THE VOW

 4 stars out of 5

This one came on strong at the start, with a frantic Amy trying

to locate her fiance Matt after he disappeared a couple of weeks before their wedding. Not long thereafter, a woman named Fiona reports her lover's disappearance. He was, she claims, about to ditch his fiance and move in with her. As I expected when the second woman turned up, evidence - including photos - prove that the guy reported missing by both is one and the same.

Also about the same time, I got a sense of deja vu; not all that long ago, I recalled reading a different book with a plot about two women claiming the other was lying about "her" man. Please God, I said to myself, don't let this one end the same way. Thankfully, it didn't, but I know my enjoyment of this book was dimmed a bit because my mind couldn't help constantly making comparisons. 

At any rate, each woman claims not to know the other one, and both insist Matt was a loyal, loving partner who would never dream of leaving them in the lurch. But clearly, at least one of them is very wrong. As Amy learns what her daughter and friends really thought of Matt, the chapters shift between the perspectives of the two women and readers learn secrets from their past lives that may be coming back to haunt them. The rest of the book follows their thoughts and actions as well as the police investigation that culminates in a sort of surprise ending (one which, I'm sure, would have turned out differently - and frankly, more to my liking - had the story taken place under the auspices of the U.S. legal system). I also noticed a bit too much repetition, especially as the various characters fill each other in on what's happening.

That said, it's an intriguing, fast-paced story that kept me swiping the pages of my Kindle right to the end - and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

The Vow by Debbie Howells (Avon, October 2020); 368 pp.