Suspense

Imagine this. You're a new mum. You've already got a teenager and didn't expect to do it all again. You're hallucinating through lack of sleep and your husband and your friend think it's a good idea not only to throw you a surprise party for your 40th birthday, but to invite the whole of your Facebook friends list. Nightmare!

Even worse, the man who broke Louisa's heart over 20 years ago when they were at college together has found himself on the invite list. Oliver Dunmore is a man Louisa never expected to see again. Now he's back in her life, insinuating his way into her family and friends and just generally putting Louisa on edge. Not to mention the fact that his new wife has gone missing. Something just doesn't seem to ring true.

Louisa is very unreliable. She's blanking out and the things she can recall may or may not be true. This makes for a really intriguing read as it's impossible to know if her memories can be trusted. Added to that she has gaps in her memory from the time when she first knew Oliver, things that she has just never been able to remember. This is a really fascinating aspect to the story, that some things are so traumatic that the brain chooses to block them out, lock them away somewhere.

I really felt for Louisa. She's struggling with her baby, her relationship with her husband is suffering, and her friend, Tiff, is behaving strangely. All in all, not what she needs.

I wouldn't say this is a story that kept surprising me, more than it kept leading me off down a maze of tunnels, some with dead ends and some with new information to add to what I already had. I thought this quite accurately fitted with Louisa's foggy brain. I didn't find it a particularly fast paced read, but it was absorbing nonetheless.

The ending held a couple of unexpected twists that I hadn't seen coming and provided the perfect conclusion to the whole tale. I really enjoyed The Missing Wife and found it to be an excellent psychological thriller. ( )

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

Louisa's biggest problem at the moment is trying to get enough sleep while dealing with a new baby. However, her fortieth birthday is approaching and her husband and best friend Tiff plan a huge surprise party. Louisa doesn't have any other close friends other than Tiff and is appalled when she arrives at the party only to discover that Tiff has invited everyone on Louisa's Facebook list of friends. One shocking guest is Oliver, Louisa's first love.

Not only did their relationship end very badly over twenty years earlier, Oliver's wife Melissa goes missing at the party. Louisa had far too much to drink the night of the party and cannot remember anything about Melissa. However, Oliver shows up at her door begging for her help. This is incredibly difficult for Louisa, and that is for several reasons. Yet, she reluctantly decides to help him.

As the weeks roll on, Louisa is plagued with fractured memories. This is something she dealt with her entire life. This is multi-layered story dealing with these emotional issues of Louisa go beyond being a harried mother. Furthermore, there are things about Oliver, and their shared past, that trouble her deeply and this leads to nerve-wracking moments for Louisa. Finding Melissa is not easy for Oliver, nor is it easy for the police. Other than Emily, Louisa's teen daughter, the only character I could trust in this story was Brian, Louisa's husband.

This story most definitely has several twists and turns. What is more is that the conclusion is something that I never saw coming. All while reading the story I was equally worried and frustrated for Louisa. Conversely, I never trusted Oliver from the moment he walked into Louisa's party.

Due to a conclusion that seemed a bit off, the rating on this book is a bit lower for a story that genuinely kept me quite interested. I was sold on looking for Melissa so I did find this to be a good book by Sam Carrington. I do look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Many thanks to Avon and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion. ( )

Louisa is a 40 year old with a teenage daughter and a fussy newborn. I could empathize with her. She is exhausted, no one seems to be helping her, the baby cries all the time, she can't focus or remember simple things, and now she suspects her husband and best friend are having an affair. When her husband books her a night out at a local hotel, all she wants is a complete night's sleep. Instead she is greeted with a surprise birthday party attended by all of her Facebook friends, none of whom are really Louisa's friends, and her first love Oliver whom she hasn't seen in twenty years. In her despair she drinks too much and remembers little of the evening. Oliver comes around to ask for her help in searching for his wife who went missing the night of the party. At this point I found the book going a little odd and unbelievable. Her husband welcomes Oliver and befriends him, even going out drinking with him. I can't imagine too many men would welcome their wife's ex into their lives so readily. Still, I read on to find answers for the questions I had. What caused Louisa's trauma induced amnesia from around the time she last saw Oliver? Why did he come back? Where is his missing wife? What is Tiff up to? Louisa's despair and postnatal depression are palpable. The book takes a surprising turn. I found the ending satisfying but out of character for the rather weak Louisa. Still, for the most part I enjoyed this book and the author's very readable style of writing. I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book for review. I hope to explore more of Sam Carrington's work. ( )