Sue Watson’s First Date is one of the very first blog tours I did and I was hooked. All these years later, I still love reading her books. They are complicated family dramas with twists and turns that always seem to catch me off guard.

A dual POV story with best friend’s Wendy and Jill as the narrators. They are estranged from their husbands and each other and making an effort to strike their friendship back up. Each has a secret as to why now is the time to try again. It definitely caught me off guard starting on page one. It’s filled with friendship and relationship drama, secrets, and lots of lies. I was proud I figured out one small piece, because this one stunned me more than once. The book lulled me in with it’s slow start and focus on the friendship. But don’t let that fool you, because it builds to a ton of tension and quite the bang.

I like how Wendy and Jill’s relationship was layered and how those layers were slowly revealed during their weekend away. It is cleverly constructed to reveal only what is necessary at the time and those reveals kept changing the trajectory of their resparked friendship. I was constantly wanting to know more and couldn’t read it fast enough.

4⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy of Wife, Mother, Liar.

Next door neighbors and best friends Jill and Wendy have lived next door and raised their kids together for almost twenty years. Then there kids go to the prom together and only one comes home. It changes their lives forever. Jill will not give up finding out what happened to her child and she will get revenge because she knows Wendy has been lying to her. But when the truth comes to light it will change everything.

I enjoyed this thriller and it honestly had me guessing until the very end. I liked the dual points of view and the writing style.

Jill and Wendy were newlyweds when they found themselves next door neighbors that soon led to them becoming best friends. After several miscarriages, Jill and her husband, Tim, had one son, Leo. He was the love of her life and she carefully protected him. Wendy and Robert had two sons and a daughter, Olivia, just two weeks older than Leo.

It wasn’t until time for their prom the Leo and Olivia began seeing one another. However, something happened that night when Leo went missing and later was found dead. It’s been 18 months and Jill and Tim have separated, yet Jill can’t help but feel that someone murdered Leo. So, she rents a cottage in Wales and invites Wendy for a weekend of chatting. Wendy and Robert are also separated and Olivia is living with Robert in Spain.

In Wales, Wendy does not like the remoteness of the cottage and finds Jill to be in a strange mood. She had not wanted to come but wants to help her friend. They have in-depth conversations fueled with glasses of wine about their past lives together and what happened with Leo. But this soon leads to a devastating ending to the weekend. What follows is the truth coming out on what their intertwined lives were all about.

There were times in the book that I felt that the rehashed conversations repeated over and over were getting old. There are some revelations that come out in the ending that saved the book for me, enabling me to give it a better rating. I'm curious to know what other readers think.

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

Happy Publication Day to what I think is Sue Watson’s best book yet.

Jill and Wendy have been best friends for 25 years. Ever since the day Jill and her husband, Tim, moved in next door to Wendy and her husband, Robert. They did everything together from being newlyweds to having babies and raising their children. Right up until the day their children went to prom together and one of them didn’t come home. Eighteen months later and the grieving mother is still searching for answers, unable to accept the official ruling of accidental death. She’s sure her best friend is lying to her about what happened that night, and this weekend she intends to get to the truth…

OMG. What a ride this was! Tense, twisty, surprising, and totally addictive, this is a thriller that will get your heart racing and make your jaw drop. It had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish as I tried to predict what would happen next. But Watson kept me on my toes with her expert writing that was filled with chilling tension, dark secrets and some really moving moments. There was no time to recover as she moved from one twist to another at breakneck speed and all I could do was enjoy the ride. It was impossible to put down, and I actually fell asleep reading it in the early hours and then picked it up as soon as I’d had my coffee the next morning. And that ending! I’m still reeling.

Nothing and no-one is what they seem in this story. Especially not Jill and Wendy. From the start we know that both women are keeping secrets about the night Leo died, but we don’t know how much they know or if either of them was involved. We also don’t know if Leo’s death was murder like Jill believes or a tragic accident like the police ruled. Moving seamlessly between timelines, we see glimpses of their friendship and their lives in flashbacks, while in the present they reminisce about old times and try to avoid the elephant in the room. It soon becomes clear that this friendship has never been what it seemed and both women have ulterior motives for getting together this weekend. The tension was sky-high and it felt like no-one was going to get out of this unscathed.

Dark, sinister and totally riveting, this is a must-read for any thriller lover.

I have always been a huge fan of Sue's books, she is one of my go to authors! I loved her latest story.

The tale begins with Jill and Wendy, two old friends, meeting up for a weekend away in Wales after many years apart. The woman are nervous about the meet up, mainly because of the tragedy that took place all those years ago when one of them lost a child. Will the secrets and lies between the two families finally be uncovered, and what lengths will each woman go to to protect the ones they love?

I loved the premise and was immediately hooked. Sue very cleverly sets up the darkly woven plot and just as I was starting to think I might have guessed "whodunnut", the huge twist completely wrongfooted me! The underlying tension between Gill and Wendy is expertly created and always lies bubbling under the surface, so you're never quite sure who to trust.

The twists keep on coming, leaving you gasping and wondering how you could have missed the (very clever) clues. Suspenseful, sinister and unputdownable, I highly recommend this book!

Huge thanks to Sue Watson, publishers Bookouture and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A good read from this author is guaranteed……..this book takes the idea of neighbourly best friends with all it’s good things and turns it 360 degrees and shows what can happen when all is not as it seems and years of grudging resentment build up………when the 2 neighbours re unite for a girly weekend in Wales both are there for very different reasons…….

For me the 2nd part of the book came into it’s own when without giving anything away the conversation between them was taken to a new level, it was really well done and spiked the tension especially as it evolved

A lot of history for the pair that we get to unwrap and slowly work out why they are in the predicament they are……and of course there is one very big unresolved issue that will not go away

It’s hard not to say too much but it is a great look at friendships that go wrong and even though the pretence is kept up the truth will out

A fascinating involving book

Jill and Wendy are best friends they have watched their children growing up together. Jill has a son and Wendy has a daughter. they became friends when Jill moved in with her husband on the same estate the husbands became firm friends. everything looks good in Jills life until one night. the school prom, her son never comes home. his girlfriend is Wendy's daughter. they say was an accident but Jill does not believe it she wants the truth an amazing gripping read

Wife, Mother, Liar by Sue Watson is an absolutely addictive and totally gripping psychological thriller with a breathtaking twist.
This book hooked me from the first page, I needed to know where the story was going. The deeper in I got, the more twists there were.
This book was a real page turner and kept me on the edge of my seat. It was fast paced and I found it wasn’t to predictable which helped massively to keep me engaged.
An intriguing story on friendship, relationships, secrets and lies.

I thought this was a great read from the very first page you get hooked in, each chapter held my interest & left me wanting more. I loved the dual POVs from Jill + Wendy. The twist at the end completely blindsided me.

★★★★½ ROUNDED UP ⬆️⭐️

Jill and Wendy were best friends, until something happened to one of their children. Now, one woman thinks the other knows the truth behind what happened and is determined to get the other to admit it. The book is written mostly as conversations between the two women as they share a weekend away together. Tension builds, and lies and secrets are slowly revealed, taking the reader on a twisty ride through grief, bitterness and self-preservation.

This was a 5 star book for me. I did not see that ending coming and was kept on my toes the whole time, grabbing whatever time I had to read. It was absolutely amazing

This was so good and fast paced,

It keep me intriguing all the way long.

Definitely recommend to be this on TBR for 2025.

Sue Watson's novel Wife, Mother, Liar is about secrets and dishonesty. Jill and Wendy, previously pleasant neighbors, face a strained relationship after their children attend prom, but only one returns. Unfortunately, I failed to connect with either women since their poor ideals and aggressive personalities made them unapproachable. The story meandered, drawing out the mystery for too long, and the ending was disappointing. While the final revelation was entertaining, the tale might have been more exciting and less predictable. Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this eCopy to review

Wife, Mother, Liar is a thriller with interesting characters and their relationships, however the plot was a little predictable at times.

The plot centres around the life of Claire, a woman who juggles the roles of a devoted wife and mother while hiding a web of secrets. As the story unfolds, Claire's seemingly perfect life begins to unravel when long-buried truths come to light. The narrative delves into themes of trust, deception, and the lengths one will go to protect their family.

An easy read with relatable characters

Wife, Mother, Liar by Sue Watson is a tail of deception and secrets. Jill and Wendy are neighbours and friends, but when Jill’s son and Wendy’s daughter attend their prom and only one of them returns, their friendship is put to the test.

I didn’t gel with either of the female characters. Both Jill and Wendy had ugly traits in their personalities and questionable morals. The plot, for at least 70% of the book, went round in circles, never getting to the point, always keeping the reveal just out of reach of the reader which eventually became frustrating. We finally get an answer to what happened to Jill‘s son that night in the last quarter of the book, and even that felt flat. I did enjoy the twist in the end chapter but I do feel the story needed more excitement and less repetition.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy.

It's battle of the next door neighbors after a sixteen-year-old goes to prom in a limo and doesn't come home. His date was the daughter of the long-time friends in the house across the way.

Jill is the grieving mother. When Leo did not come home, she lost her identity.

Wendy was the mother of Olivia, Leo's date. Why can't they give Jill any answers?

Perhaps a weekend in Wales with wine and starwatching will shake loose some answers? Or will there just be more questions.

Watson gives us this story from both Jill and Wendy's perspectives. There were times when I felt like things got a bit repetitive early on, but this book takes off like a house on fire in the last half of the book. One of my favorites from Sue Watson. She is most certainly one of the queens of the popcorn thrillers. 🍿🥤

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! Just when I thought I’d had everything figured out when reading this book a new twist would be revealed! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, the narration from two protagonists was a new style for me but once I got my head around who each character was I enjoyed this writing style. Throughout the book we were given layers of different stories that I did not expect to all be relevant until the very end of this book. This book really makes you consider how much you really know about your friends and neighbours. This was an easy and enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to reading more from Sue Watson.

This was an okay read with twists all over the place but nothing surprising and I found myself feeling rather underwhelmed.
Told from the perspectives of Jill and Wendy who are neighbours and friends. They even had a child close together. Jill has Leo, her only son and Wendy has her third, a daughter called Olivia.
When Leo and Olivia go to the prom together and only one of the children returns alive, nothing can ever be the same again
This is a very complex plot and there are some seriously disturbed characters. None of who are likeable in any way at all.
Lots of things seem to happen although it doesn't really - it's just Jill and Wendy talking at each other.

There are some surprises at the end but those didn't really add to the story. This just wasn't for me.

When two neighbours who also happen to be best friends drift apart, it sounds like a wonderful idea to have a weekend together in Wales.

With so many secrets and lies, is it possible for them to overcome their problems and go back to how they were?

This is a hard book to review, as I don’t want to give anything away or spoil it.

The story is a dark and gripping thriller that flowed well. There were some parts that left me gobsmacked.

A tale of grief, revenge and protection, with an ending that came completely out of the blue.

How far would you go to protect your child?

My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.