The Wedding Night by Clare Boyd
Genre: Domestic thriller, Domestic drama, Suspense
Read: 4th July 2023
Published: 3rd July 2023
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Whatever doubts I've had about my fiancé, I'm determined this will be the happiest day of my life. I smooth the expensive white silk of my perfect dress and retouch my make-up, trying to cover the dark circles under my eyes. But when I go to find my daughter, her room is empty. My beautiful girl has vanished.
My fiancé William is devastated as I force our guests to leave. My hands are shaking but as I stand amidst the wilting flowers and the discarded champagne glasses, I swear I’ll stop at nothing to find my daughter.
Crying in William’s arms, I try to remember that he just wants what is best for me. Even if Tess has been a difficult teenager, he’s loved her like his own, welcomed us into this beautiful home, the ivy-covered stone house nestled at the end of the tree-lined driveway.
Then my best friend tells me she saw Tess sobbing before the wedding. I thought I’d built a perfect new family for my little girl, but what if I’ve brought her into terrible danger? I remember the guest I only recognised from old photos. William swore it was all in the past. But was he lying?
I think about the unimaginable secret William told me and I swore to keep forever. Could Tess have found out? Will the truth help me find my daughter? Or will it break us all?
A totally unputdownable family drama about the secrets that lurk under the glossy surface of a perfect new life. Perfect for fans of Sally Hepworth, Liane Moriarty and Kerry Fisher.
MY THOUGHTS:
It was the best day of her life...until her daughter went missing...
Firstly, this is not a thriller of any kind so not entirely sure why it is marketed as such. It is more of a drama-slash-suspense. And secondly, I really enjoyed it. More than I thought I would. Although I was on constant edge throughout the story where Hamish was concerned as Boyd had brutally killed off a beloved family dog in a previous book that left me bereft and inconsolable upon finishing. But I am happy to say, Hamish makes is through unscathed with nothing untoward happening to him.
The story begins with a prologue, the promise of a wedding, the beautiful dress, the bluebell woods, a picturesque setting. But something happens to change the bride's course down the aisle of bluebells, and she turns and flees in a panic. This is the only glimpse we get of the wedding until about 70% through the story. Because what precedes, lays the groundwork for what's to come.
Amy and Tess have lived in a two bedroom flat in London for six years since divorcing from Tess' father Nick. But a year ago, she met William online and the two began a slow courtship which has lead to Amy selling their flat and making the move to Surrey to live with him and his teenage son Hal. And on the night after settling in, William pops the question. Amy says yes. She couldn't be happier.
But little by little, Amy begins to uncover a few secrets...beginning with an old baby photo wrapped with an old babygro wrapped lovingly in tissue paper which she found stored in one of the drawers of the old wardrobe. Looking at the photo she assumes the baby is of Hal and, when she presents William with it, he doesn't say otherwise. But trouble begins brewing when she then discovers an old letter from an ex-girlfriend along with some photos of them together. And it seems this ex is still very much in the picture but just how much, Amy isn't sure.
Meanwhile, Tess has settled into her new school alongside Hal and his best friend Rory. She is quick to comeback at Rory's banter which earns her the respect of her peers. It seems she has no trouble adjusting or making friends at the seven grand a term private school, which William happily funds. She gets involved with Hal's friends but she mostly wants to hang out with Rory who she's developed a major crush on. This involves a lot of parties with a lot of drinking and bit of something else going on...exactly what, she's not entirely sure. But as long as she's with Rory she's happy. But soon she and Hal discover that Rory has some even more unsavoury friends which threatens everything she thought she knew about him. And that's not all.
And then Amy and William's big day arrives. Tess and Hal are determined that Rory will not ruin it for them. And just when everyone is in place, the music is playing and William awaits his bride...Tess has disappeared. And Amy will not get married without her daughter by her side. And just when she thought the secrets that have been swirling around them for months couldn't get any worse, her world comes crashing down...
There is so much I could say about this book but to do so would be to spoil it. It is a very long book and it takes quite some time before we actually get to the main event that is outlined in the book's premise. Because while we think it is the story, it's not the whole story. There is so much more which lead up to this point. And quite honestly, as the story progressed I would see exactly where it was going and what was going to happen. So it was no great mystery. But it is long. Sometimes a little too long but it is still a great read.
I do have a few issues though. Besides the obvious in Rory and Sophie. Shoot them both please. These two totally spoilt what should have been a wonderful time for this family. Both of them are self-obsessed and selfish to the core. No, my issue is actually the whole timeline thing. While the story unfolds through the various perspectives of Amy, William, Tess and Hal, there is another one that is in a flashback form dating back to 1990. And then later in the book was the reference to that being twenty four years. But it's thirty four. A big mistake there which should have been picked up. My other issue was that that timeline wasn't entirely clear and appeared at times to be very vague. It was all tied up in the end but I felt it was a little unfinished in that it didn't really pan out clearly.
But overall, it was a compelling drama suspense that had a somewhat happy ending. Of that I was satisfied with. Because if it didn't, it would have felt unfinished. But I liked the ending. My favourite characters were Tess and Hal.
I would like to thank #ClareBoyd, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheWeddingNight in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Before becoming a writer, she enjoyed a career in television, as a researcher in documentaries and then as a script editor in drama at the BBC and Channel Four, where her love of storytelling took hold.
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