Jane Corry does it again with The Dead Ex. One of my favourite thrillers of the year and a total must read for fans of the genre.




One man's disappearance throws four women's lives into chaos--who will survive?

Vicki works as an aromatherapist, healing her clients out of her home studio with her special blends of essential oils. She's just finishing a session when the police arrive on her doorstep--her ex-husband David has gone missing. Vicki insists she last saw him years ago when they divorced, but the police clearly don't believe her. And her memory's hardly reliable--what if she did have something to do with it?

Meanwhile, Scarlet and her mother Zelda are down on their luck, and at eight years old, Scarlet's not old enough to know that the "game" her mother forces her to play is really just a twisted name for dealing drugs. Soon, Zelda is caught, and Scarlet is forced into years of foster care--an experience that will shape the rest of her life . . .

David's new wife, Tanya, is the one who reported him missing, but what really happened on the night of David's disappearance? And how can Vicki prove her innocence, when she's not even sure of it herself? The answer lies in the connection among these four women--and the one person they can't escape.



Another day, another fantastic thriller. It goes without saying that Jane Corry is a phenomenal voice in modern thrillers and definitely shaping up to be one of the leading names in the genre. One of the things that drew me to The Dead Ex instantly, aside from name and synopsis, was the promise of an unreliable narration. And boy, did Jane Corry deliver.

While navigating multiple POV's can be tricky, The Dead Ex is one of the few that manages to do so gracefully. With time, you see just how each ties into the other and it's entirely enthralling when it all begins to click. The Dead Ex lulls us into a gray area between false comfort and downright tension, before pulling out the rug from underneath us and leaving us puzzled in the best possible way.

Corry relies heavily on psychological thrillers/horrors for The Dead Ex and it pays off beautifully by creating something so captivating. Where many of her contemporaries struggle to deliver consistent twists and turns, and satisfying endings, Corry succeeds to the highest degree. Not only is her prose dark and intriguing, her storytelling skills have just the right amount of draw to them. You have no choice but to continue reading.

The Dead Ex had this nauseatingly addictive habit of confusing me but still keeping a firm hold on my attention throughout the many questions. Riveting and complex, the way that The Dead Ex unravels is surprising, complex and full of so much energy I can still find my mind wandering back to the story. 

In order to successfully write a thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats, you have to find that balance of darkened mystery and character driven arcs--you have to have these qualities to truly grip readers. Corry is definitely one of those authors. The Dead Ex is, without a doubt, one of those books.