Before I Say I Do
A twisty psychological thriller that will grip you from start to finish
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3.4 • 33 Ratings
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
Don't miss YOUR LIFE OR MINE, the new compulsive thriller from must-read author, Vicki Bradley.
'A twisty thriller about the happiest day of your life descending into a nightmare' Claire McGowan, author of The Other Wife
‘As pacy as it is puzzling, you’ll change your mind endlessly about what you think has happened’ Heat
'A deliciously dark and twisted read'Woman magazine
'Will take you on a frantic ride' Sun
'An intense thriller' Bella
HER DREAM WEDDING
IS ABOUT TO BECOME A NIGHTMARE
It’s Julia’s wedding day. Her nerves are to be expected – every bride feels the same – but there’s another layer to her fear, one that she cannot explain to her soon-to-be husband, Mark. She’s never told him the details – and she is determined he never finds out.
As she begins down the aisle, spotting Mark in his tailored suit, she knows she is taking her first steps to happiness – her past is behind her, it can’t catch her now. Mark turns to face her . . .
But it isn’t Mark in the beautiful suit – it’s his best man.
Because Mark is missing.
And Julia’s past is closer than she thinks . . .
A compulsive thriller that blends the twists of a psychological drama with the layers of a police procedural - for fans of Rachel Abbott's Right Behind You, Angela Marsons' Killing Mind, Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll and Now You See Her by Heidi Perks.
What readers are saying about Before I Say I Do . . .
‘Such a joy to read – the authentic police-procedural aspects of this debut were a real plus and I loved the detective duo! If you enjoy a tightly woven plot which oozes suspense and delivers plenty of twists, then this is for you . . . She's definitely an author to watch!’ Sam Carrington, author of I Dare You
'Tense, layered and atmospheric, Bradley’s debut blends expert police procedural elements with a gripping psychological thriller heart and I couldn’t put it down' Fran Dorricott, author of After the Eclipse
'A mind blowing psychological thriller with a jaw dropping ending. Highly recommended' Reader review
'[I] highly recommend it to readers who love unputdownable psychological thrillers' Reader review
Customer Reviews
2* because I finished it
I won’t be reading any more by this author. It just wasn’t for me. I think there was a decent enough storyline, although I’m not sure, but too many things in the book annoyed me.
I detest the overuse of what I suspect are creative writing course gimmicks unless they enhance the story.
This story was told mainly from two viewpoints, one written in the first person, the other in the third person. Some chapters jumped back in time.
Some of us, me definitely included, struggle to remember who’s who in a book. Here it was unnecessarily complicated. In some chapters characters are referred to by their first names while in the chapters told from the police woman’s point of view, surnames are used for everyone. I kept having to look back to work out who was who.
I found all the characters unlikeable so I couldn’t fully engage with the story.
I can’t say too much as I don’t want to spoil the book for more tolerant readers but every so often - too often - something is said or done that is unconvincing, stupid or unrealistic while dialogue often just didn’t ring true. I’m sorry but how many people know that the surname ‘Talbot’ means ‘messenger of destruction’?
In a well constructed plot, I like to be able to guess what’s gone on and why. Several times here I felt the author was deliberately reminding me of clues or having clues pointed out to me in case I hadn’t noticed them. This was annoying.
The book is riddled with grammatical and punctuation errors. How can the publisher let this happen? In the acknowledgements, the brilliant editor is thanked, as is someone else who gave grammatical advice and supposedly checked for errors. Hmmm.
Excellent Debut
This is an excellent debut book into the crime fiction genre. I do think it great when the author has a background in the subject as they know what they're talking about.
The story flows really well and the plot twists kept me guessing and fooled me which is great as I hate to be handed the plot. It was an engaging book that I read quickly as I wanted to see what happened. It could be quite dark in places and was intriguing, who was lying? Where is Mark?
I've been given numerous debut books to review in the past and this is by far the best. I'll be keeping a lookout for further works.