(5.0*)

*** HAPPY ALMOST PUBLICATION DAY! ***

Holy wow!

Unmissing by Minka Kent was a total unputdownable thriller.

The story follows Merritt and Luca, a married couple who are living the perfect life — a beautiful mansion for a home, a toddler and another child on the way, own a few restaurants, and have plenty of money. The perfect set-up if you ask me.

All is good between this married couple, until Luca’s first wife, Lydia, appears on their doorstep in the middle of the night. Lydia was taken 10 years ago and now returning with a plan!!!

I was hooked from the very beginning. The way the author told the story, along with the placement of the twists and turns, made it a gripping fast-paced, page-turner.

The characters were fully developed, there was enough detail included in the storyline but not too much to where it becomes uninteresting, the story is written in two POVS, there were unpredictable twists, the story moves super fast, and the ending is wrapped up and well-written. Overall, very pleased and there was nothing I was disappointed about with this book so that is why I am giving it 5 stars.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for my review.

Not a huge reader in the thriller genre but I enjoy the author’s style. Minka Kent had me immersed in a story that spanned close to ten years, told from two alternating points of view. The story consumed me-I had so many questions that I knew would eventually be answered but wow! You have the sense that something is off & you’re not entirely sure what. The turns kept on coming, and the tension kept building! I enjoyed the characters Lydia, Luca, Merritt & secondary character Delphine. The plot was intriguing, and learning more about the characters as lives unravelled was fascinating.

I received a copy of this book from Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley My honest opinion is voluntarily provided.

This was an interesting read, I loved the premise! The author was great at getting the reader to really think about what would happen if they were in the wife’s (either of them) shoes. I will definitely read more by this author, she has a great writing style!

Unmissing by Minka Kent is a smartly written thriller that begins with a dramatic kidnapping, continues with a darkly dramatic tale of a tangled web of domestic relationships, and concludes with a some great and unexpected plot twists.
Told from the POVs of Lydia (wife #1) and Merritt (wife #2), the reader is treated to hearing the inner thoughts and motives of the two female protagonists as they navigate their relationship with each other and with their husband Luca, separated by 10 years and Lydia’s history of trauma.
I enjoyed the contrasts of the two wives’ characters; while Lydia was sassy, sardonic and world-weary, Merritt was cool, calculating and manipulative. Luca was definitely drawn in the least interesting role and was generally portrayed as weak and mercenary in his motivations.
While there were some moments in the action that stretched plausibility, overall the story was a great page-turner. There were plenty of sociopaths and damaged people to add to the delicious suspense and dramatic tension.
I enjoy this author’s direct, unadorned writing style and recommend this novel to readers who enjoy reading domestic suspense and a nicely plotted story.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

“… I am – by all accounts – a reasonable woman.”

This domestic thriller is aptly named, Unmissing – as in, a once missing and presumed dead wife suddenly reappears, destroying the domestic bliss that the new wife has carefully created. But behold, all is not as it seems – as it seldom ever is!

Merritt Coletto is happily married to Luca, pregnant and with a toddler when the unthinkable happens. Luca’s wife, Lydia, who went missing almost 10 years prior shows up at their door. She is gaunt, unkempt, opening up a whole host of questions! Where has Lydia been? Why has she shown up at Merritt’s door and what could she possibly want?

I liked that the story is told in both Merritt and Lydia’s POV, giving a unique perspective to the story. I did have to suspend reality a bit on some aspects but that is why I read instead of watching the news <shrug> The entertainment value is here and the twists are twisty and well-plotted.

My thanks to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for this gifted DRC. 3.5 Stars

Merritt and Luca have it all. They are happily married with their second child due to arrive in a couple of weeks. They have the house of their dreams with a breathtaking view and there are about to sell their business. Then one evening someone knocks on their door. It is Lydia, Luca’s first wife who went missing almost ten years ago. Now she is on their doorstep. She has a tale to tell. She was abducted and held captive for nine years. She escaped somehow but she does not want to go to the police. She lives off the grid and she wants help from her husband. Merritt is shocked. She is afraid that Lydia will be a thread for her perfect family. That she wants Luca back. She decides that she wants to help her and tries to be friendly. But after a while we learn that that nothing is as it seems.

If you are looking for a realistic and plausible story this one is not the right book for you. The story is absolutely crazy and unlikely. But it is also a fun and easy read. The chapters are short and alternate between the two women. The main problem is that it is hard to understand why Lydia didn’t go straight to the police when she escaped. It is also hard to connect to any of them. At the end you get your reason but until then you just have to accept that. I would advise that you just do not think too much about the story. There are two major twists. The first one you could see coming. The second one was a surprise. The pace is good and I kept interested what this weird people were up to next. If you can suspend disbelieve this book will surely entertain you.

Those who go missing usually stay missing. That isn't the case for Lydia after missing for ten years she shows up on her husbands doorstep. The only thing is her husband is remarried to Merritt, has a daughter with a son on the way. What could Lydia possibly want by showing up on their doorstep? Where has she been? Why hasn't she gone to the police? Merritt is determined to find out these reasons.

This is my first book from Minka Kent, and it won't be my last. I wasn't fully invested in this book. The majority of it was a slow burn for me, it didn't hook me. I didn't feel like it was necessarily a psychological thriller. It took until the last 1/3 of the book for me to fully be invested. I think I had a hard time with the characters. I didn't really like either one of the women. It took awhile for me to like one of them. I think having a few POVs from Luca would have been interesting.

However, I thought the book was still a quick and interesting read. I liked the short chapters. I thought it was well written. I'm glad I read the book and I look forward to more from the author. Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for my copy in exchange for my honest review!

For the first half of this novel I had a real hard time bonding with the characters. I assumed I’d feel sympathy for the wife who was missing these past nine years, but she seemed so detached, so cold, that despite her dire ordeal – I really didn’t. And, I didn’t really feel much for the new wife either, she seemed so desperate, and it seemed SO unlikely that she would try to become friends with her beloved husband’s first wife. The husband did not react to his first wife’s reappearance as one would expect him to… They all seemed OFF….

THEN… a major plot twist turned everything on its head. Suddenly I was much more sympathetic with the first wife AND the second wife. From then on I literally gobbled up the pages to see how this convoluted scenario would pan out for the three adults involved.

If I listed the themes of this novel, I would spoil it for potential readers. It was all a question of which character was playing who. WHO was the manipulator and WHO was the ingenuous?

Short chapters, and the alternating points of view of the two wives, kept me engrossed in this twisty domestic thriller. Recommended to those readers who appreciate an audacious, titillating, slightly over the top, fast-paced read!

This was my first Minka Kent book. Her writing is good and it’s a quick, easy-to-read page-turner with many unexpected twists. The story idea is a good one: Luca and Merritt Coletto are living a dream life with a successful restaurant business, a beautiful home, a toddler daughter, and a baby boy on the way. Luca’s first wife Lydia had been kidnapped, was missing for years, and then declared dead. When the very un-dead Lydia shows up on Luca and Merritt’s doorstep just before Merritt is due to give birth to their son, their dream life becomes more of a nightmare. My problem with this book is that none of the main characters are likeable or relatable and the decisions they make are mind-boggling. Thanks to #netgalley and #thomas&mercer for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Huge amount of thanks to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer publishing for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my opinion!
Merritt has everything. A good husband, a growing family, and a successful business. She also has a shocking blast from the past. Her husband’s first wife, missing and presumed dead for 10 years, shows up on her doorstep. Malnourished, weak, and dirty, she tells Merritt her story and how she escaped being kidnapped and tortured.
Merritt wants to help her, but she also wants to keep the life she’s built with her husband. She also wants to know why she’s never been to the police, or what she really wants from them.
Another solid book from Minka Kent! She is a master at twists you never see coming. Publication date is soon, y’all! February 15th! Don’t miss out on it!

Lydia Coletti has come back and she wants her husband Luca to make things right for her. Ten years ago, shortly after they married, she was abducted as she hiked near their Oregon town. She was subjected to years of horrible abuse and now she has found her way back to her husband's lovely new home and his lovely very pregnant wife, Merritt. Luca is off looking for buyers for the restaurants he developed with Merritt in their tourist town. They are facing serious financial difficulties. They have a toddler daughter, a son on the way and now Lydia is there, worming her way into their lives. Minka Kent alternates chapters from Lydia's and Merritt's perspectives as each tries to navigate the fact that Lydia is alive, here and wants something from Luca Coletti. Lydia connects with Delphine, a shop owner in town who gives her a place to stay. She's been homeless for awhile because Luca had her declared legally dead and she needs his help to establish her identity. The premise of Unmissing is original and Kent's imagining of how the characters might react is well-played. There are definitely unexpected turns and twists in a well-plotted book. It is psychologically hard to read at times, but worth the emotional effort.

Merritt and Luca Coletta have a life others envy. An opulent ocean-side home, a career that provides well for the family, a beautiful three-year-old daughter and a son on the way. It’s as near to perfect as any life can be.

All of that is threatened when Lydia Coletta, Luca's first wife, shows up at their doorstep with an outlandish tale. Presumed dead for the past nine years, Lydia has been held captive by a madman. A monster.

All I can say is, hold on to your hat! This is a wild, incredible ride that will steal your breath, raise your blood pressure, and have you biting your nails. Stunning, shocking, and riveting, the twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat. I had no choice but to read it straight through because it was impossible to put down. By far, the best suspense thriller I’ve read this year, you'll definitely want to add this one to your TBR

A twisty, turny story and engaging read that keeps you turning the pages.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hi, my name is Christina, and I am a thriller adrenaline junkie. I am currently in the “chasing the dragon” phase of my thriller addiction. Having recently read several satisfying serotonin-inducing thrill rides, I picked up the always reliable Minka Kelly for my next fix. This twisty roller coaster thrill ride satisfied my cravings. Though I had one or two quibbles with the plot, it was entertaining, surprising, and delivered the multiple thriller kicks I was looking for.

The “unmissing” character of the novel is Lydia, a newlywed who was kidnapped while she was on a hike in the first months of her blissful marriage. After suffering years of unspeakable torture, nine years later, she reappears at the door of her former husband — and his pregnant wife. What’s a husband to do when the love of his life who was declared dead shows up in his new happily married life?

This book had a compelling plot and very interesting characters. And that first twist halfway through the book was AWESOME! I may have audibly gasped. This kind of surprising and serotonin-inducing, heart pounding twist is exactly what this thriller addict was looking for. Unfortunately this book suffered a little from what I call “one two many twists syndrome.” It seems like a lot of thriller authors nowadays feel like they need to plot twists upon twists. This can be very fun, but other times it can weaken what might have been a better plot if the author just stayed with the original idea. It can also take the story into disbelief territory when one totally bonkers twist is compounded by yet another wildly unbelievable twist. Here, I felt that was a
little bit the case when the third and fourth additional twists and turns of the plot took what would have been a totally satisfying one-twist story into territory that strained credulity for me.

Nonetheless, I still enjoyed following the wild ride to its inevitable conclusion. I enjoyed the book a lot but just think I would have preferred the way the book seemed to be going around 60 percent. But hey, if the worst thing I can say about a thriller is that it is TOO twisty and exciting, then that’s still a killer read.

I definitely recommend Minka Kent to all thriller addicts. She never fails to deliver the thrills and vicarious fun. She’s a wonderful, suspenseful, creative author who is extremely accessible and her books are the definition of unputdownable. For her next book I’d love to see her stick with a slightly less unbelievable and awesome idea. Nonetheless, I still really enjoyed this one.

Thanks to Thomas and Mercer and Minka Kent for this very fun and adrenaline-filled read. 3.75 stars rounded up. I’ll be greedily picking up whatever book Kent writes next and racing through it like the thriller addict I am.

What would you do if your husband's dead wife shows up at your door?

Late one night, while Merritt's husband, Luca, is away on business, a strange woman shows up at her door proclaiming to be her husband's deceased wife, Lydia. She has quite the story of how she came back from the dead, but why didn't she go to the police first? This sets Merritt in a tailspin, how can she protect her perfect life? What exactly does Lydia want?

Told in dual narratives, Merritt and Lydia, this book was quite a ride. I thoroughly enjoyed it and could not put it down. Just when you thought you had the big twist, another one comes along. I could not put down this domestic thriller. This is the first book I've read by Minka, I think I'm going to have to look up more of her novels.

Set to release February 15, preorder now, you'll be glad you did.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this advanced copy to read.

Sometimes your brain is so completely overwhelmed you need a little something that doesn’t require too much effort to keep up with. This book does what it says on the tin. I don’t mean for that to sound condescending because ‘Unmissing‘ is actually good fun and I will definitely check out more of Minka Kent’s work.

Ten years ago, Luca’s wife Lydia went missing while on a hike. With Lydia presumed dead, Luca moves on with his life. He marries another woman, becomes a dad and runs a string of restaurants and other businesses. Life has been rather good for Luca and wife number two. Until … wife number one suddenly reappears on his doorstep. Not dead, in fact, but very much alive and obviously struggling to pick up the pieces since she was declared dead. Worried that this return will ruin her marriage, wife number two sets out to befriend wife number one and help her out. As you do, right?

Cue a whole lot of secrets and skeletons tumbling from the closets. These characters, ugh. Apart from a lovely lady in town called Delphine, each and every one of these characters was unlikeable. Yes, even Lydia. You’d think I would have been able to muster up some kind of sympathy for her, right? After all, she’s been through hell for almost a decade. But no, there was something incredibly off-putting about her. Don’t even get me started on the rest of the cast or I may never stop.

As for the plot, I thought at times it was pretty far-fetched, somewhat over the top, almost teetering over into sheer ridiculousness. Yet, I didn’t care about any of that because ‘Unmissing‘ was enjoyable and entertaining and exactly what my poor brain needed. Some things I figured out rather easily, others took me by surprise. With short and snappy chapters, switching between the two wives, this is one of those books you refuse to put down before you know the outcome.

It’s incredibly hard to talk about this book without giving anything away so I’ll leave things here. ‘Unmissing‘ is a cleverly written, fast-paced, twisty and addictive psychological thriller that will have you glued to the pages.

With thanks to the publisher for the advanced review copy.

Merritt Coletto and her husband, Luca, really do have it all. The house they've always dreamed of, right on the water, a booming business and a family of three that's about to be four. Everything is perfect. Until one night Luca's past comes back into the picture - showing up on their doorstep late one night. Why is she back? What does she want? Only time will tell but Merritt isn't so sure she has the patience to wait and find out.

Wow, if this is the norm for the work of Minka Kent I am definitely a new fan! Twisty, tense and well written - I really enjoyed it from start to finish. There were a fun cast of characters, and a couple of really well crafted and well placed twists that I didn't see coming that really put this into the five star category for me. I really enjoyed the slice-of-life feel that this book had for the majority of it. It made it feel like this could all be happening down the street. I really enjoyed this and I would happily recommend it to anyone who enjoys thrillers, domestic or otherwise.

This one is a bit hard to review. I really loved the authors previous book so maybe i had high expectations but this one was a little flat.

It had a bit of a slow start for me. The beginning not much happened. I was still really interested tho. I also just didn’t understand why Lydia didn’t go to the police from the start? Kinda weird. But ok.

All in all, i wanted to know how this would play out and there was some good twists that i didn’t expect. But it wasn’t a super punch. It was like oh! Well ok. I think another thing is, i had a hard time connecting with the character emotionally. I wanted a little more depth to them. A little more emotion.

It was a good story but a little lacking also.

This is a tough one for me to review without giving too much away but I’ll just say that I highly recommend it!

It’s such a quick and engaging read that I found incredibly captivating! Full of twists and turns, this one unravels so perfectly and the alternating POVs flawlessly drive the suspense and leave you constantly questioning where the story is going!

It’s definitely reminiscent of another popular thriller and I think everyone will enjoy it!

Thank you to Thomas and Mercer, Minka Kent, and Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Newlyweds Luca and Lydia have recently moved to Luca's hometown in Oregon. One day while Luca is out getting groceries, Lydia goes for a hike and never returns. Ten years after his first wife mysteriously disappeared, Luca is remarried to Merritt. Together they own a successful chain of restaurants, have a beautiful little girl, and another child on the way.

One night, the doorbell rings. When Merritt goes to answer the door she sees that it's Lydia, or someone who looks a lot like her. Merritt refuses to let Lydia in since Luca is away on business and shuts the door in her face. Since Lydia's missing persons story was national news, Merritt thinks it might be someone pulling a scam, though later she realizes it really is Lydia. Either way she's scared. Where has Lydia been? Why does she look so terrible? Why hasn't she gone to the police? What is going on?

Unmissing is Minka Kent's latest psychological thriller. This book went by super fast for me. I wasn't sure if I just sped through the book or if the book was shorter than I'm used to. The answer is both. Unmissing is one of Kent's shortest books, clocking in at 252 pages but spares none of the suspense of longer novels. The tension at some points had me breathless and kept me up all night reading "just one more chapter."

Nothing in this novel is what you think it is. From the very beginning, the reader knows something is going on, it's just not apparent what it is. There are two really insane twists in the book. The first came right out of left field and completely threw me, the second felt a little more expected after the first, though still somewhat surprising.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4
Recommended for fans of: psychological thrillers/suspense, mystery, women's fiction, missing persons, true crime stories, general fiction