Rona Halsall has become one of my favourite authors and when I saw this on Netgalley, I just had to request it as I have preordered it but couldn't wait to read it and as usual it didn't disappoint. The story gripped me from the start and nothing seems to be as it should, Becca seems to be happily married until her past comes back to ruin her life. As I said it's a brilliant read and I would like to thank the publishers and netgalley for letting me have the book to review and the opinions expressed are entirely my own views and are completely unbiased.

The Ex-Boyfriend by Rona Halsall is yet another gripping page-turner from an author who has raised the bar when it comes to a compulsively readable psychological thriller. As I have with all of Ms Halsall's previous novels, I devoured this one.

Becca is a busy and stressed mother to three year old Mia, and wife to Dean, who seems to regularly prioritize his work over his family. Becca is feeling neglected and more than a little fed up when her ex-boyfriend Connor, now living in Australia, gets in touch via social media. Just as Becca begins to communicate with Connor, her daughter becomes repeatedly and inexplicably ill. She begins to suspect that someone is hurting Mia, and Connor becomes the only person that she can confide in. Just whom can Becca trust as everyone in her life becomes a potential suspect?

This is Rona Halsall at her best, and while I did struggle with the plausibility of certain elements of the plot, this is an enjoyable read and one that I would happily recommend. 4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

Becca is kept busy with her young daughter Mia, her stressful job, and her dad who still struggles after the death of Becca's mum years before. Becca's husband Dean works away a lot, making life even harder for her. Then one day, Becca gets a message from her first love Connor who lives in Australia, making her look at her life and question if she is really happy. She sees no harm in exchanging messages with him. But then things start to go wrong. Her daughter Mia starts getting sick and the circumstances look suspicious. Is someone out to ruin Becca's life? Who would do such a thing? Everyone becomes a suspect in this fantastic psychological thriller by Rona Halsall. I loved the book and couldn't put it down, just like all of Rona's other books. The twists and turns were fantastic, the conclusion shocking and clever, and the ending just great. A brilliant plot and fantastic characters, I can't recommend this book enough! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.

When her ex-boyfriend gets back in touch she struggles with telling him about her new life so she just decides not too.

An amazing thriller that leaves you on the edge of your seat and keeps you wanting to know what will happen next.

This is what you call a perfect psychological thriller, in every way
Becca is married to Dean and they have a daughter, Mia, all is ‘ok’ but then Becca receives an unexpected tweet from her ‘many moons ago’ first love Connor,and the temptation to reply is too strong, so she does , this opens up a whole host of past secrets, can she face reopening all those wounds....and then Mia gets sick, for no reason....suspicions are raised as to why and thats where I will leave it as the drama, twists and turns fly thick and fast and you will find yourself being more and more shocked as more and more is revealed
I really liked Becca and liked Connor too, the story is easy to visualise and ‘get into’ and once you start you wont be able to stop
Rona Halsall writes great books and I think this is my favourite, fast paced, exciting, at times dark, very dark and at all times thrilling

10/10
5 Stars

Wow I love Ronas books and this must be her best yet! Intriguing, fast paced and full of unexpected twists and turns that keep you guessing right till the end! Difficult subjects such as grief,mental health, munchausens and narcissism are all covered brilliantly!
Becca a district nurse mother to Mia and wife of a workaholic has an uphill struggle to convince Drs that Mia is ill, not just a normal childhood illness but something more chilling and sinister, her plight to get taken seriously and find out the cause of Mias sudden illnesses is fraught with disbelief, accusations and surprising revelations.A brilliant read that I devoured in an afternoon and would highly recommend to all!
Thank you net galley and Rona for this early read.

It’s a fairly easy read, even though it’s a heavy subject, and at times hard to swallow. Becca is a nurse, not too happily married to the father of her child. The daughter ends up sick too many times, and Becca suspects someone is poisoning her. In the end doctors believe that as well. However, the doctors believe Becca is poisoning her own daughter. No one really wants to believe Becca, but her ex-boyfriend has befriended her on Twitter telling her he loves her. Maybe she could open up to him?

Lots of family drama for such a small family, which also includes Becca’s father and sister. The book is predictable at times, and I’m not sure I would call it plausible. Some of the things are a bit far fetched, but to be honest people believe what they want to believe, others manipulate to get what they want, and it can get really messy. The book is well-written. The ending is quite abrupt and filled with a bit too much drama.

I received a free advance reader copy from Bookouture via NetGalley in an exchange for an honest review.

Wow! Rona Halsall has knocked it out of the park with this one! I think The Ex-Boyfriend is my favourite yet!
Becca has a workaholic husband and a 3 year old daughter named Mia. She is contacted on Twitter by Connor, her first love, who lives in Australia.
Then her daughter gets sick and it becomes clear someone close to Becca is pulling the strings to make her look bad....
I can’t say anything more about the synopsis of this amazing book because I wouldn’t want to ruin it for anyone. Suffice to say this book had me gripped from the very first page and I could not put it down. There were so many twists and turns I became dizzy! Just when I thought I had it figured out my theory was shot down.
This is absolutely my favourite Rona Halsall book yet! Read it, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed - just make sure your calendar is clear as you won’t be able to put it down!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I knew this book was going to be fantastic.!! Had my head reeling..kept changing my mind on who it was....great at making you guess.
I can't say enough good things about this one. Put it on your to read list right now.
Read this in one sitting. Unputdownable.. Love this author. Can't wait for more books from her.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for an early release of this book.

This was a really good fast paced read . I was hooked straight away . We start with Becca in A & E with her young daughter , something is wrong , The doctors believe that Mia is deliberately being poisoned . We then go back 2 and 1/2 weeks and have the story leading up to the A & E incident . Becca is contacted by twitter by a long ago ex boyfriend , they start to talk and it brings to the surface all that is wrong with her marriage . As Mia gets increasingly poorly can Connor contacting her be a coincidence or is it a lot more sinister . I liked Becca as a character and felt really bad for her when things were spiralling so out of control . There are lot's of twists and a few red herrings . Great escapism for a lovely sunny afternoon . Well worth a read . !!!!

This is my first read by Rona and you know I blooming loved it.

Becca is a part time district nurse, married to workaholic Dean.
Juggling working part time and looking after 3 year old Mia Becca gets a unexpected tweet from Australia her Ex Connor, Becca keeps thinking about her past what secrets she has held to herself and why she run off to Oz in the first place over 10 years ago.

Poor little Mia keeps getting sick which no real answers as to why.

Is Becca going mad? Is someone harming her daughter?

I read this gripping read in just two sittings, I was totally drawn to the characters and this had you guessing all the way though which kept me page turning until almost midnight.

WOW A must read I would definitely pick up another book from Rona again, just brilliant.

Thank you Bookouture 5 stars from me ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#TheExBoyfriend #NetGalley
No one can gives you paranoia like Rona. An edge of your seat suspense.
Everyone likes online friendship today. Social media helps you in connecting with different people across the world. You can share everything, can't you?
Meet Becca, a not so ordinary woman with an workaholic husband, although he was pathetic sometimes in the story and her cute daughter Mia aged three.
Everything was going almost fine until one day she discovered her ex boyfriend online which brought back a smile on her face. Everyone has a soft corner for their ex. Becca smiled. Her ex boyfriend was everything to her once upon a time, long long ago.
Now he's living in Australia and wants to know everything about her life but can she tell it? All about her life?
Becca has a dark past from which she was running but can she escape her past?
Rona is back with a hell of a psychological thriller. She's a name to watch.
I loved Becca the most. Although this whole show was hers and only hers. Her character is perfectly made. Although Connor was good too.
Narration of the story is simple and intersting. Simple grammar is used which is easy to understand.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me an advance copy of this awesome psychological thriller.