Brilliantly crafted and sublimely terrifying this read will leave you thrilled and chilled in equal measures.

Devoured in one sitting and still rocked by the ending.

It’s 5 stars from me.

Oh my goodness, what a book! This is a real rollercoaster! So twisty and turny and full of suspense. I genuinely did not see this one coming! A great thriller!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - it grabbed me from the start and didn’t let go. Well written and interesting. Recommended

At first I was not sure if I was going to like this book as it started rather slow. However, about a third of the way through it picked up pace and although I guessed where part of the story was going I still found it really enjoyable.
The story had some nice twists and turns.

A schoolgirl missing for weeks, another missing for decades, and a school teacher-meets-agony aunt stuck in the middle. Who is sending her letters? Are the girls still alive? And why is she herself involved? Dear Amy had all the right ingredients to grab my attention when I first saw it in XXX and now, when I finally got around to reading it. I don't know what's wrong with me but I'd like to apologise to the author and publisher for this severely delayed review. Thanks to Penguin, Michael Joseph, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an hones review.

Margot is a school teacher and an agony aunt; she's also on the edge of a messy divorce. Life is a little fragile, let's put it that way. One of her previous students, Katie, has been missing for weeks, now, as well, and on top of that, Margot begins receiving letters to column from a girl who went missing two decades ago, Bethan. Is this a nasty prank? Is this a killer trying to cause more pain? Or is something else going on? As Margot becomes part of the search for not just Katie but also Bethan, her life starts unraveling more and more and Margot has to come to terms with just how messy everything has gotten. Dear Amy is told mostly from Margot's perspective, but we also get the occasional chapter, including a prologue, from Katie, which really helps to amp up the tension. Margot was a very intriguing main character as Dear Amy really takes its time to build her up for us. We don't get three chapters of exposition on her at the beginning, rather we have to go through the whole book figuring out who she is, what her normal is, etc. While at times her reactions didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, this in and of itself made sense within the novel as we were still getting to know her.

I read Helen Callaghan's Everything is Lies back in 2018 and still have fond memories of the thrill ride that was that novel. That novel very much moved us back and forth between two perspectives, slowly but surely unraveling secrets before a terrible twist. Dear Amy relies on the same structure, largely, which makes complete sense as it is a rock-solid suspense structure. We don't get to see as much of Katie as we do of Margot, but their two storylines intersect nicely to keep the tension going. I would also say that some of the stuff in Katie's story is a lot harder to read as she is in the midst of an abduction. About halfway through Dear Amy I had a pretty good idea that I knew what the main twist would be and I was right, but there were smaller things which I had somehow missed and was still surprised by. As in, small details that probably helped me figure out what was up, but that I hadn't connected individually, if that makes sense. I always enjoy being able to connect the dots and I enjoy it even more if the author can nonetheless surprise me with some extra dots. I once again very much enjoyed reading Helen Callaghan and I will definitely keep an eye out for more books by her.

Dear Amy is a perfectly decent thriller novel with twisty storylines and an interesting hook! While I saw the main twist coming, I still very much enjoyed the way towards it and all that came with it.

I enjoyed this book and thank Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read it.

This is a psychological thriller with plenty of twists and turns. It took me a while to get into it but it definitely improved.

I received this ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Ive posted a full review on Goodreads, I'm looking forward to reading more from this author

Mixed emotions about this book. It started very slow which tends to lose my attention but this book had ‘something’ that kept me going and I’m glad I did. Interesting protagonist in a teacher who also writes an agony aunt column .When she starts to receive letters from a girl who disappeared 20 years earlier the pace finally picked up it was good with lots of twists and turns.
Decent plot but perhaps with better editing advice for this debut novelist it could have been much punchier.
Would read more from Helen Callaghan

This book seems to have created a marmite reaction from what I have personally seen. I fell into the love it side of things personally. This book kept me engaged and wanting to know the outcome. I felt invested in the story and characters and while being a little predictable, was still one heck of a journey. I highly recommend this as just a page turning thriller that will pull you in and leave you wanting to know what happens next. This may not be the most memorable thriller, but it still packs a punch.

An absolute gem of a book! Full of suspense and twists and turns. The first couple of chapters are a little slow to grab the readers attention but preserver and you will be glad you did. FANTASTIC READ!

A thriller.

This was ok, I enjoyed it and would recommend it if…..you don’t mind me telling you these are my thoughts…. it’s a bit slow to start with, I didn’t mind that so much as it was building a story.

If you don’t mind a bit unbelievable things that happen that use you to stretch your imagination.

Not sure if I’ll remember it as I lost some enthusiasm the second half.

I loved the book. I loved the way the story develops and it's a very good psychological thriller full of twists and turns.

I find it a bit slow and did not grip me till about 4 chapter but then I was grip it just a bit slow to start off but you learning about the plot ect characters were good was a ok read not just one I read again but well written

Dear Amy is the story of teacher/advice columnist Margot Lewis. Margot receives a letter from a girl who went missing many years ago. This re-opens the crime files and corresponded to a case of a missing girl - one of Margot’s students - that is currently being investigated. It is a race against time to solve both crimes.

I can honestly say that Dear Amy had me absolutely hooked. The two crimes corresponded so well with each other and the perspective - which is mainly told from Margot’s point of view - cleverly shifts to the victims story which heightens the tension. The drama is also driven by making our protagonist unreliable. Her past influences whether we believe her or not.

Dear Amy is a page turner. You will fight tiredness, chores, work just so you can finish it because it really is that gripping. I am very impressed.

Dear Amy by Helen Callaghan is available now.

For more information regarding Helen Callaghan (@hecallaghan) please visit www.helencallaghan.co.uk.

For more information regarding Penguin (@PenguinUKBooks) please visit www.penguin.co.uk.

A great debut novel, a psychological thriller full of twists and turns.

It's a slow burner to start, but stick with it - it soon turns into a page turner.

A razor-sharp psychological thriller with a great premise. Genuinely didn’t see any of the twists coming and came away feeling quite unsettled (which is for me, a sign of a thriller well written).

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

A very good debut novel. The premise was interesting, a teacher has a second job as a newspaper agony aunt. However it is a debut novel and the pacing was a little slow to start while character and story themes, including some red herrings, were laid out.
The book was enjoyable and Helen Callaghan has created a thriller that delivers a plot twist and a surprise progression through the story.
I look forward to seeing how her work develops.

After a slow start, this book produced a great twist, making the second half much more interesting and it became a very good read. Having thought about it, most of the stuff that was annoying me in the first half was explained by that twist, and so I am happy to give this five stars.