What a great book!! How complex are peoples lives & how we really don't know our close friends that well! Leigh meets & marries Mark, a widower with two sons. Life looks good & everything is going well, or so it seems. Things take a turn for the worst & she finds herself changed to a radiator in a room being held captive. So many twists & turns in this book that I loved. It grips you from the begining & takes you to places that you do not expect. Another great book by Amanda Prowse.

Well, I thought I knew what an Adele Parks book would involve but I was left speechless more than once by this.

Both Of You tells the story of two missing women, vanished without a trace and leaving their husbands behind. What links them and their disappearances? And why?

I really don’t feel I can give more details without giving clues away! I will say that this book is Adele’s best yet and one part in particular literally took my breath away! Would highly recommend this title.

Leigh Fletcher, a devoted wife and mum goes missing on the same day as Kai Janssen. DC Clements investigates the two cases to see if they are connected.

My first book from the author, Adele Parks, I was very excited to get stuck into this one. Sadly, I just couldn’t get to grips with it.

The book is set in London in March 2020, with reference to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While I appreciate the book is talking about real issues, I read for escapism and the reminder of coronavirus put me off straight away. This is just a personal opinion and it is unlikely to bother the majority of people.

The writing was fast-paced and enjoyable, but I couldn’t warm to any of the characters in the book.

I am hoping to return to this title in the future and my opinion of this novel hasn’t put me off Parks’ other books as I really enjoyed her writing style.

I read this book in a day, I loved it but didn't see the twists and turns coming!!

Leigh a working mother and wife goes missing, on the other side of town Kai the wife of a,Dutch millionaire goes missing. Nothing in either of their world's suggest they were anything but happy and so it is a complete mystery as to why they have just vanishec. Dc Clements takes on both cases as she feels they are somehow connected. One of the twists is that they are but not in the way you would normally th ink.

Many thanks to Net galley and HE for giving me the opportunity to read this novel. I feel it would be gre at turned into a tv drama!!! Sunday night viewing.

I usually really enjoy Adele Parks style of writing but this book, her latest has me with mixed feelings.

The story is good but slow, language a little over the top and explicit sex scenes.

This book definitely draws you in and I was completely blindslighted by one of the twists, I really didn’t see it coming although looking back the hints were all there. It was a good read and I found it hard to put down although I can’t say I found many of the characters particularly likeable. I think the author does a good job of giving you an insight in the characters mindset, I found that the varying characters viewpoints works well with this book, sometimes it can feel a little confusing but this wasn’t at all and it does give you a good insight. The ending wasn’t my cup of tea, I prefer things more wrapped up but that’s personal preference and I can see how it works well for the story. All in all it is a good read and certainly keeps you guessing.

Thank you to @adeleparks and @HQstories for this advanced copy of Both of You in return for an honest review. Both of You is due to be published on 27th May 2021 and you can get a copy here.

Description 🔖

Two women are reported missing in the same week. Leigh Fletcher is happily married with two great stepsons and has left behind a distraught family, worried about her whereabouts. She seemingly went to work one day and never came back. Kai Janssen is also married, but without children. She and her husband are very happy, very much in love and very wealthy but Kai has vanished from their glamorous life without so much as a note.

DC Clements is investigating both missing persons reports. These aren’t unusual cases and people often decide to up and leave what can appear to be a happy home life. But there is something that doesn’t quite sit right with DC Clements and so she pushes the investigation forward to find out the truth.

General Thoughts 🤔

Oooooh this book was a goody. It didn’t take me very long to become ridiculously invested in the story and I was flying through each chapter. There were so many options in my mind about what happened to each woman, but every now and again a small piece of information would be dropped in that would throw me off the scent and doubt my guesses.

There’s a pretty big reveal quite early on in the book that I definitely won’t share but it takes the book in a direction that I really did not see coming. At first I didn’t quite believe it as something that would be possible but the more detail I was given, the more I started to realise that this really could happen and I was dumbfounded.

Characters 👭👫👬

I really enjoyed the different characters in this story and I was on the edge of my seat waiting for their worlds to collide with one another. Mark (Leigh’s husband) seemed like such a loving, down to Earth husband but there were moments when I questioned his integrity. I really wasn’t sure whether he had married Leigh because he was in love with her or because his children were. Daan (Kai’s husband) was quite obviously a heart throb and extremely rich but I never sensed arrogance from him. I got the feeling that he was caught off guard when Kai came into his life and fell head over heels quite unexpectedly.

Writing Style ✍️

I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I have never read an Adele Parks book before. I have obviously seen her books and they have piqued my interest, but I’ve just never gotten around to picking one up. I’m pleased to say that I will definitely be going back and adding her other work to my to read list.

I loved her writing style. The pace and tension build throughout the whole book was perfect. I loved that every chapter was written from the point of view of a different character. It only added to my suspicions about everyone.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖️

I’m so glad I was given the opportunity to read this book and to be introduced to Adele Parks. I always know when a book has really gripped me as I waffle on telling my partner about it as I’m reading it (much to his annoyance I’m sure) and I did not shut up whilst I was reading this. I can’t wait to read more Adele Parks and I will definitely be sticking Both of You onto my “books to recommend” list.

Leigh, a young mother goes missing. Across town Kai, wife of a wealthy Dutch businessman, also goes missing. DC Clements takes on both cases and soon realises that the two women are one and the same, living a double life. Is one of the two husbands the abductor? or someone else close to her? The plot progresses and if anything widens the field of possible perpetrators. It keeps you guessing for a long time before coming to a dark conclusion. Adele Parks at her best - which is very good.

Both of you by Adele Parks
Surprisingly I didn’t love this as I usually do with Adele’s books. The plot was good but the characters were hard to like! I detest crude language and explicit sex scenes so that spoiled the book massively for me. Otherwise the red herrings were relatively well played and the ending distinctly shocking and dissatisfying - but in a very credible way. My rating of three stars is very personal based on the above factors but you might rate it higher if these don’t bother you. Adele can spin a great suspense mystery without resorting to this level in my opinion. Just too unnecessarily crude overall for me and the reactions of Daan and Mark were bizarre in the extreme. Not my favourite but, to be fair, it still was quite a gripping storyline.

Really enjoyed this little thriller of a book although I did work out who was responsible about half way through. It’s a really interesting take on double lives and I really enjoyed the characters and narrative of this story and read it in one sitting.

I enjoyed this book, I found the characters very relatable and I liked the way the plot unfolded but I was somewhat disappointed with the ending for some reason.

Many thanks to netgalley and Adele Parks for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

Both of you is an interesting fictional read on a woman leading a double life. Leigh or Kai -depending of the husband - is a likeable character, despite her actions and there was lots of intrigue as to who had kidnapped her once her double live came to light. I did feel that the story dragged in parts though and the discovery that it was her best friend that had kidnapped her slightly disappointing. Once the police discover where Leigh had been hidden, there is no communication with the husband’s either which felt strange. I am certainly glad I read it but would say I left feeling dissatisfied.

I must say the book was written very well and the premise for the story was good, but for me, it fell flat. I found the first part of this story rather slow with a tedious monologue that wasn't needed in my opinion. However, the story defiantly picked up from the halfway point which kept my interest until the book finished.

This story was set just as the UK went into lockdown in March 2021, which was a good setting as it added slightly to the atmosphere of the story. Unfortunately, I didn't particularly like any of the characters and found it hard to gel with them. I thought that with two women going missing under suspicious circumstances in the same week the police involvement was minimal which didn't sit right with me at all. I enjoyed DC Clements involvement and her character, it was such a shame she had so little participation in the story.

What could have been a fast-paced thriller with plenty of excitement and anticipation just quite reached its full potential, much to my disappointment. This book just wasn't for me. It was well written but it lacked everything a good thriller should have, in my opinion.

Praise to Adele Parks! A great thriller with so many twists and turns to keep us guessing I couldn’t put this book down! I just had to keep on reading to find out what happened! Loved it from start to finish!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy in return for an honest review.

My thanks to NetGalley and H Q for a copy of “ Both Of You “ for an honest review.

Another captivating read by Adele Parks . I especially enjoyed the fact that the pandemic was incorporated into the story.I must be honest that I had guessed the ending , although I had changed my mind a couple of times..As every good psychological novel should make you do .
Perhaps I’m getting prudish in my old age but I did find the sex scenes a little unnecessary.
For me ,not her best book, as the standard of her previous books has been so high ,but still a definite recommendation from me.

Oh my life this book was amazing!!!!! I have never been so gripped by a book before!!!! The plot was incredible and so so clever and quite honestly, I have no nails left from being so scared!!! Adele Parks at her finest!!!

A good thriller with a couple of twists in the story. Mark's wife, Leigh, goes missing , though this is not immediately apparent because she works away for half of the week. Slightly later in the book, Daan's wife also disappears. The police discover that she too is away for part of the week looking after her ageing mother.
I liked the build up of suspense in this book, the terror and confusion felt by the captive and the descriptions of family/married life. Leigh's friend helps support Mark through the time of his wife's disappearance, helping with his sons and with the running of the household.
The slightly weak point of this book was the police involved in the investigation. There is no discussion of leads in the case or interviews and the fact that the policewoman has to deal with discriminatory attitudes from her colleagues seemed to be added into the story without an obvious reason.
Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A chilling roller coaster of a book and real page turner. A little slow to start, especially as the beginning is rather dark and intense, plus jumps about but soon settles into a tremendous psychological thriller Written from several of the character's perspective it is a strong complex plot. Many twists and turns with plenty of red herrings along the way with an unexpected ending despite suspicions. Interesting diverse characters set very loosely against the start of the pandemic but not as much as I thought as there would be. Definitely worth a read but be prepared to be shocked in some of the darker phases.

My thanks to NetGalley and HQ for this advance copy.

This is my first Adele Parks novel and on feedback from reviewers I felt it worth a read. Many writers have taken the opportunity of the Covid19 pandemic lockdown to pen new novels, some with resounding success, others not so. Sadly this for me was one of the latter.

The switching between time zones irritated me, as I favour novels that move in one forward direction. The synopsis hinted at the story so, despite a number of twists, there were no real surprises to this novel as there were so few players. I found the story somewhat tedious, particularly as it was not until the second half that it picked up the pace. To the writers credit, the novel is well written and planned with a variety of complex characters revealing their inner depths of deceit, lies and schemings.

I do enjoy a good Adele Parks book, so was thrilled to get my hands on a copy of Both Of Them, a psychological thriller that sounded intriguing.
Two women, two disappearances, two husbands confused.
Leigh Fletcher is a happy woman, step-mum to two lovely boys and wife to a gorgeous husband. Do they have ups and downs? Sure they do. But nothing major.
Kai Janssen is another blissfully happy woman. Married to a rich man who desires her completely, and surrounded by luxury, she wants for nothing.
Then one day, they both disappear.
The story follows the mysterious disappearance of both women, told from the viewpoints of various characters from the book, including both husbands, Leigh's eldest stepson, the investigating DC, and her best friend Fiona. Information is drip-fed in a way that makes you want to keep turning the pages until you find out what has happened to them both.
I can't really say much more, because I don't want to give anything away, but once you get into it, this book is extremely hard to put down again.
Did I guess what the ending would be? Well, I'd be lying if I said yes, straight out. I had my suspicions, then they got sent awry as I was led down other paths...
Very good.
Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.