This book is perfectly fine but I just found it a bit slow and I didn’t warm to any of the characters. The premise sounded so good but I don’t think the book lived up to it; it was less of a psychological thriller than was implied. The ending felt very rushed and just a bit odd.

I read this in two sittings as I just had to find out what had happened to Ash, Leona, and Rosie.
Saffy and Leona have been best friends since teenagers, so when Leona sends Saffy three text messages and then deletes them, she knows something is wrong.
First off, this is a really gripping read. It goes from the present day to flashbacks of what happened to Saffy's sister Poppy and to saffy and Leona's diminishing friendship.
Saffy annoyed me at times. Some of her a tiond belied her age. I thought I was reading about a young twenty something, not a thirty three year old.
I know the author has a licence to write whatever they want, but again, the police would not be able to search someone's property on the grounds of someone who is a person of interest. Also, when Saffy is arrested, on what grounds?
I thought her ex-husband was very unsupportive, especially after the attack on Poppy.
I didn't guess who the perpetrator was until about two-thirds of the way, and then it all started to slot into place.
Would I remain friends with Leona? No.
Overall, it's a good read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Bit of a slow start but started to pick up pace a few chapters in . Not a bad read , well written characters but I felt the ending was a bit of a let down. All in all a good holiday read.

Saffy is on the road to recovery from mental health issues that stemmed from recent events. Her ex-husband, Neil, has custody of their little boy, Fox, but he’s willing to let Saffy gradually have more contact than she currently has. Saffy arrives for a job interview and, whilst waiting in reception, receives three short texts from her best friend, Leona, asking for her help. Saffy knows that Leona’s husband is controlling so she skips the interview to rush to Leona’s house. She then notices that the texts have been deleted and is worried for Leona’s safety. Arriving at her friend’s house, Saffy is puzzled to find that Leona is absolutely fine and has no knowledge of the texts.

Then begins a very clever and gripping storyline, with many twists and turns. I stayed up far later than I should’ve done to finish it because I really couldn’t put it down. Absolutely brilliant!

Thank you to NetGalley, Michael Joseph, and Penguin Random House for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

I have read all this authors books and this one is as good if not better than the previous one.So many twists and turns and leaves you undecided right to the end I really enjoyed it.The main characters Saffy, Poppy and Leona all stood out and it was very difficult to say that one was better than the other If I had to decide I think I would have to go for Saffy she came across as the stronger and just wanted what was best for everyone I was so glad that the ending was so good for everyone even though it kept me guessing Thanks to the author for writing this book and to Net Galley for allowing me to read it.

An author from my local area who discusses places you visit is a joy.
I have only listened to KL Slater on audible prior to this.
The story of Saffy and her complex life driven by life events and caring for those around her,receives athree messages that once she has read them are deleted.
A cry for help from a friend -what shoudl she do.
What follows is a puzzle that slowly unfurls and tests your nerve.
The pages fly by
The chrachters are so well written you will love some,you will hate some and you will champion Saffy.
Brilliant

Wow wow and wow this is the first book by this author and I think I have found another new favourite author to add to my list. This has me gripped from the first page and I practically read it in one sitting and am going to seek out this authors back catalogue for sure.

This was an edge of the seat read that slowly built up to increase the suspense and tension and kept me on the edge of my seat and had lots of twists and turns and gasp out loud moments.

This would make a fabulous tv dramatisation.

Thank you NetGalley and K L Slater; I romped through this book and although I had guessed the main culprit or culprits, I did not piece together all of the bits that would explain why everything happened and how they were linked.
A superb story that kept me intrigued, with characters that you do not warm to, but there is an understanding, which is very relatable.
An exploration of relationships between friends, siblings, partners, husbands, children and how hidden truths can have far reaching impacts on others.

How could I not love a book with the main character being called Saffy 😘 joking aside I did enjoy it and probably would say ( as I keep doing with every book by a fav author ) this is my favourite by that author

Saffy receives worrying short texts alerting her that her best friend Leona is in immediate danger, sent from Leona she has no choice but to dash to her house to help…..however when she gets there Leona denies all knowledge of them

Something is wrong, a bit of a massive understatement as as the story unfolds and multiples there are many many things wrong and a psychological whodunit and whydunit emerges that Saffy could have never imagined in her worst nightmare and she has had a few

A spine tingling opening that really set the scene for what was to come

This author writes a good combo of dark and light into a story and gets the reader to connect quickly with the characters

Another scorchingly good read from this author

I liked this book, but I didn't love it.
There were parts of the plots that were brilliant, and some witty aspects.
But all in all, for me, it lacked that touch of sparkle to make it a great book.
Fans of crime thrillers will probably love it, but it seemed more like a whodunnit than the psychological thriller that it is marketed at, I realise that there is a great deal of crossover between the two sub-genres.
Probably deserved three and a half stars.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book would be a good holiday read.
It definitely kept me guessing until the end and had some good twists and turns.
I did find it hard to warm to Saffy, but the author did a good job in getting across her anxieties and why she was how she was.

The premise sounded good so I was very pleased to be offered a chance to read this thriller. Sad to say it didn't thrill me. The story was so very slow to get going. I very nearly gave up at the prologue. Far too much superfluous, minute detail. I didn't click with any of the characters. It was a bit of a case of, throw everything in from your inventory, something's got to work but sadly it didn't. Stereotype upon stereotype.
In addition there are grammatical errors, formatting errors and something that really gets my goat, American spellings in a UK book by a UK author, That's like nails down a blackboard.
The ending was far fetched and seriously beggared belief. I was extremely disappointed

This book follows the lives and seemingly rocky friendship of Saffy and Leona, childhood friends. When Saffy receives worrying messages from Leona one day, which are swiftly deleted, she rushes to Leona’s aid. But has she done the right thing?

This book drew me in from the start. I’m a big fan of KL Slater and living in Notts, really appreciate that her books are all set in familiar areas.

The book kept me guessing until the very end and kept my interest. Another good read from KL Slater.

Wow just wow gripping story line with lots of twits and turns - took me a day to read this I could not put it down.

The characters had deep emotional ties to each part of the story line, written well can’t wait to read another book by this author will be buying the book once it comes out

I devoured this book in about a day. It was such a page turner with many twists and turns with little parts being drip fed to the reader. It tells the story of Saffy who receives some cryptic messages from her friend. Her friend Leona insists everything is fine when Saffy arrives at the house. Later that day, the police interview Saffy as a person of interest - Leona and her family have disappeared and Saffy is the last person to see him.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

The message has disappeared. So has your best friend.

Saffy is just getting back on her feet after a shocking event years earlier, finally allowed access to her son and a new job on the horizon things are really looking up until she receives three short texts from her best friend. Except the messages disappear and her friend denies sending them, what is Leona not telling her? When Leona, her husband and daughter go missing all eyes are on Saffy. She needs to work fast to protect what she’s worked so hard for and not let the past destroy it again.

I’ve read books by this author before so knew it wouldn’t disappoint and I was right. Great book, kept me totally engaged throughout. Not one of the characters could be trusted which lead to me racing through the book to uncover their secrets. Thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and good luck to the author on its release.

Publication Date - 18/07/2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#MessageDeleted
#KLSlater

I rather enjoyed the whole twists and turns this story took, and the whole story was wrapped up nicely at the end. I was able to work out a few of the twists, which I didn't mind.

One thing that did annoy me with the whole story was how the police officers acted. They were described as being incredibly standoffish, without any pause for thought, and although I know towards the middle and end of the book that they were supposed to be that way, they didn't have to be so aggressive when they were first introduced.

Another thing was that even though the book is set in Nottingham, in the UK, all of the spellings were Americanised, which did actually annoy me a lot.

The book had rather a lot of mistakes and grammatical errors, which I found annoying. There were conversations between two different people that were all in the same paragraph, rather than in separate ones, and at one point, the author called a neighbour 'Fiona' instead of 'Tania'. Some of the spacing for the paragraphs and sentences were also out quite a lot.

This book resonated with me in several ways. I had been a student, living in digs in West Bridgeford, and I, a new user of WhatsApp, had just inadvertently sent a message to the wrong recipient, and was worrying about whether I had been quick enough to delete it! However, there the similarities end. This disappearing message had far greater consequences than mild embarrassment. Saffy seems, to all intents and purposes, a caring, kind friend and sister. How can her good intentions be so gravely misinterpreted? This is an absorbing read, with twists and turns, as well as shocking revelations, throughout. It is so easy to jump to wrong conclusions and ostracise innocent people. There’s no smoke without fire must be one of the most misleading of clichés. All of the characters and well drawn, with strengths and weaknesses that reveal their humanity and frailties. I enjoyed this book very much, as it is more than just a suspense novel. It is also a study of how good people can make foolish errors of judgement that have long lasting consequences. Essentially, though, the theme of forgiveness and second chances lifts it from the ordinary and makes for a thoroughly satisfying read.

Overall I think this book is great. At some parts it does seem repetitive but I assume that's to zone in on the fact that's how it must be for one of the main characters. It's well written, had me constantly turning the pages. It's one of those that has you guessing from the beginning and leads you to thinking you know who's done it and why then suddenly it throws a curve ball at you and sends you in the complete opposite direction. My only fault (which has easily been looked past as once I'd noticed I forgot all about it) is literally one or two spelling mistakes and one part where two characters are mixed up for a second.

This is a book that's right up my ally and if you're into books that have you questioning everything and keep you on the edge or your seat I highly recommend it.

Thank you for the opportunity of reading the ARC of it. I'll probably end up buying the physical copy so I can always come back to it.

I've recently gotten really into thriller books and when I got an email from netgalley advertising this book I found the concept really intriguing. We follow Saffy, who one day gets a couple of messages from her friend asking her to come quickly, but the messages get deleted as Saffy is reading them. When she gets to her friends house the friend acts as though she doesn't know what Saffy is talking about and you sort of assume this is because she is scared of her husband and doesn't want her husband to realise that she's asked for help. Saffy stays for a little while, plays with her friends daughter to make sure she's ok and then heads home. Then the next day the police turn up at her doorstep. Her friend, the husband and the daughter are missing and Saffy was the last person to see them.
Throughout the story we follow Saffy as she becomes a suspect in the disappearance and we see how she tries to clear her name, as well as following a couple of other characters and what they've been getting up to.

Having read a lot of thrillers recently I've learnt not to trust any character and almost every character we come across has a potential motive so for me it wasn't obvious who was responsible which I liked. When we do find out who it was, I appreciated that it was a character that did have a good plot line within the story as I've read other authors in the past were the perpetrator is someone who was barely even mentioned and sort of just appears from nowhere. So this tied everything up neatly and made sense.

I will definitely read more by this author.