This book has it all: an intriguing story, unreliable narrators, lies, secrets and a character you love to hate.

Two weeks before the wedding Amy’s fiancé Matt goes missing. He just does not come home after having dinner with a client. Amy is devastated. She is so happy to have found love again after an unhappy marriage and years of her own raising her daughter Jess. Amy tells the police how happy she and Matt were and how much they were looking forward to their wedding. But were they really?

This was a fun read. The book is fast paced and there are a few twists. I read it in one sitting and while the story offers nothing knew it is still very entertaining.

Amys planning her wedding day, its going to be perfect. perfect husband to be, perfect homegrown flowers and perfect dress. But then a strange worman warns Amy that somethings not right and Matt goes missing. Then she finds he'd been in a relationship with another woman.

This story messes with your head a little, questioning who to believe and wodnering what ahs been going on. Is Matt dead? Kidnapped or has he got cold feet? Is Fiona as innocent as she claims? And why does something make me not want to trust Amy? I also didnt trust her best friend.

As the story develops and we learn more about the cast I think theres hints but the twist in the story is perfect

What a fun plot. Amy and Matt are making wedding plans and just weeks from the big day the unthinkable happens: Matt never returns home after a business meeting with a client. The last call Amy received from him was at the end of his workday. He called saying he had a last-minute appointment so he would be late. The close of his call had vibes of a cryptic message when he called Amy babe and told her to take care. He never called her babe or ended a call with those words.

And my heart was pounding. It was off with a bang. Perfect.

Unfortunately, the story told in various POVs, began to slow down, not speed up. At times I’d find myself yawning and wondering when it was going to go somewhere. It almost flat-lined and lulled me to sleep. Much of it was very repetitive and unnecessary.

But did I keep reading? You bet. It may have had problems, but enough of the writing was good that I needed to know more.

As far as twists and turns were concerned, for me, there really weren’t any. But I guess it depends on what you pick up and don’t as you read.

Yes, until I read the last of the book, I wasn’t 100% sure, but I had most of the mystery completely figured out.

As far as the characters, they were vanilla. They were fine, yet not memorable.

My Concerns
As much as I wanted to really like this book, my concerns began to mount up.

The first of the book felt repetitive.
The detectives didn’t feel consistent or completely believable.
The likelihood of all of this playing out didn’t work for me.
Even though it’s a lengthy book, it still felt disjointed.

What I Liked
This book had me turning pages, but it could have been so much more. I believe tightening it and working on the flow would have greatly helped. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t polished.

There were enough possibilities with this book that I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up another by this author.

I think this is a book that you’ll either fall in love with or semi-enjoy.

My thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the ability to read this ARC and leave my opinion of the book.

I really enjoyed the way she weaves the two plot lines together and I was kept guessing all the time. I really enjoyed trying to work out who was telling the truth.

The police are looking for two missing men. Their fiancé's have reported them as missing. But the investigation soon takes a mysterious turn when they discover both missing men are in fact the same man.

The story starts as the bride to be gets a warning from a stranger, then her fiancé disappears, two weeks before the wedding. While this might seem to be an often used plot line, the story Debbie Howells weaves in THE VOW is a unique twist on the plot. Moving from one woman to the other's POV, we learn disturbing facts about all of the characters and what began as a man running away from his mess, turns into much more. Much, much more.
A great twist and some layered tension made this a book I'll make sure my friends read, even if I have to buy it for them.

I read this book in one afternoon as I could not put it down. To weave a tale like this around these two girls takes some imagination.
Trying to work out truths from lies, facts from fiction, and who is writing the sub text?
A gripping story, which travels backwards and forwards from 1996 to the present day, made even more believable as I know the areas along the South Coast where the book is set.

Debbie Howells is an author whose books I always enjoy... hello Her Sisters Lie 🙌. The Vow was a twisty and surprising psychological thriller that kept me up past my bedtime. The ending was very cleverly done, really didn’t see it coming.

Matt and Amy are the perfect couple and are about to get married. But 2 weeks before the wedding, Matt disappears without a trace. In her search to find him she discovers that he was living a double life, with another woman. He was not that man she thought he was. Amy has her own secrets as well. Wait til you find out about her past!

Thanks to Avon Books UK and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read.

Thank you Avon Books and Net Galley for an early copy of The Vow. Not so good. I so dislike giving a bad review but it took me forever to get through this book. It had a good plot BUT then what happened???? The ending was so far fetched, kind of ruined the book.

I'm not going to write a lot about this book other than to say it is absolutely superb and should not be missed by readers of psychological murder thrillers.
Whenever I start to read a book and the main character is a woman in her thirties (although Amy might have been over 40!) I dread the panic setting in and her job, life, family and friends all seem to crash or disappear as she wrestles with the problems or judgments thrown at her. (Notice I have not said challenges). This book does not proceed like that and I found myself thinking 'yes I can see how and why she reacted that way'
Brilliant and not to be missed

Matt comes into Amy’s life like a whirlwind and before she knows it they have booked their wedding. Jess, her grown up daughter is going to be a bridesmaid. When he goes missing two weeks before their wedding, Amy slowly begins to realise her fiancé is not the lovely caring man she thought he was but one who has been controlling every aspect of her life.

Jess is very wary of Matt and does not trust him or his motives.

Debbie Howell has written a well thought out and intelligent story. Her groundwork is meticulous and the way she collects all the bric-a-brac and arranges them into a glorious picture is a sight to behold (or in this case read).

What a fantastic, well written book, I loved every page and the story line was page turning which kept me on the edge of my seat from the very beginning.

I did wonder how the back story fitted in but all becomes clear as you read on.

I can thoroughly recommend this book and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for giving me the opportunity to read this great book, a very worthy five stars.

The story itself was good, the characters were enjoyable, but I wasn't a fan of the writing. The dialog fell flat to me, and there was a lot of "telling" instead of "showing." I would have liked more descriptive writing.

I loved the premise of this finding out your fiance has been living a double life with another woman as well as yourself. It is told in alternating perspectives from Amy the fiancee, her daughter Jess, and the other woman Fiona also interspersed with events from 1996 from an as yet unidentified narrator.

There was lots to like but also some areas where it didn't quite fulfil its potential. The story and suspense built steadily throughout, with lots going on with the present day and past flashbacks to keep interest high. It also wasn't obvious the way it was going to pan out or who to suspect. However, that said the second half of the book lost a bit of momentum and I felt slightly let down in the way it turned out. In the end there were a lot of threads that didn't come to anything eg Matt past love life, Cath and the mystery warning.

Most of the characters were really likable, particularly pragmatic, astute, loyal Jess and unreliable, contradictory Amy who will drive you crazy. I was disappointed with Fiona though as her character less developed and consequently quite one-dimensional. I would have liked a bit more about what happened to her in the end.

So, overall a bit mixed but definitely worth a read.

I really enjoyed this book and found that once I'd read the first chapter I couldn't put it down as I had to find out the answers.

Amy and Matt are planning to get married in a couple of weeks. Its going to be the winter wedding of their dreams. The venue is booked, invites out and the vows are written. But then Matt suddenly disappears and it quickly becomes apparent that he has been leading a double life of which Amy has no idea. Amy also has hidden secrets in her past too. I don't want to give anything further away as it will spoil the plot

I enjoyed that this story was told from multiple view points and I especially like hearing from Jess and found her side of the story to be very illuminating regarding Matt and her mother's relationship. The let down for me and why I've only given this 4 stars is the way the police procedurals were handled. WPC Page seems to have a split personality when one minute she appear to be on Amy's side and agreeing that Matt's behaviour was aggressive and the next chapter she is sharp with Amy and quite mean. Also the police allow Jess to do most of the leg work with the investigation which is really a little unbelievable.

There were some great twists in this tale and I really enjoyed the plant symbolism as well as the tales from the past events of 1996. I would definitely read work from this author in the future.

My thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review

I enjoyed this book very much - it kept me guessing right up to the end. I loved the character of Jess and her role in solving the mystery disappearance. A good read - recommended

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
A secret kept for years about a murder, leads to suicide and revenge -
Amy meets Matt, whom her daughter doesn't care for - but even so they decide to marry.
And then Matt doesn't return home. He is thought to have been murdered. Who? Why?
And another woman claims Matt never returned home - is he living a double life?
And this other woman - seriously - is this her childhood friend?
Grab this book to find all the secrets that lead to a startling conclusion!

A thoroughly enjoyable murder mystery. I loved the twists the tale took and could not put it down, It kept you guessing as to what was going on until the very end. I would willingly read more from this author.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book reading it within 24hrs.
It has lots of twists and turns and the questions keep coming!
I live a book that makes you think!
The story is about secrets, friendships and tragedy.
I am being careful what I say as I do t want to give anything away!
Just read it. You will enjoy it.

A very dark and twisted story of revenge.
All the characters are well thought out and provide enough detail for you to feel invested and want to go along with the story. You can empathise with the main character and also feel the anger and betrayal of them.
The whole story is believable enough to add to the tension.

What an amazing story! Starting with a mystery about a missing fiancé, Matt the perfect partner, I was curious to find out what had happened. Then hints start dropping and the story helter-skelters you into a real nail biting psychological thriller, with twists and turns a plenty, keeping you engrossed, desperate to put the clues together.
The characters were realistically portrayed with Amy, the main character, an experienced herbalist, trying desperately to find out what had happened to Matt. There were times when I was so involved I wanted to shake Amy to make her think! Her amazing daughter Jess, forever supporting her mother, reflected a genuinely strong relationship.
The introduction of the mysterious and self-confident Fiona adds yet another layer to the story.
Set in a village and around Brighton, effectively described and easily drawing me in, without me being aware of reading description, I found scenes effortlessly unfolding in my head.
The subtle pointers and hints leave you speculating and trying to untangle the threads which gradually reveal the complex plot.
I loved this book and was heavily emotionally involved sharing the feelings and confusion alongside the characters. I read late into the night to finish it.