“The Mistress” is a standalone thriller by author Valerie Keogh and is a story full of desire and deception. Hannah Parker is a confident, determined woman but how far will she go to reclaim what she believes is hers.

Unhappy in her marriage to Ian she goes in search to recapture her old love Mark Shepherd. The only flaw in her dream is that Mark is now married. Hannah won’t let that stand in her way and continues to hunt down Mark’s affections without a care for the consequences.

“The Mistress” is a psychological thriller that makes a very good read, twisty plot, good characters and plenty of suspense. I will be back to read more from this author.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Boldwood Books for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW


Review for 'The Mistress' by Valerie Keogh..

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Valerie Keogh, Boldwood Books, Book & Tonic, Bold Book Club and Rachel's Random resources Tours.

Publication date 25th March 2024

This is the fourth book I have read by this author. I have also read 'The Librarian', 'The Housekeeper' and 'The Nurse' and would highly recommend them both!!

This novel consists of a prologue, 55 chapters and is set over 2 parts. The chapters are short in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

'The Mistress' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Valerie discusses adultery, manipulation and domestic abuse.

Valerie has done it yet again!!If you are ever looking for a fast paced thriller then Valerie is definitely the author for you!!! I don't even bother reading the synopsis before I start reading her books now because I just know they are going to be fantastic. As you can tell I LOVED the storyline!!! I found it to be extremely fast paced and I just could not put it down and ended up reading it in one sitting. In this gripping read we start off meeting Hannah Parker. Hannah has had a rough life with her father walking away from home when she was just 10 years old and she is left with her mother who is violent towards her and ensures she knows that she was unwanted. Hannah grows up and leaves the house to study at Bristol university where she can finally have some freedom from her mother. When at university Hannah meets Mark who she is happy with for 6 months. However, with her family in tatters she in under the illusion that when you love someone they will hurt and leave you so she ends up splitting up with Mark before she can get hurt by him. Mark is absolutely devastated and vows that he will always love her. Twenty years later Hannah has married Ivan who becomes so violent to her that she ends up in hospital. Hannah plans to leave Ivan and after finding an old photo of herself with Mark she decides to try and find him. Hannah does manage to find Mark but he is now married to Susan. Susan and Mark were happily married but after their son Drew leaves home to go to university the relationship has become different and full of tension. Hannah is determined to use this to her advantage to win Mark back for herself. When Susan suspects Mark of having an affair she hires a private investigator to find out the truth. Will Susan find out what is happening? Will Hannah succeed in winning Mark back? Well, I cant tell you that can I? You will just have to grab your copy of this epic page turner yourself to find out!! I cannot remember the last time I flew through a book so quickly. Each and every time I went to put it down to do something my fingers were itching to pick it back up as I just HAD to know what happened next!! The storyline is ram packed with suspense, deceit, despicable characters, infidelity, manipulation, unexpected twists, secrets, lies, tension, drama and everything you could want in an unputdownable psychological thriller! Valerie does an amazing job of using both first and third person narratives as well as using the multiple protagonists Susan and Hannah allowing the reader to see, hear and feel everything that both women are doing and going through. She weaves the chapters together perfectly to make a seamless, page turning and intriguing storyline that flows perfectly taking you on twists and turns throughout! Valerie's evocative writing skills ensures you are dragged deep into the storyline seeing everything that is happening and feeling the tension and suspense throughout. I was on the edge of my seat and biting my nails wondering what was going to happen next. My heart was in my throat throughout reading this fast paced, gripping and gritty psychological thriller! It is ram packed with twists, tension, stress, suspense and everything you could ask for in a psychological thriller. I can't say more than that as I don't want to spoil it for future readers so if you want to know you'll have to grab yourself a copy!! You won't regret it!!

Clear your schedules before picking up this book as once it has you hooked there will be no getting away until you get to the very last word!!

The characters all come to life with Valerie's fantastic writing skills. They are well rounded, complex, realistic and strong making them all the more believable. The majority of the characters are unlikeable in their own ways which usually puts me off a book but I absolutely loved hating them and even though I could not stand them I was still completely invested in their characters and had to know what was going to happen! Hannah is a selfish, manipulative and ruthless b!t&h, Mark is a disgraceful, gutless and disgusting excuse for a man and apart from Drew the only one I sympathised with Susan who my heart went out to. I found myself rooting for her and liked seeing her go from strength to strength throughout the pages. I wont go into any more details about the characters as you need to meet them all yourselves but they will definitely bring out strong emotions out in the reader, especially anger towards them!!! Valerie really has done another absolutely amazing job constructing an addictive and explosive psychological thriller with varied characters that you just won't be able to put down!!

Congratulations Valerie on another great read!!! This is exactly why you are in my favourite author club!! Here's to many more successes 🥂!!!

Clear your schedules before picking this up as you will not be able to put it down!!!

Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read the prologue of Valerie's 'The Housekeeper' which I have read myself and it is just as gripping as this book, another book I would highly recommend by this extremely talented author!!

Overall an absolutely page turning, addictive, gripping and gripping must read that will keep you addicted from the very start to the fantastic ending!!!

291 pages.

This book is just £1.39 to purchase on kindle via Amazon, free with kindle unlimited and £9.99 in paperback which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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Well well well. Valerie Keogh does it again! I remember I read her first book – not the first ever written by her, but the first one of hers that I read. I remember I was impressed. I remember I enjoyed it immensely. And I remember I decided I needed to keep an eye on her writing and see if I could read more of what she wrote. So, I did. Ever since then, I have read each and every new book she wrote and each and every of those was a WOW book. And then, this. Another WOW book. Valerie, how do you do it? Either way, keep doing it! you have this crazy talent for crafting gripping narratives filled with twists and turns. Your adept storytelling kept me thoroughly engaged – yet again! – racing through the pages to uncover the unfolding drama. The tension throughout the story adds an intriguing layer, leaving readers on the edge of their seats (I know cliché this sounds, but really, this book does it!). I found myself empathizing with Susan and deeply invested in the intricacies of the characters' interactions. The underlying message of asserting one's own narrative resonated strongly, adding depth to the storyline. The book’s well-developed characters, though not necessarily likable, contribute to the tense and gripping atmosphere of the novel. The pacing of the narrative is such that it's easy to become immersed in the story, resulting in a compelling read that's difficult to put down. Also, I have an inner psychopath. My inner psychopath always does a happy dance whenever it meets a book master manipulator and a book crazy. My inner psychopath was having one huge and wild party while I was reading this book. This book made my inner psychopath happy.

I d seen this book and author mentioned a lot. I've read a couple of books by this author. The Mistress was , what I thought , predictable, only it wasn't! Such a horrid, despicable main character in Hannah. I wasn't keen on any of the characters , but that in no way spoiled the book, in fact it added to the story.

📚 BOOK REVIEW 📚

The Mistress
By Valerie Keogh
Just Published: March 25, 2024

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐✨

📚THE SYNOPSIS:

She wants what you have...

Hannah Parker is a woman who always gets what she wants. When her current husband discovers she has been lying to him – again - she knows it’s time to move on and find someone who can give her the life she desires… The life she knows she deserves…

But who will be the lucky man?

When her eye catches a glimpse of an old flame in a photograph, she’s sure it’s a sign. Mark Shepherd has always been in her thoughts – they’d been happy once, he’d adored her, but she’d made a mistake and let him get away. She won’t make the same mistake again….

Hannah is older now and wiser. She knows what men want and she knows how to keep them happy. So what if Mark is happily married with a family of his own?

All good things must come to an end...

📚MY REVIEW:

The Mistress is a domestic thriller, through and through. The primary plotlines are about a woman who tries to seduce her now-married ex-boyfriend, the commencement of their affair, and the wife who wonders if her husband is cheating. There wasn't any of the gripping suspense that I typically enjoy in thrillers. I wasn't on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what would happen next. It was really just a story about an affair and its fallout.

While this book was well-written and kept my interest as I read it, it wasn't the "gripping thriller" I expected. And though the ending was a twist I didn't necessarily predict, I didn't really care that much when it happened and the whole ending just fell kinda flat for me. I was honestly bummed out, because I really wanted to like this book more than I did. All that to say, if "domestic thrillers" about affairs are your thing, I'm guessing you'll love it. For me, it wasn't it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review!

#NetGalley #TheMistress #ValerieKeogh #bookrecommendations #bookreviews

TRIGGER WARNING: domestic violence, infidelity
Hannah regrets dumping Mark 20 years ago and is determined to win him back. The only problem is he is married to Susan...
The Mistress is a psychological thriller set in the UK.
Hannah had a tough start in life and has always used men and then discarded them. Her husband violently attacks her when he discovers she's been lying to him and Hannah yearns for the happiness she remembers from 20 years ago when she dated Mark. She seeks out Mark with the intention of stealing him from his wife.
Susan, meanwhile, is suffering from empty nest syndrome when her only child goes to university at the other end of the country. She has had a troubled past too and had to support her younger sisters while putting her own life on hold. Now her happiness is at risk again and she will do anything to protect her marriage.
I really liked this book. Both women are damaged by past and present events. Hannah's chapters are written in the first person and Susan's from the third person, yet I felt equally immersed in both women's lives. I wanted both of them to find the happiness they crave to try to make up for the pain in their lives. My sympathy was more aligned with Susan as she has always been selfless whilst Hannah uses her past to excuse her behaviour.
The pace of the plot was spot on for me. There are some big issues handled in this book and I felt that the emotion of the characters was balanced by their open expression of their backgrounds. I thought that both women deserved someone better than Mark who was weak so wasn't sure how I wanted the plot to conclude. The ending was abrupt and shocking, but wow!
The Mistress was an emotional and tense psychological thriller with an unexpected ending.

Married to 70 year old Ivan who Hannah was really only with for the money, she finally leaves following a beating from him that sent her to the hospital and gave him a heart attack! Now finally free from him she reminisces on her love that got away - Mark, she is used to getting what she wants and sets her sights on getting him back - the only problem is he is married.

Susan, is suffering from empty nest syndrome when her son moves off to Glasgow for university then she suspects Mark of cheating so hires a private investigator to see for sure. When he comes back with nothing Susan discovers he lied and later found out Hannah had paid him to fight she the photographic evidence!

Hannah is a right piece of work, Susan is not really all that a likeable character in own right, but it’s Mark that ultimately ends up alone after ruining his marriage to Susan and Hannah getting her comeuppance.

I have no time for cheaters and whilst Hannah’s back story gave me pause, it was still no excuse for her to go after a married man.

It has been some time since I last read one of Ms. Keogh's books, but "The Mistress" reminded me how much I enjoy her writing.

The first chapter of the book immersed me in the action immediately. While Hannah is not an entirely likable character, there are moments when I felt sympathetic towards her, especially at the beginning of the story. However, as the plot progresses, Hannah's manipulative and callous treatment of people becomes increasingly apparent, and her background does not excuse her terrible behavior. Despite this, the fast-paced psychological thriller filled with betrayal, secrets, and lies kept me engaged. Hannah is not the only character in the book, but she is the captivatingly detestable one that kept me engrossed.

I initially leaned towards a 4-star rating for the book, but the shocking and twisted ending caught me off guard and blew me away, earning it a solid 5-star rating!

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I have read and loved each and every book that Valerie has written to date. I read the synopsis of 'The Mistress' and it certainly sounded like the sort of book I have come to expect from Valerie - a gripping psychological thriller with several twists and turns. Well it was certainly that and so much more. I really enjoyed reading 'The Mistress' but more about that in a bit.

I must be honest and say that it took me a little while to get into 'The Mistress'. Part of the problem was that I found it rather hard to warm to the main character of Hannah. I started off feeling sorry for her and with an open mind but as the story continued I got to know her a bit better and I ended up rather disliking her. Hannah comes across as a devious and manipulative character and you certainly can't trust her. I had my own suspicions as to how the story was going to develop and so I had to keep reading to see if I was anywhere near the truth or if I had wandered off in the opposite direction. The more of the book that I read, the more I wanted to read and the quicker the pages seemed to turn. I was so wrapped up in the story that I didn't realise just how quickly I was getting through the book. All too quickly I reached the end of 'The Mistress'. I found 'The Mistress' to be a gripping, tense and dramatic read, which certainly kept me guessing and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.

'The Mistress' is superbly written but then I have come to expect nothing less from Valerie Keogh. Valerie certainly knows how to grab the reader's attention and draw them into what proves to be one hell of a story and then some. Valerie describes her characters so vividly and realistically that they seem just as real as you and I. The story is divided up into chapters with each chapter being voiced from the point of view of one of the two female lead characters. The chapters interlink well and the story flows seamlessly as a result. Reading 'The Mistress' felt like being on an at times scary and rather unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several unexpected twists and turns along the way. I love the way in which Valerie makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story and at the heart of the action. That's how I felt anyway.

In short, I really enjoyed reading 'The Mistress' and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Valerie's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

I seriously think i need to revamp my thriller choice or something BECAUSE THIS ONE BLEW ME AWAY i absolutely devoured the story i was on the edge of my seat

It was everything i wanted from a goo psychological thriller
Thank you Netgalley for the arc i had the best time 🫶🏻🫶🏻

Hannah was 39 when she married the wealthy Ivan who was nearly 70. When she learned that he wanted a wife to stay at home and produce a child for him, she was furious and disillusioned. He thought she was trying for a baby until he found her contraceptive pills. That’s when he beat her very badly landing her in the hospital. At the same time, he had a stroke landing him in the hospital too.

Susan is married to Mark and they are the parents of Drew. Susan has been a helicopter parent all of Drew’s life so when it comes time for him to go to university, she is shocked that he chooses to go to Scotland instead of attending a university locally. Susan doesn’t work but Mark is a very successful solicitor. Soon, Susan suspects that Mark is seeing another woman. It is Hannah with whom he had a relationship when they were much younger. But Susan is not going to let someone take her husband away from her. How far is she willing to go to keep Mark?

This is a tense story with characters that want more than maybe they should have. Susan is a nice woman who was a good mother but needed to have something more in her life. Hannah is a tough woman who has pushed her way through life getting what she wants the hard way. These two women finally meet to come to a truce that is enlightening and interesting. A tense story with lots of angst that makes the reader cringe. Some people live a hard life.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

If you think that Valerie Keogh’s The Mistress is simply a thriller about two grown women fighting over the same men, then you are wrong. It is about so much more. On the surface, and if you do not want to be a critical reader, then you can simply enjoy the catfight between two almost middle-aged women, Hannah and Susan, vying for the affection of the same somewhat handsome but a bit boring almost middle-aged man (Mark).

But The Mistress is about so much more…We first meet Hannah Parker, a somewhat unsympathetic, for lack of a more diplomatic word, scammer. She recounts her history of using men, especially from university onwards, sleeping with them for power, affection, attention, and yes, money…but not in that prostitute-like way. No, the money is more about keeping herself safe since it is clear from early on that her family, more specifically, her mother will not be stepping up to the plate for any sort of emotional or financial support.

In the first few chapters of the novel, we suffer with Hannah when her much older husband, Ivan, beats her. He’s angry because she lied about not taking birth control pills and he’s not afraid to unleash his rage on Hannah. It is while she is convalescing she happens upon an old photo of a boyfriend from university, Mark. She decides he is the one who got away, more because of how he made her feel rather than how she felt about him. Hannah makes it her mission to find Mark and steal him from his current wife, Susan, the human doormat.

While Hannah might be conniving, Susan is over-nurturing—to the point of driving her son from Bristol to Scotland to get away from her. These women are the flip sides of each other and their meeting point is their relationship with Mark. As the novel progresses, I believe that Mark becomes less important although both women see him as the ultimate prize in the beginning. He represents something to each woman that helps them see themselves in a better light. Through Hannah’s and Susan’s rivalry, each woman learns that their narrative belongs solely to them. Their story is only influenced by others.

Ultimately, one woman grows and evolves while the other does not believe in her future self quite enough. This novel is a psychological thriller in the sense that it is terrifying to address yourself and your hidden fears. Both women must do this to move forward in their respective lives. And while there is most certainly the threat and execution of some actual violence more than once in this story, the true terror is being able to strike out on your own and believe in yourself, without the aid of a man as an emotional and psychological prop. It is a good lesson for any woman to learn at any age.

Thank you Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This Mistress was a gripping read and the topic was interesting. I thought the book had clever elements and it was a slow burn. I enjoyed collecting the information for myself and trying to work out how the book was going to end. I also found the characters were interesting.

I found myself feeling bad for Hannah towards the end as she spoke about her life story and how she struggled with her attachments to male figures in her life. Susan was a character who I didn’t initially like but she grew on me and she developed as a strong character and proved everyone wrong.

The book was written in a way which went on a different path to the other cheating husband troupe. It was refreshing to read something so unique in a genre that is overpopulated. At times, the chapters would end on a cliffhanger but I realised they were a thought the character had rather than an actual situation that happened, this kept me hooked and wanting to read on. It also made me think of intrusive thoughts and how people could act on them easily.

At the start, I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy this book due to the cheating husband group but it was quite reflective and the ending was shocking.

This was my first time reading a Valerie Keogh novel and I did enjoy it. The female leads are both fairly unlikeable and while the husband initially sounds like a wonderful partner, it soon becomes clear that he's not. The reasons for Hannah's behaviour come clear in the best section of the novel towards the end. It moves quite quickly and the ending is actually quite an unexpected surprise I definitely didn't see coming. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Boldwood books for the ARC, I look forward to reading more Valerie Keogh again!

this had everything that i was hoping for from a psychological thriller, it had a great concept and worked with the characters in this story. I thought the concept was scary and worked with the mistress element perfectly. I was invested in what was going on and was on the edge of my seat. Valerie Keogh has a great writing style and left me wanting for more.

This suspenseful, dark, and twisted story gripped me from the start and kept me reading until the end. The plot was well written and characters were so easy to love or hate and that is how good the author did her job in building them for us. I was so taken by the story that had to finish it as fast as I could. Thank you to Netgalley , the author and publisher for an advanced copy

This is the first Valerie Keogh book I’ve read, and it’s told from the perspectives of two women, Hannah and Susan, both with their own set of baggage and problems. I would say the next major character is Mark, who is not lovable in any way, shape or form. I was entertained while reading, but I wasn’t wowed in any way. Unfortunately, I found it somewhat predictable - except for the last couple of chapters. It was such an abrupt and random ending, I found it almost odd? I felt like there could have been some real good twists thrown into the mix, but it read (for the most part) like a typical “cheating husband” trope.

This book could have easily been like the many others that focus on “the other woman “, but I found this to be riveting and different. Hannah and Susan were both intriguing characters and love to see their character progression.

Oh my goodness! What a brilliant story, I was totally hooked from page one and neglected everything else until the very last page. Love, love, love this book! I now have a new favourite author.

As a big Valerie Keogh fan, it pains me to say this isn’t my favourite story by her.
It had the potential to be incredible, but the characters didn’t suit well for me. Susan, in particular, was highly unlikable and often seemed unrealistic. However, the story did have some intriguing twists, and I enjoyed the contrasting perspectives of Susan and Hannah, two women with different outlooks on life.
Unfortunately, the ending felt sudden, leaving me with unanswered questions that I would have preferred to see resolved.