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jes77librarian's review
5.0
Fans of Girl on a Train or Gone Girl will love the pacing of this suspenseful story. It is a story about a marriage and the problems couples face with an incredible twist.
I read this book in an afternoon.
I read this book in an afternoon.
tofufun's review
3.0
It wasn't exactly a thriller or mystery, like I hoped it would be. More of a family study of sorts.
pgchuis's review
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up, as I thought the last third picked up significantly. Lovell and Hannah have a row and then a couple of days later Hannah disappears. The story is told in alternating chapters from Lovell's point of view (as he reports her disappearance, copes with their children, Ethan and Janine, and eventually comes clean (to an extent) about their quarrel) and from Hannah's (as we discover why she disappeared).
I couldn't decide whether this book was meant to be a mystery or a study of a relationship, but for most of the time Lovell went round being obtuse about how his actions affected Hannah and Hannah seemed to be a bit bored and unhappy with herself and her life in a low-level way and it got rather tiresome. Towards the end, however, as things reach a crisis with Janine and Hannah decides too late that her life isn't so dreadful after all, it comes together and makes more sense. I think we are meant to conclude that Hannah married Lovell on the rebound and has never forgiven him for not being Doug. She takes the risks she does with Jamie (and she has plenty of chances to walk (or drive!) away) because she thinks they can recreate the feelings she had with Doug, but of course it all ends badly. I'm not sure what we were meant to do with the backstory of her having been a spoilt trust fund kid and thus unable to view working for a living in a "normal" middle class way...
The strongest strands for me were the reactions of Janine and Ethan to their mother's disappearance and the fears Janine harboured that Lovell might have had something to do with it. These sections were very sad and rang true for me. I especially enjoyed the fact that they hated making the scrap book.
I couldn't decide whether this book was meant to be a mystery or a study of a relationship, but for most of the time Lovell went round being obtuse about how his actions affected Hannah and Hannah seemed to be a bit bored and unhappy with herself and her life in a low-level way and it got rather tiresome. Towards the end, however, as things reach a crisis with Janine and Hannah decides too late that her life isn't so dreadful after all, it comes together and makes more sense. I think we are meant to conclude that Hannah married Lovell on the rebound and has never forgiven him for not being Doug. She takes the risks she does with Jamie (and she has plenty of chances to walk (or drive!) away) because she thinks they can recreate the feelings she had with Doug, but of course it all ends badly. I'm not sure what we were meant to do with the backstory of her having been a spoilt trust fund kid and thus unable to view working for a living in a "normal" middle class way...
The strongest strands for me were the reactions of Janine and Ethan to their mother's disappearance and the fears Janine harboured that Lovell might have had something to do with it. These sections were very sad and rang true for me. I especially enjoyed the fact that they hated making the scrap book.
hannahniles's review
2.0
Hmm well no big surprises in this book. It's exactly what the description tells you, a woman goes missing, the police investigate him a little bit, there's a few leads that come slowly throughout the novel but don't really change the plot much. The majority of the book is him thinking on the course of their relationship and how they ended up unhappy together, along with slowly revealing the course of the wife's day the day she goes missing.
Most of the characters are pretty unrelatable.
Husband: Works in some kind of weather sciency field that most people probably don't understand. Awkward and apparently doesn't have any friends and is not very warm or passionate.
Wife: Grew up spoiled and rich and beautiful, was cheated on by her rich and handsome boyfriend and then ended up marrying Mr. Boring. Works as a florist and does pretty much nothing else.
Daughter: bratty young teenager, fights with her dad about her cutting her hair and hanging out with a gay couple.
Son: Literally has no personality or any real effect on the plot.
I think the point of this book was to examine relationships and how things we do affect our partners. This book is not really about the wife going missing, it's about the way the husband feels about it.
Most of the characters are pretty unrelatable.
Husband: Works in some kind of weather sciency field that most people probably don't understand. Awkward and apparently doesn't have any friends and is not very warm or passionate.
Wife: Grew up spoiled and rich and beautiful, was cheated on by her rich and handsome boyfriend and then ended up marrying Mr. Boring. Works as a florist and does pretty much nothing else.
Daughter: bratty young teenager, fights with her dad about her cutting her hair and hanging out with a gay couple.
Son: Literally has no personality or any real effect on the plot.
I think the point of this book was to examine relationships and how things we do affect our partners. This book is not really about the wife going missing, it's about the way the husband feels about it.
rachel_from_avid_bookshop's review
4.0
THE DAYLIGHT MARRIAGE is a devastating book. Hannah Hall's disappearance affects those she's left in a myriad of ways. The story told is a requiem for a marriage and what years of unsuccessfully communication can do to a love. Full of yearning, this mystery unfolds through a structure that is addictive. I thought about Hannah and Lovell constantly and couldn't wait for the ending. This would be a GREAT read for book clubs and discussion.
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