TW: physical abuse, mental abuse.

This is the first book I've read in weeks and I had to finish it. The author does a brilliant job of sending you down the wrong path until more information is revealed.

I don't normally like thriller books, but I read this within a day.

Amy is getting married to Matt and all the wedding plans seem to be going well until Matt disappears and a whole heap of trouble lands at Amy’s door along with a bunch of flowers in a container of blood. Human blood.
Hooked you will be. So here we are a couple of weeks before Amy is going to walk up that aisle and if she could have wrote a list of things that would occur next following Matt vanishing into thin air - the list would have seemed unbelievable. Cough cough.
Well the book starts with a bang and draws you in and your racing through it and then.. cough cough it does go all a little unbelievable.
So where was I ah yes.. about halfway through the book I am thinking about this rat the Matt, the groom to be and actually hoping he is dead. We don’t know that at this point and I’m shouting at the book “how could you not see what a rat he is Amy?”
And we are suddenly taken back to her teenage years and a whole heap of secrets, lies, death and nastiness are discovered.
We are then also introduced to another major character Fiona and we learn that she is also seeing the rat aka Matt. Having an affair even though he is about to get married.
So now my eyes are rolling and more talking to myself occurs... and the story just goes all a little too weird and a tad unbelievable for me.
Anyway in steps Jess, Amy’s daughter and I suddenly feel like I am watching an episode of Colombo and thinking Jess just needs a raincoat.
Thank heavens for Jess is all I can say.. Detective inspector whatever your name is must be glad she’s involved too.
Cough cough again.
OK so I can’t give anymore away.
I loved most of the plot, it had me up to half way through the book, some of the characters were strong and it is a twisty tale that had some great writing but for me it unraveled and I wasn’t really invested in the end.
I will definitely pick Debbie Howells again.

Thank you to Netgalley, Avon Books and Harper Collins
3.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book. Where to start. I loved this book! I loved the writing, the plot and the characters, all of it came together so nicely, and I enjoyed reading this book so much. Highly recommend. 4.5stars

What an excellent book! Written mainly from the point of view of 3 people. The plot twists & turns so that your sympathy moves from 1 person to the next. I couldn’t put it down & highly recommended it.

Many Thanks to the author and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book before being published in exchange for an honest review.

Amy is a single mother who is going to get married for a second time to Matt. But Matt dissapears so she has to call off her wedding. And then another woman reports another man missing, but he really is also Matt.

This is a psychological thriller that had me thinking all the way while Amy talks to her daughter and long term friends and realise that in between her and Matt there wasn´t only a love story.

There were moments with him, where her life wasn´t what she expected with him but she couldn´t or didn´t want to see it.

The book had me thinking all the way through and it kept me guessing until the end. There is also a second story and then at the end, all of it makes sense.

Full of twist and turns where you could think of almost every character as a suspect.

I really enjoy this novel and I will be looking for some more books by Debbie Howells.

I started to read the book and from the very beginning it took hold. If I could of kept reading I would of. Wow what a page turner. Can't wait to read more books.

If you wish to know what this novel is about, this can be explained from the fly cover and I rate it 4 stars, as it twists and turns all the way to the ending, which did surprise me.
I was intrigued from page 1 and continued to the end. Parts of the book containing police interviews at police station were repetitive and I found them boring, but did not stop my interest to complete the book. For some readers who enjoy this form of writing, it will suit as it is dark, absorbing and twisty. The main characters Amy, Fiona and Jess, I thought were strong characters.
The storyline is interesting. Could this happen in REAL LIFE? I think it could!

The book is all about revenge, love, long past secrets, jealously and trust.


I THANK NETGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO READ AN ADVANCED COPY OF THIS BOOK

The Vow by Debbie Howells

Amy is due to get married in 2 weeks time, until her husband to be mysteriously disappears after saying he is working late. After reporting Matt missing, Amy is told that another woman has also reported Matt missing, claiming he is her boyfriend.

Amy & Fiona are soon questioned by the police and Amy is suspected of murdering Matt, despite no body being found. Did Amy murder her controlling & manipulative husband to be or is she being set up? Her daughter Jess doesn’t believe Amy could ever be capable of murder and begins her own investigation into Matts background.

It soon becomes clear that Amy & Fiona we’re friends in their younger days and a murder resulted in them going their seperate ways.

2 murder investigations, a missing husband & boyfriend and past secrets never to be told, will the truth be uncovered?

I really enjoyed the Vow, I loved the mystery surrounding Matt’s disappearance and it left you guessing many different theories throughout. The theme of ‘gaslighting’ is a main one throughout this book and I think it’s a really important subject covered, most of the time people don’t realise they are in a manipulative & controlling relationship, and it’s clear throughout this book that Amy wanted to do everything to please Matt, even going as far as breaking her Vegetarian diet to keep him happy.

Towards the end of the book I did guess Matts past and how he linked to both Amy & Fiona in their younger lives, however this didn’t take away the suspense and excitement as there was still more clues to be uncovered.

Overall a brilliant read!

Thanks to Netgalley & Avon books for letting me read this book in return for an honest review!

Wow a story of love, lies and secrets.
Amy and Matt are weeks away from their wedding when Matt disappears. After reporting him as a missing person to the police, Amy begins to slowly find out things that Matt has kept hidden from her, namely another woman he was leaving her for. As the police investigation turns into a murder investigation, past secrets are unearthed that cause a ripple effect in the lives of those involved in the case. After all, people can change their names, but their past will always be there along with the secrets and lies that were kept hidden. This book is a great suspense novel filled with many twists and turns and an ending that the reader will never see coming. Highly recommend for all suspense and mystery lovers.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The plotline was brilliant! Lots of unforeseen connections, leading to various twists and turns. I couldn't put it down, I was desperately guessing what would happen, all to no avail. A definite creepy undertone made this a deliciously dark read. The setting was well described but not overdone.
The characters and their connections were well thought out and added a whole dimension to the plot.
I loved this book and I would definitely read it again

I really enjoyed this book. It makes you think “do you really know anybody” you trust your partner completely- or do you? I have seen a lot of books with a similar story line but this is a cut above. I don’t want to rewrite what is in the book description but do want to say READ IT.

So many twists and turns - this book kept me enthralled from the first page to the last.
I love the style of Debbies writing, and can’t wait for her next offering.

A strange woman with a message, an address that doesn’t exist, old secrets, a missing fiancé & another woman … these should have been the components of a great story.
The book starts with disappearance of Matt, who is due to be married to Amy in 2 weeks, we soon discover that there is another woman claiming him as her partner too, and strange things start happening ...
The story is told from the various viewpoints of the main characters as well as some odd flashbacks that were initially confusing & distracting but later became relevant.
I liked the overall idea of the book, but the main characters were flat and uninspiring. Jess, the daughter, was the only interesting character & much more could have been made of. I liked her tenacity & determination to dig deeper! The police involvement was odd – ranging from genuinely concerned/helpful to blaming – and where did they find the PC with the botanic knowledge from?!
Overall it was a nice summer read but it was quite predictable and was more of a cosy mystery than a thriller … just a little bit too flat to really grip me.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book free from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

*Contains spoilers*

Amy is getting married to Matt but he disappears a couple of weeks before the wedding. Quickly it turns out things weren't as they seemed, he appeared to be gaslighting Amy and he was having an affair with Fiona.

I enjoyed the style of the writing with Amy, Fiona, Jess (Amy's daughter) all taking a turn in narrating and with some flashbacks to childhood by an unknown narrator.

However I did have some issues with the book. I felt there was sympathy missing for Matt from the police etc, and he was discussed as a complete psychopath when, although his actions were definitely unjustifiable, he had had his life ruined as an impressionable child by Amy and Fiona. The statement from WPC Page that he hadn't expected them to find the notebook that exonerated Amy when it had been hidden in the same flower bed as the blood stained clothing he'd planted was ridiculous. And I also wasn't convinced that the notebook containing two recipes written by the grandmother was really enough to secure a conviction for Fiona.

The "big reveal" I had guessed a long time prior to that but it was still an interesting story and I didn't struggle to read it.

There are numerous typos etc that I noticed but I assume they'll be cleaned up for the publication date.

All in all, I would recommend it as I did enjoy the tale and it's easy enough to ignore the issues I had with it if you're happy to go along with it.

The plot and characters were not consistent. Jumped from police being sympathetic to being non believers of the accused. Plot was weak and twist was guessed very early on. Another book full of typos too.

My thanks to Netgalley and Avon Bks for a copy of “ The Vow” for an honest review.

I enjoyed the first half of this book but things went downhill for me.
I’ve read books where you need to suspend your belief at times but with “ The Vow “things became a little too far fetched for me I found the police procedure at times laughable .WpC Page becoming an expert on the meaning of flowers being grown in Amy’s garden !
I struggled to finish it so unfortunately I won’t be recommending this

An interesting read with unexpected twists and turns. Easy to read and very enjoyable. The plot was believable and so were the characters.

I was really intrigued by the way that this book would go and while it certainly kept me curious with various red herrings and unreliable narrators, it felt somewhat slow and I found myself growing bored. It also seemed a bit I thought it was a good decision to have Jess's chapters as these helped to shed some light on the reality of the situation although it felt unrealistic to me that the police would confide so much in her and that she was able to uncover things that the police miraculously overlooked. I thought the flashbacks added some interesting context to the plot although I don't think we needed as many dotted throughout as these ended up feeling repetitive.

Thanks netgalley for my ARC of this book.

This is the first book I’ve read in a long time that has really caught my attention from the very start. It kept me guessing throughout. I wanted to get to the end to find out what happened but did not want the story to finish. A thoroughly enjoyable read and is highly recommended.

A good solid domestic thriller once again demonstrating how hopeless I am at guessing whodunnit. I do believe that this book is written to make sure you suspect most incidental characters and follows this through right until the end.

Amy is getting excited for her wedding to Matt, which is due to take place in 2 weeks time. One night he doesn't come home though after an evening entertaining a client and very quickly the story escalates. At the beginning, we are led to believe that Matt and Amy's relationship is idyllic but this becomes obviously not the case.

There were some moments of slight irritation as with a lot of these types of novels - WOuldn't the Police suspect more sinister goings on than the neighbours chimney suddenly being blocked? Wouldn't Amy be a little more irritated than she was at finding the address didn't exist. Not displaying any spoilers here but just pondering.

I liked the daughter though - I liked her suspicious nature and that she was feisty and wouldn't let anything drop without being unnatural.