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.

This book had all the makings of a great psychological thriller however the story seemed to go on forever. I understand the author had to establish Diana's fragile state but there seemed to be some chapters that were not necessary. I would have liked more character development on Pam and her relationship with Paul...which is not revealed till the very end. This book is the definition of gaslighting your spouse. The ending seemed rushed but satisfying and the epilogue would make a better part two on this story.

Diane is a stay at home housewife, looking after husband Paul and their three year old daughter Emma.  They married after a whirlwind romance.  Diane has recently had a mental breakdown and even now she is back at home she is still having trouble remembering events that happened to cause this.  When Paul decides that Emma should go to a nursery, Diane becomes a part time volunteer at a charity shop and there sees a mysterious woman, who triggers something in her memory.  Who is this woman?  Why does she keep disappearing and reappearing?  Are her family in danger?  Why does she keep hearing a child cry?  Is she heading for another breakdown?  This is a slow building and creepy book that you have to keep reading and will leave you breathless with a totally unexpected ending.  A highly recommeded read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book 
.

This was my first time reading this authors work and boy did I enjoy it....
If you are looking for a read that will keep you guessing, then look no further than here. 
Valerie had me hooked right from the beginning with her storyline and her twists & turns throughout her novel will grip you...
Really enjoyed her characters too....
We meet Diane who is married to Paul. 
They have a daughter Emma who they both adore. They had a happy marriage once and seemed so in love. 
But what has happened....why can't Diane remember....and why is the atmosphere so strained between them.....
Just when you think you know what is going on, the author throws you another curveball to keep you guessing....
Loved it, a psychological thriller at its best....
You won't want to put it down I tell you....
It had me hooked....

First, bravo to Valerie Keogh! Second a very enthusiastic thank you to Bookoutre and Netgalley for my ARC.

Diane has been told she’s had a rough go of things. She has only recently returned from a psychiatric facility for reasons unknown to her. Her husband and Doctors agreed it would be better if her memories came back on their own.

What Diane does know is that after a whirlwind courtship and marriage followed by a pregnancy shortly thereafter, is that she loves and adores her husband Paul and lovely 3 year old daughter Emma. 

Things at home however soon begin to feel too close. Trapped. Foreboding. Has Paul always been such a control freak? Cue mysterious happenings, a women she always sees but then disappears. Really strange events that have Diane thinking she’s losing her grip on reality again.

But slowly, Diane is starting to catch on that all is not what it seems. We watch her journey as she goes from compliant to determined to figure out what is happening in her life that has her doubting her own sanity. Trusting in herself she begins to try and piece together the missing puzzle pieces even though some would prefer her to continue down the path to insanity.

Watch your back Paul. Diane has not lost the plot. I’ve never cheered at a book before but I did with this one.

A book that will keep you up well past bedtime. That’s the best kind of book!

This is the story of housewife and mum, Diane.  Married to Paul and mum to 3 year old Emma, the book begins with how she met Paul, moved from Bristol to London and married him.  Married life for them was spontaneous and romantic, although Paul was already showing signs that he was more dominant than Diane.  A few years later, things are different.  Diane has had a breakdown and is still suffering from memory loss relating to the breakdown.  Her relationship with Paul is strained, and she feels there are things about her past, and more specifically her breakdown, that Paul isn’t sharing with her.  When Diane keeps seeing a woman everywhere she goes, watching her, she can’t work out if this woman is real or if she is hallucinating and on the verge of another breakdown….

I enjoyed this book although it did take a few chapters before I really got into the story.  When I got to this point, my interest was caught and I couldn’t put the book down until I’d finished it.  Diane and Paul have a really strange relationship.  Obviously all the romance that was there has now gone, although Diane does wistfully think of previous times.  You don’t get to find out why their relationship has got to this point until much later in the book though.  Paul appears to be a very controlling husband, liking things done in his own very precise way and Diane is the doting housewife who happily obliges for fear of antagonising Paul.  I hated the way Paul treated Diane but I equally hated the way Diane felt it her wifely duty to do all these things! I’m all for order and routine, but you could honestly set your clock to the routines that Paul and Diane had going on!!

As the story moves on you realise that something has happened in Diane’s past, but you don’t find out what until much later.  Diana obviously has a mental health condition, causing her previous breakdown, and she begins showing signs that she is perhaps on the verge of another one.  She’s a very difficult character to like as she really doesn’t help herself with some of things she does, particularly with regards to her daughter’s nursery!  I did though feel for her towards the end and had my fingers crossed that things turned around for her and her memory eventually returned to fill in some of the blanks she had.

The book kept me interested after the initial slow start and there was plenty of tension to make me wonder where the story was going to end up going!  The ending, I felt, was great and I thought it rounded off Diane’s story perfectly.  There were a couple of things which I didn’t feel was very well explained with some of the other characters, but this didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable psychological thriller, with some great twists and red-herrings along the way.  I finished it in just over a day and couldn’t put it down in order to get to the end to find out what was going on.  It was great to see the issue of mental health problems covered well as these aren’t easy topics to write about, but I felt the author did this with a lot of sensitivity.    The author’s writing was also fantastic in building up the feelings of panic and distrust throughout the book and I would definitely recommended reading it!  A story full of unease, mistrust, lies and betrayal – what more could you want!!

EXCERPT: She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. This wasn't possible. Opening them, she looked across the road, squinting to make out the details. It was her, the woman from the shop, staring directly at her; the same navy coat, the same sleek bob she had admired. It was definitely her. 

Disbelief and a sudden choking fear made her jerk back, the mug falling from her hands, hot coffee spilling as it fell. Ignoring it, and swallowing the lump in her throat, she reached for the blind cord with shaking fingers and closed them with a snap. But she didn't move away. She was imagining it, she had to be. Holding her breath, she lifted one slat and peered through. She was still there. 

ABOUT THIS BOOK: "There’s no place like home” – that’s what I tell myself as I pull another flawless meal from the oven. This perfect house on a quiet street was supposed to be my sanctuary, a place to recover. But everything changed the moment I saw that woman in the charity shop. She triggered something dark, buried deep within my memory… 

Now I’ve started forgetting small things, like locking the front door. 

And bigger things, like remembering to pick my little girl up from nursery. 

I feel terrified every time I pass through a particular spot in our living room. 

And sometimes, when I’m alone, I’m sure I can hear a baby crying… 

I think the woman in the shop knows what happened to me. But if I can’t trust myself to believe she’s real, who will? 

MY THOUGHTS: Another book that failed to live up to the hype of 'a completely addictive and gripping psychological thriller'.

The writing is not terrible, and the general idea is good, but it never quite all pulled together. In places it is a messy and frustrating read. 

The characters are not well developed. A lot of chances to develop this into a deeper, more substantial story were missed. Implausible and improbable were two words that were constantly in my head as I read, and I did seriously consider, more than once, abandoning this read, hence the two star rating. 

There are a lot more things I would like to say, but to do so would create spoilers for others. 

A disappointing read. 

Love the cover, though I cannot recall the main character (not even 24 hours since I finished reading The Housewife, and I can't remember the name of the main character!) sewing on buttons. . . and I do like the cover to be relevant. 

It was not until I checked out the author's profile while writing this review that I realized that Valerie Keogh is quite a prolific author and that I have previously read two other books by her, and rated both two stars. Not an author I will be reading again. 

😕😕

THE AUTHOR: Valerie Keogh is a qualified nurse with a BA in English and an MA in American Literature. She qualified as a nurse but nowadays writes full-time. She has written two different series.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Housewife by Valerie Keogh. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. 

Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my webpage sandysbookaday.wordpress.com https://wordpress.com/post/sandysbook...

This was a very compelling read that I enjoyed but the ending fell a little flat for me. I enjoyed the writing style but not really the characters. The writing is what kept me going but I was a bit disappointed when all was revealed.