eARC Review – The Vow

Title: The Vow

Author: Debbie Howells

Publisher: Avon Books UK

Publication date: October 15th, 2020

368 pages

4.5/5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis

Two weeks before her wedding, a stranger stops Amy in the street and warns her she’s in danger. Then that night, Matt, her fiancé, doesn’t come home. Desperate, Amy calls the police – but when Matt fails to emerge, she’s forced to call off her wedding day.

Then another man is reported missing, by a woman called Fiona – a man meeting Matt’s description, who was about to leave his fiancée for her.  He was supposed to be moving in with her – but instead, he’s vanished.

Amy refuses to believe Fiona’s lover can be her Matt – but photos prove otherwise, and it soon becomes clear that Matt has been leading a double life. As the police dig deeper, two conflicting, yet equally plausible stories emerge from two women who allegedly have never met.

The wedding day never happened. But the funeral might.

Review

The Vow is a twisty, back and forth mystery that kept me guessing up until the very end. Written in alternating POV’s with several characters, you learn the life of Amy and Matt, a couple who are meant to be married in two weeks. But one day Matt disappears, and the evidence begins to point to Amy as you learn Matt was having an affair and was going to call off the wedding. You begin to get Fiona’s perspective, the woman Matt was cheating with. Back and forth, you can’t tell which woman is responsible for the disappearance. Just when you think you know what’s happening, guess again…

Truly, I had no idea how this book would end until well, the ending. The author did an amazing job of burying the lead in several interesting subplots that kept turning the story on it’s head. It was a wild ride to get to the ending, but so very worth it. I’ve only recently begun to really get into mystery/thrillers but I have to say this is one of my favorites. There is a somewhat psychological hint to this thriller, so if you enjoy that you will enjoy this one.

In terms of characters, this is not a book with redeemable characters. Everyone has a backstory, hidden motives, and you won’t see it coming. As this is somewhat usual for the genre, I don’t imagine this is much of a surprise. But, this helps the plot go on because you could see any one of the characters having a part in Matt’s disappearance, because they all have something that keeps them from being redeemable. The book is fairly evenly paced, it never really felt like it was dragging or going too fast in any parts.

I highly recommend Debbie Howell’s new mystery, The Vow, for all my mystery lovers out there!

Thank you to Avon Books UK and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Happy reading, folks!