Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of My Wife Is Missing by D.J. Palmer. This is a mystery that has many twists and turns. This one was a lot of fun. The narrator was awesome.

This one was a miss for me. It felt way too long and repetitive in the middle. Then the ending just felt so far fetched to me - nope. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

3.5 stars.

This is a twisty story that I found to be entertaining though a bit far-fetched.

The story is about Michael who comes to back to the hotel where he is vacationing with his family to find his wife and kids are missing. His wife Natalie, who has been suffering from severe insomnia, appears to have taken the kids and ran away. Michael immediately begins to search for them, worried that Natalie is not in a fit state of mind to care for the kids. Meanwhile, Natalie has just found out that her husband has done something terrible, and she knows that she and the kids must get away from him in order to be safe. It's a he said, she said kind of story where it is difficult to know who to trust?

This book immediately grabbed my attention from the start. It's an interesting premise, and it really is hard to predict what is going to happen or who is trustworthy. But the story also dragged on for me towards the end and felt repetitive. Some things that happen, especially as the final twists are revealed, seem really unbelievable. But I was willing to just go with it and go along for the ride with this one. It was a decent thriller and definitely one that kept me guessing until the end.

I tried really hard to love this book. It has everything I love in a mystery/thriller - dual POV, unreliable narrators, timeline jumps. But I just couldn't figure out a way to care about either of the adults in this marraige. Both husband and wife felt like shitty people, and I ultimately didn't want either of them to be the better person, or to be the bad guy. It was impossible for me to care about what was happening in this novel, and I ended up DNF'ing it about 40% through.

This one gave me Gone Girl vibes in a good way! I never knew who to believe, I went back and forth throughout the whole book, and I trusted no one. It was definitely a good thriller that kept you captivated and never wanting to put the book down.

What do you do when you wake up alone in a strange hotel room, your wife and children gone without a trace, in a strange city, and no one seems to understand the urgency of the situation?

I was really excited by the premise and really wanted to love this one, but unfortunately it fell flat. I didn't connect with the characters and the story had a really hard time holding my attention.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I have yet to be disappointed by a book from D.J. Palmer. I was sent an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

As always, Palmer creates quite the setup with twists and turns. Nothing is ever to be expected with his writing. Natalie and Michael are a married couple raising two children. Recently Natalie has been suffering from severe insomnia as she believes her husband is having an affair with one of her coworkers. So, Natalie takes the kids and disappears while on a family vacation she planned after sending Michael to get pizza. The question is why is she running if he is just having an affair (which he repeatedly denies).

Told through alternating points of view and past/present timelines, this will take you on a cross country wild ride. Not only will you be feeling the whiplash of the escape, you will also be left feeling lost at every single turn. Not everything is as it seems.

I was pleasantly surprised by how unpredictable this one was. There was one piece that I picked up on early on, but it did not change all of the other unexpected surprises. Definitely not an ending that I saw coming and the suspense built throughout the entire story. I cannot wait to see what Palmer provides us with next.

I didn't really know what to expect when I started My Wife Is Missing, as it was my first book by this author, but I was pleasantly surprised!

The book is told from two perspectives--Natalie and Michael. What kept this book really interesting is you're dealing with not one, but two (potentially) unreliable narrators. Natalie has been suffering from insomnia, which can have some awful affects on people--hallucinations, memory lapse, psychosis. Throughout the book, you don't really know if Natalie's observations are accurate, or if they're the result of her insomnia. Michael also seems to be hiding something very significant from his past. The reader doesn't really know if Michael's perspective can be trusted--and what is he hiding?

The stakes are high in this roller coaster of a book. I thought it was a really fun read, with lots of surprising twists throughout. The ending had me shocked, and I never saw it coming. I would certainly recommend this one!

D.J. Palmer shows how far a man will go in order to find his family, even if they don't want to be found:

A husband's worst nightmare comes true. While on vacation in NYC Micheal goes out to get pizza for his family and when he returns to the hotel they are all missing. The only thing left behind is his son's favourite Teddy Bear. Convinced they have been kidnapped Michael quickly contacts the police but is soon proven wrong by security camera footage, the family left of their own free will. Now things turn toward Michael, why would his wife flee with their children? All Michael knows is that he needs to find his family, his wife has been unstable lately with insomina issues and he thinks that is what has caused her to flee and could be a danger to herself and the kids.

This is the second book that I have read by Palmer and her first book The perfect Daughter, was almost the perfect book for me, so I had high hopes for this book as well. I will say that it had me hooked from the very beginning with Michael returning home to discover that his wife and children are missing and then getting the perspective of Natalie and where they were/why but my overall investment of the book waned as the book went on. It lost the suspense as the farther we went into the book and it felt like all Natalie did was drive, drive, drive and then drive some more, tell us that Natalie suffers from insomnia but never really address this aspect fully in the book. She doesn't know what is there and what is not but this unique aspect was under utilized throughout the book. The last 25 % of the book are fairly intense as everything and everyone seem to come together at once and while I was able to predict part of the ending I was not able to see the full twist that Palmer had coming.

I keep debating whether I like how this story was laid out with the present and before. Normally I like these POV but I'm not sure it worked entirely for this book or maybe there was just a few too name of the before POV of Natalie where more of her insomnia instances are established (but never fully explored...sorry if I keep repeating myself). Michael and Natalie are both unreliable characters in the book, Natalie due to her mental health and Michael due to secrets he is keeping. And can you really know the person that you love.

This was a good book, it kept me entertained but it did slow down quite a bit and get repetitive near the middle of the book, which caused the story to lag. I like the twists that Palmer came up with in the end story and I couldn't actually figure it all out. I look forward to reading more by Palmer.

Enjoy!!!

Wow, just wow. I don't think I was mentally prepared for this as I just welcomed a baby in early April but I couldn't put it down. I needed to know what happened. Well done by the author.

My Wife is Missing is a fast-moving psychological thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Natalie and Michael have some martial/personal issues, and they decide to take a trip to New York City to reconnect. While Michael is out getting dinner, Natalie takes the kids and disappears. Michael is confused, angry, and concerned. Why? Because Natalie has had insomnia, and he fears the lack of sleep has made her irrational. What Michael doesn’t know is that Natalie has discovered some of Michael’s long-buried secrets, and those secrets have scared her enough to run. But hindering her is her severe insomnia, and she begins to wonder if what she saw and discovered were hallucinations brought on by it. Can Natalie trust herself to get to somewhere safe? Will Michael find her? Will she find out if what she saw/found out is the truth or hallucinations?

I was immediately intrigued by the blurb of this book. I don’t think I have ever read a book where insomnia was a huge and prevalent part of the plotline. I didn’t realize that severe insomnia could result in hallucinations/delusions.

Natalie was such an unreliable character, and I loved it. Her insomnia started when she realized Michael was cheating on her, and it kept getting worse throughout the book. I loved reading her detective work into Michael’s past and his affair. I also loved that when she decided to make a move, she made up her mind and did it. I was cheering for her as she out maneuvered Michael time and time again (even as exhausted as she was).

I wouldn’t say I liked Michael. But, he did gain a little bit of my respect with his detective skills. Even though Natalie was one step ahead of him for 90% of the book, he was close enough to get her a couple of times.

The storyline with Natalie, the kids, her insomnia, and being on the run kept me on the edge of my seat. I was internally cheering her on and wanting her to get to her final destination without Michael finding her. I was a little disappointed with how it ended, but my disappointment was short-lived. It was because the author brought this storyline and the storyline with Michael’s cheating/his past together, and it EXPLODED!!

Michael’s storyline, cheating, and past were well written. Again, it kept me glued to my Kindle. A twist to the cheating storyline and the story about Michael’s history took me by surprise.

The twists in the storylines made the book. I was not expecting either of them. When they both made their appearances (one towards the end and one at the very end), my mouth dropped open. I couldn’t believe that the author went where he did with both twists.

The end of My Wife is Missing was good. The author was able to wrap up all of the storylines in a way that both shocked and pleased me. I was happy to see that at least one of the main characters would have a happy life. But at the same time, I wish the author could have redeemed the other main character somehow. That would have made the book so much better for me.

I would recommend My Wife is Missing to anyone over 21. There is violence, language, and some mild sexual situations.

I would gladly give this book a 5-star rating except for the final few pages. Throughout the entire book, from the first paragraph on, I was hooked. You can’t trust anything anyone says, the wife is trying to escape a dangerous relationship, the husband is right down there with a mean stray dog, and the kids are being dragged all over Kingdom Come. There are some really good twists, close calls, excellent character development, and lots of fun tension. I absolutely loved this book.
Until the final pages. I can’t explain why because I’m a firm believer in NO spoilers, so mum’s the word for now. I know we all have different opinions, and I may be too callous and untrusting to lap up the cheesy ending. Read it and let me know if it affects you the same way.
Sincere thanks to St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is May 10, 2022.

Its a wild read, one you can't put down. Definitely one of D.J. Palmer's best. Lots of twists and turns. Secrets, dark pasts, delusions, fear. Such an incredible story.

This guy just gets better and better with each book! D.J. Palmer is now easily a must-read for me! I think this one was his best, but that's a hard call..... Great twist-filled story although I did guess part of it, still edge-of-your-seat thrills! Did start off a little slow, but keep going! The story takes off and then it doesn't stop!

Thank you to #D.J.Palmer, #Netgalley, and #St.MartinsPress. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you so much @StMartinsPress for the gifted advance copy of My Wife is Missing for me to read and review. My Wife Is Missing came out on May 10 - available now!

Michael Hart has left his family at their hotel in New York City to pick up pizza for dinner and is shocked to find them gone on his return. There is no note, no reason for them to be gone, and the only thing left behind is his sons Teddy laying in the hallway.

Though the police quickly determine that Natalie has left with the children have left of her own will, Michael is determined to find them and figure out why.

This was one twisty read. Past secrets, intertwining with an uncertain current made it so I had no idea what to believe or where the story was going.

The multiple perspectives, and flash back chapters really helped to build the storyline and give away just enough information at a time to keep me reading.

I think I could have done without the epilogue, but I understand why the author included it to tie up loose strings. And I'm sure if it hadn't been there I would be unhappy with not knowing how the final pieces fit together.

My Wife is Missing by D.J. Palmer is a domestic thriller about a wife who goes missing on a trip to NYC with her family. At first it seems as though something sketchy has happened to Natalie, when she disappears from the hotel that her family is staying in NYC with her children and husband, Michael. Her husband is worried that she has been kidnapped. But soon, Michael realizes that his wife didn’t get kidnapped or disappear, she purposely vanished and ran away. Why did his wife just up and leave with her children? Is it because of the insomnia she has been suffering? Or does Michawl have a few secrets that Natalie finally figured out?

Overall I liked this book. There were many different surprises and twists in this book that I didn't see coming, especially at the end. Since I'm such an avid reader of thriller novels, I like to predict what I think is going to happen in stories I read and I have to say this one totally threw me for a loop. Pretty much everything that I predicted as I was reading was completely wrong, which to me– is a well done thriller!

I especially liked the ending of this book. There was one character in particular that I really didn't expect to have more of a sinister side. Also, I have to say pretty much none of the characters ended up being what they seemed, which made for an interesting read.

I think the chapters could have been a little shorter in this book. I really love short chapters when I'm reading because it makes it seem like the book just flies by. Some of the chapters felt a little long to me. I did however love the varying perspectives between both Michael and Natalie. They weaved together the story seamlessly. All the chapters seemed to end on either a cliffhanger or with some important information or twist. This book definitely made you want to keep reading throughout and find out what was going to happen in the end.

Overall, I would recommend this book especially as a domestic thriller. It was definitely different from other thrillers that I have read and as an avid reader of thrillers, I am always looking for something different and slightly innovative– something in which I cannot predict the ending. This was the second book that I have read by Palmer and I have to say that I have enjoyed both of them and Palmer will be an author but I will continue to read in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced readers copy of this book exchange for an honest review.

My Wife is Missing is a family drama/psychological thriller that has a lot of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end.

Natalie and Michael Hart have had a rough time as of late. Natalie is suffering from insomnia and it is possibly affecting her judgment and the closeness with her husband. She talks Michael into a family vacation to New York. Once they get to the hotel, Michael goes out to pick up the pizza for the kids because delivery will take too long. When he returns, his family is gone. Their suitcases and belongings are missing, although his are still there. Michael found his son’s favorite Teddy in the hall outside the room and knows he wouldn’t go willing without it.

The New York police couldn’t help as it appears Natalie and the kids went willingly. Michael is told to go back home and file a missing person’s report. Once he is home the detective that he spoke with in New York, that wasn’t much help, is at his house. He says he is on vacation but is willing to assist Michael in finding his wife. Michael doesn’t trust him or his motives but he really wants to find his wife so he accepts the help.

The storyline was well thought out with quite a few miss turns to keep the reader guessing about what Michael is hiding and how Natalie can prove what she knows. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and highly recommend to anyone who likes the genre.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great thriller! It kept me guessing and made me unsure of what would happen. This book is about a husband and wife. The husband is looking for his wife and children after they go missing. The trouble is, are they missing or was it done on purpose?

If you are looking for a cat and mouse type of story where you are not sure who to trust. I wasn’t sure who I was rooting for until the end.

If you enjoy thrillers, this one will not disappoint! Twist and turns, subtle clues that I’m mad I didn’t pick up on because I was so engrossed in the story and couldn’t wait to see what happened next. Just when you think all has been revealed, another twist!

Book starts off with a bang and gets your blood pressure rising when mom/wife Natalie and her 2 kids go missing. You feel husband/dad Michael’s fear, anguish and guilt. What led to this disappearance? So many issues going on, but all tie in well bringing you to a satisfying ending. This was my first book by this author, but I plan on going back to read previous ones. Will definitely add this author to my Favorites!

Thanks to Mr. Palmer, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

I enjoyed this one alot. I would give it 4.5 stars. I thought u guessed the ending but the last few chapters got me. I didn't see that coming at all. I would definitely recommend this one