The moment Joanna told me she was engaged, I had this awful feeling that something was wrong.
We used to speak on the phone every day. Growing up I spent more time at her house than I did at my own. I’d always imagined what it would be like to see her get married, and now I didn’t even know her fiancé’s name.
She asked me to come and meet Mark and I intended to tell her to slow down. You can’t … down. You can’t know someone for a month and be sure that you want to spend the rest of your lives together.
When I got to Joanna’s front door, only Mark was there. He was charming and gorgeous and nothing but nice to me, and I started to understand.
And then he told me that Joanna was missing.
The Bride is a twisty, unputdownable psychological thriller that will have you reading until late at night. Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl and anything by Lisa Jewell.
What readers are saying about The Bride:
‘Wow oh wow!! I didn’t expect to finish this book in just one sitting. I completely and utterly flew through it. This is definitely one of those books which you can’t put down because you just have to know what was going to happen next.’ Little Miss Book Lover 87, 5 stars
‘The hairs on the back of my neck prickled constantly and I felt uneasy and that’s what a thriller should do to you!… A very bumpy and bendy ride with surprises behind every turn.’ B is for Book Review
‘Unbelievable! Loved this book. This one blew all the others like it away! Had me flying through the pages to find out what happened.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘Tense, chilling, a missing bride, a twisty turning story. A book that kept me reading late into the night.’ Goodreads reviewer
‘Ah, what an amazing thriller! I couldn’t put this one down! I was up reading waaaay too late on work nights to find out what happened… Tons of twists and turns (just how I like it), and the ending? AHH!’ Goodreads reviewer
‘This suspenseful, chilling, creepy, eerie, scary page-turner kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.’ Goodreads reviewer
‘What can I say but wow. Such a brilliant book full of suspense twists and turns on every page. Kept you doubting yourself. So good I read it in one day.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘My goodness… I was gripped from the first page… My eyes are still wide with surprise and shock and I think I just love it!… Definite five stars from me!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
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First, I want to thank Wendy Clarke, Bookouture and NetGalley for this book so I may bring you this review!
WOW!!! Wendy Clarke blew me away with her must read latest book The Bride. She wrote an incredibly twisted book that had so many shock value moments.
This is the type of book that plays in your head like a blockbuster movie. Infact, I would love to see this on Netflix or Lifetime. It was incredibly fast paced, lots of twists and turns, huge secrets kept from a lot of people, lots of mystery/suspense involved, and shocking moments that will just blow you away!!
I was not a fan of Derek by any means. What he did to Alice was uncalled for! Books like these make me glad that I am single.
The question that played out in my mind most of the book was where was Joanne? Alice was put in a very awkward position throughout this book. My heart went out to her for many reasons. But the main question is how well do we know someone?
Alice and Joanna met when they were in boarding school. Joanna saw how nervous Alice was so she took her by the arm and they became best friends for many years. Alice came from poor parents and Johanna came from wealthy ones. Years later, something happened that pulled them apart from one another.
Ten years later, Joanna texts Alice that she is going to get married and wants her to come and help her plan the wedding. This comes at a good time because Alice has just lost her teaching job because her school closed. In addition, her long time fiancé has admitted to having a girlfriend who is now pregnant.
When Alice arrives in the new development where Joanna lives, she is shocked that it is in the middle of a decrepit neighborhood with only a few residents living there. Evidently, the development simply did not take off. She meets Mark, Joanna’s fiancé who says she has gone to a class somewhere and should be back in a couple of days. He insists that Alice stay in their guest room. Mark is the developer along with the monetary help of Joanna’s parents. After a few days pass, Mark tells Alice that Joanna is missing. Where could her old friend be? Did something happen to her?
As the next few days pass, Alice, who is a nervous person anyway, becomes even more spooked at the emptiness of the building and, having left her phone charger at home, is unable to contact anyone. What is going on here?
The scariness of the whole event is enough to set Alice off and she becomes very frightened, but Mark tries to calm her with his explanations of what could have happened to Joanna. Is he telling the truth or is something more sinister at work here?
I felt that Alice was a total twit with so many hangups I wondered how she found herself able to even get up in the morning. While there are some good twists here, there are also some things that did not make sense and I wondered if the author forgot to connect the dots sometimes. However, I’m sure readers will enjoy this book.
Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I look at this book as in three sections, each with its distinct trajectory but all connected. One cannot happen without the others. By the time you get to the last third, get ready to hold on, because it really gets twisty. It went in directions I totally didn’t expect. The author does a fantastic job of building both atmosphere and character development. I was intrigued and read it in one sitting. Highly recommend. For a full review, please visit Fireflies and Free Kicks. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital ARC of this book.
Thank you Netgalley and Bookoture for an ARC of The Bride. The review and comments are my honest opinion.
Alice has received a text from her former best friend, Joanna, to come for a visit to meet her fiancé. When Alice arrives she finds a distraught fiancée and Joanna is not there.
I felt that as the story continued Alice was naive and easily manipulated to the point that the story became unbelievable.
This book was not as I expected from the description. But as I indicated above, the review is my honest opinion.
I had high hopes for The Bride by Wendy Clarke, unfortunately I was just not feeling it. The story was slow through most of the book and when it did pick up, it was all very predictable. A weak minded character (Alice), and her narcissistic “Best Friend” Joanna left a lot to be desired. This one is a pass for me.
Thank you to Netgallery for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. All opinions are my own.
Joanna and Alice were best friends from way back in school but had not seen each other for 10 years. Joanna contacted Alice and told her she was marrying a man she had only known for a month, which made Alice very uneasy. Alice’s fiance’ dumps her for another and she decides to go visit Joanna and meet her fiance’, Mark, at Joanna’s invitation. When she gets to their apartment, Joanna is not there. Joanna and Mark’s apartment is in an old abandoned warehouse in a rundown part of town that has been renovated and made into apartments, but there is only one other tenant in the building. What could go wrong in a setting like this??? This suspenseful, chilling, creepy, eerie, scary page-turner kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. I did enjoy this book but I found it a little confusing at times and I got tired of Alice. Overall, it is a good quick read. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this very interesting and suspenseful book.