Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book.

This is a Psychological Thriller book but it does have its funny moments.

"Cara Burrows is at breaking point and decides that to sort her life out she needs to get away for two weeks and think about her current situation. what happens next is gripping and funny in places" I dont want to give too much of the story away and spoil the book for those who want to read it.

I haven't read any books by Sophie Hannah before, however after reading this one I think i will spend some time in the future reading some by her.

This is a book which kept me wanting to read more, very well written amd emtertaining.. However, I did feel as though the ending was a little bit on the let down side, this could be because the story felt like it was mssing something.

All in all a very good read and if you want to read it you should make your own mind up about it and not taken someone else's word for how good or bad it may be.

I have to start by saying that I am a HUGE fan of Sophie Hannah and I’ve followed her Culver Valley series since the brilliant Little Face! I love that series but wasn’t as keen on her last standalone novel whereas I know reviewers who have loved the standalone books but not the series! So this is a difficult one for me as it’s now been 3 days since I read this book. That’s three days and three sleepless nights where this book has gone round and round in my head while I try to work out if it’s a work of genius and I loved it or if I had missed the punchline somehow and I hated it!! It’s a Marmite one that’s currently dividing reviewers opinions but I THINK I really liked it……

The plot itself is an intriguing but rather infuriating one at the same time! Cara Burrows has left her husband and children back in the UK to spend time in a luxury hotel and spa in the USA. She tells them she will return on 24th October and leaves her phone with the hire car people so she isn’t tempted to message them or answer calls. We gradually come to find out why she is there BUT I did have to suspend belief that she would travel so far especially when the reason for her departure becomes apparent. Why that hotel and spa? Surely one closer to home of the same standard would have sufficed? But I digress and it does become obvious later on WHY this book had to be set in the USA.

A late night arrival combined with an overstretched receptionist sees Cara enter the wrong hotel room and come face to face with a young girl. It’s only later that she comes to realise what she may have intruded upon. Whilst I didn’t particularly take to Cara, there was a whole host of quirky and interesting characters here to keep my attention throughout and I was gripped by their behaviour at the resort. The old lady Mrs McNair, who swears she has seen Melody too, Tarin Fry, the feisty badass mom holidaying with her daughter were all competing for my attention with their antics and added an American charm to the proceedings that you probably wouldn’t have got in a UK luxury setting (us Brits tend to keep themselves to themselves and look the other way when drama comes acalling!)

What did make this for me was the whole “trial by tv” perspective and the tv host Bonnie Juno, who wound me up so tightly that I found I was grinding my teeth when she was around! I actually enjoyed all the media reports scattered throughout the narrative, lingering over them with a slightly more voyeuristic approach than I had expected. I found them to be more informative and intricately detailed than the more dramatic reporting by Juno. They made me think of other high profile cases that had also been played out in the media (again in the States) so I became heavily invested fairly early on in the proceedings, caught up as if it were a real life murder case.

So all in all I have come to the conclusion I did enjoy this once I suspended belief at some of the more unbelievable plot threads and coincidences. Sophie Hannah writes wonderfully complex and thought provoking plots and her books are like a giant game of Jenga sometimes as you have to work out which parts are the most important ones, the ones that the entire plot is based around, as you can’t discount them or the entire storyline will collapse around you!

The only thing I’m still unsure about is that ending though. It’s possibly a brilliant game changer but I’m not entirely convinced. Still, I would recommend you give this book a go and see how YOU react! It’s a gripping page turner for definite so you may absolutely love it but then you have to ask yourself…….Did YOU see Melody?

would like to thank net galley and the publisher for letting me read this book

it was the wrong book for me...i could tell it was well written and well thought out but not the sort of book for me at all..i like more action sorry

This story opens with a narrative that doesn't quite fit with what you expect from the blurb, but then a second narrator takes over and all is well.  Then the other narrator pops up, and you start to wonder...

At first I wasn't sure that Cara had done the sensible thing, to pick an exclusive resort in the Mid-west of America, a far cry from her home life and the pressures she's under in London.  Well, it wasn't sensible, but it was something I might just do in her place.  There were some fascinating clues planted by the author, and notes from various people floated about in odd places (including the pool, if I remember rightly) to further add to the unreliable narrators that abounded.

I read it in two sittings because I couldn't put it down - but had to! Wasn't sure whether the last paragraph worked, until about an hour later when I was still thinking about it. It's another twist, isn't it?

Tense psychological thriller featuring child abduction, but with plenty of Sophie Hannah's wonderful twists! Brilliant work from Sophie Hannah, and one I may decide to re-read.

I like Sophie Hannah's style and the way she has to put some really over the top, almost ridiculous events and people together and make the reader rolls their eyes but still have fun while reading. I couldn't stop reading this book (and had to slow my pace because it was so good I at the same time couldn't wait to get to the bottom of things and didn't want it to end) and was entertained all through it. I liked all the characters and the mystery itself.

Now for some of the eye roll parts I mentioned above and also some parts that remained unexplained to me. Be aware that there will SPOILERS in this area, there's no other way... [ The whole idea of this British mom suddenly deciding to leave was at least a tad unbelievable. Why to Arizona was my biggest peeve; I kept wishing so hard it'd be explained but alas, my curiosity will never be cured I guess.
Bonnie was too much. Not just her person (which we know exists and frankly, we all have seen some TV hostess like her) but how much the police allowed her to act and interfere during the investigation in Swallowtail. That wouldn't happen; police would tell her to simply get off I believe. The final scene, well, there her presence made sense as they wanted to corner her but then again...why was Tarin there too?
Who paid for all the Burrows to travel to America? A lot of over air tickets...
Why did Bonnie believed Kristen and Jeff's tale so easily? Did she ask for any kind of proof? Because by the end we are led to believe it was all a lie...or maybe not?
Why is Melody acting so below her age? Is she manipulating everyone or is it all the result of her continuing isolation for so long? And on the same vibe...how could Zellie get along so well with her when she is so mature for her age and Hayley was so childish? Not a huge problem, it just bugged me.
And what about the arsenic? Where the Chapas really giving it to her or did the conspirators invented it?
Oh, and how could it be that in all the media coverage of the case for years, no one ever noticed the link between Kristen and Bonnie? (hide spoiler)]

All the points above are just musings, actually. Discussions I'd like to have about the book, which proves I liked it enough that I don't want to leave it behind now. I miss it already.
Highly recommended.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I thought this was highly original, I liked the main character,and I liked the idea that she had run away from home and booked herself into a spa resort that she probably couldn't afford.Throw in some wacky characters, a lovely setting, and some humour and a mystery to solve and you have a riveting good read.it worked for me. I found myself smiling as I was reading and at points even laughing out loud, this might be one of those books you don't want to read in public if you enjoy this sense of humour ,then again who cares if the book is good and this one certainly is.Thanks to netgalley and the Publishers for giving me a copy to read and review.

A really enjoyable read. I've not been a big fan of Sophie Hanna's books up until now, but this really changed my mind. I liked the characters - the mum who's "had enough"! And the underlying mystery was well written and well presented.

I was very keen to read this book as the premise was intriguing and while the story and characters had great potential i think it was executed very poorly. The main character Cara wasn't that likable and didn't seem very intelligent. The plot had major holes and there were aspects which were never explained. Characters made jumps that weren't explained by logic or evidence and seemed to only happen to propel the story suddenly forward. Cara abandoned her whole motivation and belief without rhyme or reason and it was an entirely unsatisfying read.

Cara Burrows goes on holiday to a five star spa hotel in Arizona to get away from her family and to have some time to sort out her future. When she arrives at the hotel she is given the wrong room key and finds herself caught up in the mystery of a missing girl. Did you see Melody? by Sophie Hannah is a thriller that has many twists and turns.
I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one and it didn’t grip me quite as much as some of the other books I read. What it IS, however, is a cleverly plotted drama with some larger than life characters but a lead character that I never really warmed to.

What Did You See Melody? Would be IDEAL for is a reading group. There are elements of the story which I felt required total buy-in from the reader, without that buy-in it I can’t see it wowing everyone. I would love to see a book group discuss their thoughts on this book as I think it may be one which would spark debate.

** spoiler alert ** I was really very sad after reading this book. I am a fan of Sophie Hannah but I could hardly believe she wrote this story.
I don't have to repeat what it is all about because there are a great many reviews here already. For me, it just didn't work.
I kind of liked the beginning, when Cara fleed her home, because it looked like the beginning of a good thriller. But then!
All those crazy people in this book. That Bonnie, constantly complaining about her first husband, while married to the second, but she did keep her first husbands last name. Absolutely silly. Her assistant Heidi, who suddenly plays a bigger role.
The whole story, so unreal. And all those boring parts in between, supposedly interviews.

I hope that Sophie Hannah's next book will be one I can enjoy again.

I've been a huge fan of Sophie Hannah for years, and I was incredibly excited to read this after hearing so much about it on social media. Did You See Melody? follows Cara on a getaway trip to a spa in America. She has problems at home, and on a whim spends a third of her live savings to relax at a 5 star spa resort (sounds heaven!). After problems checking in, she encounters an old woman convinced she saw "Melody". Cara's getaway soon turns into mystery solving. Without saying too much, it's an incredible mystery/thriller with amazing twists and turns that will leave you gagging for more! Highly recommend

Great read which kept me enthralled . At times I wanted to shake Rachel to try and get her see reason and at other times I could empathise with the hidden truths. The separation felt personal and the ultimate relief when they at last saw sense and reason was overwhelming.

I'm a big fan of Sophie Hannah - it's probably true to say I've read everything she's published, including the earlier novels which nobody seems to mention anymore (they're awesome, by the way). So I was very much looking forward to Did You See Melody?

It's a stand-alone novel, i.e. not part of her Culver Valley series (well, I suppose it would be difficult to plonk Culver Valley Police down in a luxury holiday resort in the middle of Arizona, which is where this book takes place). Still, I kind of missed Charlie, Simon, Proust and the rest. Especially Proust, for some reason. I'm not sure what that says about me.

Anyway, instead we have Cara Burrows, a British wife and mother who, amid a personal crisis, has scarpered, alone, to Swallowtail for some thinking time (spending a third of the family's savings in the process). The holiday she'd hoped for doesn't quite materialise, however, as she is unwittingly walks into a mystery when accidentally given the key for the wrong room in the middle of the night. Is it possible that the young girl she sees is really Melody Chapa, famously murdered by her parents seven years earlier? And is Cara herself now in danger as a result?

Sophie Hannah writes tightly plotted, intelligently written puzzle-box mysteries where intriguing, seemingly inexplicable things occur and have to be gradually unravelled. You need to keep your wits about you as the plots can turn out to be pretty complex. Often, there's deep psychological stuff going on. Here, because Cara (not being an American) doesn't know about the Melody Chapa murder case, a fair bit of exposition is required, and this is largely done via Cara's online research. This works quite well though as I said, you do need to concentrate. Then again, I read most of this while squinting at my Kindle on a sun lounger on holiday, so....

I loved the descriptions of the super-luxurious holiday resort (my hotel, while nice, wasn't on quite that level. But a girl can dream.). And I loved, or in some cases loved to hate, some of the characters. As always with Sophie Hannah, there's humour here too, particularly with some of the characters, and I laughed out loud at Cara's chlorophyll/chloroform confusion, mainly because it's so very much the sort of thing one might do. The transcripts of YouTube clips from interviews on a popular "justice" show are appallingly compelling.

Melody's character remains rather elusive throughout, with her voice very rarely being heard. But maybe that's the point.

All in all another great read from the ever reliable Sophie Hannah.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Cara needs some time out to think, and she finds the perfect place in Phoenix Arizona. It's a lovely resort aimed relaxation, with a spa menu as big as the food menu with all sorts of treatments to choose from. Little does she know that her holiday will make life even more complicated in ways she couldn't imagine.

Melody is a bit of a mystery, and a news sensation in America. Everybody knows who she is, but not where she is now, or what truly happened. She is a murder victim from seven years ago; her body never found. When an old lady at the resort believes she saw Melody, Cara is led on a journey to find out more. As the truth unravels Cara finds herself in danger, and must find the truth about Melody to save herself, and return to her family.

Cara herself seemed quite normal compared to the wonderful array of other women in the book. The TV star who became obsessed with the case seems overpowering and abrupt. The other guests, Tarin and her daughter Zellie seemed quirky yet loyal, and perhaps a bit too willing to get involved. The nervous receptionist who couldn't go to more trouble to help Cara after sending her to the wrong room. Women take the centre stage when getting to the root of the mystery.

Sophie Hannah books are always easy to read, with a fast pace that leaves you turning pages well into the night. The chapters cover Cara's experiences, Melody's thoughts, and transcripts from TV shows covering the original case. These leave you wanting to find out more just as another strand of the story is reintroduced. Revelation after revelation keeps the story moving and the suspects changing until it's clear that nobody can be trusted.

This is holiday reading .

The plot is tight , the characters are alive although they are there to service the plot.

The ending has a good twist that is not obvious , for fans of Gone Girl

This is a hard one to review. For me personally, I didn't hate this but neither did I love it. It for me quie slow paced. Cara Burrows is having marriage problems so without telling her family she books into Swallowtail resort in Arizona When the room she is mistakenly given a room has already a man and a teenage girl in it. She then learns the next day that the girl she saw was Melody Chapa. That everyone thought was murdered 7 years previously by her parents. Was it really Melody Chapa she saw? Cara then does research of what happened to Melody. The story also has excerpts of TV shows which, I had to skim through as I found a little tedious. I thought the concept of the story was good but, and I liked the characters, but, the author didn't quite pull if off.

If ever a book was destined to become the No 1 summer holiday bestseller, Did You See Melody? is it. First, there is the spa itself. No travel brochure ever made a spa sound as fabulous as the Swallowtail Spa in this book. Typical American excess meets typical American service in a 5 star resort. I so want to go there!
Cara Burrows has upped and left her home in Hertfordshire for this exclusive resort in Arizona, leaving behind her husband Patrick, and their children, Jess and Olly. We know she has come away to think, but what is troubling her we don’t find out until later.
When she gets there –a mix-up with her room reservation leads her to encounter a man and his teenage daughter and later gives her cause for concern. Who was the mystery man in that room and could the girl possibly be Melody Chapa whose parents are in jail for her murder?
Melody’s body was never found but despite this, her parents were convicted of her murder. The case has gripped America for years. Bonnie Juno, former criminal prosecutor and now an Oprah type figure, has followed the Melody Chapa case from the start of her disappearance and has made a name for herself on TV from the case.
As Cara finds out more about Melody’s disappearance and presumed murder, she gets drawn in further to this mystery.
I really enjoyed the writing in this book. First of all, the book takes you in directions you just didn’t expect to go. Then the characters are vivid and sometimes unexpectedly, very funny – especially Tarin Fry and her daughter Zellie. The narrative is twisty and innovative and overall the book is just the right mixture of light and shade.
Perfect summer reading.

Not one for me I'm afraid, too much like chicklit! And I hate using that description! If you enjoy that genre you'll probably enjoy this book.

Ummm, I'm not quite sure what to say about this book. I've read Sophie Hannah before and enjoyed it but this was something else. I didn't really enjoy it at all, I thought the writing was sloppy and it got too confusing. The chapters were way too long and I think there were parts missing. There was way too much monologue of videos she watched and were too many people in the story. Cara came across as quite a pathetic lady, running away from her family to a five star resort in another country rather than facing her problems. Then with her being kidnapped, it wasn't dramatic enough and was over very quickly, like it was written rushed. I knew that someone from the hotel was in on the whole thing too. I didn't like the ending, I just thought it was all strange. All in all I didn't really enjoy this book and honestly the only reason why I kept reading was to find out what actually happened, if I wasn't bothered finding this out then I would have stopped reading it ages ago. Thank you for letting me read and review this book, albeit a disappointing read and review.