3.5* ( )

Ach! This was written in the stifling, suffocating, claustrophobic present tense, which I hate. My heart sank when I started it. Actually, that's not quite true: the story is written from two POVs, Vicki's and Scarlet's, and it is the latter's whose narrative is in the past tense. However, seventy percent is present tense and it just doesn't work.

In spite of that, this is a gripping thriller…thank goodness, as it helped to mollify my present-tense disappointment.

Vicki Goudman is an aromatherapist whose ex-husband goes missing. His current wife sends the police to her home studio, but Vicki doesn't manage to convince them she has nothing to do with his disappearance. As time goes on, the odds are stacking up against her. Trouble is, she's finding it hard to convince herself she's innocent because of her memory lapses.

Scarlet is only eight years old, daughter of single parent, Zelda, who thoughtlessly uses her as her drug mule. Inevitably, Zelda ends up in prison, and Scarlet is swallowed up into the foster-care system, long-term because Zelda keeps tripping up in prison.

Vicki's mission is to get to the bottom of her ex's disappearance. Tanya, Scarlet, Zelda and she are all connected. The 'how' is well handled, and the 'who' keeps you guessing right to the very end. It's absorbing, twisty, the characters lives skilfully interwoven, but neatly wrapped up: present tense is forgiven, this time. ( )

I really enjoyed each of Jane Corry’s books that I’ve read. This one was no different as far as enjoyable but I really struggled at first to figure out which character was who and how they were related to the story. I don’t recall ever having that confusion with her books. Plus, David really is an asshole I don’t understand why all these women are falling all over themselves for him. So basically put a bunch of crazy women and one crazy narcissistic man together and you’ll have this book. ( )

4.5 stars.

The Dead Ex by Jane Corry is an absolutely spellbinding, suspenseful mystery.

Vicki Goudman is currently living along the coast in Penzance where she is getting her aromatherapy business off the ground. However, her quiet life is completely upended when Detective Inspector Gareth Vine and Sergeant Sarah Brown stop by and begin questioning her about her ex-husband, David. They have reason to believe Vicki might be involved in his perplexing disappearance two weeks earlier. Vicki, whose epilepsy sometimes leaves holes in her memory, is emphatic as she denies having seen him since their divorce several years earlier. Will Vicki's story hold up under police scrutiny?

Now in her mid forties, Vicki's life took a drastic turn following her marriage and divorce. She was blindsided and devastated by David's announcement he was in love with his assistant Tanya and wanted a divorce. Despite his callous treatment of her, Vicki still pines for him and she is edging up to stalking him with phone calls and revisiting places where they spent time together. She is very concerned about David's disappearance and she does herself no favors DI Pine with her evasive answers to his questions. Vicki is also less than forthcoming with her lawyer until her situation turns dire and she has no choice but to reveal the truth about her life before and after she married David.

A secondary story arc follows the poignant plight of eight year old Scarlet Darling and her mother Zelda. Scarlet's story begins in 2007 with Zelda manipulating her daughter into participating in very nefarious schemes. After Zelda is arrested, Scarlet is taken into care where her first placement proves to be quite damaging to the vulnerable young girl. Her next set of foster parents are absolutely wonderful but Scarlet's life-long loyalty to Zelda blinds her to truth about her mother's true nature.

A third story line introduces Helen Evans into the mix as she worms her way into David Goudman's orbit in the months preceding his disappearance. She obviously has an agenda as she hooks David then gradually begins reeling him in. But what possible reason could Helen have for inserting herself into his life? Is she somehow involved in what happened to David?

The Dead Ex is an engrossing mystery with a well-executed storyline. Curiosity about how these three very divergent story arcs intersect keep the pages turning at a furious clip. Jane Corry does an absolutely brilliant job keeping readers wondering how these seemingly unconnected women are linked with the events playing out in the present. With stunning twists and jaw-dropping turns, this clever mystery comes to an very thrilling conclusion. I highly recommend this suspenseful tale to fans of the genre.
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The Dead Ex is from author Jane Corry.

Vicki is the main protagonist. She is an unreliable narrator, suffering from a faulty memory amongst other things. And she lies. When the police arrive at her door to question her about her dead husband's disappearance she is stunned. Surely they can't believe that she had anything to do with him or his disappearance. Or could she? What about his current wife Tanya? Scarlet and Zelda's stories are also told concurrently to Vicki's. Zena is a dealer and a con who uses her eight year old in her 'business.'

While I quite enjoy multiple storylines, I felt like this one went back and forth too long. Corry has indeed crafted connections between the two narratives. But I felt she tried to keep the reader guessing too long with much foreshadowing and many, many teasers. When the 'big' reveal came, I found myself underwhelmed. And without providing any spoilers, I had a hard time believing what had been alluded to. Vicki presents as far too scatterbrained and unprofessional to have been employed as she was. And given that background, the way she allows the police to treat her is completely ridiculous. On the flip side, her current health concerns do contribute to memory loss. I felt like I should be on team Vicki - but I couldn't get on board. I just didn't like her or empathize with her. Part Two gives us another female character to consider. And more actions that I had a hard time buying. I persevered and made it the end, but had pretty much lost interest by this point.

I've enjoyed Corry's previous books, but this one fell flat for me. ( )