As soon as I started this book, I knew it was right up my street. I loved the herbal remedies and references to all the plants, as I myself am a big fan of natural medicines.

However, as the tale goes on, we learn about Matt and his controlling way, and dark secrets in the families. I think I would have been sceptical first off, I don’t know why women make excuses for men who lie and cheat. I’d have dumped him sooner rather than later! The story is told from different perspectives so you get a good idea what’s going on.

As the story opens up, you don’t know who is telling the truth, and the title of the book is clever, in that it’s not a wedding vow, but something made years ago between children.

Poor Amy is on a slippery slope and no-one really believes her, the other woman involved, Fiona is also hiding secrets, the question is, who do the police believe? Both maybe telling the truth or not, who knows?

Jess, Amy’s daughter is brilliant in it, and she actually finds out more than the police. I think they were quite lax in their investigative skills, as they had more resources to hand, but still didn’t find the truth. In fact they came across as a bit dim!!!

Well having said that, as a reader of a lot of crime, I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this, it was certainly different.

My thanks to the author, the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon, the publishers, for an ARC.
For every action there is a reaction. Something happens in 1996 and the consequences follow into present day. Amy loves Matt and in two weeks they will be married. What follows is the unraveling of Amy and her life. Karma has a way of making amends. I understand that the author had to set the stage but it was a little drawn out . The second half of the book however made up for it. Did I like Amy, not so much, wish author had portrayed her as a stronger woman. Interesting story of revenge and the ripple effects.
Would give it 3.5 stars.

Excellent. The story gripped me immediately with both its pace and all through the intrigue and always new questions popping into my head.
Great portrayal of the different characters. My suspicions were aroused to one or another character only to be transferred to another throughout the book.
All the way I thought there was something odd about Matthew and clearly he was setting up Amy but I did not realise at any time the huge twist towards the end and.
Definitely a book I would recommend.

Although I found the author's writing to be done quite well, I was able to figure this one out about 60% into the story.

As always, I appreciate the opportunity to read the ARC's from NetGalley!

Such a brilliant read. From chapter to chapter you are led down a different path of who did what and how could they possibly do it. The characters are full of depth and the storyline a refreshing change

I absolutely loved this book. This is from an author I'm not familiar with, but I will definitely be looking out for her next book. Full of mystery and suspense, this book kept me hooked right from the start and to be honest, I was disappointed when I finished the book, as I wanted to keep on reading it! If you're looking for a new psychological thriller to read, then this is your next book.

This is one of those books that I almost gave up on - although I am glad I didn’t. The second half of the book was definitely a lot better than the first. I also didn’t really feel like I got to know any of the characters the way I normally do with books and that meant I felt indifferent towards each of them.

Amy is a herbalist and lives with her fiancé Matt in the outskirts of Brighton. She has a daughter, Jess, who is at University in Falmouth and is happy. One day Amy gets a call from her fiancé to say he will be late home as he has to entertain a client. However, he later fails to return home and eventually Amy reports him missing to the police. Unbeknown to her, another woman has reported her partner missing and his description matches that of Matt. Told from the viewpoint of Amy, Fiona and Jess whilst peppered with someone’s memories of the Summer of 1996 - the story unfolds.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

This was my first time reading a book by Debbie Howells and I really enjoyed it. I liked the first person perspective from three different characters. Everyone was a suspect from the very beginning right through to the end! I loved the ending. Great writing and a great book! I will definitely recommend it!

Big thanks to Avon UK and NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of reading this book in advance!

History spins a web into the present. A teenager dies after drinking a potion prepared by her sister and her friend. In the present Amy is due to be married to her fiance when he doesn't return home. She reports him missing to the police but a few days later another woman reports the same man as missing and claims he is her boyfriend. An enjoyable story with a twist in the tale.

A past buried in lies,an uneasy and deadly alliance,murder,family secrets this book has it all and I loved every page of it.
As you read each chapter an insidious sense if unease grows,for one person the secrets they kept are now tightening around them.
An absolutely gripping book,I could not put it down.

This book is an ok read. I liked how it showed the different characters version of events and jumps between them but unfortunately I figured out the twists long before they happened. If you want an easy read then I'd give this book a go.

I knew I would enjoy this book, as I loved the cover and the strap lines so it immediately jumped to the top of my TBR pile and thankfully I wasn’t disappointed. This is a really enjoyable and fast paced read, it is really cleverly written and keeps you interested right to the end.

Amy is due to get married in two weeks time but suddenly her fiancé Matt disappears and she is forced to call the wedding off.

Not far away another woman called Fiona reports her boyfriend as missing, he was going to leave his fiancé for her. The man who has gone missing meets the same description as Matt.

Amy doesn’t want to believe that Matt has been living a second life but as the police investigation moves forward Amy is forced to face the truth.

“The Vow” has such an interesting description that I couldn’t wait to dive right in to it. I found it so confusing at points that I almost didn’t want to finish it. I felt some of the characters lacked development and it made it difficult to figure out how they were involved. The ending was very rushed after parts of the story seemed to drag on. Overall, a great plot, but wasn’t for me.

What can I say except...wow. A fresh, different take on the domestic thriller! Amy, a quiet herbalist, is devastated when her fiance disappears only weeks before the wedding. She is further devastated when she finds out through the police that her near-husband was living a second life behind her back. And the other woman is a successful, attractive lawyer. Did either woman have something to do with their lover's disappearance? Do they know each other? Did they know of each other? If they did...for how long?

This book was a steady, enthralling read for me. There are two layers to the story, both tragic and horrifying in their own right. I truly didn't guess at the final twists until when they happened, and I was so sure that someone was involved that wasn't! The ending was satisfying. Overall, my first 5/5 read in quite awhile.

This was a great read. Twisty and with great character development and a tense storyline. , I loved the healing herbal element to the story and jess’s Recognition of the gaslighting. There were enough red herrings to keep me guessing . A mist enjoyable read in the garden on a sunny lockdown afternoon

Matt hasn’t be truthful with his fiancée and his sudden disappearance is about to completely fracture Amy’s seemingly perfect world. The cracks were there lurking in the background and once they become truly visible to her, they will cascade into a tsunami of betrayal and misery. Is someone trying to frame Amy and what secret is she protecting? Is she guilty or innocent, the clues are stacking up and time is running out.

A twisted and entertaining mystery of deceit with a dash of dastardly revenge peppered throughout.

I wasn’t sure where the novel was going to take me at first and worried this was going to be a standard missing person story but I was pleased to see that it had some hidden depth with the psychological elements. This made the character of Amy much more interesting. The ending became predictable but not in a negative way. The startling cover perfectly matches the story and was what drew me to requesting a copy, I’m glad I did.

Wow what a book. I literally couldn’t put it down. I love the way the author has written in the first person of Amy, Jess and Fiona.

The relationship between Matt & Amy is unbelievable. I love how Jess is so feisty and isn’t going to sit back and let everything happen around her.

I suspected a couple of characters but it turned out I was wrong which is awesome because lately some books I’ve read have been too predictable but this book was never that. The outcome is just what I wanted.

I’d definitely recommend reading this.

Thank you so much to Avon Books UK and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in return for my honest review.

A great story with lots of twists that kept me guessing and second guessing to the very end. Very enjoyable!

I will admit that I found this book quite confusing at times - often a problem with dual narrators. I would have liked to learn more about Matt in this book - his backstory seemed very rushed and would have been interesting to learn a bit more.

The ending left me almost non-the-wiser as to who the actual wrong do-er was - which, when you think about it, is a really good technique!

That said, I enjoyed this book and the premise was interesting however, I probably wouldn't recommend this book - just because I've read better in the genre and my friends are voracious readers with huge-TBR piles already!

A good psychological thriller. When Amy’s fiancé disappear one night, her life starts to unravel.
A good story with twists and turns in every chapter. I enjoyed reading this