Lucy Mary

The mystery man is Joseph Carter, who doesn't show up to three Valentine's dates. The three women in question, Siobhan, Jane and Miranda are all angry and somewhat flummoxed as to why he hasn't shown up to their dates respectively. As the story unfolds, we go through the POVs of the three women and how they know Joseph Carter and their backstories. 

I can't elaborate too much on the plot of the story as it would give too much away. But let me just say this, have some good tissues on standby, you're going to need them after the 200-page mark. Not many books have made me well up and/or cry in the past, but this one had me in floods. 

The No-Show felt a little different from Beth's previous novels. I don't mean that in a bad way, it just had that sense of not wanting it to end. I thought as I started reading it, that it would be hard to keep up with the perspective of three characters through the book. However, the chapters of each woman aren't too long, making it easier to keep up with and remember where you left off in each individual chapter. 

Abso-bloody-lutely! This is one of (or dare I say her best) books she's written. I warmed to each character straight away, even Joseph. With Joseph, you do get to see his charming nature and at times, his emotional unavailability. With the three leading ladies, I could familiarise myself and relate to each of them in different ways. Siobhan for her strong will and her need to have it all together, Jane for her love of books, self-doubt and naivety and Miranda for independence and for being so headstrong. 

The ending of the book is heartbreaking yet heartwarming. In the last quarter of the book, everything begins to make sense and all three women's stories all link together. The end is linked together beautifully and even though there is a sadness near the end, your heart does get that warm feeling back thanks to Beth's meticulous and poignant writing. 

The plot twist about three-quarters of the way through the book really confounded and slightly confused me. After that, I couldn't put the book down for a single second. I had to know how it ended. It was definitely worth the read and I cannot wait to read Beth's next novel.