This has a very slow build-up and the drama doesn't ramp up until more than half way through. It was very readable and the characters are well-drawn but for me it was a run of the mill family drama. It had no sub-plots to spice it up and it was a bit predictable. There were too many descriptions of food and meals. The ending went a bit too far into melodrama.

I wasn't sure I would like this book but I was very quickly immersed in the world of Connie, a tour guide and Devan, her recently retired g.p husband. Devan ,finding retirement leaves him rudderless, sinks into depression and pulls away from Connie. This is a snapshot of a marriage facing crisis point . A happily married couple finding the shifting parameters of their lives pulling them in opposite directions , both feel resentful of each other and neglected. Connie enjoys her work leading tours around Europe for seven months a year and has no wish to retire while Devan is putting pressure on her to stop working and is inclined to pin his dissatisfaction on her refusal to retire. Feeling rejected and undesirable,Connie sets off on a tour of Italy leading a group which includes the enigmatic Jared. He makes Connie feel desirable and beautiful and she succumbs to his charms. There follows a series of apparently coincidental meetings in various countries where Jared turns up at Connie' s hotel. When Devan gets asked to work part-time at a hospice, it restores his feeling of purpose and good humour and he and Connie determine to rebuild their marriage . However,when Connie attempts to end things with Jared, it's the start of a relentless campaign of stalking and mind games which leads to Connie confessing to Devan . The tension builds to a heart stopping crescendo and without issuing any spoilers , the ending is heart stopping!

I really thought this story looked good. When I started it the first chapter was interesting but as I continued to read the story didn’t make any sense and introduced so many new people who were just extra characters making story so long drawn and disengaging. I had to go look for the synopsis and there is none. I can’t follow the story and it didn’t hold my interest.

After 40 years, Connie and Devan’s marriage is strong. That is until Devan takes early retirement and he expects Connie to retire from her job as a travel guide. As Devan’s mood plummets he pushes Connie away leaving her feeling unloved and unwanted. So when a younger man, Jared, falls for her she can’t resist his advances and they start an affair. But there is more to Jared than meets the eye and Connie is left rueing the day she ever met him.

A compelling domestic drama about betrayal and obsession. A good book from start to finish with a surprising ending.

Read quite a few from Hilary Boyd. This is slightly different in feel to her norm though a good read nonetheless. Always builds up her narratives in layers to unfold her tales showing that things aren’t always what they seem as in life. Thank you netgalley.

A one night stand that turns into something a lot more ominous threatens to destroy one woman’s marriage and everything she hold dear. This was a really good take on the topic of affairs and there potential outcome. A great read!

The best of Hilary Boyd's books yet! I love that she writes for and about the more mature woman and that she shows women over 60 enjoying a fulfilling sex life. Hilary also explores the struggles women often face in trying to adapt to their life as their role as a wife and mother changes over time and women begin to ask themselves what they want from life for themselves.
This book examines how stresses and changes can eat away at long term marriages. Hilary shows how easily an affair can start but how difficult it may be to end it, and it is a thought provoking read about the regrets and consequences that may emerge from it. Really quite tense at times. I will definitely be recommending to my bookshop customers.

I don't think there was anything that I liked about this book.

Devan and Connie are an older couple. He has recently retired as the GP of a small village and she is still working as a travel guide.

Devan is struggling with his new retirement and he and Connie begin to drift apart due to Devan's behaviour.

Connie is the main character and it is while she is away on a work trip that she succumbs to the charm of one of her clients.

She knows that she has done the wrong thing by cheating on Devan and when she returns home from another trip, Devan tries to make amends but Connie is very confused.

She has made the decision to stop seeing the other fella and does her best to concentrate on her marriage.

Then someone new moves into the village. . . .

I read this book over two days, well into the night. Connie McCabe is married to Devan a retired GP they live in a small village on the Somerset Levels. Devan has recently retired from a very busy practice. He not enjoying retirement at all he feels Connie a Railway Tour Manager should retire as well to keep him company. In fact Devan is depressed and moody. Connie takes one of her tours to Italy two of the passengers in the group are an elderly lady and her godson. They seem nice people and one evening Connie has dinner with them. This is something she does every night on tour, each night with different passengers. Then events change. Read on, this is certainly worth reading especially for Hilary Boyd fans.

My first read by Hilary Boyd and it certainly will not be my last!

Not your typical thriller but the story drew me in from the very first page and absorbed me that I actually finished this book over the weekend.

The book focuses on a married couple - Devon & Connie who's lives are about to be turned upside down. Devon has recently retired from being the local GP and is not handling retirement well especially when Connie's job takes her abroad for periods of time leaving him alone with his thoughts.

The plot is character driven, with the main character being Connie. You can feel the emotions she would experience as the story begins to unravel. It is written in a wonderful way you can sense when shes scared, upset and it keeps you gripped wanting to read on to find out whats next.

The story itself touches on two main themes. The first one being that no matter how long you can be with someone or married to someone people can drift apart without even knowing and secondly it ran with the theme of obsession but not your every day obsessive behavior but how the same event can be different to different people.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A well written read that was full of twists and turns that kept you gripped right until the very end.

Another fantastic read from Hilary Boyd. Read this book in a day as I was so absorbed in the story. And it was refreshing to read about a couple hitting retirement rather than the usual younger couples. Excellent.

Not your normal thriller but loved reading it. The fact Devon is unhappy at home which in turns make Connie unhappy and seek happiness and companionship elsewhere. Loved all the places that are travelled to and described.

Connie and Devan have had a long and happy marriage - until he retires from his medical practice. He hasn’t planned well for retirement and he slowly falls into a depression, avoiding all things Connie. Shared meals, conversation, sex and the like. Meanwhile Connie has come into her own. She’s a confident, attractive woman with what seems like a dream job. For seven months of the year, she leads several train tours a month to different British and European locations. Devan has begun to criticize her absence and wants her to retire.

It is with that on her mind that she guides a tour to Lake Como and that it what is on her mind when, after a tourist must suddenly return to their hotel, she finds herself alone with Jared, the godson of one of her charges. He’s younger, handsome and very flirtatious. And Connie is vulnerable. After a brief affair, Connie returns home to work on her marriage. The affair is over. Or is it?

The Affair, a thought provoking domestic thriller, has several themes. The first is a long look at marriage, about how relationships change over the years and how important love and trust are. The second is obsession and how an event is seen by different people. The plot is character driven. Connie is the strongest and best described. You’ll feel her panic as the story unfolds. The tension builds to a sad, shocking ending. 5 stars.

Thank yo to NetGalley, Penguin Michael Joseph UK and Hilary Boyd for this ARC.

Deeply creepy tale of obsession, stalking and train travel tours. Refreshing to see the intricacies of an older couple’s relationship being explored.

I found this a wonderfully addictive read. Connie’s GP husband, Devan, has retired and is miserable. Connie becomes increasingly unhappy in their marriage but loves her job as a tour manager, which Devan seems to resent. Onto the scene comes Jared, who falls in love with Connie. There’s plenty to think about in this novel and it is an honest and realistic exploration of the feelings of a couple in a long marriage. I felt sorry for both Connie and Devan and desperately wanted there to be a happy ending. I felt as though I knew them! There’s so much to enjoy in this book, including Connie’s friendships and beautiful descriptions of her travels. I love Hilary Boyd’s easy, flowing writing style. The novel is so addictive, I read late into the night until my eyes hurt and finished it the next morning. It’s a fast-paced, gripping read. Definitely five stars!

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

This book is far more women’s melodrama than psychological thriller - Although there is the stalker subplot, it was not thrilling. The husband spends the first third of the book being so awful, you cannot in anyway judge the protagonist for her night of passion, in fact it reads more like a woman in an abusive marriage taking steps to get out. Even though as soon as the affair occurs the husband somehow goes from being a controlling emotional abuser to the perfect man overnight, I still thought she was probably better off with the stalker all things considered. Yes, the scary stalker much better than it has been showed himself to be for the entire first third of the book. Normally I have empathy for women in the situations but I spent most of this book wanting to scream at the protagonist to get the hell out of Dodge, move to Italy, and chase her dreams

A soap opera of a book

The affair explores when marriages struggle, an extramarital affair, being stalked, and what obsession can do to you and ultimately the price you pay!
Connie and Devan are a late middle aged couple, Devan has retired from his role as a GP whilst Connie still works as a tour manager often away travelling. Retirement isn’t living up to expectations for Devan and he becomes depressed and resentful of Connies time away leading to tension, ill feeling and lack of affection. Whilst away Connie succumbs to the charms of one of her guests and finds herself on a journey of guilt, pleasure, pain and regrets as she is torn between doing the right thing and the excitement and lust of an affair! Whilst having no idea what depths her lover would sink to in order to get what he wants! Tense twisty and a surprising ending!
Thank you netgalley for this early read.

#TheAffair #NetGalley
Hilary is the queen of psychological thrillers.
Connie and her GP husband Devan have led a charmed life since they married in their twenties. Forty years on they are the couple their whole village envies. Life isn't quite so rosy just now with Devan struggling to adjust to early retirement, but Connie hopes that getting away for a few weeks through her job as a European tour manager will help.
But on one of her favourite tours, to Lake Como, it is clear one of her guests is falling for her. She resists, but Jared somehow gets under her skin, until she's intoxicated and doing the unthinkable: breaking the marriage vows she's always held so dear. But she tells herself the affair is not serious, it will end when the season does. And Devan will never find out.
The world of toxic relationships, obsession and betrayal is explored in this novel which makes it a perfect novel in every way.
Characters were captivating. Narration was engaging. The ending was breath taking.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK Michael Joseph for giving me an advanced copy.