This book was one I never wanted to put down. I had to pull myself away from it, at some points of the day, but really I put off more tasks than normal so I could get a few minutes extra in the book. You really pull for multiple characters. I'm a foster mom in the US, so it was a little more real to me to see children in care with foster parents. I 100% recommend this book. The author has a unique way of writing that grips you and I really didn't know what was coming.

A different take on a murder. An interesting read that once or twice had me confused, however once I realised that Vicki was David's ex wife and an aromatherapist. It is important to remember the begining of the story and the people involved as they play a crucial part all the was through the storyline.. The story is complex with the main character having regular seizures, or was this a mental health problem ? I will leave the outcome of that so as not to give anything away. A story of how fostering can go so wrong and the consequences of poor parenting.

I have read Jane Corry’s previous two books & in my opinion, this is the best one. I loved it - couldn’t put it down! Lots of twists & turns, plenty to keep you guessing.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher & Jane Corry for the ARC copy of this book.

This is the first book that I have read by Jane Corry but she has another two published. I had the privilege of meeting Jane at a book event in London and as I have a particular passion for reading thrillers I had no hesitation in reading this complex, twisty story. I must admit that I found the first third of this book very confusing with the continuous jumping of characters and time times but I fortunately persevered as there are many twists and surprises as the tale concludes. Once I got to grip with the connection of the characters I found myself enjoying it more and started to read large chunks at a time rather than in short bursts which helped the story flow.

The Dead Ex is built around an ex Prison Governor Vicki and her ex-husband who proves throughout that he is a deceitful, lying, cheating man, who Vicki for some strange reason still has great affection for. My wish is that I found myself willing the female characters of this book to be stronger and not so love struck that they fell so easily for his awful behaviour. I liked the insight into prison life and the twists that popped up along the way.

My thanks to Net Galley for the digital ARC copy of The Dead Ex, I have awarded 3.5 Star rating.

Wow! I have nothing else to say! I raced through this book and loved every page!

I initially found it hard to engage with this book. The first few chapters seemed disjointed and it was hard to relate to any of the characters. However, after reading other reviews I decided to persevere and the novel certainly picked up pace as it went along. Vicki who started out as such a strong character became increasingly obsessed and unpredictable. The suspense was kept right until the end when Helen's link to other characters was eventually revealed.

I was a bit confused by this book. There seemed to be a lot going on and that, for me, took away from the main plot and the twists with that.

I enjoyed it, but I don't think I would buy this book myself.

I am pleased that I have had the chance to review all of Jane Corry's novels. This one is quite different to the others in that there is a slow build up of the suspense, building to a great ending! The characters and story are very real - Jane is excellent at that. Usually in a book there is something rather unrealistic that makes the reader realise it is just a story - this author is different.
Another great thriller mystery with interesting characters and a fabulous ending.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.,

I don’t think I’ve read a book this fast before, I loved it! It tells the story of Vicki who is being investigated in relation to the disappearance of her ex-husband, and then later investigated with his wife’s murder. We get to know the old Vicki and some fairly underhand characters from her past.
This is the second book I’ve read by Jane Corry and I found this one a much easier read with a far better storyline. The plot was interesting, the characters believable and the ending not a disappointment.
I would happily read anything else by Jane Corry.

I'm torn with this one, I loved both My Husband's Wife and also Blood Sisters but sadly The Dead Ex isn't as good as Corry's other books - that's not to say it's not bad. There's still an intriguing plot and I found it to be a pacey read with enough twists to keep me guessing and hooked - overall it just fell a bit flat.

3.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin and Jane Corry for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book, though not quite as much as previous by this author.
It is a good thriller, with some great elements and the way everything links together is very clever. It was interesting to read from the POV of a character with epilepsy, and I think it was portrayed accurately.
Can't help but want to read on, yet I found it a little disjointed in places.

Last year I read and really enjoyed Blood Sisters by Jane Corry, and I particularly loved the rather claustrophobic, somewhat enclosed first person telling of the story. In particular the character of Kitty living in care, unable to communicate but the reader is privileged in that he has total access to the mind and thoughts of the hapless Kitty. Unfortunately The Dead Ex comes nowhere near to the thrill read that Blood Sisters was. It is the same type of first person storytelling from the point of view of a number of characters and again that presents as an effective and good method of relaying events. However if the story has little merit, then everything falls apart, in a confusing and dreary manner.

Vicki Goudman suffers with epilepsy and husband Daniel, rather than support her, decides to abandon her for his mistress the alluring, and seductive Tanya. When the police inform Vicki that husband Daniel is missing, possibly dead, she finds her world turned upside down when she realizes that she is the number one suspect. Vicki needs to prove her innocence but how is this possible as the drugs she is prescribed for her epilepsy appear to cause frequent and constant memory loss. The telling of this story is utterly confusing as we travel back and forward from the present to 2006/07 meeting Scarlet and Helen Evans. Vicki Goudman was a prison governor, then in inmate, ex husband Daniel has more than an interest in Tanya, Scarlet had an unhealthy relationship with a Mr Walters, Scarlet's mum Zelda is in prison, who is Jackie? Is Scarlett really Scarlet or Helen? does Zelda have an agenda from her prison cell?, is Daniel really David? what is the importance of Patrick? I could go on but I was just as confused as you are (dear reader of my review) trying to analyse and decipher just what the hell is happening!!. If a story becomes confused, complicated, and possibly losing the plot, then it is certainly difficult to retain the attention and support of the reader. I always endeavour to complete a book before offering an opinion but The Dead Ex really tested my stay ability! Many thanks to netgalley in sending me a gratis copy in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written.....An extremely disappointing read, a confusing and complicated plot and a somewhat preposterous conclusion.

I wanted to love this book but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I just didn’t seem to get into as much as I wanted to and found the storyline disjointed at places, especially in the middle. It’s a shame as it could have been a great book.
I’ve given it 4 stars due to the ending which was very good.

Excellent book with a brilliant storyline and great main characters. I would recommend this book.

This is a hard one for me to review. I was given an advance copy and was excited to dive in.
The story itself was fairly good, although failed to hit the "wow" mark.
The main problem I have is that I had based my excitement of this book on the title and description and I feel I was misled.

The story flits between 2 characters, and I struggled to like or feel anything for either of them. Some aspects of the book are very far fetched or out of the blue but not in shocking "OMG" way.

I'm disappointed because I liked My Husband's Wife, and loved Blood Sisters! However I feel this one unfortunately missed the high bar Jane has set herself.

I have to be honest and say that this book didn't totally do it for me. All the elements of a good thriller were there - the plot, the twists and turns as Vicki struggled to remember what she had done, the sub plots but I found it a bit disjointed. I had no problem with the different storylines alternating between each chapter even though it can be frustrating when you have got deeply into one character and they suddenly move to a different one!. But, for me, I found it was left too late in the book to understand the connections between Scarlet/Helen and Vicki. I also found there were some loose ends. What happened to the child Zelda had in prison? Why did she never discuss that with Scarlet/Helen. I also found that the title of the book didn't fit with the plot in my opinion. Nevertheless I enjoyed the twists and turns and didn't see the twist with Jackie coming at all. If there were half marks I would probably rate this 3.5.