It kept my interest. But thin character development, faulty plot points, and predictable.

3.5 stars, a good tale but a bit unrealistic at times.

Weak, pathetic woman who are willing to become despicable excuses of people for a psychopath of a man. There were a few twists but they led me right back to my initial thoughts. It was a good book for reading in waiting rooms, and while my kids activities finished up, but I didn’t find it nearly as good as others seem to have.

5 Brilliantly Twisted Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Wow wow wow this book was simply brilliant! Jess Ryder Took me on one crazy ride.... this is my first book from this author, but it is definitely not my last! Admittedly up until about 35% I was a little unsure as to what was going on and then... BAM! huge swerve and then the twists kept coming!

Natasha has the perfect life, a doting husband, a beautiful daughter, the only problem.... the ex-wife... then one day Natasha arrives home to find no Nick, no Emily, no belongings... what is going on? Natasha is a terribly likable character and you just want her to figure all of this out, and get her daughter back....

The story is told from two points of view... Natasha then and Anna now... Anna is on the run, but from who? And why? And who is Anna? Oh what a well plotted story this is! As those layers start peeling away you start finding out secret after lie after secret after lie.... leaving you to believe absolutely nobody.... and the very end, creepy!

I read this book with my friend Mackenzie, who found a blog article written by the author.... to sum it up the author says the best way to create a good psychological thriller is to alter the readers perception and then let their imagination take over.... and that’s exactly what she did in this book, well done Miss Ryder 🥂

Absolutely recommend to fans of a good twisty psychological thriller... this is a must read!

*** many thanks too Bookouture for my copy of this book ***

The beginning was really hard to get into, I loved the guessing game and the last chapter gave the view I was patiently waiting on during the entire book. It unfolded nicely with a happy ending. It was heartbreaking I almost felt like a mother reading the book carefully, not to miss a single word. Natasha and Jen deserve to live in peace for the rest of their lives after that monstrous moment.

What a great thriller with a few zingers in the way of twists!!! At first I was very confused about who Anna was, with her story being told immediately after the prologue. I read and reread the description of the novel to figure out who she was...no mention of an Anna. Don't worry about who Anna is. The truth will all come out fast and furious...just kick back and enjoy the ride. I'll definitely be reading more books by Jess Ryder!

*Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* Ruder has crafted a domestic thriller that as one can expect of a book from that genre, is full of twists and turns. Just when you think you have the story worked out, another twist is thrown in. Young wife and mother Natasha thinks she has the perfect life, married to successful businessman Nick and mother to an adorable little girl. The only chink in the armour is the constant presence of Nick's ex-wife, Jen. However, not all is as it seems and Natasha's perfect world starts to crumble. The story moves from the present day to the past as the complicated web of relationships and interactions unfold. The book had me hooked from the start and I devoured it very quickly. I look forward to Ryder's next novel.

This is a fast paced book with lots of twists and turns. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out who’s side you’re on. Then a certain character reveals their true colours which makes you wonder why any of the other characters have survived at all.

I really enjoyed the way the characters developed and the story line was strong. There was a couple of twists I really didn’t expect. The story flips from Now to Then and for a while you are not really sure of the relationship between the characters in the different time scales.

There were one or two things which I felt were a little far fetched but they added to the suspense and gave explanations as to why the characters acted the way they did.

Natasha is happily married, with a loving husband and a beautiful baby girl. The problem is that her husband's ex-wife Jen is still part of his life. Natasha is coping with that difficult dynamic well enough, but truly falls apart when her husband and daughter are suddenly gone without a trace. Needless to say, her entire life falls apart. Her resources are now quite limited, and with no one to trust and to rely on, she enlists the aid of Jen.

This story is told from multiple viewpoints, including "then and now". While ordinarily this would bother me in a book, it was done excellently here, and lent quite well to covering the twists and turns in this captivating story. Ultimately, this is a story about secrets. This dark, chilling story truly kept me on the edge of my seat. This is a true psychological thriller. The ending was truly a shock. I definitely am looking forward to reading more by this author.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC to review.

Date of publication: June 5, 2018

There was a disproportionate amount of people who were cray cray in this book and yet I couldn't stop reading.