BLOG TOUR, BOOK REVIEW - The Trapped Wife by Samantha Hayes

 

                                                                     BOOK SYNOPSIS

The rain hammers the glass outside. My husband has stoked the wood burner with a fresh supply of logs, and I’ve just put a joint of beef in the oven. It’s the most clichéd Sunday afternoon ever, and it’s the most heavenly one, too. Little do I know that days later, the ash in the fire will be all that remains of us…

My perfect life…

I thought I had it all – a dream job as a doctor in small town, a stunning home and a family I adore – but that illusion shattered the moment my husband Jeremy left on a work trip and vanished without a trace. Now my son and I are all alone in the world.

My missing husband…

My best friend thinks Jeremy had an accident up in the mountains, that I’ll never see him again and need to move on. I know he loves us too much to ever abandon us, but my head is still spinning with the texts I found on his phone before he left. Did I ever really know the man I married?

The night I can’t remember…

Everything changed the night of the medical conference weeks before Jeremy disappeared. I wrack my brains for answers, but my memory goes blank after my first drink. Ever since, I’ve felt like I’m being followed and can’t explain why panic thunders in my chest every time I see my newest patient. If he’s not local to the village, then why does he seem so familiar? And so dangerous?

As I piece together the shards of what really happened that fateful evening, only one thing can possibly be true: everyone is lying, even me…

This absolutely brilliant, twisty psychological thriller is voiced from the duel perspectives of best friends Jennifer and Rhonda. Our main character Jennifer had just returned back to work as a doctor after the disappearance and suspected death of her beloved husband Jeremy in a avalanche whilst he was on a ski trip in Switzerland. As well as struggling with her feelings of grief, she was also being haunted by flashbacks to a conference that she had attended in Oxford. She couldn't escape the feeling that something horrific had happened whilst she had been away but her memories of the events  were all scattered and fragmented. She was also worried about her teenage son Kieran and the distance that had developed between them since his father's death. It is during her second day back at work that a handsome new patient called Scott walked into her consultation room and turned Jennifer's life into a living nightmare. Jennifer can't escape the uncanny feeling that she had met Scott before and that despite his charming demeanour, he also had a hidden dark side and was very dangerous. Who was Scott? Why had he suddenly inserted himself into Jennifer's life? Why did she feel like she was being watched whilst she was out running?

Jennifer was a complex and at times flawed individual who obviously cared about her son but was still struggling with her grief as well as adapting to life as a single parent. She also cared about her patients especially a elderly lady called Elsie who was obviously struggling to cope on her own and was haunted by feelings of grief and guilt over a shocking event that had happened almost thirty years before. Jennifer certainty had some redeemable qualities to her character and I did feel a lot of empathy for her during the moments when she took the reader back in time and gave us a insight into her feelings of paranoia and anxiety during her interactions with Jeremy before he left for his fatal trip. She just didn't help herself at times and made some really stupid decisions during her earlier interactions with obnoxious, manipulative Scott. Why couldn't she have just been honest with Kieran who was sixteen and explain the situation instead of suffering in silence? I found it so frustrating that she was more worried about her reputation and what other people might think about her than the mess that her life had turned into.

I thought Rhonda who was married to a Detective Sergeant called Chris, had a teenage daughter called Caitlin and was Jennifer's very loyal best friend was a fantastic character. Rhonda wasn't adverse to channelling her inner Miss Marple and out of worry for her friend started conducting her own investigations into Jeffery and events from the past. Only, as the story unfolded, she began to uncover dark secrets and hidden truths that would have a shocking effect on herself and her own family.

Scattered throughout the book was chapters that slipped back in time to the early 90s and featured Evan and Mac, two young boys who were the outcasts at their school, Evan being the victim of a champaign of viscous and nasty bullying. The poor kid couldn't even get any respite from bullying at home due to living with a violent and abusive stepfather. It was obvious almost from the moment that Even was introduced into the story that he suffered from some serious mental health issues. But how did his and Mac's stories fit into events that were unfolding in the present day?

Jesus,Mary and Joseph and the wee donkey, I think this book is absolutely bloody incredible and that Samantha Hayes has excelled her own high standards of writing with this latest addition to her addictive catalogue. The plot is intricate, gripping, keeps the reader guessing and has more twists and turns than a whole theme park of roller coasters and the author adds more intrigue to this addictive read by throwing in a few red herrings along the way. There was one mind blowing revelation that almost caused me to drop my kindle in shock and I ended up just sitting staring at the word's whilst doing a very bad impersonation of omg cat. The issues that were raised in this book were realistic and relatable as was the small cast of vivid characters. I love Samantha Haye's captivating thrillers and The Trapped Wife was no exception. Very very highly recommended and definitely going to be one of my favourite reads of this year.

                                                                       AUTHOR BIO

Samantha Hayes grew up in a creative family where her love of writing began as a child. Samantha has written eight thrillers in total, including the bestselling Until You’re Mine. The Independent said “fantastically written and very tense” while Good Housekeeping said “Her believable psychological thrillers are completely gripping.” Samantha’s books are published in 22 languages at the last count.

When not writing, Samantha loves to cook, go to the gym, see friends and drink nice wine. She is also studying for a degree in psychotherapy. She has three grown-up children and lives in Warwickshire.

https://www.samanthahayes.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaHayesAuthor/

https://www.instagram.com/samanthahayes.author/

https://twitter.com/samhayes

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3DAPBTu

Apple: https://apple.co/3xm8O7j

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3xmP97l

Google: https://bit.ly/2TvXN50

PUBLICATION DATE: 8th September 2021

PURCHASE LINK...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trapped-Wife-absolutely-psychological-mind-blowing-ebook/dp/B0977J5ZBG/ref=sr_1_1?crid=16MK242LFM786&dchild=1&keywords=the+trapped+wife&qid=1631374420&s=books&sr=1-1

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