I received an e-copy of this book from The publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars

CW: sexual assault, child abuse

Aimee Sinclair is an up and coming actress, having waited years for her big break. She's close to finishing up a film that could mean something great o her but on returning home after a day on set, she realises her husband isn't home but all of these things remain in their usual place. Aimee immediately comes under suspicion for the disappearance of Ben but as police delve further, and Aimee remains tight-lipped about her past, she realises that she may not be the only person in the relationship keeping secrets.

Umm...okay. So I thought this started out very well - it almost felt like Gone Girl in reverse (even though I hate books being compared to Gone Girl, the whole missing spouse, past secrets etc is similar) and I enjoyed how confusing everything was at first and I as a reader couldn't really tell if Aimee was an unreliable narrator or not. I enjoyed the little look into her life on set and as an actress, and I feel like I could have even had more of those scenes.

The flashback sequences were also fairly intriguing to me too as Ciara turns into Aimee and I was waiting for this big twist about that (which didn't come if I'm honest - it felt a bit too easy that the flashbacks were actually Aimee after all).

But the end, wow. Okay, the end just really ran away with itself and it definitely became a big nonsensical and honestly, it was bloody gross. I had guessed early on that that could possibly end up being the 'reveal' but I really prayed it wouldn't be because there was just a height of violation there that was disgusting and just too much. But no, Alice Feeney went there. I really feel like the other person's POVs didn't quite add up as much as I think they could have considering the reveal and I was just genuinely confused and wondering how it could all work so well (for years!).

It's very clearly implied in this book that Aimee has suffered repeated rape (both vaginally and anally) from her husband, and I feel like the trauma of that was never really addressed. I really believe you can't suffer like that without consequence (mentally as well as physically) and while each to their own, I found it a bit odd that Aimee would be so happy to jump into bed with Jack having suffered, seemingly quite brutally, from the hands of Ben days earlier (and not for the first time).

Honestly the ending was just gross and a bit over the top in my opinion, and the more I think about it, the more I feel like it let the whole book now. And to make matters worse, we then find out

Aimee is pregnant with his baby?!?! I mean...not only is the child at full risk of being deformed or suffering sever issues due to ya know, incest, but also the man was clearly extremely mentally ill - and could it be possible a child has inherited that AS WELL as being a product of incest. There's just something, perhaps morally, there that I cannot get over - especially when clearly she's in a good relationship with Jack and could try and conceive again.