There have been a ton of domestic dramas/thrillers lately, and chances are if you've read any of them, you've read most of them. The Last Affair is no different in that respect. There's really nothing new here. It's the execution that sets it apart. We have the usual bunch of players in this twisted game, and honestly, none of them are particularly likable. The story starts with a dead body, so there's no question about who is going to die. She's already been murdered. Then we head back a few months to what started it all. Well, some of the issues these people have took a lifetime to hone into real problems, but a few months before the murder is where we go. The blurb tells us there's an affair, and Gwen Landon is dead. So it's just a matter of figuring out the whodunit. I have to hand it to Margot Hunt. The red herrings are everywhere, and nearly everyone who comes into close contact with this woman has reason to at least hate her, and given the issues among this crowd, it wouldn't take much to turn that hate into murder. She's about as unlikable as it gets, and she's not even the one who had the affair! I mentioned earlier that the execution is what sets this one apart, and that's where the pacing and the author's ability to draw me in play a part. Both were well done, and I particularly liked the climax for the murder. Hunt did an excellent job of keeping everyone a suspect to the bitter end. Okay, not the very end. The story does go on a bit longer after the big reveal to tie everything up, and there's one last twist that I really didn't find completely necessary. Other than that, I completely enjoyed the story, and I look forward to whatever Margot Hunt does next.

This story grabbed my attention from the prologue and held it all the way to the last sentence. Each character has his or her story to tell, full of twists and turns, all tying together to create a magnificent tale of love, betrayal, vengeance, and murder.

I was disappointed in the reveal of the murderer, though. Having that character do the deed just felt too convoluted to me. I was definitely expecting someone else to be responsible.

I would still recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre.

This was a juicy, drama filled mystery that kept me hooked from the start! It begins with Gwen being found murdered in her backyard, and the story backtracks, following up until the day she’s killed.

When Abby, trying to recover from a broken heart and betrayal, leaves college and moves back home, she thought she could just retreat into her own sorrows and simply worry about her own problems, and how to get revenge on her EX best friend and boyfriend. She didn’t expect to catch her father with another woman. She vows to find out who this woman is, at any cost.

Ms. Hunt did an excellent job at character development. Both Abby and Gwen grated on my nerve with their whiny attitudes, and Abby for meddling in something way out of her control. Nora seemed the “perfect” wife and mother- always baking, lovingly caring for her kids, and staying with her sorry excuse of a husband, it’s easy to see why she was drawn to Josh’s charms.

The suspect list could literally be anyone-Nora’s husband, a recovering alcoholic… Josh, determined to get rid of Gwen so he can continue this illicit romance with Nora…Nora herself… the list goes on. This book will keep you guessing until the big reveal!
If you like mysteries and domestic suspense, definitely add this to your TBR.

I thought The Last Affair started well, we get thrown straight in with a murder and whilst we know who the victim is we have no idea who has killed them, but pretty quickly I realised that was the most exciting part of the book. There was just nothing that stood out to me and it all just felt very flat unfortunately. I'd be tempted to read more from Margot Hunt in the future, this just didn't feel any different to a lot of books already out there at the moment

My third Margot Hunt book and let me tell ya - her writing is addictive. She captivates you from the beginning and it really doesn't let up throughout the entire read. Also, I'm a BIG fan of domestic thrillers. They do tend to run the same gambit though - illicit affairs, families in disarray, unlikable characters, obsession and murder. This one is no different but honestly, I love them so what can ya do? You like what you like!

I tore through this one on my commutes - was looking forward to opening it up when I had a moment to see just how crazy it all got. I love to not like characters and there's one in particular in here that I absolutely loved to despise. We get a little hints here and there of some other crazies that tickle your "I'm figuring this out" bone. Unfortunately for me, what was going so great went a little kaput in the ending. I actually sighed and went, "No. Whyyyyyyy?" There needed to be a bit more about a certain character to make it worth it, in my opinion and really it was unnecessary. Was the twist supposed to rock your world? Maybe but it didn't even give mine a shake.

Out of the three I've read, I'd recommend Best Friends Forever by this author the most. If you like domestic thrillers, this is still a fun read and I'm curious to see what YOU would think of the ending. While this one didn't *quite* work for me like I wished it had, I absolutely look forward to anything Hunt brings us in the future.

This is a hard book to review. This book is about secrets between husband and wife, cheating which I do not condone, and characters that I did not like. This is 2 very disturbed families. But the sign of a good book is that once I started it. I had to see who the murderer was.

This was a page turner for me! I’ve been in a slight book slump lately and this one pulled me out. It kept my interest the whole way. There are so many storylines to keep track of but not to many. There is the affair, Abby coming home from college, Carter’s gambling and drinking problem - all of it keeps you wanting to read more and more. I didn’t feel like there was a huge twist at the end but that’s OK because I couldn’t quite figure out who did it the whole time either. There was a list of suspects and up until right before the whodunit was revealed you still weren’t quite sure which suspect was the guilty one. I would recommend this one to anyone looking for a page turner!

I was provided with an ARC of this title from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Nora and Joseph are thrown together by chance. They’ve existed on the fringes of one another’s worlds, but the chance meeting launches them into unexpected intimacy. They are both trapped in loveless marriages, and it’s inevitable that they will fall in love – seeking the things they are missing in their lives.

Joseph’s wife Caroline and Nora’s husband Carter are flawed, imperfect and villainous. They are extremely easy to hate. I’ll admit that once I was halfway through the book a part of me applauded Caroline’s demise.

But who killed Caroline, and why, and how the crescendo built to the bloody finale at the introduction of the book was an astonishing revelation. This one will keep you guessing, with its cutthroat examination of suburbian manipulation and deceptive appearances.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Mira Books, and Margot Hunt for the opportunity to read and review her latest domestic thriller - a fast read that kept me guessing until the end! 4.5 stars!

The book opens with a murder - and we know who has died but not who killed her. This is also the tale of two families - Nora and Carter have 3 kids. Carter is a recovering alcoholic and their marriage has suffered. Josh and Gwen have a seemingly perfect life with 2 kids - however, their oldest, Abby, just dropped out of college because of a bad breakup and is back home. Gwen is a cold person and wishes that her life would have turned out differently. An affair starts with disastrous repercussions for both families.

Just a good who-d0ne-it with some not so likable characters thrown in the mix. The story is told in different viewpoints - Nora, Gwen and Abby - to give us perspectives from all sides.

I am thrilled to be part of the blog your for Margot Hunt's latest book, The Last Affair. Thank you to MIRA Books for the blog material I exchange for my honest review.

Book Summary
Gwen Landon—poster woman for perfect wife, mother, and suburban bliss—is found brutally bludgeoned to death behind her Floridian McMansion. Beautiful and beloved by her community, Gwen makes an unlikely victim. But just a scratch below the surface of her perfectly curated world reveals one far more sinister. When looking back over the six months leading up to her death, the question of, “who would do this?” quickly shifts to, “who wouldn’t?”

Commercially successful food blogger and mother of three, Nora Holliday never imagined she would have the nerve, let alone time, to get involved an affair. Trapped in an unhappy marriage, she does whatever it takes to keep it all together. But when Nora runs into Gwen Landon's husband at a hotel in Orlando, his easy kindness and warmth proves too tempting to resist. As their affair spirals dangerously out of control, it seems things can’t get more complicated—until Gwen turns up dead.

Review
The story grabs you from the very opening page when Gwen is found murdered in her backyard. As we read about the months leading up to her murder we find out she does not have as perfect of a life as everyone thinks. It is a story of two unhappy marriages. Each of the three couples, Nora and Josh, Gwen and her husband Josh, and Nora and her husband Carter, all have complex and different relationships. I loved Nora and Josh as a couple. I felt for their struggles with their troubled marriages and while I do not agree with affairs, the story focused more on the relationships. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves reading about complex relations and surprise endings. The ending was one of my favorite parts of the book because it was so unexpected!

Gwen Landon has it all- a beautiful family, married to husband Josh whom is a orthodontist that everyone in town adores. Gwen lives in an idealistic seaside town called Shoreham that nothing exciting ever happens in. Except for that day when Gwen was found in her backyard next to the pool with her head bashed in with a driveway paver...except for that day. That was a pretty eventful day for Shoreham....

Wow! Just wow! What a start to a book! I am not giving up any spoilers here people, this is the real deal. This actually happened in the very first chapter and then we are left the entire book to try to play detective and figure out who killed Gwen?!

Perhaps it was Nora who also has a pretty perfect life. Except for that drunk husband of hers...hmm..then there is Gwen's daughter who she forever is giving a hard time for literally everything. Or perhaps it is a husband who isn't as perfect as he seems? Or maybe, just maybe it is one of the many people that Gwen has pissed off with her I am better than you demeanor that she puts out. The suspects are endless and that is what made this so darn good.

I was totally in the dark this entire book, I must admit. I jumped at the chance to read my second Margot Hunt book. For Better or Worse was one of my very favorite books last year. Hunt can spin a twisty domestic thriller web with the best of them!

I was caught off guard with the opening chapter not only revealing that someone got murdered, but who exactly got murdered! I was wondering how is this going to pan out for the rest of the book. Yet it really worked. It had me squinting my eyes in suspicion when every character revealed a side of them that made me think, ohhh that is the killer ( thanks Margot Hunt for the adding to my squinting wrinkles).

There are a lot of pieces that fit together to make this story work and the author does fill it in nicely but for me this was just okay. Although I am not a big fan of cheating books there was something about this one especially the promise of a good mystery that made me go for it. Sadly for me this was anti-climatic. The author spent a lot of time building it up, filling all the gaps, then it ended. This is my first read by this author and it wasn't a bad one so I will most definitely check her out again. While this one didn't thrill me it was a good read.

I've had the honour of reading Margot Hunt's latest book and it was AMAZING. The Prologue was what really drew me in - it reveals a major element of the book, right from the start. Somehow though, this really worked. I was desperate to get through the book and work backwards to the point of establishing exactly what had happened. There were so many secrets and lies to unravel - so many personalities to unearth. It was thrilling and gripping pretty much from start to finish. I've held my five stars closer to my chest this year when reviewing but they are definitely well-deserved for this fantastic read.

Wow!!! Margot Hunt does it again with her newest addicting psychological thriller!

Nora, middle age, struggles with her unhappy marriage. While traveling for a work convention, she runs into her kids’ orthodontist, Josh at the hotel bar. Josh and Nora have an instant connection and the affair begins. Told from multiple point of views, this thriller explores the consequences of our actions.
Hunt’s novel will have you hooked from the start! The characters feel so real including some that you grow to hate.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves psychological thrillers. It’s an easy, fast paced read.

The Last Affair is the story of Nora and Josh. They are both in unhappy marriages so when fate throws them together they grab the chance for some happiness. That happiness lasts until they are found out by Josh’s twenty-something daughter. She waits until the right time to spill the beans which unleashes a series of events that could bring down both families. The novel starts with a dead body so I felt a sense of impending violence while reading. I just wasn’t sure how or when it would occur – and at whose hand. The final scene makes me think there could be a sequel – either that or it’s just a really creepy final scene. The Last Affair was an addictive read for me – a one day read – and I recommend it to fans of stories about revenge.

I loved Margot Hunt’s debut novel, Best Friends Forever, and this was a great follow up!!

I was instantly intrigued since we found out who died in the first chapter. We are then taken back 6 months to see the events leading up to the murder. I haven’t read a book set up like this before, so it was an interesting set up!

The characters seemed true and real. I liked the “good guys” and didn’t like the bad ones. Margot did a great job portraying them.

The plot was interesting and fast paced. I could have put it down. I was lucky enough to take a 4 hour car ride and be able to read some of the way! I was up late multiple nights reading.

I have already recommended this novel to my thriller loving friends and family!

I was given the opportunity to read an eARC of The Last Affair as part of Harlequin's fall blog tour, and I loved it! The Last Affair can easily be catagorized as a domestic/psychological thriller but personally I think it is so much more than that!  This is a gritty story about family, marriage and real ugliness that can happen in lives behind closed doors (and sometime in front of open ones!). It was a quick read, mostly becuase I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this one to thriller lovers, and also to those who just love a good family drama.  Read below for synopsis and more on the book.

Nora Holliday is not the kind of woman to have an affair with a married man, but Josh Landon embodies everything her abusive alcoholic husband isn't. The pair quickly become infatuated with one another, and can't stay away. When Josh's daughter, Abby, returns from college nursing a broken heart, the last thing she expected to see was her father and Nora kissing. She was hoping for solace, not more drama, and vows to take the homewrecker down at all costs. And as for Gwen, Abby's mother and Josh's wife? To the outside world, she's living the perfect suburban life. Until she winds up dead.

This was my first book by Margot Hunt, and I was hoping for a twisty drama filled love triangle, and while that is what I got, I was hoping for just a smidge more. There were tons of dark secrets and characters who are a more than a bit morally gray, but nothing really stood out for me as being different than any other love affair thriller/soap opera you may see. Despite not much shocking me, I did enjoy Hunt's writing style but the story as a whole just fell a bit flat for me.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book!
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Though domestic thrillers are saturating the market, i am a sucker for them. We know right away that Gwen— Josh’s wife— is dead. But of course we have to back up first. Josh and Nora are both in unhappy marriages, which leads to them having an affair with deadly consequences.
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What I enjoyed: I enjoy the author’s writing style. She uses multiple narrators to tell the story and it’s used well here. The end reveal and the last narration were fabulous.
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What I didn’t: it took 330 more pages to find out who killed Gwen. I’m not saying books should be short, but it felt at some point it was going on a bit too long. Though each character’s spouse is deeply flawed, which helps the plot, I felt Gwen’s character was exactly the same as the wife from For Better or Worse.
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Would I recommend: yes. I enjoy this author’s last two books, so I plan on reading whatever she puts out!

From the title, I got the idea that this was going to be someone's final affair. And it was.

Nora is married to a distant alcoholic and is miserable. She is sick and tired of her husband. 

Josh is married to a psychopath. And he has had enough. So when he meets Nora and sparks fly, they both will begin an affair that will have deadly consequences.

So what separates this domestic suspense tale from all of the others I've read this year? Nothing. I figured out who was just plain crazy and who was obsessed very quickly. And the ending felt flat.

I'm not sure there was one redeeming character here. And there doesn't always have to be, but for me, it was just okay. 

NetGalley/ November 26th, 2019 by MIRA