The Bride by Wendy Clarke is another compulsively readable offering from a not to be missed author. If Wendy Clarke is not already there, she definitely deserves a place on your radar.

Alice's life has taken a bit of a downturn when she receives a message from her old school friend Joanna, whom she has not seen nor heard from in 10 years. Joanna is getting married, and is anxious for Alice to meet her fiance Mark. Making plans to visit for a weekend, Alice is unsettled to discover that only Mark is at the couple's home when she arrives, and he knows nothing of Alice's planned visit. Where is Joanna, and why can Alice not reach her?

The tension steadily mounts as Alice decides to spend the weekend with the not altogether welcoming Mark, and the reader must suspend a large degree of disbelief if we are to continue on the journey which, in my opinion, justifies the leap of faith in the end. Without dissecting some plot elements that defy logic, this is a well-written and enjoyable distraction to which you will not regret committing your time.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

Tense chilling a missing bride a twisty turning story.A book that kept me reading late into the night.There were surprises shocks along the way,An author to follow.#netgalley#bookouture

Wowzers! That was definitely a thriller. I’m torn. I liked it but... I had some issues with it. Clearly, it is fiction, but alas some things *can* be too far fetched to make it enjoyable. This one has a little bit of that. Or maybe we’ll just say our MC is very verrryyy naive.

I have so many questions and worries that a woman would actually do some of the things that she did. Red flag after red flag is practically slapping her in the face and all she’s concerned about is pleasing her former best friend’s husband who she literally just met? I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t stay there when my friend who is presumed missing doesn’t make any kind of contact and no signs of life in their supposed shared apartment. I’d throw in the towel at the first thing he asked of her.

Nope, not me. I’d have got in my car and left during chapter one. LOL. But yes, then there would be no book. Anyway. I was thoroughly creeped out and entertained. I thought I knew what was happening but you can always tell something isn’t quite right.

Not everything is as it seems. The only problem is, who is the real victim here? It’s obvious there is a lot of unwell mental health issues going on here. More than what you might realize. In the end, the pair is perfect for each other. Like calls to like, after all.

I enjoyed this suspenseful novel tremendously. The plot was well crafted and the characters were people I could relate to and empathize with. Definitely recommended.

Alice is surprised to hear her friend Joanna's news that she is getting married to a man she only met a month ago. Alice hasn't seen Joanna in 10 years but still finds the news surprising and out-of-character. Joanna invites Alice to come meet her husband-to-be Mark, but when Alice gets there she finds Mark only and no sign of Joanna. Eventually Mark tells Alice that Joanna is missing. Can Mark be trusted? What has happened to Joanna? Alice may just find out these answers, and more... A thrilling story with twists and turns and a shocking ending. I enjoyed the story but didn't find the characters too appealing. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.

Joanna was Alice's best friend, but they haven't seen each other for 10 years.
So when Joanna texts Alice, asking her to meet Mark, her husband to be, Alice, having lost her job and her fiance, jumps at the opportunity of a distraction and rekindling their friendship.
But when she arrives at Joanna's address, only Mark is there while Joanna is away on a course, seemingly having forgotten she invited Alice over.
It soon turns out though, that Joanna is in fact, missing.

The story follows Alice's first-person point of view and is later joined by Joanna's account of events.
I've not read anything by Wendy Clarke before, but found the blurb of this book interesting and was excited when my ARC was approved.
However, I'm really torn about the rating.
The story was good and really intriguing, but it was a slow-burner.
The action picked up at about 70% in, and it did have me racing through the rest of the book, but for the majority of it, despite being thrilling and creepy, I found it lacked suspense.
It's hard to explain without revealing spoilers, but Joanna's narration felt somewhat unreliable.
Even as I write this, I'm unsure about the rating. I feel like 3 stars is not enough, but equally the slow-burning plot doesn't warrant 4 stars which I reserve for books that have me on the edge of my seat throughout. For this reason, I decided to settle on 3 stars with a promise of reaching for other novels from this author.
It's definitely a book worth checking out.

Creepy in the best kinda way! It kept me up all night and surprised me more than just a couple of times. Recommended.

When your world is tumbling down, there is always that one person you can count on: your best friend!

This book is dressed in a veil of creepiness. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled constantly and I felt uneasy and that's what a thriller should do to you!

Mark, charming but can he be trusted? Do we see the real Mark or is he a talented actor?

Alice and Joanna, best friends forever ..., but that was years ago. Do they still know each other like they used to or have they changed beyond recognition? On the other hand, some things never change, do they?

The author decided to take the reader on a very bumpy and bendy ride with surprises behind every turn. Ready, set, go. 4 stars

Thank you, Wendy Clarke and Bookouture

The cover and the plot description was so intriguing to me! Unfortunately, I was really let down by the book itself.

The story focuses on a woman named Alice whose estranged best friend, Joanna, contacts her after ten years to tell her she’s getting married. Joanna tells Alice to come visit and meet her fiancé. When Alice arrives, she meets Mark and finds out that Joanna has gone missing. She has to use her resources and everything she knows from her past with Joanna to figure out where she went- and why.

I simply couldn’t get into this book. None of the characters were particularly appealing to me. It was also a very slow book. There was not a lot of action for the first 100 pages. Even when things started to pick up, I felt like there was an over abundance of descriptive text that could have been left out. This book just wasn’t for me. I have heard great things about other novels by this author so I am hoping to read another one by her that grips me!

Wow oh wow!! I didn't expect to finish this book in just one sitting. I have been completely and utterly flew through it.
This is definitely one of those books which you can't put down because you just have to know what was going to happen next within the plot.
I have liked the characters in this book. I have tried to guess the ending unsuccessfully on many attempts while reading this one.
This is definitely an author I will revisit and recommend purely because this has kept me guessing. I have enjoyed reading this one. It has been a great read which is highly deserving of five stars.

Alice wakes up in unfamiliar surroundings, doesn't know how she got there. Rewind three weeks ⏪ Joanna, Alice's close friend from school text her out of the blue to arrange meeting up, as she's just got engaged. They've not seen each other for ten years... when Alice arrives at Joanna's she's not there, which raises questions. Events then unfold...

For me personally, this book wasn't what I'd expected, very much psychological mind games. If you liked The Woman In The Window, I'm sure you'll enjoy this book.