4.25 stars--THE LIFE SHE HAD by KL Armstrong (aka Kelley Armstrong) is a contemporary, adult, suspense thriller focusing on four people in a swampy, rural area of Florida: Celeste Turner, Daisy, mechanic Tom Lowe and attorney Liam Garey.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Celeste and Daisy) THE LIFE SHE HAD is a story of secrets and lies, mystery and suspense in the wake of the death of Celeste’s beloved grandmother Maeve Turner. Living alone on Maeve’s property, Celeste will discover a young woman living on her grandmother’s property, a young woman who knows more than anyone could have imagined. As Daisy and Tom’s lives begin to implode, Celeste discovers Daisy and Tom’s secrets but not before Daisy and Tom reveal Celeste’s own secrets and lies. A local legend that crosses the line between myth and reality brings four people together but not everyone will survive when the truth is revealed. As the story line unfolds, the twisted truth and hidden clues reveal the true depth of greed, obsession, secrets and lies.

KL Armstrong pulls the reader into a slow building, intense, dramatic, and impassioned story of desperation and delusion, family and friendships, murder and suspense, preoccupation and love.



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Unfortunately I can’t give feedback at this time. I was given access to a Netgalley shelf copy. The PDF was unreadable. The pages kept flipping back and forth and it was just too awkward to read. I’m disappointed a kindle copy wasn’t offered as I was really looking forward to reading this book. Is there any way to get a kindle compatible copy of this book?

4.5/ 5 stars

Kelley Armstrong is my favorite author. And she has delivered another riveting story.

This book is a thriller set in rural central Florida.

It is about two women (Celeste and Daisy) with mysterious pasts and secrets.

Celeste has inherited her grandmother's rundown house. She finds someone living in her shed.

This book is a bit dark. But not overly violent or graphic. But it was so good!

I could not put this book down. It was fast paced with so much happening. Full of so many surprises.

This was a thrilling, shocking and captivating read. And I loved it!

I really enjoyed this latest release from K.L. (Kelley) Armstrong! I wasn’t expecting as many twists as there were, so I was quickly hooked and very pleasantly surprised! The overall pace of the book was well done, so it was an easy and satisfying read.
I went in with no expectations, and I’m glad I did. The simple synopsis does not do “The Life She Had” justice, but also doesn’t spoil anything- which I appreciated! Definitely would recommend for a weekend read!
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an ARC of this novel.
Strong 4/5.

Thank you Netgalley and Doubleday Canada for the chance to read an advanced copy of The life she had by K.L. Armstrong. Another fabulous stand alone thriller by my favourite author, The life she had was fast paced and definitely kept me guessing! Just when I thought I knew where the story was going a new twist showed up making sure I was just as confused as before. Celeste discovers Daisy living in her shed, and though she is suspicious of her she invites her into her home to watch her more closely. Celeste has secrets but so does Daisy...The book is written from two POV ; Celeste's and Daisy's which keeps the tension high! Totally recommend!!!

I was very excited to see a new book from Ms Armstrong and it did not disappoint! The story of Celeste and her friend/unvited guest Daisy was delightfully twisted in a manner I did not expect.

Thank you for the page turning adventure of twists and turns and a perfect ending. I'm thankful to the publisher and NetGallery for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

My first read by the author and highly enjoyed. This thriller has a lot of twists and surprises. The story hooks you right away, starting with Celeste running down the street in her new neighborhood and coming home to find movement in her shed. It doesn't take her long to meet her new "roommate" Daisy, who seems to have a motive for being there. Celeste has her own motives, and the fun begins.

I found the plot twist to be surprising, believable, and well-executed. I read the whole thing in a couple of hours because I couldn't put it down; I had to find out what happened next. There is also a cute love story thrown in.

I will be keeping an eye out for more novels from this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Two women with dark secrets are noth pretending to be someone who they are not. Celeste discovers a wayward backpacker , Daisy, in her backyard. Not wanting to involve the police, they strike up an unlikely friendship. And then....a body is found nearby. Can they prove their innocence?

K.L. Armstrong is one of those authors whose books I order without even reading the synopsis - her books are just that good. And The Life She Had does not disappoint.
Reading this thriller is like watching a time-lapse video of a flower opening. Layers upon layers of twists and turns are revealed slowly, making the reader mutter "Whoa" repeatedly as events unfold. Armstrong is a master of suspense, weaving together fascinating characters, rich settings, and unexpected events in such a way as to keep the reader fascinated from beginning to end.
You absolutely cannot go wrong with this book. Just stock up on coffee, because you are going to be up WAY past your bedtime with this one.

I went into this book with extremely high hopes because as an avid Kelley Armstrong fan I have devoured all of her work and i enjoyed every last one of her stories. When I found out that she had written another thriller book I was so excited and knew that it would be well done. Even though I had extremely high hopes for this book it did not disappoint. The plot was amazing and the characters were very well written and multi dimensional. One of the things that I liked the most about this book was it started off with a bang right from the get go. There was no soft build up for what was going to happen it just threw the reader right into the mix and kept on piling. Now I'm not usually a big fan of duel perspectives however I really enjoyed how we got both womens' points of view on what was happening. It let the reader get two very different perspectives and it made the story that much more interesting. The book starts out with our main character Celeste coming home from a trip only to discover that there is a strange woman suddenly residing in her shed out back. Celeste is shocked and unsure who this woman is and why she is there. The book switches back and forth between our main character Celeste and our other main character Daisy. Daisy is the woman who is living in the shed, and hiding from her past. I found both characters very well written and the best part about this book was how the whole book focused on just these two women. There were a few secondary characters thrown in for plot development but I enjoyed how simplistic the rest of the story was. It was nice now to have to keep track of a million different characters. Amazing read and even though it was a thriller and I know how it ends now I cant wait to read this book again and again once it comes out.

Oh, man, this was another fantastic mystery from K.L./Kelley Armstrong! I just love her books, and this was another really great one! I loved these characters, and I wanted to know what the heck was going on! It was such an amazing story!

I thought I had the characters and their story pegged, that it'd be going this way from the clues that we got that turned out to be red herrings. So that big twist came out of nowhere for me, and wow was it shocking but boy was it great! I had no idea where things would go from there, but I had to keep reading!

We get the perspective of Celeste, this lady in a broken down house, and Daisy, who is taking some time to travel, and ends up in Celeste's garden shed. I loved how their stories flowed, getting to know them, and the secrets that they were keeping!

That ending was incredible! I loved how it came together, and all the reveals that had to happen for it to work. I loved how things worked out, and where we left these characters, though it would've been nice with just a little more detail, but I always want more!

This was another amazing book from K.L. Armstrong, and I can't wait for whatever is next!

The latest K.L. Armstrong thriller managed to keep me in breathless suspense *and* feel like a comfort read at the same time. What a wonderful mix.

This is the story of Celeste, a woman who has just returned home to Florida to care for her ailing grandmother, and Daisy, the woman she finds hiding in her shed. They both have secrets they’re running from, or running too.

I started this one without reading anything more about it, and I recommend you do the same. The dual mysteries kept me guessing the whole way through, and Armstrong’s special talent for creating strong, flawed, fascinating women had me loving, and hating, and fearing for Celeste and Daisy.

I’ve read a few disappointingly average domestic thrillers recently and it was so nice to finally read one that kept me entertained throughout, had a perfect ending, and was an obvious 5-star read for me. The only criticism I have for this one is that I’d have liked Celeste’s and Daisy’s narrative voices to differ a little more.

Thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for my review copy of this book.

O.K. this woman has some wicked skills when it comes to twists! Hats off to you, K. L. Armstrong, you’ve guaranteed that your story will never really leave your readers. Decades from now, we’ll all still look back at the moment you fooled us and the truth was revealed. We’ll be shaking our heads and muttering, “I can’t believe she got me!” The moment I read the twist, I had a ‘wait, WHAT?!’ moment and was immediately forced to re-examine everything I’d read up to that point. EVEN MY EMOTIONS had to be realigned. It was overwhelming and oh, so very good. Deliciously good.

The atmosphere created right from page one pervaded the entire book and I was on the edge of my seat. I’ll be double checking my deadbolt tonight and giving my bedroom the once over before I hop in bed.

I can’t wait to read another book by this author - a fellow Canadian!

K.L. Armstrong is a pseudonym used by Kelley Armstrong.

I was gifted this advance copy by K.L. Armstrong, Penguin Random House Canada, Doubleday Canada, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

The Life She Had by K. L. Armstrong was a bit of a letdown unfortunately. K. L. Armstrong is the pseudonym of a popular author and I have enjoyed their books, under both pen names. Celeste is a woman with secrets and she is already on edge when she notices that there is a woman living in the shed on her property. She tries to keep Daisy close, not realizing that Daisy has secrets of her own.

What I liked: There were so many knots in this story to untangle that I read through it quickly trying to figure everything out. Everyone has secrets and it was hard to know when you were finally reading the truth.

What could be better: As the twists and turns of the book got more complex and things were slowly unraveling, I imagined there would be a big reveal that would just blow my mind… and it didn’t. I didn’t ever feel like all of the loose ends were tied up and I was unsatisfied at the end.

Overall, I think I would give this book 2 out of 5 stars, which breaks my heart because I was really looking forward to this one. I think I was on the edge of my seat reading for so long that when the reveal finally happened, I was like, “Oh, that’s it?” It was a disappointing read for me.

*Please note that the ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*