Finding Tessa

Wow!!! I could NOT put this book down! I was so bummed when real life got in the way of my reading because I just had to see what happened next! Finding Tessa started out with sort of a Gone Girl vibe but had a totally different feel once the twist happens about midway through, which I just loved. Tessa is one of those characters my heart just goes out to and I want to be her friend. I didn't know who was lying or telling the truth and was just waiting for the next twist. And I was never disappointed! I cannot wait to see what Jaime Lynn Hendricks comes up with next! And I absolutely loved the ending of this book! I highly recommend Finding Tessa if you're looking for a book with a lot of twists and suspense!

Huge thanks to Scarlet, WW Norton, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in advance in exchange for my honest review!

Jace and Tessa seem happily married. When Jace returns home from a late night meeting, Tessa is missing Their story is told in alternating points of view, shifting from Tessa to Jace. This is a thriller that makes your heart pound. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my review.

In the vein of Gaslit and Gone Girl comes about a novel about marital harmony gone wrong. Twisted and spellbound, this plot races off the first page. This is amazing thriller. I highly recommend it.

Jace and Tessa appear to be a young couple in love but looks are deceiving. When Jace Montgomery comes home late from work he finds his wife Tessa is missing. There’s broken glass at the back door. Clumps of her hair and blood. Jace is the #1 suspect as he is the husband so naturally it’s him. Jace maintains his innocence until a coworker he is accused of having an affair with ends up dead and the gun, is found in Jaces home.

Meanwhile, Tessa finally feels safe, having set up her husband to take the fall for her disappearance. Tessa needs to break old habits of bad men while trying to stay alive even when the new people in her life are not who they seem. Jaces lies don’t add up and the police are suspicious. Will Tessa be able to escape her past?

I love the past/present tense of the timelines mixed with the different POVs in this book. It really makes you think one thing, when it’s really another and then another again 😏 I don’t want this to contain any spoilers but the timeline and POV really make this book a different type of domestic thriller and I enjoyed it!! You feel for Tessa and Jace alike as they are both emotional characters and the twist is pretty 🤩 I will definitely be looking into more of Jaime Lynn Hendricks novels!!!

Thank you Netgalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review!!!

An absolutely strong debut thriller Jamie Lynn Hendricks has crafted with Finding Tessa.

I really don’t want to go too far into the storyline because there are some neat little twists in here that are so well designed that they’re on you before you even realise. Essentially, we’re following the lives of Tessa Smyth, as she runs from an abusive marriage and Jace Montgomery, who finds himself the lead suspect of his wife’s disappearance (and presumed murder) with evidence piling up against him. All told through alternating points of view we as readers are constantly wondering where this will go.

Like I said there’s some very well placed twists in here and I only saw the final twist a couple of pages before it happened because of all the different leads you’re trying to follow. But the best one happens after the first third or so of the book and that’s what really gripped me in once I realised what was actually going down. Hendricks definitely keeps you on your toes (even me a seasoned thriller reader).

Jaime Lynn Hendricks’ debut novel, “Finding Tessa,” is a nail-biting thrill ride from cover to cover! It’s been described by her publishers as a Dear Wife (Kimberly Belle) meets Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn).

Hendricks is counting on you to read this one slowly instead of racing along and flipping pages because you’ll get confused. Guaranteed.

Arriving home late one night after a client meeting, Jace Montgomery discovers that his wife is missing. In addition to Tessa’s purse and phone on the counter, there’s broken glass, hair and blood everywhere. The cops in Valley Lake, New Jersey have him pegged as a suspect. He maintains his innocence despite mounting evidence. It’s only when a co-worker ends up dead and a search warrant turns up an illegal gun in his home, that everyone wants to know what he’s hiding.

Tessa finally feels safe after executing a perfect set up. Her husband will be charged with her disappearance. She’s tired of making bad choices and staying with bad men. Can she outrun her secret past?

Hendriks has a gift for writing psychological thrillers. This may be her first, but with the success this release is certain to garner, I have no doubt there’ll be more of her twists and turns on the way. Don’t miss publication day, May 11, 2021.

Remember my warning. Read slowly. This domestic thriller will make you question everything you’ve just read, everything you know and as you turn the last page, you’ll wonder how well you really know your partner.

Smoke and mirrors, baby. Smoke and mirrors.

Thank you to Jaime Lynn Hendricks, Penzler Publishers and Netgalley. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

And the crowd goes wild! 🤩 Congratulations to Jaime Lynn Hendricks on a job well done with your debut thriller, I was not able to put it down and can’t wait to read more by you! In this dark, twisty story our heroine is escaping the clutches of an extremely abusive past and longing for genuine love and happiness. I found myself grieving for her disturbing life, biting my nails over her predicaments and hoping she finds what she’s looking for. But there are some big surprises along the way that made my head spin. This thriller will excite even the most well read thriller reader, highly recommend! Releases May 11, 2021

Thank you to Netgalley, Penzler Publisher and the author for an electronic ARC for my honest review.

Can we just say WOW! I'm still kind of blown away by this one. Here's what I loved most. We all know a Tessa or maybe we are a Tessa, but either way it's relatable and we know about this woman. The mind games- I didn't see them coming and every single chapter left me completely hanging. I gasped a million times because there are so many twists and turns. I was emotionally invested in this one for sure. It's so well-crafted and the pace is so fast. I'm in love.

What didn't I love about it? Nothing. Read it. It's brilliant and I can't wait for another one from this author.

Well, this book calls for a stellar, but short review because it is a book that you should to into cold. I will say that at the beginning I was disappointed because I thought it was going to be a take-off on Gone Girl, but it was not.

Finding is a twisty thriller. The main character is Tessa whose exes are all (in her words) assholes. She finally thinks she has found a good one, but has she? There are twists and turns throughout, and short chapters make it a very quick and satisfying read. It is written from two perspectives: Tessa, who is on the run, and her husband Jace. I don't want to say anymore except READ THIS BOOK as soon as it comes out in early May 2021.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers/Scarlet for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Finding Tessa is sure to be a huge hit.

5 stars.
Love love loved this nook!!! So many moving parts and great transition between characters and time. Highly recommend!

UNPUTDOWNABLE!

Usually I read a book every two days , but when my day started at 330 AM, I was able to read this breathtakingly FAST, SUSPENSEFUL novel in just one day!

And, I am so glad that I just added it and requested it after reading a friend’s spoiler free review WITHOUT reading the book description because now that I have....I think the synopsis gives away a few too many surprises!!

Yes, the GIRL is GONE and framing her latest husband!
But, don’t make the mistake of thinking you have read this before!

Tessa’s many husbands all have TWO things in common...they like to physically abuse her, and they share a name-A**hole!!

But, THIS time, she wants to break the cycle and GET EVEN!
And, she has finally found someone to help!

Told from the alternating perspectives of TESSA as she makes her escape, and JACE, her husband who “comes home” from entertaining clients to “find” that Tessa is missing, and there are clumps of hair and blood on the kitchen floor.

Jace maintains his innocence, of course, but, the evidence is damning...

Putting together pieces of the puzzle was fun, and I picked up on some clues!
Which means, NO PLOT HOLES in THIS taut thriller!

But, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t ever surprised!
One twist in particular had my mouth hanging open in shock!

DEBUT author Jaime Lynn Hendricks proves that you CAN write a thriller with some characters to root for, and you don’t need coincidences to wrap things up!

BEST of all- you CAN write one WITHOUT resorting to animal harm to make your point!
🐶 Candy will be fine!

Do yourself a favor and pre-order this one!
May 11, 2021 is the publication date so you don’t have long to wait!

Thank you to Scarlet Publishing for providing an ARC through NetGalley!
It was my pleasure to provide a candid review and I am excited to say that I have another auto-request author!
I look forward to seeing what she pens next!