I did enjoy this - and would probably give it a 3.5. Where it fell down for me was the charecters were a little unfinished at times.
I loved the premise - and the fact that Diane recently released from a psychiatric hospital after a breakdown comes home to her husband and young daughter. She soon realised things aren’t quite right, her husband more controlling and she keeps forgetting things, or does she? Thankfully she fights back, and that was worth reading it for! Love a bit of cheeky revenge! Would recommend.

Staying at home taking care of the kids can drive you a little crazy but this is what happens when things get extreme. Hearing things, struggling with reality are all quite unexpected. Keeps you guessing until the end.

Wanted to love it but just couldn't.

Diane is wife to Paul and Mother to Emma. Early in the book we learn that Diane has recently come home from an institution after some kind of breakdown, the details of which begin to unfold as the book progresses. I was so torn between loving and hating this book. There were a couple of nights where I read far too long as I just couldn't put it down, wanting to know what would happen next, I enjoyed the writing style and the intrigue around who Diane could and couldn't trust. But I felt that some of the reactions and events within the book were unrealistic and just wouldn't have played out in real life. When the ending came, I was almost glad the book was over. Worth a read and would definitely read more by this author but this one just missed the mark, I'm afraid.

The Housewife is anything but a story built around the life and times of a typical housewife. Valerie Keogh brings us Diane, wife of Paul, a couple living what should have been comfortably in middle-class London. It brings to mind the old adage 'Marry in haste, repent in leisure', and this marriage is a classic example of the same. Paul is set in his ways, very controlling in the running of the house and the marriage and the care of their three-year-old daughter Emma.

Diane, though independent and carefree when the couple met, married and moved Diane from Bristol to London is, during their fourth year together, struggling. She cries easily, has many missing blanks in her memories over the last year, a tendency to over-react to Paul's criticism, confusion about the events of the last year and her six weeks under care at a treatment center, and a tendency to drink a little too much wine. Paul is obviously unhappy, nit-picking about their home and Emma's care, burying himself in his work, making time at home only for the child he so obviously loves. As long as Diane keeps the laundry up, the house clean, and supper on the table in time for the TV news Paul can tolerate Jo's presence. What will he do if she can not continue to get it together enough to take care of Emma and the house? Is he seeing someone else? Is he trying to drive her crazy so he can divorce her and get full custody of Emma?

Jo knows that she has to fill in the blanks in her mind. When she asks Paul for answers, he just repeats the advice of the professionals who had her under care gave to him with her release- the memories would return with less damage to her psyche if that happened naturally, as Spontaneous Recovery. But Jo knows she is under deadline with Pauls' patience, that she is being shadowed by a woman she doesn't know, that Paul is spending too much time on the phone in his home office. That office he now keeps locked when he isn't in it. She might be paranoid but 'they' are out to get her. Who can she count on?

The tension stays at warp speed during this psychological thriller. I am pleased to recommend to friends and family.

I received a free electronic edition of this psychological novel from Netgalley, Valerie Keogh, and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

Diane has the perfect life. She met and married Paul, the perfect man. They moved into the perfect home. She has a perfect little girl named Emma. Then why is the perfect life falling apart .... why did Diane have a breakdown .... why has her husband changed? And, why can't she remember any of the events that led to her breakdown and hospital stay?

It has been month since she was released from the hospital and Diane is determined that life get back to normal. So, when Paul tells her that Emma has been accepted at a nursery school, she decides to take a volunteer position. On her very first day at the charity shop, she recognizes a customer - but where does she know this woman from? Soon she is seeing the woman everywhere and is convinced that she is being stalked. Then she starts hearing a baby crying and small flashes of what .... memories? She can't tell Paul .... he will think that she is hallucinating .... or is he the one behind it all? And why does she have such horrible thoughts when she enters the room that she used to adore?

I received an ARC of this book and was liking it okay - until the end. It was going along at a good pace and all of sudden, it was over, solved and wrapped up with a nice little bow in just a few pages. For me, the ending was just not realistic at all. 2 stars because of the poor ending to this book.

Valerie Keogh enthralled me with this truly exciting psychological thriller it was an emotional and of a ride from start to finish.
With more twists than a helter skelter I couldn't turn the pages fast enough and the ending blew me away - I most definitely did not see that coming.
This is a must read for all fans of this genre well deserved five stars.

Diane is recovering from a breakdown. She doesn’t know what happpened as she has amnesia and the doctors want to wait for her memory to come back naturally. Her husband is being supportive but is obviously frustrated at her lack of progress.
She decides to work voluntarily in a charity shop while her daughter goes to nursery. On her first day, a woman comes in and leaves abruptly. After that Diane sees her everywhere: is the woman a stalker or is it all in her imagination?
Diane starts to doubt her sanity. She starts hearing a baby crying. She is drinking heavily. She thinks her husband is having an affair. Who can she trust?
This is an incredibly powerful read. The first chapter charts Diane’s whirlwind romance, marriage and pregnancy. It makes for difficult reading to know what she has given up to be with the man that she loves. The disintegration of Diane’s apparently perfect life is heartbreaking to read.
As a reader, we are invited into Diane’s mind as she tries to work out whether she is really experiencing the sights and sounds that torment her. The wonderful thing about this book is we are left just as confused as she is, jumping to conclusions and being paranoid about the motives of others.
I did guess the big plot reveal at the end of the book and felt very pleased with myself for working it out. My only criticism is that I didn’t like the epilogue as I felt that Diane acted out of character. I love Valerie’s previous book (check out my review!) and am looking forward to the next!

What an amazing thriller! Absolutely loved it; every roller coaster moment of it. This book was full of surprises, and there was no boring moment. I highly recommend it.

So they say if you like the girl on the train and wife between us then you’ll like this... they were wrong, I loved it!! This book was totally awesome!! It kept me turning the page and never let me down! I loved the characters and the overall plot. I won’t give any of the book away for you but i dare you to try and read this in one sitting!
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Took me a while to get into this one. But once I did I ended up devouring the rest of it in one go. Superbly written and kept me guessing from one page to the next. Loved the unexpected ending.

I loved the description of this book. This is why I requested in on Netgalley. Unfortunately this fell alittle flat for me. The story didnt have as many twist and felt alittle slow. I was disappointed in this.

A first glance, you'd think this wife and mother had the world in her hands. That she lived a wonderful life and never worried about anything. But, looking at a life from the outside can never tell the whole story, and boy what a story! This book could easily be the next blockbuster movie that all of your friends insist you go see. I'm telling all of my friends and reading buddies that this book should be next on their TBR list. Don't start this one unless you have the time to read the whole thing in one sitting.

This book is very well written. It pulled me in almost right away and kept me interested until the very end. I will definitely be recommending this to the customers at my work!

Mmmm I wasn’t that keen on this book , it trundled along but didn’t have any highs or lows or twists and turns that I like . It was just ok , I’ve read better but also read worse

“ The Housewife” by Valerie Kough missed the mark for me. I get frustrated with characters who do things that make no sense. This book is repetitive with Diane exhausted, drinking coffe, unable to sleep, thinking someone is following her and a cold, disdainful husband. She never questions him though - hiding her problems and playing perfect wife and mother- dinner On the table and a smile when he comes home. I put this aside hoping I could come back to it but it’s not for me. Thank you for the advance copy. #netgalley #thehousewife

A compelling story brimming with an impending sense of doom!

Valerie Keogh has constructed a tale fraught with tension and deceit. A slow burnner page Turner with an addictive storyline. Lost memories? A stalker? I am in!

Diane is the seemingly perfect housewife, loving husband, adorable daughter, beautiful home. BUT as we all know nothing ever is quite as it seems. Diane has just recovered from a psychological breakdown and still is missing pieces of her memory. As Diane takes care of her home and her young daughter she is hopeful that her memories will return. BUT strange things are happening, she is absolutely terrified to go into the lounge in her home, she thinks she keeps hearing a baby crying, and she is certain there is somebody following her. Is somebody trying to drive Diane insane? Or is she already there?

I spent the majority of the story trying to figure out what was real and what wasn’t. not only had Diane just got out of a psychiatric clinic, she also was constantly popping pills and sipping wine, I’m sure that did not help her mental state. Diane was strung tight and I thought she was going to snap at any minute, I never knew whether I should sympathize with her or be suspicious of her. This Book kept me off balance the entire time.

An addictive story with a surprising and unsettling end, recommend!

*** Big thank you too Bookouture for my copy of this book ***

An unusual psychological thriller,typical setting of husband/wife, or is it?
Lots of twists and turns especially at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Diane seems to have the perfect life - a loving husband, a beautiful little girl, a lovely home but something is not right in her world. She's recovering from a psychological breakdown and things are not quite the way the people around her are leading her to believe.

A tight thrilling page turner, with so many turns where Diane thinks she has her life figured out only to find that she's put the pieces together wrong. She's starting to remember the past and it's haunting her to the point that she feels that she's hearing things, that she's being stalked.

When she finally gets it all right and puts the missing pieces of her life back where they were before her breakdown, the answers she gets are shocking......

The premise of this book was very intriguing and had the right idea to make a good story. However I felt the narrative was a bit too long I could have been a better reading experience if it were about a hundred Pages less.

This was a twisty little tale and I enjoyed it even tho it felt a little clichéd, like something I'd read before... I saw some of it coming almost from the beginning - that wasn't necessarily a problem, because the writing style was engaging and easy to fall into, and there were a few surprises tucked away throughout that kept me curious. It was a quick read as a result, although not exactly a story that stuck with me after I finished. .. It was entertaining while I was reading it though.