This story had a great premise that held my attention from start to finish. Newlyweds Jace and Tessa are getting to know each other, but each have secrets they hold close to their hearts. Jace returns home late one night after a business meeting to find blood and hair, but no Tessa. The story proceeds from there as he tries to explain to the police that he knows something has happened to his wife and no, he didn’t have anything to do with it. As the story progresses the police begin to suspect Jace as the person behind Tessa’s disappearance.

The story is told from both Jace and Tessa’s point of views and early on I was convinced that Jace was guilty. However, as the story progresses, my opinion began to change. The story had some amazing twist and turns that I didn’t see coming which kept my attention throughout the book.

The story dragged a bit, but I was committed to the outcome and was happy to finish and find an explanation I did not see coming.

I thank NetGalley and the publisher, Penzler, for the opportunity to read this book. I gave the story 3 ½ stars rounded down to three.

When her husband hit her with a coffee mug in the face, Tessa knew he had the capability of killing her. She’s devised a plan and flees with the savings she’s hidden away, leaving her accomplice to plant clues and sow misdirection. But she is her own worst enemy, always attracted to the worst men, the men who are cruel and abusive. She might be able to evade her husband—but can she escape her past?

After a late night entertaining clients, Jace Montgomery, Tessa’s husband, comes home to a broken window and blood on the kitchen floor. Shocked and fearful for Tessa’s safety, he immediately contacts the police, but they don’t believe Jace’s story, and think he’s harmed his wife. When he loses his temper at a press conference, he only becomes a stronger suspect. Then, his coworker, Rosita, with whom someone has accused him of having an affair, also disappears. Although Jace maintained he owned no firearms, police found an illegal gun in the house when conducting a search. Jace’s lies begin to unravel and his best friend and lawyer even questions his innocence.

Though Tessa has broken free and her plan seems to be working, she doesn’t know who to trust when anyone could be an enemy and any move could reveal her location or true identity—with a past like hers, she may never find the loving, kind relationship she craves.

Finding Tessa is a fast-paced, surprising thriller. I read deep into the early morning hours because I couldn’t put it down until I found out how the cleverly designed plot resolved. It was impossible to trust any characters which made it exciting to see how they developed and what their true motivations were. However, a discordant note for me was Tessa’s seemingly blasé attitude about her childhood and past abuse (I’ve never been in that situation, though, so perhaps that’s one way of coping) plus that past being the primary way she is characterized.

This is what I consider an excellent beach read—entertaining, captivating, but not too demanding! Recommended for fans of domestic thrillers such as books by Tarryn Fisher.

Finding Tessa is a cleverly executed domestic suspense novel set in New Jersey, about a young woman, with a terrible relationship history, on the run from her latest abusive husband, having left clues to frame him for her disappearance. It’s a very good, twisty thriller, especially for a debut, as while you think you know what’s going on, and have read it all before, as it channels elements of some of the biggest psychological mysteries of recent years, but if you can avoid spoilers, you’re in for quite the surprise.

Jace Montgomery, a small town bank manager, comes home from a work do to find his new wife, Tessa, missing, a back window broken and blood and hair on the floor. He calls the police but knows that he can’t tell them the truth, and that suspicion will inevitably fall on him. Interior decorator Tessa has finally made her escape after yet another hopeful romance has turned bad. Years of abuse, beginning in childhood, have made her a survivor, and this time she’s going to ensure that her outwardly respectable ex pays for his controlling cruelty. Can Tessa start a new life or will he find her and exact his revenge?

Told in alternate POV chapters, we follow Jace in third person past, as he frantically tries to cover up his mistakes and work out what happened, and Tessa’s first person present account of her escape and attempts to start over, but will her attraction to bad boys be her downfall again? Tessa is likeable and the more we learn about her past, the more sympathy we have for her mistakes. I don’t want to say too much here, but agree with all the 4 and 5 star reviews that this is well worth reading, even if like me you’re getting a bit tired of this genre. There’s a good cast of supporting characters and a satisfying ending. And - public service announcement: nothing bad happens to Candy the dog.
4.5 rounded down for the present tense and occasionally dubious English.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC which allowed me to give an honest review. Finding Tessa is available now.

3.5 ⭐️ ‘s
While not an original story line, this debut tries to keep the reader guessing...but I found it fairly easy to figure out from the get go. When Jace comes home late after a work function, he finds Tessa missing and it doesn’t look like she left on her own accord. Tessa has secrets that she hasn’t shared completely with her new husband. As it starts to look more and more like Jace might have something to do with her disappearance, he only fights harder to find out what happened to Tessa. Is it subterfuge, or is he completely innocent? Told in the alternating voices of Jace and Tessa, this book was fast paced and entertaining.

Do you know that rollercoaster ride that pulls an upsidedown loop, and some people drop their phones? Finding Tessa is like that. If you love a fast-paced thriller that gives you whiplash and keeps you guessing, you'll love this. Fantastic debut.

Omg this book was soooo good! It will make you stay up late thru the night and not want to stop! So once you start make sure you have a lot of time on your hands! It’s soo good!

Thank you to Netgalley and W. W. Norton & Company for the ARC.

4/5 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Finding Tessa is a well-crafted, fast-paced thriller that is sure to be a big beach read this summer. To not give anything away, I’ll keep this as short as possible. Jace and Tessa seem like a young couple in love, but when Tessa goes missing one day, all eyes are on Jace. They say it is always the husband and all evidence points to him, but Jace maintains his innocence. What happened that night and where is Tessa?

Hendricks does an excellent job of ending every chapter with a cliffhanger, ensuring you will keep flipping the pages to find out what happens next. She also flips the story until this became a completely different read than I was expecting. I loved the pacing and the characters, especially the dog, Candy. The ending was a bit rushed, but it didn’t detract from how much I loved the book overall. This is the perfect poolside read and an action-packed thrill ride that I cannot wait to discuss with other readers.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a case of Death by Bad Grammar and Sentence Structure!

<img src="https://media0.giphy.com/media/8Pa7JAeyhfAeC0IFP8/giphy.gif"/>

The story started off intriguingly enough: a fleeing heroine with a torrid past. All the men in Tessa's life used her as a punching bag. We start to worry: did impulsive Tessa fall into yet another terrible, abusive relationship with Jace?

<img src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/596d3c41cd39c35d82c23a2b/1572850999975-U2ODP800ZWBWLMBZE2TY/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kJ5JylU2XYKLhOassZYccL1Zw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZamWLI2zvYWH8K3-s_4yszcp2ryTI0HqTOaaUohrI8PIENt38jaVQuQoniyIKX8sb6t6piEaRgaAiLMaVQMPuBs/Yosemite-Elopement-Photographer-Glacier-Point.gif"/>

As I read this story, I started getting confused: Tessa's narrative was all over the place! Which generic Asshole was she referring to at which given time? Was Tessa referring to a recent or past Asshole, or one in present time? Being somewhat methodical, I started taking notes on my Kindle and was able to separate the Asshole Drew versus Jace timelines.

<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/973812ed3cbe572e975d1bf45fdf3450/tumblr_inline_ollao4hT5F1u9knfo_250.gifv"/>

Aha! I realized: the author is creating misdirection by the use of a deliberately garbled writing style and generic labels instead of names for specific characters. Tessa is an unreliable witness because she can't tell her story coherently?! Okaaaaay......!!!! Eventually I shrugged and decided to go with that, and kept reading....

My frustration mounted towards the end because I couldn't figure out WHAT the actual crime was that we were supposed to solve. And then the body count started rising, and my confusion knew no bounds!

<img src="https://images.indianexpress.com/2019/12/dead-body-1.jpg"/>

Thankfully, the writing became less garbled towards the end, and I was able to follow along without my timeline notes, but then the plot <i>devices </i> became a tad formulaic and stretched my need to suspend my disbelief to the breaking point. Sorry, but that gizmo that totally saved the day was feeble! Tessa's statement that she refused to be a slave to technology and wasn't up on Iphones, etc., was totally contradictory: she had no trouble using the internet, email, texts, burner phones, etc. Quite the contrary: our Tessa was quite the resourceful woman!

<img src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c0/4f/fe/c04ffeceba090c76efa2c071dbce0965.gif"/>

In the end, I was not impressed that the author used seemingly bad drafting skills to hoodwink and misdirect the reader. (This form of misdirection would have worked better had Tessa's story been written in diary form. The jumping timeline tangents would have been easier to accept, given that Tessa never finished high school. But, again, points to her for being such a resourceful woman in her disappearing acts! I'm going to rate this one a 3.5 out of 5 because I could not get over the Literary Sacrilege.
My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I have just finished reading Finding Tessa by Author Jaime Lynn Hendricks

This was quite a good book for the most part. I found it interesting right away, and thought the author did a good job with the characters as they were all quite complex, and full of flaws.

However, I started losing interest about 2/3 of the way through, and thought the storyline went a bit flat in my opinion.

This is the author’s first book, and I will be sure to check out her works again in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley, Author Jaime Lynn Hendricks and W. W. Norton & Company. Books for my advanced copy to read and review.

#FindingTessa #NetGalley

Finding Tessa delves into the complicated life of a deliciously flawed main character, Tessa, whose love life has been a series of hookups with dangerous, angry men, aka "A#$holes" in her words. In a whirlwind romance, she meets and marries a seemingly gentle man, Jace Montgomery. Then one night, Jace comes home from work late to find clumps of hair, blood, and a broken window and his wife, Tessa, missing. The cops peg him as a suspect after an explosive outburst to a reporter, and the police investigation slowly exposes him to be a man, not who he seems. But Tessa, as the author teases, is a woman fed up at being a victim, and the unraveling of Jace's innocence fits a pattern of Tessa's past escapes. Assumptions about each character's guilt and innocence get increasingly tangled the more pasts unravel.

I'm not surprised the publisher promotes Finding Tessa as a domestic thriller for fans of Gillian Flynn because for a majority of the book she delivers. Although the ending did not quite meet the excitement generated by the book's explosive beginning, I got hooked on the characters and enjoyed the wild ride.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exhange for an honest review.
"Finding Tessa" by Jaime Lynn Hendricks was an unexpected surprise.
This is the author's debut novel & I found it to be a well written, addictive, intriguing & exciting story.
I was reading the 1st third of the novel & I was enjoying how it was playing out but then out of nowhere, Ms. Hendricks throws the reader a huge & unexpected twist which completely changed the story and had me screaming "I can't believe this"!
I can't wait to read what she writes next.

5 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I LOVED this book! I was captured from the first page. I adored the characters. The suspense had me hanging off the edge of my seat. The twist in the middle of the book made my jaw drop. Absolutely amazing.

I 💯% recommend! Run to the store Tuesday, May 11th, and buy this book immediately!

3.5 stars

The book is narrated in the alternating voices of Jace Montgomery and Tessa Smyth, a newlywed couple living near the Jersey shore. Jace is a banker and Tessa is an interior decorator, and their marriage occurred so fast that they haven't even met each other's families.

The story opens with Jace, who's worried about his wife.

Jace is the branch manager of New Jersey's Valley Lake Bank, and is trying to get financing for a new shopping center. Thus Jace and his colleague Rosita wined and dined two representatives from Vistabuild, hoping to win their favor.

Jace got home late from the business dinner, and discovered that his wife Tessa was missing. There's a broken window in the kitchen, blood and hair on the ground outside, and Tessa's purse and phone are in the house. Jace calls the authorities, and Detective Solomon and a forensics team are soon on the scene.

Solomon asks if anyone would want to hurt Tessa, and Jace explains that his wife had violent men in her past, but he doesn't know any of their names. In fact, the banker seems to know very little about his spouse, other than that she was raised in abusive foster homes and may have four siblings. In fact Jace isn't even sure if Smyth is Tessa's maiden name or her ex-husband's last name. When Solomon asks the banker if there were any problems in his and Tessa's marriage, Jace lies and says no.

The detective concludes that Tessa knew the person responsible for her disappearance, because the couple's dog Candy would have attacked an intruder. In fact, it's pretty clear that Solomon is suspicious of Jace, because the husband is always the first suspect.

Switch to Tessa, and we learn she's on the run.

Tessa has nine thousand dollars in cash that she saved up, and is relieved she has the resources to get away. In the past, every time Tessa left an ex she'd jump right into another relationship, because she had no money and nowhere to go. This time, Tessa catches a bus to a distant city, checks into a cheap motel, and proceeds to get the fake ID she needs to get on with her life. Tessa is still very apprehensive, however, because she knows her ex-husband will kill her if he finds her.

Still, Tessa is hopeful things will work out this time because she has a plan. With the help of a friend who'll plant the appropriate clues, Tessa hopes to get her ex-husband imprisoned for murdering her.

Shift back to Jace, and he's in trouble.

A neighbor tells the police that Tessa was very upset because Jace came home with a gun. Jace denies this, but the police don't believe him. Soon afterwards, a woman's maimed body is found; another woman goes missing; and evidence is found in the banker's house. The press goes crazy, and Jace is dubbed Valley Lake's notorious murderer. Jace gets two lawyers to help him: his friend Evan Soderberg and defense attorney Robert Brown. Soderberg manage to raise bail, but Jace is still confined to his house with an ankle bracelet.

Switch to Tessa, and it seems old habits die hard.

Tessa starts settling into her new home, and goes to a wine bar for a meal. There Tessa flirts with a bartender named Damon, who's interested in the new lady in town. Though Tessa knows better, she makes a date with Damon, hoping she'll have better luck this time. The date goes well.....until it doesn't.

To reveal more would be a spoiler, except to say that things aren't necessarily what they seem.

This is a suspenseful thriller that will keep you guessing from beginning to end.

Thanks to Netgalley, Jaime Lynn Hendricks, and Penzler Publishers for a copy of the book.

Well, well, well, what do we have here??? A domestic thriller which took my on a thrilling, twisting, and turning, shocking ride.

I picked this up to read, wanting a change from the current books I was reading. I only intended to read a couple of pages before bed but could not put the book down and got to the 38% mark or as I like to call it the "What did I just read!?!" mark. That is when I got the first twist which turned things on its head for me. I thought I had things all figured out. NOPE! Not even close!

Jace Montgomery comes home after a night of entertaining clients to find his wife, Tessa missing. Not just missing but blood on the floor, clump of hair and broken glass type of missing. A call to the police and an investigation that puts him on the top of the suspect list. As the police take a long hard look at Jace, he strongly claims he is innocent and wants his wife back.

Tessa, who has dated a long line of well, less than loving men, has left her abusive husband. She is ready to start over. Hopefully, he will not find her. Hopefully, she can get a job, start over, and be happy. She deserves it after everything she has endured in her life.

This was a fun, entertaining book that shocked me and delivered on shock value. Told in both Tessa and Jace's POV. We get into both of their minds, learn their secrets, and watch as their stories are told.

This proved to be a fast and satisfying read. Hendricks delivers a smart, clever, and hard to put down, twisty tale! I cannot wait to read what Hendricks writes next! Seriously, what will she come up with next?

Thank you to Penzler Publishers and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

4.5 stars - rounded up! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a debut!

After all of the glowing reviews from my Goodreads friends, I knew I had to get on my iPad to request this one - fast. When I got my approval, I couldn’t wait to dig in!

I have to admit, not many books grab me from the get go. Needless to say, this one did and it was damn near impossible to put down once I got started. This is not your typical slow burn thriller. Oh no - this one was super fast paced, with nonstop suspense and twists galore that kept me guessing the whole way through. I could not figure this one out at all. I was completely clueless! Everyone was a suspect. One twist had me sitting with my mouth open - which was very amusing to my husband - who is not a lover of books or reading, so he just doesn’t get it! 😜

All in all, Finding Tessa has EVERYTHING a reader looks for in a psychological thriller. It’s a must read for fans of this genre.

**Fun fact...there is a dog in this story (Hi Candy! 🐶) who is not harmed in any way! Yay! Only puppy hugs here.

I can’t wait to see what this author comes up with next!

Thank you to NetGalley, Scarlet Publishing and Jaime Lynn Hendricks for my advanced copy to read and review.

Wow! What a debut novel! Finding Tessa is fantastic. Read this one slowly as you will get confused. I sure was at times...but that's the point.
Tessa and Jace are newly married when Tessa disappears. There are signs of fowl play at the scene. Jace is accused of being responsible for his missing wife. They both have secrets in their past that will increase the suspense in the book. I will be on the look out for more books by Jaime Lynn Hendricks! Great characters!

Thanks to netgalley and Penzler Publishing/Scarlet for the arc.

Finding Tessa is a domestic thriller that follows the story of Jace and Tessa Montgomery. When Jace returns home one evening, he finds Tessa gone, blood in the house, and her hair in clumps. Obviously concerned, Jace runs to the police who turn around and blame him. As he falls under suspicion, he realizes how much he truly doesn't know about Tessa past.

This was a wonderful, fast paced novel that I found easy to quickly read. Despite being busy with a job, I found myself reaching to read this one during my lunch break and downtime. Jaime Lynn Hendricks weaves a wonderfully enticing story with characters you question, feel sorry for, and love to hate. The ending left me a little disappointed, but it was definitely not what I expected. I also enjoyed the twist thrown in halfway through the book which kept it even more exciting.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penzler Publishers, and the author for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Tessa, a woman with a painful past, goes missing, and her husband is the prime suspect. As I began the novel, I thought this was a Gone Girl plot, but the twists changed the narrative drastically as they were revealed throughout the story.

I’m in the camp of those who really enjoyed this book. Maybe I should have seen the twists coming but I was ripping through it that quickly that I didn’t stop to think about it.

Jace comes home one night to find his wife Tessa missing. There is blood on the floor and a clump of hair. They are only recently married after a whirlwind ‘courtship’ and Jace doesn’t actually know much about his wife’s past. Of course he calls the police - what loving husband wouldn’t? But it is not long before the police are putting him under a microscope. That’s one POV. The other is from Tessa - she is running from yet another abusive relationship. Her latest husband has gone too far this time and she vows not to repeat past mistakes.

The story flips between these points of view and just when you think you know what’s happening - you actually don’t! I don’t want to say any more as you should really discover this compelling book for yourselves.

Poor Tessa had a shocking childhood, marred by neglectful parenting and abusive foster homes. She seems to be a magnet for abusive, controlling men. It’s like they can sense her vulnerability and prey on her weaknesses. But no more, she vows as she is determined to get out from under the yoke and start over yet again. But has has she made a grave error of judgement and jumped from the frypan into the fire?

This one is tightly plotted and it is hard to believe it is a debut novel. There was plenty of misdirection, red herrings and potential ‘bad guys’. It was a fun read and flowed really well. Tessa was a likeable character despite her appalling taste in men! I struggled to put this book down and read it very quickly as I got more and more invested in knowing ‘what really happened’. Thanks to Netgalley, Penzler Publishers and the author for proving a copy to review. My opinions are my own.

Going into this I wasn’t sure what to expect but Hendricks delivered an amazing story. Tessa, the main character, was perfect. Running from her past, finding knight in shining armor. Making a life for herself. It was fun learning about her and seeing her get what she deserved. Jace was painted to be a little suspicious of, but it turned out he really does love Tessa and would do anything anything to protect her. The villains were well hidden, and the ending punch line tasted of sweet karma. I will definitely be picking up more for Hendricks in the future!