What’s worse than having your husband’s ex-wife show up on your doorstep? Having his current, and very alive first wife turning up at your door. Merritt and Luca are living the dream, with a beautiful home on the ocean and a young family when Luca’s first wife, Lydia shows up, looking half dead. Missing for ten years, everyone assumed that Lydia WAS dead. She tells a harrowing tale of kidnap and confinement and her brave escape. Luca feels compelled to help Lydia, and Merritt reluctantly agrees. But as time goes by and Lydia involves herself in every aspect of the family’s lives, Merritt begins to have serious doubts about the other woman’s story and what she’s really after

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Unmissing by Minka Kent is an unputdownable domestic thriller that will appeal to fans of Kiersten Modglin and her nonstop twists.  Honestly, I predicted one twist, but then another twist happened that I absolutely did not see coming. The book is told from two alternating perspectives: first wife Lydia and new wife Merritt.  Lydia was Luca's first wife when he was just starting his restaurant business.  She went missing 10 years ago and was declared legally dead.  Suddenly, she shows up on Merritt and Luca's doorstop.  She claims to have been kidnapped and brutally tortured for years.  But is she telling the truth about what happened?  What does she want from Merritt and Lucas?  

Here' is a terrifying excerpt from the Prologue, which is from Lydia's point of view:

""Don't scream."
It happens in an airtight instant: the hand clamped over my mouth, the warmth of a man's body pressed against my back, the low rasp of a masculine voice against my eardrum.
I writhe and squirm, kicking him in the shins and clawing at his arms, but it only makes him squeeze me tighter, forcing any remaining oxygen from my lungs and rendering me powerless.
"Stop," he says. His breath is hot against my ear as the roaring ocean below muffles his voice."

Overall, Unmissing is a novel about hidden secrets and lies that you will not want to miss!  I had my doubt going into this book, since I have not read anything by this author before.  When the first twist, which I predicted, happened, I was ready to write off this book.  I am so glad that I didn't!  I did not see the second twist coming or any of the surprises at the end.  This is definitely a book that you need to read to the end.  One highlight of this book is the nonstop action.  The book starts at moment Lydia shows up on the couple's doorstep, and it doesn't let you go until the end.  I could not put this book down, because I had to find out what happened next.  If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of domestic thrillers in general, you won't want to miss this book when it comes out in February!

I've loved every book I've read from author Minka Kent. This had me even more on the edge of my seat. Lydia Coletto has been missing, presumed dead, for 10 years. Her husband, Luca, is remarried to Merritt with a toddler and a baby on the way when Lydia shows up on their doorstep. What will happen next? Who has bad intentions? Why did I strongly dislike one particular character when I felt like I wasn't supposed to? 

I washed dishes with this book propped up beside me because I couldn't stop thinking about it and I needed more information. Kent is not just great at plotting, she writes well, too. I felt almost like I was watching the action instead of reading it.