My Wife is Missing by DJ Palmer
Published: May 10, 2022
St. Martin’s Press
Pages: 337
Genre: Thriller
KKECReads Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.
D.J. PALMER is the author of numerous critically acclaimed suspense novels. He received his master’s degree from Boston University, and after a career in e-commerce, he shifted gears to writing full time. He lives by the ocean in Massachusetts, where he is working on his current novel. Besides writing, DJ enjoys yoga, songwriting, and family time with his two children and his ever-faithful dog.
While untangling his deceptions might be the key to locating Natalie, Michael knows it could also be his undoing. To find his wife, he must now turn to the one person capable of exposing all that he’s been hiding. Natalie thinks she has Michael all figured out and has hatched a plan to escape from him permanently. One detail, though, threatens to derail her efforts: sleep―or more accurately, the lack of it. Since the moment the shocking revelations about her husband came to light, Natalie’s insomnia has worsened to the point that she now suffers from delusions.
Are her fears about Michael valid―or a symptom of her condition? With her children’s lives at risk, the stakes for Natalie could not be higher. On her own, running low on energy and resources, avoiding increasingly close calls with Michael―who is on the hunt and closing in fast―Natalie needs someone to turn to for help. But who can she trust when she can’t even trust herself?
“And with that, the game got a whole lot more dangerous.”
Michael has a secret, one he has tried very hard to protect. His wife, Natalie, has had severe insomnia, doing her act differently. When Natalie and their children disappear while on vacation, Michael knows he’s racing the clock before something terrible happens- the truth comes to light.
Not since Gone Girl (by Gillian Flynn) have I read a novel that has delivered so many twists that I did not see coming. You will never see what is coming, despite the clues being left along the way.
I loved the imagery, themes, characters, and pacing of this novel. It was all so beautifully curated. The depth of the planning was done brilliantly, and the ending took my breath away.
The characters were well done, and their story arcs were so well played. Michael was such a complex character, and I spent so much of the book trying to decide whether I liked him. Natalie, and her insomnia, were delivered beautifully. You almost feel her slowly descending into madness and turning back at the last moment.
This was a story within a story, within a story. The twists turned, and revelations were terrifyingly shocking. Just when I thought I had, it figured out- surprise! The plot twisted and left me with whiplash.
Palmer did not hold back. This novel plays on your emotions. It tickles your mind and keeps you riveted. I could not put this book down. It starts out at a ten and maintains that level of intensity until the very end.