop. Her partner, Chris is terrified when he can’t find her and immediately contacts police. Did Leah leave with someone else? Or,as detectives Mel Daley and Harry baker wonder, was she ever really there at all? Is this some sort of elaborate hoax set up by Chris? Has he, in fact, dome away with Leah? This is a tense, nail biter, as police try to work out what really happened to Leah Hill

DI Harry Baker and Sergeant Mel Daley are called to investigate a missing woman, Leah Hills. She and her husband stop at a service station for a rest stop and Chris never sees his wife again.

Chris Hills is adamant that Leah would never just walk off. She was his soul mate. They had a perfect marriage. She couldn't live without him to guide her through life. But those that are investigating are finding that Chris' story just isn't adding up. And then they stumble onto some deep dark secrets that Chris hasn't shared with them.

So where is Leah?

This debut crime thriller realistically walks the reader through a missing persons investigation. It's not particularly exciting, it gets downright repetitive at times ... but this is one of the most honest looks at this side of law enforcement that I've seen in quite a while.

The first part of this book is a bit slow going .. no shoot em ups, no wild car chases. Just a determined group of people doing their jobs. There is suspense, though .... and about halfway through the book, the suspense becomes palpable. I loved the surprise ending!

All in all this is a well-written thriller with realistic tones. I look forward to more of the same by this author.

Many thanks to the author / Mirror Books / #LosingLeah #NetGalley for the digital copy of this crime thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I read Losing Leah today in two sittings – highly addictive and a clever crime drama in the way it played out, some well layered characters and a different vibe to the construction that made it difficult to put down once started.

I don’t think I ever had any doubt about what had happened to Leah – which was confirmed by the ultimate resolution – but that really wasn’t what intrigued me. Hence I loved it. An intelligent take on a crime thriller, an enigmatic puzzle of character rather than of happenstance with some engaging police characters and a hugely compelling psychological element.

Another huge strength was in fact the more procedural elements – an investigation playing out in front of your eyes in a highly authentic feeling way, the setting is also well described (and I actually know the small market town in Norfolk mentioned, I stayed there one year so that made it all the more fun to read) – so the addictive quality is there, the storytelling is brilliant and you’ve really got everything you could want from a crime novel right here within this read.

I’ve not read Sue Welfare’s other novels as yet – but if she writes more crime you can be certain I’ll be at the front of the queue.

Recommended.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Chris Hills reports his wife Leah has gone missing from the motorway service station they have stopped at on their way to Wales. DI Baker and DS Daley have to determine if Leah has left of her own accord, been abducted, is still at the service station somewhere, or was never there at all.

This was a solid police procedural, with the investigation uncovering more and more details calling Chris' story into doubt. The first two-thirds were quite exciting and had momentum. However, once we got to the bit where months and months later DS Daley is flicking through the file for old time's sake, the momentum was lost really. I had kind of seen where things were going, <spoiler>but the idea that the CCTV specialist, who seemed to have watched every minute of the footage of the service station since time began, would have missed the fact that the camera only covered three out of the four entry doors was hard for me to accept.</spoiler>

I also had issues, particularly initially, with the way the narrative switched between the first person perspective of DS Daley and third person narrative mainly following DI Baker, often without any warning. It was confusing and jarring. There were also, again mainly at the beginning, mini-lectures on police procedure, which slowed things down and read oddly. Finally, there was no merit to inclusion of the Mel/Kathy/Jimmy drama - it made them all look bad and took away from the main plot.

Overall very good though - I'd look out for more books by this author.

A solid addition to the thriller genre, with well written characters and smooth plotting. This isn't as twisty as some of the novels it will be compared too, but that doesn't detract from it's readability at all. An enjoyable ride.

Losing Leah by Sue Welfare was great. Thats the best I can summarize it. I have to say I was so caught up in the story I was able to finish it in about 2 hours of reading. i couldn't put it down. She did such an incredible job of painting a picture in your mind of story that it was like I was right there alongside the lead detective as she was solving the mystery. I couldn't wait to find out what happened to Leah and figure out who-done-it! I would be very interested in reading more novels by Sue with this cast. I for sure recommend this book to everyone!

Thank you to Mirror Books and Sue Welfare for providing me with this reading copy!

Losing Leah had me gripped from the start.
It starts with a man you later learn is Chris Hill frantically searching the ladies in a service station for his wife.
DS Daley is one of the officers on the case, which takes them from Norfolk to Wales looking for clues to help them find Leah. The detail of the police investigation makes it a really interesting read.
There numerous twists and just when you think you know whats about to happen it turns again.

Although I tend to read mostly historical fiction, I was intrigued by the premise of this contemporary novel - a woman disappearing without a trace from a service station and the quest to find her. I have also read some of Sue Welfare's romantic fiction before, so was interested to see how she would tackle the mystery and thriller genre.

I found the book really engaging and couldn't put it down. I liked the female police sergeant and the way that the plot unfolded with plenty of clues and red herrings. The settings were also interesting - the service station, something so everyday that people don't really register, becoming something slightly mysterious and sinister.

However, there were a few niggles that meant the book wasn't perfect for me. For example, the solution is clever, but has a few holes in it. I also would have liked to see more development of the other characters as they did seem a little flat in comparison to the main detective.

Overall, this is an engaging read with plenty of twists and turns. I'd recommend it to people who enjoy contemporary crime novels, even if it never quite reaches the levels of menace and tension that it perhaps could.

On their way to their cottage in Wales on February morning, Chris and Leah Hills stop for coffee at a small service station. When Chris can't find Leah he raises the alarm.. where did his wife go and why did nobody see her enter or leave the shop. DS Baker and DS Daley are on duty and turn up at the location to begin the search.

This was a very quick read that I finished in just a few hours. Some very unlikeable characters and a great story that keeps you guessing. Thanks to Mirror Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book to read in exchange for my honest opinions

If you’ve watched and enjoyed films like The Vanishing and Breakdown you’ll love this book. Chris Hills is distraught when his wife Leah apparently vanishes at a service station on the way to their holiday cottage in Wales. Can Sergeant Mel Daley and her boss, Detective Inspector Harry Baker find her? Is Chris as innocent as he appears? I thought I’d guessed what was going on but it didn’t stop me enjoying the read to see if I was right.
If I’m honest there was a little too much detail (courtesy of Sergeant Mel) & explanations on police procedures (YAWN) for me but luckily I have speed skimming down to an art so I read like a cheetah over these bits :).

All in all a good book that kept me engaged and interested.

A good thriller that kept you speculating all the way through. Would recommend.

Losing Leah is a debut crime thriller by an established author. The novel centres around the disappearance of Leah Hills and her husband’s insistence that she has come to harm.
The novel opens as security staff attempt to comfort a man stating, “I can’t find my wife” & “you have to find her”.

When the police arrive at Hoden Gap services. We the reader discover the formalities of missing persons cases. That there are 80+ missing people per day. That each case is assessed for its level of risk and the greater the risk the more complex the case and the more resources that are available.

What happens when a simply weekend away, turns into a living nightmare….

The police officers decide there are four possible solutions with the case. That either Leah left of her own volition, she was abducted, she is still present at the services or that she was never there at all.
They hope she is located soon and this was all just one big misunderstanding. But things are rarely as simple as they appear at first…..

If in doubt, think murder

None of the staff at the services, report a single sighting of Leah that day. Although the CCTV images are poor, none lead to visual image of Leah either. Which just leaves the police to gather information and evidence from the husband Chris Hills.

Chris is rude, abrupt and obnoxious. I instantly disliked his character, I found him to be controlling and domineering with his attitudes towards his wife. But this alone, doesn’t make him a killer.
He tells the officers that They were travelling from their home in Norfolk, to their holiday cottage in Wales. That although Leah was needy, weak and needed ‘looking after’ she was not unhappy about their trip. He reports that she had only recently stopped taking her antidepressant medication, after the death of her best friend 18 months ago. Every time Chris spoke, I found myself loathing his character more and more.
The police organise a full-scale search of the area and begin to look into, EVERY aspect of the couple’s lives. Chris hands them the keys to the properties and car. Is he confidant or cocky?
One thing is for certain, the police will leave no stone unturned to find a vulnerable woman.

The novel is an interesting exploration into ‘what goes on behind closed doors’ and surrounding people the couple interacted with. The ending was cleverly done, but I felt there could have been more depth and details. The greatest element that kept me hooked, was the theme that being an oddball or unlikeable doesn’t necessarily make someone a killer. I kept reading on and on trying to guess the plot and conjuring up various theories. 4*

Losing Leah
by Sue Welfare

Mirror Books

General Fiction (Adult) , Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 22 Mar 2018


I am reviewing a copy of Loosing Leah through Mirror Books and Netgalley:


Chris and Leah stop for Coffee at a isolated service station, not far from the Welsh border on a cold February Morning. While Leah goes inside to order their drinks. Chris locks up the car. Minutes pass and Leah doesn't come back. When Sergeant Mel Daley along with her boss , Detective Inspector Harry Baker arrive to begin the search on the missing women, everything is called into question, and they cannot help but wonder if she is even alive.

Could she have left with another person?

Did Leah even leave Norfolk?

As the mystery unfolds the Detective and Sergeant begin to unravel dark secrets from the past?


Five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Thank you to Netgalley and Mirror Books for an arc of "Losing Leah" by Sue Welfare.
It took me a few pages to acclimatize to the writing style of this book, Once in though, I was hooked! Wow - what an intricately clever plot to keep the reader guessing what has happend to Leah!
Definitely a book for those who enjoy a good mystery.

Thank to Netgalley for the advanced copy...

I really enjoyed reading and it was great as well!

The book begins with Chris Hills being found in the ladies toilets of a service station searching for his lost wife, Leah. She had disappeared after going into the service station, DI Harry Baker and DS Mel Daley arrive to investigate her disappearance and find that there are no sightings of her on CCTV and begin to have their suspicions about Chris and his story.
The book then turns into a great read. It is quite a short book but very absorbing, with a good plot. It starts off as just a missing person investigation but you know that there is a lot more going on and will leave you guessing right until the end. I hope this book will turn out to be the first in a series featuring Harry Baker and Mel Daley.
Thanks to NetGalley and Mirror books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Okay, this book was absolutely breathtaking! I cried and got so angry with this book! I do not recommend reading this book if you are having your time of the month! It will mess with your emotions so bad! Losing Leah was written very well and this author knew just how to play with your mind and send you on a rollercoaster ride! Sometimes you never know how losing someone can really mess with your head and how a race against time to find them and get them home safely destroys everything. I would buy this book and recommend it to everyone who loves a great thriller.

Good book overall, Well written and enjoyed the characters and the relationships between them. I usually do not prefer books written in the first person but did not mind the aspects of this book that were written this way. I did guess the ending but that did not detract from the overall enjoyment of the book.

I would like to thank Mirror Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Losing Leah’ by Sue Welfare in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Chris and Leah Hills stop off at Hoden Gap Services on their way to the Welsh holiday home Chris owns. Chris goes inside to order coffee for them both while Leah makes her way to the toilets, but although Chris waits for her to return Leah disappears and is nowhere to be found. DS Mel Daley and her boss DI Harry Baker arrive to question Chris and organise a search of the surrounding area but they can’t understand why there’s no CCTV coverage of Leah anywhere. Although Chris Hill insists their marriage is blissful and loving, he comes over as jealous, manipulative and a liar, but there doesn’t appear to be anything that links him to Leah’s disappearance.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Losing Leah’, the plot is well thought-out and becomes very tense and exciting. From looking at previous novels written by Sue Welfare it’s easy to imagine that she writes only chicklit, but this novel certainly proves she’s capable of deeper and more thought-provoking work. It’s easy to read, has lots of twists and turns that managed to keep me guessing, and an ending that I wasn’t expecting. Well done Sue!

In the book Losing Leah, author Sue Welfare, writes a very compelling story of Leah who has simply disappeared. But things are not as they seem. And the more the police dig the more secrets are being uncovered. What is happening? And is Leah’s husband responsible or just an innocent spouse?
I would recommend this mystery/thriller book. It is a very compelling read. It does have hard language. I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book! Excellent story with brilliant main characters. I would recommend this book.

Chris and Leah Hills stop for a coffee at an isolated service station a stones throw from the Welsh borders. While Leah heads inside, Chris locks the car and heads inside to order them a drink. She shouldn't be long, they'd only stopped to stretch their legs. But Leah does not come back!

Sargent Mel Daley and Detective Inspector Harry Baker have their work cut out trying to find out what happened to Leah. The story starts as a basic police procedural which then gets darker. There are revelations and disturbing clues and a final blood chilling twist. The more we read the more we get told shocking information on Leah. My only criticism is I thought was unnecessary about this story I was Mel Daley's private life. Apart from that, this is a really good debut novel.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Mirror Books and the author Sue Welfare for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a slow burning psychological mystery, gradually revealed to be what one imagines at the beginning, but the craft is in the reveal, and this author does that quite well, if somewhat slowly. The main character, who appears to be the protagonist but becomes the antagonist, is in all respects weak and unlikeable, which is a brave narrative strategy. The police characters are invariably good guys, which is not very realistic, but the female cop character is well developed and I hope she lives on to another novel.

"Loosing Leah" starts very slowly and not very unusual. A couple stops at a rest stop on their way to their holiday home in Wales. The woman, Leah, goes to the bathroom. But she does not return. Her husband is completely dissolved and calls the police. Leah just disappeared. The whole story becomes more mysterious with every page and inconsistencies arise.

The book is a slow burner. The writing style is calm and unspectacular. At first I really had to concentrate to focus on the story. But gradually the whole thing became more interesting. The many little things that did not fit together and the mystery of Leah's disappearance made me curious. I soon had an idea how it could have been. I was right with my assumption. However, the book ends a bit abruptly.

"Loosing Leah" is a slowly increasing subtle drama. Leah remains an enigmatic figure all the time, and one can understand why the investigating officer Mel Delany gets so into it. I especially liked the gloomy atmosphere and how slowly more and more abysses are opening up. I can understand when some readers classify the book as too lengthy. It took me a while to get into it. But then I would have liked to read it in one sitting. I found the private problems of Mel Delany a bit unneseccessary. The character drawing is a bit superficial on all characters and maybe this storyline should give Mel some depth. I could have done without it. But the story about the disappearance of Leah and the police work around it convinced me. I really enjoyed this book.

I didn't know what to expect when I picked up Losing Leah, but I guess those books are the best, aren't they? I was definitely in for a wild ride:

On a cold February morning, Chris and Leah Hills are on their way to Wales. Before crossing the Welsh boarder, though, they stop at an isolated service station for coffee. While Leah heads inside, Chris locks the car and goes in to order them a drink. He then waits for Leah to come back from the Ladies' but when she still hasn't appeared after quite a while, Chris gets frantic.
Sergeant Mel Daley and her boss, Detective Inspector Harry Baker, take over the search for Leah Hills. While investigating in every possible direction, they unravel a tangle of dark secrets from the past.

I really grew to love thrillers in the past 1.5 years but not all of them blew me away: there was not enough suspense, the pace was too slow, the plot twist didn't convey the desired Holy-Guacamole affect... I could go on and on about thrillers that just didn't do it for me. Losing Leah, however, was quite the opposite. Sue Welfare turned a simple missing person scenario into a gripping and fast-paced storyline. I really enjoyed it.

From the very first page until the very last, the story had me hooked. Where was Leah Hills? Everyone wanted to know: Chris Hills, her colleagues, the investigating police force, but especially me.
Last year I read a novel about a kidnapped girl, 99 Red Balloons, and although the stories are not at all smiliar, both books had the police investigating on the case. Whereas the focus in 99 Red Balloons was about the family and other people involved and how they reacted and coped with the events, the focus in Losing Leah was on the police side of things only. It was interesting but also educational to see how DS Daley, DI Baker and the rest of the police force handled and operated the case, but especially why they did the things they did. Sue Welfare even included UK statistics, e. g. how many women go missing every year, how the police classify missing people's cases or when the police look for a body instead of a person. Sue Welfare did her homework, which really impressed me.
What also impressed me was the fact that Losing Leah is Sue Welfare's debut in the thriller genre since she usually writes contemporary romance books. For this is only her "first try" so to speak, she did extraordinary well!

The book was told from the first person narrative of DS Daley and the third person narrative of DI Baker. Since both worked on the same case but investigated on different ends, I got a fantastic view on how they both put together the puzzle piece by piece.
Each page and each chapter revealed new shocking details and information on Leah and on what might have happened to her. I still can't fathom the depth and the complexity of the story: It started out with a missing person only but it turned to be so much more.
Also, I'm pretty sure that I will never look at snowdrops the same again.

"Sometimes it was the tiniest detail that made all the difference."

There was actually only one thing that I didn't like about the story, or rather one thing which I found unnecessary: DS Daley's private life. Although it was quite nice to see what kind of person she was off-duty, those few scenes only stirred up irrelevant drama which didn't contribute to the story and the outcome at all.

Losing Leah is a total page turner: it is captivating, suspenseful, and utterly shocking.
Please pre-order this thriller with the links below, if you want to know what happened to Leah Hills. Losing Leah will release on March 22nd!

I haven’t heard or seen of this author before but I liked the front cover so thought I’d give it a go. So glad I did because I throughly enjoyed it! Well written and looking forward to more from this author.

Wow! That was utterly incredible. It’s always so refreshing to read a crime thriller that puts a whole new twist on and takes you on a wildly different journey.

Chris Hills reports his wife (Leah Hills) missing at a service station in the middle of nowhere whilst they were on holiday. She seems to just completely vanish without a trace.

The novel is gripping, well written and the characters are fascinating with excellent prose.
I won’t say too much because I don’t want to spoil it for future readers but go get a copy!

Many thanks to net galley, Mirror Books and Sue Welfare for the digital copy of this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this debut crime thriller by Welfare. Leah has suddenly disappeared while she and husband Chris are on their way to enjoy a vacation. Chris reports her missing and assures detectives she would never leave him, they were destined to be together. However, as the story unfolds, detectives become more and more suspicious of Chris because things just don’t seem to add up.

I was not expecting some of the twists this book provided, and it kept me on my toes wanting to read more. I’m looking forward to more writings from Welfare.

Loved this novel, with a shocking ending that will leave you breathless. Don't miss!

Really enjoyed this even though the ending was predictable. Read it in a day.

unputdownable!! Lots of twists and turns, kept me guessing, love it!

3 1/2 stars

The reader is thrown right into the action as the book begins: Chris and Leah Hills make an early morning stop at a service station, but Leah never returns from her visit inside. Of course, nothing is as it seems to be, and neither Chris nor Leah are quite whom we expect. The character of the investigating detective, Sergeant Daley, is intriguing. She also has secrets of her own.

I'll admit I wasn't overly surprised by the "reveal" at the end, but I still enjoyed the twisty route getting there.

A compelling, quick read. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

A fast paced easy read that kept me guessing all the way through.. even though I did have my guesses throughout. :)

I really enjoyed this book!
It wasn't a jam-packed action/thriller, but I thought the story was very well written.

The pace was steady and kept me wanting more, even though there wasn't any big twist I was satisfies with the ending. The last phrases of the book were kind of mind blowing for me personally. Great ending, it kind of ends in a cliffhanger and I would of liked to know more but that's okay.

It is a police procedural book in my opinion, and the narrator is one of the cops investigating. There was a little personnel background story on her and I did like that that was added in the story. It made her more relatable instead of just making it about the investigation.

I'm really looking forward to reading more from this author!

This was a weird book. In the beginning you have so much sympathy with the poor man who lost his wife, you just want to help the police look for her.... then the story goes on.... and you sympathy starts going away..... Thrilling until the very end! Recommended.