Wednesday 25 March 2015

His Other Life by Beth Thomas


What They Say:

His Other Life is a cleverly plotted, suspense-filled page-turner that makes you think but puts a smile on your face at the same time.

The story of a couple with seemingly perfect lives…and the secrets they hide behind closed doors.

On paper, Grace’s new husband Adam was the perfect package. Good looking, good job, charming –some would say out of her league. So when he disappears from her life one evening, Grace has a lot of questions. As she tries to track him down, Grace opens a Pandora’s Box of secrets and lies and soon troubling stories about Adam’s past emerge; stories she finds hard to square with the man she married. Was marrying Adam the biggest mistake Grace has ever made?


What I Say:

I would like to thank Avon Publishing for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

When we first meet Grace she has it all a husband and a house, but she isn't happy and is convinced Adam is hiding something from her.  Adam receives a mysterious phone call and begins to act strangely, he goes out for a take away and disappears. This is not surprising as he doesn't let Grace open post, look in his wardrobe and even chose the clothes that she wore.

I would say the book is more chick lit than thriller, as Grace and her friends boyfriend Matt go in search of Adam and his secrets.  I really liked Matt from the first time the author introduced him, he was so helpful with Grace and patient.  

Adam I really didn't like, he sounded really controlling.  At times I had little sympathy for Grace, as she is the main character isn't great.  I really wanted to shake her up but I sense deep down she let Adam get away with how is was because her self esteem wasn't great.  She didn't realise how much Matt like her/  My favourite character is Grace's best friend Ginge, shes full of fun and turns up in some really crazy outfits.

All in all the book is a great chick lit story, especially as the relationship between Matt and Grace builds.  I was disappointed in the Adam story line and felt so much more could have been made of this.


4 out of 5 stars

What Sarah Says:

This was a fabulous story.  I really enjoyed it and couldn’t put it down.  It wasn’t what I expected and it kept you guessing until almost the very end.  It didn’t turn out quite how I thought it would but it didn’t disappoint.

I connected with Grace the main character so much in fact I thought she was almost a clone of me.  The story was written so well and for me true to life like how Grace acts with the police, questioning whether she is acting like a guilty person even when she isn’t necessarily the suspect….do I look guilty?....she is making a mental note in her notebook…..is this how I should be acting?  I have had the police call to my house because my car broke down and was abandoned by the road…..did nothing wrong still felt like I had done something wrong and was I acting suspiciously.  I completely believed everything Grace was going through and how she felt.

The story wasn’t as predictable as I thought it was going to be and had me feeling all the highs and lows with the characters.  I tried to guess each time another clue came along what was going to happen and changed my mind all the time.  Until the obvious clues were given I didn’t get it right and it kept me in suspense until the very end.

I can not wait to read more by this author and I would highly recommend this book and author.

4 out of 5 stars

About the Author

Having just read a sample biography, it seems that it's a good idea to insert details of your Booker and Pulitzer prizes on here. Which makes me think maybe I should leave it a while before I write this...

But who am I kidding? I like writing humorous observations on life and love, and that kind of thing never wins prizes. Although I think it definitely should. If it makes people feel good, then it's the same as penicillin, isn't it? And that stuff did pretty well.

I've always enjoyed writing, since I first held a pencil, in fact. No, really. My first novel to be published, 'Carry You', will be out this April - exactly forty years after I wrote my first book in 1974. I was six and the story was about a strange person in a strange land, coping with prejudice and fitting in. It sounds more complex than it is, but I was - and am - proud of it. I wrote short stories for many years but they weren't terribly satisfying. It was only once I had discovered the joy and pain of writing a novel that I knew I had found my niche at last, which is a fantastic feeling. I thoroughly recommend that if you haven't already got a niche, you should definitely get one.

'Carry You' draws heavily from my experience of walking the Moonwalk, so if you want to know more about what that is, you should definitely read it. It will make you laugh and cry, then laugh again, and probably smile a fair bit in between. Eat my dust, penicillin.

Follow me on Twitter @BethThomas68





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