I enjoyed this one. It's the first book I've read from the written. I would recommend her again. I would give it 4.5 stars. I'm looking forward to reading something else from her.

Could not put this book down. Such a quick read with a fast moving, very well developed plot. The main characters are very relatable and thought out. I was a little worried when I read some of the reviews but I am so happy I decided to read anyway. Thanks to netgalley for the advanced copy of this book!

A brilliant book , from the very start this book got you hooked and was very intriguing you didn’t want to leave it down , I just wanted to finish it and get all the answers. A lot of twists and turns and brilliant shocking revelations. I would really recommend this book if you really enjoy a great mystery/ thriller read.

I enjoyed this book and despite not particularly loving the characters I was fully invested!! Suspenseful and exciting, definitely recommend to my fellow psychological thriller lovers!

This book is entertaining enough, albeit a little far-fetched. It’s told in first person POV, with the narrative passing between the husband and wife between chapters. Neither character is particularly likeable, which makes for an interesting ending!

3 for neutral. Started fast paced and strong, but fizzled and I ended up DNF. I will update if able to finish, but thinking it’s not for me.

I went into reading this book a little cockily, the title gives you preconceptions of what it’s about. And boy was I wrong. This book was brilliantly written and while I think the ending was a little far-fetched (but acceptable as it’s a fictional story) I really enjoyed it, so much so that I just could not put it down and smashed it in a few hours.

I read a lot of books that fall somewhere under the psychological thriller / domestic thriller heading. Some a good, some are bad, and some are in-between. It’s the in-between ones that I struggle to review the most because I’m aware of how much effort the author will have put in to a book that – for me – falls short. That’s the case with The Secret Wife, which checked all my ‘must have’ boxes on paper but just didn’t work for me in ‘real life’.

It wasn’t that there was one wrong thing about The Secret Wife that I could pinpoint as the reason that the book didn’t work for me. It was more a combination of little things. I struggled to connect to the characters. Michael, the husband, is presented as controlling and Cara as willing to go along with him because she loves him. Yet neither rang quite true. Michael wasn’t quite sinister enough, Cara not quite as gullible as I felt she needed to be. The supporting cast of characters weren’t as fully formed as I would have liked to see either. Everything felt a little too one-dimensional and ‘write by numbers’.

I also struggled with the plot. At it’s core, I think it’s a good one. But with this type of book, you expect twists and turns and red herrings. You need to be left guessing about just who the ‘bad guy’ is and whether the husband really is that evil. Here, it was all pretty linear. It was obvious from the first chapter that Michael was controlling and expected to get his way and that he was hiding things. Which meant I was left watching the story unfurl rather than trying to solve anything.

When all is said and done, I was left feeling just a little flat. I don’t think would be the case for everyone, but it was for me. Not one I’ll be buying as a gift. 3 Stars.

Upon starting the book, the storyline grabbed my attention, but halfway through I started to lose interest. The couple Michael and Cara start so loving and together as a couple in the beginning of the story, and then their internal thoughts take a different route after Olivia reappears in the campsite. I just couldn't get behind the path the story was leading me on, and I was not fond of the ending. Cara's character ended strong, but Michael was a disappointing character. I do feel this book may come across differently for other readers.

It honestly doesn't let up, it's non stop full of drama and twists. The ending left completely gobsmacked. I admire Cara's courage, but I don't think she made the best choice. Michael, I instantly thought was shady! Another one that's really hard to out down, you'll be itching to find how it all ends.

I'll admit that I read a lot of books that have a similar trope or pattern. So going into the book, I expected a certain storyline based on the title, cover, and description. While there were elements of the book that matched that expectation, there were a lot of elements that surprised me.

The book opens with a kidnapping. This is a bit confusing, to be honest, because it doesn't match the narration of the rest of the book very well. But it is an important scene, as it foretells a lot of what is to come, and introduces some of the central characters without giving anything away.

The book quickly switches in the next chapter to the perspective of the mother. She is the second wife to her husband, the adopted mother to her step-daughter, and the mother of one child. She is happily married to a man who was once married before, but lost his wife in a tragic situation that he is hesitant to talk about.

The husband is taking his two daughters out on a camping trip for the weekend. He is giving his wife some much needed time to rest and relax without the girls. But while they are out camping the father, being negligent, leaves them unattended, and the girls are taken. Mom comes up to deliver the fave stuffed animal, and is there when dad discovers the missing daughters. After a panicked search, the younger daughter is returned to her tent, but the older daughter is missing.

And so the mystery begins. As the couple search for their daughter, many different things start happening that lead to dad being paranoid, and mom asking questions. The search for the missing daughter is on, and an understanding of the father's history, and future, is unveiled as the story continues.

It was a book that kept me interested the entire time. I am not sure that I would consider it one of the best books that I read in 2021 but it was a good one. There were some questions that I had and some places I had to suspend my disbelief, however, I think that the author accomplished her goals in her writing, and that the book was a decent mystery.

*Thank you to Netgalley for an ebook arc copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

First of all, Thank You Net Galley, for an ARC of this book.

Second, I am very stingy with my 5 star ratings; however, this book deserves a 4.5. The very ending of this book kept me on the edge of my seat. There were many twists, turns and surprises that I didn't expect.

A Brief Synopsis:

Cara and Michael (who we come to find out later - is actually Brett) have the perfect marriage and life together or so it seems. Michael's first wife, Kristen, is deceased and had been before Cara and Michael met, or so Cara believes. Michael is not the shining knight in armor that his wife thinks he is. He has bad business deals and is having an affair while being married to Cara. Cara, on the other hand, is a devoted wife, mother to Laura, her stepdaughter, and her and Michael's daughter, Olivia. She is a stay at home mom. However, she has decided that she doesn't want any more children which is why Michael was having an affair.

Cara is feeling burned out lately. So Michael has convinced Cara to allow him to take the girls on a camping weekend to give Cara a break. Only Michael has bigger plans. He intends to take the girls camping and then leave Cara and start a new life with his girlfriend and his daughters.

Only fate has taken a crazy turn. Laura leaves behind her beloved bear, Mr. Purple. In the meantime, a man, who we come to find out later, as Ian, Michael's former father in law, was caught by Cara standing in the yard. She becomes fearful and then when she finds Mr. Purple in the living room, she sees this as a perfect opportunity to join her family on their camping trip.

When she arrives at the campsite, she runs into Michael, who has come to search for Mr. Purple in the car. Laura has discovered that her beloved bear has went missing. Cara becomes furious when she discovers that Michael has left the girls unattended in the tent back at the campsite.

When Michael and Cara return to the campsite, the girls are missing. They were to stay in the tent with it zipped while Michael went to search the car for the bear. Michael decides to go to the ranger station to report the girls missing and demands that Cara stay at the campsite. Cara briefly leaves the campsite and hears a girl screaming. She follows the screams and it leads her back to the campsite to discover Laura is missing but Olivia is zipped in the tent.

When Michael returns, with the rangers and the police officers, they demand that Cara, Michael and Olivia return to their house. Against Cara's wishes they return home.

Once they are home, Cara begins to doubt Michael and starts questioning his character. She and Olivia sneak off and she takes Michael's phone and keys and it leads them to a motel. She finds Ian and Maggie and Laura. Cara is shocked to learn that Michael's first wife Kristen was still alive when they met and a few years after Michael disappeared with Laura, Kristen committed suicide. a few years prior. Ian had convinced Maggie to help him with his plan to kidnap because of what Michael did to Kristen. Only Maggie has it out for Michael all on her own. Michael has taken tons of money from her and told her that the investments went bad. Only that is a lie, too. Michael has tons of money.

Therefore, Cara has decided to make Michael pay for what he has done to all of them. She has made it clear that she will turn him in if he doesn't stay with her and the girls and they take off to Europe or someplace else. However, she demands that he give up his girlfriend and Michael accepts the defeat. Cara has won!

It started out good but went downhill fast. The dialogue was very repetitive. It dragged on in the middle and I started skimming the pages until the end. It was obvious where the story was going. I didn’t like any of the characters or feel that connected to them.

Hichiwahwah!! 😳🤯😯

What the fluff did I just eye scour?! Bloody heck! I cannot believe this psychological thriller. Fluff me!! Michael decides to take his two little girls, Olivia & Laura, for a lovely camping weekend to bond & give his wife, Cara, some "me" time. However, Laura forgets her bear & Cara decides to bring it to her. But when Michael & Cara go back to the campsite, the girls are gone. Are they playing, or did someone take them? What is in each of their pasts? That ending totally through me for a damn loop! I'm so shocked. Good heavens! 😳

I give this 4 / 5 snowflakes! ❄️

Thank you to NetGalley for this book!

Great book, well written, great character interaction, fast paced thriller Thank you netgalley for the chance to review...I loved it!

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

Wow, what a suspenseful book with twists and turns and so many things that you don't see coming! I don't want to give away any spoilers and ruin the book but I could not put this book down!

You think this is a normal family with a loving mother and father and their two children until secrets slowly unfold. Then, you realize that all is not what it seems!

I have to say that I loved the ending and someone got what they deserved...lol

Thank you to NetGalley, the Author and the Publisher with providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was hooked by this story from the start, and I read this in one sitting. The story had excellent pacing, and I did not guess some of the twists that occurred at all. I really disliked the husband character from the start, and found myself rooting for the mother of the children to get away from him, so this added to my investment into the story.

The ending was not completely satisfying, but I still enjoyed it. In summary, it was a great thriller that had me gripped from start to finish.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A really good well-written read. I'm not too sure about the mental-illness aspect, but I enjoyed the book nonetheless. Recommended.

A family trip turns into a person missing case. Only one daughter is back but where is the other daughter? Did she go missing out of the blue or was there someone who intentionally planned this to happen?
The plot twist continued to amaze me and I was hooked until the very end. I had so many questioning running through my head and I was like: what was the husband doing when the wife left??? So many theories were in my head as I read this book and the tension built throughout the book was a lot. I absolutely enjoyed this one and thank you for the ARC!

A wife is so excited to have a much needed weekend alone while her husband takes their two kids camping. Until she finds her daughters stuffed animal left behind. So she makes the long drive to make sure she has it for their first night. But when she gets to the campsite she finds her daughters gone. And her husband not watching them. What happened to them. And what was her husband doing?? This book has a lot of twists and turns and the end definitely caught me by surprise! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.