Nicole and her husband Brad have arranged a house swap for the summer while Brad is working in London. Brad did not want Nicole to go with him on this trip, but she convinces him to allow her to accompany him to London. She has a list of all the things she wants to do when she arrives in London and Brad is at work. That doesn't happen. First, the London couple never arrive at Nicole and Brad's house in LA, someone breaks into the home where they are staying, and Nicole is threatened by two thugs in a local museum. The trouble does not stop there. The police aren't very helpful and neither is Brad who seems distracted by work so Nicole is left to work out what is happening herself.

This is the classic house swap gone bad. It is also an engaging mystery with plenty of twists and turns, some classic bad guys and a handsome undercover cop. Also plenty of action with kidnappings and explosions as Nicole inadvertently gets mixed up with some very nasty criminals. Unfortunately, this book has a few niggles for me. There is too much happening involving a person who does not know the country at all. She is very naive and tends to believe what she is told by people she doesn't even know. She takes huge chances and travels all over the United Kingdom, being chased and followed. At now time does she go to the U.S. embassy, which pretty much anyone would do when the police do not give you much help. I am looking forward to the next book in this series to see if these things change and become a bit more believable as I really did like this gutsy amateur investigator. I listened to this book and the audio was quite well done. This quote from the author about the narrator says it all, “Jane Oppenheimer narrated my two mystery books for Audible, and I’m thrilled with the results. Not only does she have a beautiful and expressive voice, she’s able to convincingly switch to credible male voices and assume foreign accents. I highly recommend her.” ( )

Read my full review Mystereity Reviews

When Brad Graves is transferred to London temporarily, wife Nicole comes along in an attempt to save her failing marriage. After arranging a house swap with the Lowrys, Nicole and Brad settle in at their temporary home. Soon after, strange things happen and Nicole begins to feel like her life is in danger. After reporting several terrifying incidents to the police, who are are sympathetic but disbelieving, and when the Lowrys don't show up at her LA condo, Nicole begins to investigate on her own and finds herself being drawn deeper and deeper into trouble.

The Swap is the debut novel by the author and I wasn't sure what to expect as I sat down to read it. Once I started it, it was hard to put it down! I read about half of this one evening and then couldn't sleep all night because I was so busy thinking about what was going to happen. I loved the premise of a house swap gone wrong, and there was a mystery on almost every page. This was the kind of thriller that raises the hair on the back of your neck, and it's all too easy to feel Nicole's fear as she's stalked, threatened and accosted by thugs, her anguish over her crumbling marriage, and her betrayal, anger and sadness towards Brad. On the other hand, there were a few times when I wanted to reach in the book and give Nicole a good, hard shake and tell her to wake up. Seriously, girl, your intuition is waaay off! The spectacular conclusion was the perfect way to end the book, a little romance and a lot of action. What more can you ask for?

Overall, The Swap is an excellent 5 star thriller that will keep you turning pages -and looking over your shoulder - right to the very last page.

I was given an advance copy of this book by the author in exchange for my honest review. ( )

2.5 Stars

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

All the reviews I found on this book were super positive, but I was less charmed.

Mostly because I couldn't see how this book was any different from at least a dozen or more books I read before. Nicole swaps her house in California for one in London for the summer to be able to see the real London and accompany her husband, who's working in London. Almost as soon as she arrives, weird things start happening, and why are the Lowrys, whom they switched homes with, not answering their phones...

While it started out quite interesting, near the end it was filled with every cliché ever. The villain really was one dimensional (if he even had a single dimension), and the other bad guys were caricatures. The ending was too dramatic all together (and something I'd seen before already).

Because the start actually wasn't that bad and I could see some real potential (this could have been a really good book but for the turn it took), still 2.5 stars, but I wouldn't really recommend it.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )

The Swap: A Mystery by Nancy Boyarsky is a fun mystery book. It is not quite a cozy mystery but it is also not a suspense or mystery thriller (just a very good mystery). Nicole and Brad Lewis are flying to London for the summer. Brad’s office has sent him across the pond to handle an acquisition. Nicole insisted on going with Brad because she felt that they need the time together, not apart, to work on their marriage. They arranged to swap houses with a couple named Lowry. The Lowry’s would live in the Lewis’ condo in LA while the Lewis lived in the Lowry’s home in Cheswick. Nicole starts having trouble from the moment they land at Heathrow. First she is missing a suitcase, then someone breaks into the house and locks Nicole in the bathroom, and then she is attacked at the museum. This is just the beginning of Nicole’s adventure in the United Kingdom. Nicole is determined to find out what happened to the Lowry’s (who never showed up in LA) and why someone keeps trying to kidnap her. Read The Swap: A Mystery to find out what happens to Nicole and the solution to the mystery! Happy Reading!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Nicole, is an American who will be staying for 3 weeks in a big house in London, not for holidays but to try to save her marriage with Brad. When some frightening things start to happen around her, she only wants to return home and divorce Brad.
Visiting London is one of my favourite pleasures, and staying there for 3 weeks would be my dream. I made a few swap houses in my life, some are better than others of course, but I was never so unlucky like Nicole to end in a house like the Lowry's!
I love reading a book that allows you to make your own plots on your head while you are reading it...
Is Brad behind the bomb explosion? Who are the Lowry's? Why is Alice so frightened? Is Reinhart who he says he is?
And knowing that maybe the author will make a twist on the next page and everything you planned could not be...
I recommend you to follow Nancy Boyarsky books, they are enjoyable everywhere, even so making swap houses! And finding a good mystery with twists and an interesting plot is the best way to start the new year.
So, in your next travel, would you choose a hotel or swapping houses? ( )