Book Review: The Missing Wife by Sam Carrington

Title: The Missing Wife
Author: Sam Carrington
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 400
Published: June 27, 2019
Publisher: Avon Books UK

My Rating:

Imagine turning up to your own party, and recognising no one. Your best friend has just created your worst nightmare.

Louisa is an exhausted, sleep-deprived new mother and, approaching her fortieth birthday, the very last thing she wants to do is celebrate.

But when her best friend Tiff organises a surprise party, inviting the entire list of Lou’s Facebook friends, she’s faced with a new source of anxiety altogether: a room full of old college classmates who she hasn’t spoken to in twenty years. And one person in particular she never expected to see again is there – her ex-boyfriend from college, the handsome and charismatic Oliver Dunmore.

When Oliver’s wife Melissa goes missing after the party, everyone remembers what happened that night differently. It could be the alcohol, but it seems more than one person has something to hide.

Louisa is determined to find the truth about what happened to Melissa. But just how far does she need to look…?

One simple Facebook invitation unfolds into something both tragic and monstrous; a story of obsessive love, breath-taking deception and masterful manipulation.

From Goodreads

For me this story was more about a hungry cry baby and his sleep deprived mother rather than a thriller about the missing wife. 50% of the book is about feeding hungry Noah, how the 40 year old mom Louisa is suffering from sleep derivation and how it is affecting her mental health. The rest of the story is about friendship, betrayal, manipulation and forgotten memories of the dark past.

I did like the writing style of the author though. Her writing is fluid. Her characters have distinguished personalities and I can clearly see them in my head. Noah always crying and hungry. Louisa always tired and struggling. The bubbly and chirpy modelesque Tiff. The handsome and dashing Oliver. But I feel sorry the story wasn’t what I expected. The ending wasn’t justifiable. There weren’t any dramatic twists and turns. Nothing made me jump off my seat or intrigued me to read further. I just wanted the book to end so I can start reading another book.
If only the writing style wasn’t good, I would have DNF the book.

The cover art is nice. Apt for a thriller about a missing wife. I like the choice of colors too.

Did I like the story? No. Did I like the characetrs? No. Did I like the writing style? Yes. Does this book qualify for a good thriller? No. Did I manage to read it in one day after a horrible reading slump? Yes, and that matters to me if a book managed to get me out of my horrible reading slump so thank you for that.

It was subtle and not a nail-biting thriller. I think this book is more suitable for young adult readers who like thrillers rather than adult readers.

 

An eARC of this novel was provided by Avon Books UK via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.