This was one of the fastest reads in recent times. The book started with Diane living her routine life as a housewife caring for her husband, child and maintaining her home. On the surface, it all seemed ideal, but Diane was different, there was a gap in her memory. She couldn't remember a few months of her life, she had blackouts... Till she started hearing a child cry, and a mystery woman seemed to be stalking her. Was she remembering something or was she losing her mind?

Valerie Keogh's writing has an enticing quality which pulled me in from the very beginning. There was this impending sense of something about to unravel which was weaved in the entire book. Certain parts of the plot were easy to guess, but it was the way the words were placed which made me continue with the story.

I didn't like the main character Diane but I kept urging her from the sidelines to get to the bottom of the story. The few red herrings did their job of distracting me and taking me down the merry lane. Oh there were a few niggles, the main character took 2 tablets of antidepressants, 2 of painkillers, and a bottle of wine practically every single day and passed out on bed. They all felt repetitive. The whole book rested on her, and she was not dynamic. The other characters were equally unlikable.

All my love for this story is for Valerie's writing because it was so addictive that it made me read the book in 3 hours flat.

Diane seems to have the perfect life. A loving husband and a beautiful daughter. We learn early on that Diane has suffered and is recovering from a breakdown that had her in a clinic for a time. She cannot remember the events that led to this breakdown. What follows is a journey for Diane as she tries to get her life back on track. She is haunted by the things she cannot remember and she questions if events happening to her are real or are leading her to yet another breakdown. This was a suspenseful read and I found myself rooting for Diane, even if I didn't always agree with her choices.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Publication Date: February 27, 2019

A tense and well written novel.

The moment I read the blurb I knew this was something that I really wanted to read. The story itself is well executed and the characters are interesting and full of life.
I would recommend this for sure!

Hey, soooo Diane is suffering from memory loss leading up to this story ( so her memory is fine now just not of previous months ) and she starts seeing a woman following her....then keeps thinking she hears a baby cry....her husband becomes more distant yet controlling and basically her life is unravelling, she tries to keep it together for her daughter and even takes a job in a charity shop.....this lasts all of a day as she faints!, her life unravels more but who is doing these things and why cant she remember?
The middle part becomes a bit repetitive where she drinks wine, eats little and panics and seemingly leaves her daughter with anyone who will have her while she tries to sort the increasing mysteries out
The ending is not exactly climatic but ( imo ) more of a perfunctory ‘ahhh ok’ ‘so that was it’ rather than a Grand Canyon whoosh of a surprise followed by the epilogue short, sweet and then over
The characters are whimsy and sorry to say tedious at times, even the ‘extras’ are all a bit tired and forced
Writing wise the book is perfect for a quick read and/or a book for the tube
In a world brimming with psychological thrillers this unfortunately did not stand out for me
5/10 2.5 Stars

In the beginning of this book I wasn't much impressed. There's a recent trend with her weak female lead characters that I'm not exactly liking but I continued on.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised, several times. By the time I was a quarter way in I was hooked and barely able to set it down. At the point of three hours reading time remaining I actually couldn't bring myself to stop and read till 3am.

You'll never see the BIG reveal coming.

Definitely don't miss this!

*sorry this review is not as thorough as I usually do. My health is low and I'm having trouble with keeping up on tasks.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this. I loved it!

<blockquote>“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… </blockquote>

By no means unentertaining, <i>The Housewife</i> nonetheless falls prey to “Girl on the Train” syndrome. It’s touted as wildly thrilling and with a twist you’ll never see coming, and can no book just be a JOURNEY? Must it always be about the denouement? Because this kind of marketing never truly serves the book. I <u>did</u> in fact see the ending coming. Most readers will. It doesn’t mean that the book isn’t worth reading.

Just that we all need to cool it with expecting a twist that will cause an earthquake in our brains.

<i>The Housewife</i> circles around Diane, a woman recovering from a trauma and suffering from short-term amnesia. While she remembers her husband and the basics of her life, she can’t recall what’s caused her memory loss, or why she’s so afraid of the sitting room in her home. Often, she hears the haunting sound of a baby crying, and it sends her spiraling down into the darkest shadows of her mind. These moments of terror impact the rest of her life – and she begins to forget to pick her daughter up from nursery or make dinner on time for her husband. When she tries to pick up the pieces and volunteer at a local charity shop, she has a run-in with a woman who looks at her with scorn – and begins to “stalk” her around their small suburb of London. But is she truly being stalked? Or is she imagining things?

Horrified by what she sees as the disintegration of her mind, Diane hides what’s happening from her husband, and begins to drink secretly during the evenings. Her paranoia soon leads her to believe that everyone is conspiring against her, and that even her own house is a dangerous place, full of barbed memories around every corner.

As I mentioned earlier, the “twist” is not really a twist. There’s a lot to examine in this book that goes largely unpacked by the author. For instance, the utter misogyny and contempt displayed by Diane’s husband (I forget the prick’s name already), the odd whirlwind romance they have (in this day and age, does it really make sense that she wouldn’t see his house until the day she moved in??), and the truly upsetting reason for her amnesia. The “twist” is revealed and I think the horror of it is almost… too much for the author? It’s glossed over, in favour of bog-standard notions of revenge. I’m being deliberately obtuse, because spoilers are awful, but if you read, you’ll see what I mean.

I do think <i>The Housewife</i> is a good little thriller, but it has the potential to be so much more, and particularly in the relationship of the husband and wife, there’s A LOT to unravel that could have provided meaty character development.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. I appreciate the chance, as always!</i>

The Housewife is a story based around Diane who in the past had suffered a breakdown but is now happily married to Paul and all is well until one morning she has a chance meeting in the shop where she works with a woman who will turn her world upside down.Within days Diane starts to see the woman everywhere she goes and she starts to question her own sanity again as strange things start to happen to her, but has husband Paul got anything to do with it ? or is it all in her mind ? eventually all will be revealed. I enjoyed the book although i did feel it went over the same ground a few times and i wouldn't call it gripping but overall i would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this genre and i think the ending may well just lead to a sequel.A good 4 star read from Valerie Keogh.

<b> Short Summary:</b>
A thrilling plunge into a domestic nightmare...packed with lies and betrayal!

<b>My thoughts:</b>
I’m rating this 3.5 ⭐️‘s, but rounding up to 4.

Thanks to @Netgalley, @bookouture—who is one of my fav publishers—and the Author for this opportunity, in exchange for my honest review!

This story centers around Diane—a woman who is trying to hold her life together after a breakdown and brief stay at a clinic. On the outside, she looks like she has it all—a beautiful house, adorable daughter and devoted husband. But she has no memory of what lead up to and caused her breakdown.

Because of the lack of information around Diane’s breakdown, the story has a very mysterious vibe. I had my suspicions, but I was dying to find out if I was correct!

Diane starts to become suspicious of her husband, who doesn’t seem to be as devoted and loving as usual. She begins to suspect him of trying to push her back over the edge and she’s no longer sure what is real and what she’s imagining.

There were times I sympathized with Diane, and other times I wanted to shake her because of her poor choices! The plot isn’t an original one, but the author did a great job of keeping my interest. Her husband was a very bland character, who became more unlikeable throughout the story.

It was a fast read, but didn’t build up a lot of tension. Even though I didn’t feel that tense, edge-of-your-seat suspense, I desperately wanted to keep reading and find out about Diane’s lost memories and her final outcome. I wasn’t completely satisfied with the ending, but I have the feeling we might see a sequel!

<b>Recommend:</b> Yes! It’s worth reading as long as you don’t expect a super tense and exciting story.

<b>My Rating: </b> 3.5 ⭐️’s

<b>Published:</b> February 27th 2019 by Bookouture <b>Pages:</b> 302

#NetGalley #TheHousewife

<b>Book Blurb
“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?

One of the most gripping and heart-pounding psychological thrillers you’ll ever read! If you were totally hooked by, The Wife Between Us, The Girl on the Train or The Woman in the Window you won’t be able to put this jaw-dropping thriller down until it’s finished.

A very enjoyable read, had good build up and kept me interested throughout the book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.
4/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start this review by saying that this author writes brilliantly. However, the plot was poorly executed in my mind. The first half of the book made me think that I was growing crazy much less Diane. And I couldn't stand the way that Paul treated his wife. Everything felt so condescending. By the time the plot built up to the big reveals, I felt that it was underwhelming considering what I had read. I feel like if the story had a faster pace and the revelations came sooner, this would have been a story that I would have loved.

This was an exciting fast paced read, I felt quite tense reading the last half of the book, not knowing what was happening and feeling the undercurrent of danger. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Holy moly book addiction right here! I kept saying “juuuuust one more page...” way into the night. Loved the set up and the plot and the twists were level 10 on the twisty meter!
I was getting paranoid reading it and my poor dog was getting his fur pet way to hard while I was turning the pages of this book!
5 stars all around!
Thank you #NetGalley, the author and publisher for my free arc in exchange for my honest review.

I liked the start of this book and it would have been a 4 star read, however the middle seemed to lose 'oomph' and the ending felt very rush, so I dropped to 3 stars.
Over all a nice easy read, but I don't think I would be in a huge rush to read another by this author if I'm honest

Brilliant plot, excellent main characters that you invest in. I read this book in one sitting and I would highly recommend it.

The Housewife is a thriller that is tense in some places and covers a difficult subject. A good read but not brilliant

Diane and her husband have a perfect marriage, perfect home, and perfect little girl. But Diane’s breakdown caused a rift in their relationship, and no matter how hard she tries, she feels him drifting further away.

As Diane enrolls their little one in preschool, she sees a mysterious woman. Diane begins to unravel, growing increasingly more erratic in her behavior. She drinks more, sleeps less, and becomes suspicious of her husband, and feels the mystery woman is trying to cause Diane to relapse mentally.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader.

Thanks Netgalley, Bookouture, and the author for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

The book started slow and seemed ordinary to me with unnecessary repetitions.
However by the second half the pace picks up with numerous twists, lies, and deceptions. The unreliable characters also add to the sense of intrigue and suspense. Overall an enjoyable read.

I did raise my eyebrows at the title of this book; does anyone use that title anymore? Overall this was a good read, although I did find the narrative a little clunky in places and a number of the domestic scenes were very repetitive, particularly those about breakfast.

After a very short relationship, Diane has married Paul, left her job in IT and moved to his house in London. We soon discover that Diane has suffered some kind of breakdown and memory loss, and now stays at home to care for her small daughter, Emma. Her life starts to unravel after Paul insists that Emma starts nursery and Diane has too much time on her hands. She volunteers to work for a local charity and it is when a customer comes in and looks at her in total horror, that she begins to wonder what has and what is happening to her? This is compounded when she sees the same woman watching her house and watching her when she takes Emma to nursery.

Diane’s already fragile state becomes more brittle as she begins to hear, or imagine, the cries of a baby. Is Diane imagining the woman and the crying baby or is there someone out there who means to do her harm? Rather predictably Diane then begins to self-medicate with alcohol and pills, which enhance her paranoia. This seems to be rather a theme in domestic, psychological thrillers at the moment.

I may sound rather critical as this is a good story but with a less than unexpected ending.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

I struggled with this one. I appreciate it is an advanced copy, but it showed so much it made it hard to read. It's not the story that's the issue. The author has created a strong lead character, and an intriguing premise. But I found it really hard to enjoy and relax into because I felt the constant need to edit it as I moved along.
I will likely buy a copy upon publication to see if there's a marked improvement, as I never like to give up on authors.

I was in the mood for a good psychological thriller and was really excited to read this. It was easy to read it in one sitting and kept me intrigued. The entire book takes place in the daily life and endless routine of Diane, her daughter Emma and her husband. Emma has a lot of issues which also include opioid abuse and alcoholism. You start to memorize her daily routine better than she does and to be honest, it gets a little tedious and repetitive. It consists of wake up at 8AM, eat breakfast, take Emma to the nursery at 9:15, have a few hours to herself which result in plot twists, pick Emma up at 1, have lunch, nap then play, make dinner, husband comes home, he leaves to go upstairs, she sits in front of the television and drinks, then somehow falls asleep, sometimes with consequence. And repeat.

It also feels like the entire story takes place within a 2-mile radius. Because of the repetitive nature of the story, it didn't feel like there was a lot of movement. And although I kept wanting to read more, I was looking for something that surprised me or kept my interest alive.

The plot twists were good but exactly what I expected. They were just too predictable and I found myself guessing them immediately but then second-guessed myself because I thought, "no way it could be that easy". Maybe I've just read too many psychological thrillers and can see those twists coming a mile away.