Wow, such a good read.
Many twists and turns, not knowing where they would lead. Very well written. At first I was disappointed in the end but this is one of those books that stays in your head after finishing it and I came to the conclusion there could be no other end. Brilliant book, the characters were so realistic and I was in all the places visited!

Libby and her husband Jamie are offered the chance at a house swap; their cozy 2 bedroom flat in Bath, for a gorgeous house in the middle of nowhere overlooking the sea in Cornwall. A holiday couldn't have come at a better time for them. Libby was caught up in a fire at the school where she teaches, and branded a hero after rescuing someone kids. Although she hated all of the attention and it brought back some unwanted memories of a fire at a backpackers hostel in Thailand that Libby was caught up in ten years ago. Jamie has set up his own I.T consultancy firm and needs a break from the stress. On top of that Libby suffered a miscarriage a few months ago, so the pair need some time away to put some of the stress, tension and anxiety behind them and get their marriage back on track. The house swap couldn't seem to have fallen into their laps at a better time. Or does it all just seem too good to be true...

Although the house is absolutely stunning and looks like it belongs in a high end interior design magazine, odd occurrences keep happening. A man seems to be following them and taking photos. Was an incidence on a cliff top really an innocent push? Is Libby suffering ptsd and overly paranoid and anxious? Is Jamie being honest with her? Are the owners of the stunning house what they seem to be?

Initially I thought this was going to just be another ok so-so thriller. However, and i can't disclose why without spoiling anything, my opinion totally changed at around the 50% mark and it became more than I thought it would. I can't say much more for fear of spoiling anything! It's one one those thrillers you're best going into blind - the less you know about it the better, and the more you will enjoy it. Last Seen Alive is a speedy read; chockablock full of tension and edge of your seat moments; a gripping thriller which is well worth a read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin U.K - Michael Joseph for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest and unbiased review.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

And honest it will be, I'm afraid. Also, it'll contain some mild **spoilers**.

No, this one did not work for me. Really amateur plot, juvenile writing, poor dialogues.
The idea has been done before, many times, and much better. Besides, I have an immediate distaste for any book that relies on the idea that one's significant other deserves to know every single part of the other's past. They don't. Everyone has the right to keep some things secret and any plot that demands the "no more lies? no more lies." dialogue makes me cringe. Because we all know upon reading this that sure enough, there will be something else and then a fight over this another "lie."
And what to say about how many new villains there were in this story? Just for the sake of shocking and for adding some plot twists. It felt desperate and super soap-opera-ish. Unconvincing and melodramatic, to sum it up.

Anyway, I did not enjoy this novel at all and I specially did not like the author's writing style (For example, I asked my kindle to count how many times the word *surely* appears on this book. It tells me there are 30 pages of results, 30 pages of paragraphs with this one word, repeated ad nauseam by the protagonist.)

This book gripped me from the start and I enjoyed every second of it! Great characters great pace and an excellent story with twists and turns to keep you going! A great 5 star read!

I am a little ambivalent about this book overall i enjoyed it but got tired of all the twists and turns at one point. It felt like the author was throwing every idea she had ever thought may be useful in a book at this storyline. It is a veritable who's who of the name Elizabeth and lacked even one really straight-forward and likeable character - I suppose Florrie was the nearest we got to that. However i like the ending and i foresee a sequel which i would want to read

Libby and Jamie exchange the city living of Bristol for the wilds of Cornwall in a house-swap, courtesy of a leaflet through the door requesting somewhere for a couple to stay whilst their daughter is in hospital and offering their country home in exchange. OK, so I do have reservations about the common sense of doing this but the rest of the book blew me away so much that I had completely forgotten my niggle about this situation very early on.
Libby and Jamie really need a break. They both work hard, haven't been married long and are struggling a bit with everything going on around them. Libby spots the leaflet, broaches the subject with her husband and, together they agree that it could be just what they need with Libby still recovering from surviving a fire at the school where she works and also a having a miscarriage. So they pack up and journey to a small Cornish village where they are amazed at the house before them.
But, all isn't quite the idyllic break the two of them envisaged and hoped for. Before long, Libby starts to think she is being watched. As she has had a bit of a past herself, some of which she has told Jamie about, but not all, he thinks it's all in her head. And then things get even weirder for the two of them and that's about all I am saying here as this book has so many twists and turns, truths and lies, hidden pasts, layer upon layer of duplicity and all other shenanigans that to even start to mention any more would just be wrong as it would contain spoilers.
This book gripped me from the start and didn't relinquish its hold until the very last page. Well, actually beyond that as I don't think that I have stopped thinking about it even after a couple of days; it has that sort of an ending! Luckily I was able to read pretty much start to finish in only a couple of sittings as it became somewhat of a compulsive read for me.
I really felt for Libby and all that she had been through and connected with her pretty much from the start. That connection more or less held firm throughout the book, even when her past started to unravel. Jamie I also connected with quite early on, despite his shortcomings and failures, he came across as mostly likeable and I just thought he was trying to do his best. Well, initially anyway!
The way the book twisted and turned initially had me rapt. Then I read something that I didn't quite understand. Something that didn't quite make sense. Had I found a plot hole, an error? Surely not! Well, actually, I hadn't... all became clear soon after... and then... well, you've got to read it to find out what happens! It takes quite a lot to impress me in books of this genre due to the sheer volume of them I read but I have to repeat that this book completely blew me away. Especially the ending - perfection!
All in all a perfectly satisfying read that held me in its power throughout. Having read and enjoyed this author's previous books, this one definitely nails her on my watch list. Can't wait for the next one.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Girl with a past seeks quiet life, achieves such until she saves children's lives in a fire and hits the national press. From out of the woodwork step people who have a desire for revenge and the means to execute said desire. Cue mysterious goings on, increasing levels of harm and a young couple torn apart by lies and deceit. And murder.

I rather enjoyed this novel right up until the final chapters, when it all gets layered on a bit too thick. The epilogue is completely unnecessary and serves no purpose either to complete the story or to suggest a sequel. - it could be cut out with absolutely no effect to the main book.

And as for the whole 'Hannah' element of the story, this needn't exist either. It would make no difference to the core tale and, in fact, serves as a distraction and unnecessary complication at the end. A case of less is more if ever I saw one.

The story has potential to be darker, deeper and more twisty and perhaps in the hands of a different writer would have delivered more tension and intensity. Unfortunately, the delivery does not match the concept. I hope the writer keeps trying though, there is clearly a sharp imagination at work here. The whole storyline is scarily feasible!

This was a great read with so many twists and turns that I could hardly put it down.

Libby and Jamie receive a note through the door inviting them to swap their basement flat in Bath for a large secluded house in Cornwall as the owners of the Cornwall house need to be in Bath urgently to be close to the hospital where their daughter's having a lifesaving heart operation.

Libby's has a tough time recently and could use a change of scene so they decide to go ahead. The house in Cornwall is beyond their wildest dreams - pure luxury and spaciousness with beautiful decor and gadgets. But then strange things start occurring. Jamie is initially sceptical putting it down to Libby's anxiety since she was involved in a scary incident at the school where she teaches. There is also the underlying mystery that something happened to Libby years before in Thailand which she won't even talk to Jamie about.

There were a few points where I had to suspend belief - a bit like on TV where there's a serial killer on the loose but people walk into dark rooms without switching on the lights. There were also a few loose ends which I would have liked to be cleared up about the owners of the house in Cornwall and some of the objects in it. But this is all fine as it makes a great story and I will most certainly seek out more books by Claire Douglas.

A dark, menacing plot. I was enthralled with this book. Libby and Jamie fairly recently married and needing a break are offered a house swap. It seems too good to be true as they swap their small flat in Bath for a stunning, huge house in Cornwall. However, all is not as it seems. The house is remote and strange people are lurking with unexplainable happenings. Libby is getting over a trauma and appears to have had another in her past. Is she over reacting or are these many strange things going on. As the story continues and you slowly find out more about the past this book will start throwing you all over the place with the twists and turns. A great read.

I loved Local Girl Missing and have The Sisters on my tbr list so I was excited to start reading this one, Claire Douglas is fast becoming one of my favourite thriller authors.

This one tells the story of Libby and Jamie Hall who are in desperate need of a break away from it all after an eventful few months so, when a leaflet drops through their door requesting a house swap from a couple needing a property in Bath for a week while their daughter is in hospital, in exchange for their beautiful beachside property in Cornwall, Libby thinks all their prayers have been answered, but surely it's too good to be true? She liaises by phone with the owner and everything is agreed, soon after they arrive in Cornwall and it becomes evident quite quickly that things aren't quite as they seem.

This book has more twists than a rollercoaster but the real WTF moment had me reading and re-reading a certain paragraph until it finally sunk in what had happened! I soon found out there was more to come and OMG what an ending, it was perfect!!

I absolutely love this author's work and will definitely be bumping The Sisters up my TBR list, I devoured Last Seen Alive in less than two days and all thoughts of the housework that needed doing were cast aside because I just HAD to finish this book and find out what secrets Libby and Jamie were hiding.

I would like to thank Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for approving me to read this early copy and I will post my review on Goodreads now and on Amazon UK & US and Twitter on publication day. I highly recommend this book, it's brilliant!! A very easy 5 stars from me.

Last seen alive is a brilliant book that just keeps on giving !!! It is full of suspense and twists and turns and mystery .Just when you think you have the answers it changes course and something else is revealed you had no idea about .The story is really about power jealousy and revenge .This is one of those books that hook you at the beginning until the very last page .Just brilliant !!!

Libby and her husband James exchange their flat in Bath for a beautiful house in Cornwall. It's a chance for them to heal their marriage. But the Cornish house is not the getaway they hoped for. They make odd and disturbing discoveries in the house. Libby never feels entirely alone. Is Libby being watched? What is her husband hiding? When the secrets and lies unfold, is the past about to catch up with them?

This book is full of paranoia, tension and suspicion. We get to know a little of Libby's background where she saved schoolchildren from a fire that broke out in a school kitchen. She also had a miscarriage so getting asked to house swap seemed to happen at the right time. But when something seems to be too good to be true, it normally is. Strange events occur. So many questions are asked but no one can answer. Libby is afraid but someone is clearly trying to cause trouble. This is an edge of your seat, gripping, fast paced,with more twist and turns that will keep you guessing till the end.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin UK -Michael Joseph and the author Claire Douglas for my ARC in exchange for an honest review..

This one is hitting the shelves in just a few days and thanks to NetGalley I got to review it ahead of release. And I am so glad I did! This is the sort of book that once you start it, you won't want to put it down. It's gripping from beginning to end with some incredible twists in the middle.

THE HERO

Libby Hall never really wanted to be noticed. But after she saves the children in her care from a fire, she finds herself headline news. And Horrified by the attention. It all reminds her of what happened nine years ago. The last time she saw her best friend alive.

THE SWAP

Which Is why the house swap is such a godsend. Libby and her husband Jamie exchange their flat in Bath for a beautiful, secluded house in Cornwall. It's a chance to heal their marriage - to stop its secrets tearing them apart.

THE HIDEAWAY

But this stylish Cornish home isn't the getaway they'd hoped for. They make odd, even disturbing, discoveries in the house. It's so isolated - yet Libby doesn't feel entirely alone. As if she's being watched.

Despite their flaws, the main characters are likeable and I found myself rooting for them both from the start. Libby with her anxieties and Jamie with his frustrations. I think it's really hard to honestly review this without spoilers so I'm not going into too much detail!

If you enjoyed this... check out Douglas's other books, particularly 'The Sisters.' If you enjoyed reading her works then you'll probably enjoy anything by Sophie Hannah and Emma Donohue.

I liked The Sisters, I loved Local Girl Missing but Last Seen Alive is absolutely my favourite Claire Douglas book so far! She is now one of the few authors that I trust enough to preorder her books without even reading the blurb.

When Libby and Jamie have a note through their door from a family looking for a potential house swap, it couldn’t have been a better timed opportunity for them. Poor Libby is still in plaster after an incident at the school she teaches at but she is also hiding a deeper tragedy so getting away from it all seems ideal, especially when they arrive at the beautiful home they have swapped with! Now, since the recent rise of AirBnb has made staying in other people’s houses much more acceptable as a cheap place to stay, I was incredibly suspicious right from the start as to why a flyer would be put through a door like it was. And of course I was right as some very strange things started happening once they were in Cornwall. In their dark, atmospheric but luxurious surroundings Libby starts to get paranoid, slowly developing a feeling that something isn’t quite right and that they are being watched but Jamie doesn’t agree, making her feeling of paranoia more pronounced. It soon becomes obvious one of them is holding onto secrets from the past but which one and why?

What really sucked me into this book was the relationship between Libby and Jamie! I was getting so frustrated with them both, especially Libby who seemed to have severe trust issues that weren’t help by Jamie’s dismissive behaviour which just seemed to wind up Libby even more! Although to be fair, I was feeling a fair few trust issues myself the more I delved into the plot! I felt sad that there seemed to be so many niggles between them that shouldn’t have been there especially for a couple who had gone through their recent difficulties! I kept thinking “Is it because Jamie is a man and they see and handle things slightly differently?” but my God, he was pushing MY buttons all the way through this book! He made some very questionable decisions and I didn’t trust him one iota!! And because of that I thought I would have had more empathy with Libby so was surprised that I didn’t, even when things came to a head further into the storyline.

The first few pages of Last Seen Alive throw you into a shocking scenario and the tension continues to mount throughout the first part of the narrative as you try to work out what the hell is going on and how it connects up. There are plenty of twists to shock you here and I found myself not trusting anyone even up until those final few pages. And while we are on that subject, what about that ending!! What are you trying to do to me Claire Douglas?! Although I have to admit I thought it finished off the book perfectly.

I found myself holding my breath at times through this intensely gripping and thrilling book. And it raised some very scary current issues that made me look at certain things very differently! I know that sounds a bit cryptic but I don’t want to spoil the brilliant surprises that lie in wait for you here! Definitely her best book so far so highly recommended by me.

The story opens on a murder scene then swiftly switches to the long story leading up to this moment.

A couple going through a stressful time are offered the chance to swap houses. Struggling for money it makes for a potential cheap holiday and a chance to get away from their problems for a while.

After arriving at an idyllic house in Cornwall a series of disturbing events eventually leave them to return home early where events are no less disturbing.

A series of unpredictable twists and turns ensue as secrets are revealed and lies exposed and just when you think you can see how the story will play out, a new revelation changes everything.

Great page turner!

I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a suitably 'claustrophobic' read.

Thank you to Netgalley,the publisher and author for providing this book for an open,honest review.

Last seen alive opens with a horror and you slowly but surely see this unfold.
Libby and Jamie are the main characters in this book. A leaflet comes through for a house swap at a time of your life where things are far from right,what would you do?
A plausible story,a chance to get away from it all. Would you take them up on it?
Libby and Jamie do just that and what follows is a page turner that has you devouring this book until the very last sentence.
I felt that this was a plausible and well written story.
I did not like either of the main characters however. I found Libby quite whiny and Jamie,well his true character is yet to be established other than potentially a mummies boy. The fact that I feel this way about them does not detract from the book and to enable such feelings to be felt only suggests to me that the characters are well written.
This is told mainly from Libbys viewpoint but in the past and present. The past has so much to do with the present and so as the story unfurls you feel you know the characters and their back story. Don't get too comfortable as there is always more to learn.
A story of deceit, power ,friendship,love and family. This is a gripping book and a must read.

When i seen claire douglas had another book out after local girl missing i jumped at the chance to read this. A seemingly perfect marriage then throw in a jilted ex, a note asking for a house swap, suspicious fire in which libbys friend dies, another jilted ex and lots of bad things start to happen....it is a good book which keeps you guessing. I did get abit confused as characters intertwine so much but thats part of the premise. Give this a read! Thanks netgalley & the publisher for the Arc in exchange for my honest review.

Last Seen Alive is the first novel by Claire Douglas that I’ve read and I loved it. It’s everything the blurb promised, and the secrets and lies never stop coming, right up to the end of the book. To write too much about the plot would only spoil it – you have to experience it as you read to get the full impact.

I can only say that right from the beginning of the book I was hooked as Jamie and Libby arrive at their house swap in the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall (I’ve been there – it is beautiful) and I felt the suspense and tension as they explored the house by the sea. It’s a remote detached rectangular house with a round turret at one end and inside it had been recently restored. They are dismayed by the contrast with their poky two bed flat in Bath. Immediately alarm bells are going off in Libby’s head, what were the owners’ real reasons for wanting to swap this house for their little flat?

Strange things happen, Libby’s fears escalate and then Jamie begins to question her about her past. He knew that Karen, her best friend had died in a fire when the two of them were in Thailand and that Libby had been lucky to escape. But she doesn’t want to talk about that and she knows that he is keeping things from her too. Then Jamie comes down with a bad attack of food poisoning and ends up in hospital. Their stay in Cornwall comes to an end as the owner tells them he is leaving their flat. They return and from then on everything gets worse – much worse.

Needless to say this is a complicated and complex story, perfectly paced as the secrets are revealed and the lies are exposed. The characterisation is good. As I read I grew to like Libby a lot but began to suspect that maybe she wasn’t as genuine as I first thought and Jamie’s attitude began to irritate me – signs that the characters are well drawn. At one point I began to get a glimmer about the truth as I realised how the Prologue fitted into the story.

I was never really sure who I could believe, just who was telling the truth. It’s one of those books that keeps you guessing right up to the end and this one is excellent, dramatic, tense and so very, very twisty.

The story of Libby and Jamie is fantastic a really well written second book, I was hooked from the beginning. I would have liked to find out what happpened to Libby and Beth at the end, and felt it was left a bit hanging in the air. But overall a great read and I can't wait for the third book.