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The Life She Had
A pulse-pounding new thriller from the bestselling author of Wherever She Goes and Every Step She Takes.
If someone was threatening your home, how far would you go to protect it?
Celeste Turner has a woman living in her shed. A woman who is definitely not supposed to be there. The local police, however, are ill-inclined to help. Celeste is a newcomer to a region of rural Florida. It doesn't matter that her family is originally from the area or that she returned to nurse her dying grandmother. All the locals see is a city girl who swooped in to secure her inheritance . . . a rundown house in need of extensive repairs. Celeste needs her new life to work, and this woman is a threat to that.
Then she meets her. To her surprise, she finds out that Daisy is polite and friendly; a backpacker who is just making her way through the area. Quickly, Celeste begins an unlikely and beneficial friendship with Daisy--she can't help herself and, besides, Daisy will be moving on to her next stop soon. Why not take advantage of the extra help?
Both women have secrets they want to keep buried, and when a body is discovered in the glades near Celeste's house, they must move quickly to prove their innocence and protect the lives they've built for themselves.
If someone was threatening your home, how far would you go to protect it?
Celeste Turner has a woman living in her shed. A woman who is definitely not supposed to be there. The local police, however, are ill-inclined to help. Celeste is a newcomer to a region of rural Florida. It doesn't matter that her family is originally from the area or that she returned to nurse her dying grandmother. All the locals see is a city girl who swooped in to secure her inheritance . . . a rundown house in need of extensive repairs. Celeste needs her new life to work, and this woman is a threat to that.
Then she meets her. To her surprise, she finds out that Daisy is polite and friendly; a backpacker who is just making her way through the area. Quickly, Celeste begins an unlikely and beneficial friendship with Daisy--she can't help herself and, besides, Daisy will be moving on to her next stop soon. Why not take advantage of the extra help?
Both women have secrets they want to keep buried, and when a body is discovered in the glades near Celeste's house, they must move quickly to prove their innocence and protect the lives they've built for themselves.
310 pages, Paperback
First published July 19, 2022
211 people are currently reading
1487 people want to read
About the author
K.L. Armstrong
7 books483 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Pen name of author Kelley Armstrong.
Pen name of author Kelley Armstrong.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 191 reviews
May 1, 2022
O.K. this woman has some wicked skills when it comes to twists! Hats off to you, K. L. Armstrong, you’ve guaranteed that your story will never really leave your readers. Decades from now, we’ll all still look back at the moment you fooled us and the truth was revealed. We’ll be shaking our heads and muttering, “I can’t believe she got me!” The moment I read the twist, I had a ‘wait, WHAT?!’ moment and was immediately forced to re-examine everything I’d read up to that point. EVEN MY EMOTIONS had to be realigned. It was overwhelming and oh, so very good. Deliciously good.
The atmosphere created right from page one pervaded the entire book and I was on the edge of my seat. I’ll be double checking my deadbolt tonight and giving my bedroom the once over before I hop in bed.
I can’t wait to read another book by this talented author - a fellow Canadian!
K.L. Armstrong is a pseudonym used by Kelley Armstrong.
I was gifted this advance copy by K.L. Armstrong, Penguin Random House Canada, Doubleday Canada, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.
The atmosphere created right from page one pervaded the entire book and I was on the edge of my seat. I’ll be double checking my deadbolt tonight and giving my bedroom the once over before I hop in bed.
I can’t wait to read another book by this talented author - a fellow Canadian!
K.L. Armstrong is a pseudonym used by Kelley Armstrong.
I was gifted this advance copy by K.L. Armstrong, Penguin Random House Canada, Doubleday Canada, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.
July 19, 2022
4.5/ 5 stars
Kelley Armstrong is my favorite author. And she has delivered another riveting story.
This book is a thriller set in rural central Florida.
It is about two women (Celeste and Daisy) with mysterious pasts and secrets.
Celeste has inherited her grandmother's rundown house. She finds someone living in her shed.
This book is a bit dark. But not overly violent or graphic. But it was so good!
I could not put this book down. It was fast paced with so much happening. Full of so many surprises.
This was a thrilling, shocking and captivating read. And I loved it!
Thanks to netgalley and DoubleDay Canada/Penguin Canada for allowing me to read this book.
Kelley Armstrong is my favorite author. And she has delivered another riveting story.
This book is a thriller set in rural central Florida.
It is about two women (Celeste and Daisy) with mysterious pasts and secrets.
Celeste has inherited her grandmother's rundown house. She finds someone living in her shed.
This book is a bit dark. But not overly violent or graphic. But it was so good!
I could not put this book down. It was fast paced with so much happening. Full of so many surprises.
This was a thrilling, shocking and captivating read. And I loved it!
Thanks to netgalley and DoubleDay Canada/Penguin Canada for allowing me to read this book.
July 22, 2022
There was a lot going on in this one, often times you weren't sure who was the good guy and who was the bad guy. Everyone it seemed had a secret or were playing others. When you finally get to the end and all is known it makes a bit more sense. I also think that this one will be better on the 2nd or 3rd reading, once you know what is going to happen, you can look for those hidden clues that you missed the first time around. In the end both Celeste and Daisy have what they were looking for and honestly that is just what a person needs.
August 15, 2025
This is another read for my 2025 cleaning out the to-read closet challenge that has been on my list since Jul2022. I’ve been a fan of K.L Armstrong (aka Kelley Armstrong) for many years now. This is the 22nd book, spanning three series and several standalones of hers that I have read. I continue to enjoy both her latest work as well as her early stuff too. Armstrong is a really good writer and storyteller.
The book summary is pretty vague and basically just introduces the two MC’s and the primary storyline. What the book summary doesn’t mention is that early in the story both Celeste and Daisy have ulterior motives for being where they are, which is in an old and dilapidated house on a parcel of land out in rural FL. The house and land that was owned by Celeste’s grandmother, and Celeste had come home to FL to take care of her grandmother before she died.
Daisy, supposedly a backpacker and carpenter just hiking across the state, takes refuge in Celeste’s shed during a storm. Daisy and why they just want to be accommodating to each other, pretending that they are just two, nice, single, women wanting to help each other out. This is revealed pretty early, and Armstrong is a little stingy on clues as to what those motives are, but there certainly are reasons why Celeste and Daisy are there. There is also a rumor that the Celeste’s grandmother, who Celeste came home to care for right before she died, has some kind of hidden treasure somewhere on the property that is from her husband’s crime days.
It's just past the halfway point that Daisy’s secret and Celeste’s plans are revealed. From there the storyline becomes a little bit of a cat and mouse game between Daisy and Celeste and guessing just how much they really know about each other. The ending got kind of scary and intense for Daisy and Celeste but loved the finale.
The character development of Celeste and Daisy as well as Tom, a local mechanic, was well done. The pacing was steady to fast and the storyline interesting. The writing was good too, once again, Armstrong is a really good writer and storyteller. I simply can’t emphasize that enough. She is a master in plotting and character development. I’m looking at a solid 4star review.
The book summary is pretty vague and basically just introduces the two MC’s and the primary storyline. What the book summary doesn’t mention is that early in the story both Celeste and Daisy have ulterior motives for being where they are, which is in an old and dilapidated house on a parcel of land out in rural FL. The house and land that was owned by Celeste’s grandmother, and Celeste had come home to FL to take care of her grandmother before she died.
Daisy, supposedly a backpacker and carpenter just hiking across the state, takes refuge in Celeste’s shed during a storm. Daisy and why they just want to be accommodating to each other, pretending that they are just two, nice, single, women wanting to help each other out. This is revealed pretty early, and Armstrong is a little stingy on clues as to what those motives are, but there certainly are reasons why Celeste and Daisy are there. There is also a rumor that the Celeste’s grandmother, who Celeste came home to care for right before she died, has some kind of hidden treasure somewhere on the property that is from her husband’s crime days.
It's just past the halfway point that Daisy’s secret and Celeste’s plans are revealed. From there the storyline becomes a little bit of a cat and mouse game between Daisy and Celeste and guessing just how much they really know about each other. The ending got kind of scary and intense for Daisy and Celeste but loved the finale.
The character development of Celeste and Daisy as well as Tom, a local mechanic, was well done. The pacing was steady to fast and the storyline interesting. The writing was good too, once again, Armstrong is a really good writer and storyteller. I simply can’t emphasize that enough. She is a master in plotting and character development. I’m looking at a solid 4star review.
April 11, 2022
K.L Armstrong's THE LIFE SHE HAD is an alluring, original suspense about the secrets we keep to protect ourselves. With wickedly clever twists, this relentlessly tense page-turner will spin your mind as you follow the haunting paths to the truth.
January 4, 2023
Ok I am on a roll with thrillers lately and I think I have Alan to thank for that. I've been getting him to pick all my reads, and they have been nothing but success.
There was nothing but unreliable characters in this one. I honestly had no idea who I could trust and even when I decided they were trustworthy, i still couldn't fully trust them. Two woman, both filled with mysterious paths end up staying together in the same household. They both have their reasons, they also both have their secrets. As the story starts to unfold we learn what brought them to this house and my, oh my, the secrets. This is one of those stories that will have you questioning everyone and everything thing, right up until that very last page.
There was nothing but unreliable characters in this one. I honestly had no idea who I could trust and even when I decided they were trustworthy, i still couldn't fully trust them. Two woman, both filled with mysterious paths end up staying together in the same household. They both have their reasons, they also both have their secrets. As the story starts to unfold we learn what brought them to this house and my, oh my, the secrets. This is one of those stories that will have you questioning everyone and everything thing, right up until that very last page.
July 26, 2022
Almost DNF - although this was a thriller, it was not a page turner some readers said it to be. The characters’ characteristics and history were difficult to distinguish and remember when I started “getting into” the plot. Often times, I had to switch back to see who I was reading about - Celeste or Daisy. Also, the author reveals the entire plot (who committed the murder) via the POV of Celeste 2/3 of the way, but as we keep reading, the author reveals who daisy comes to discover said plot. Needless to say there was a lot of repetition of the storyline while the author alternates between Celeste and Daisy.
There were a few areas of the book where I felt like I had to read it during the day time , but after those pages were over, the general plot was lacklustre to me.
There were a few areas of the book where I felt like I had to read it during the day time , but after those pages were over, the general plot was lacklustre to me.
November 15, 2022
This was a captivating read and I enjoyed the general plot of two characters with mysterious pasts, both obviously keep secrets. I did find them too similar in a way that I kept mixing them up at the beginning but once you get deeper they become more clear!
I loved Armstrongs ability to have me constantly questioning everyone’s intentions leaving me never know who to believe and where things were going! There’s an abundance of twists and turns to continually keep you guessing which I found extremely engaging!
A solid read by a Canadian author!
3.5 stars rounded to 4 for goodreads
I loved Armstrongs ability to have me constantly questioning everyone’s intentions leaving me never know who to believe and where things were going! There’s an abundance of twists and turns to continually keep you guessing which I found extremely engaging!
A solid read by a Canadian author!
3.5 stars rounded to 4 for goodreads
November 7, 2022
Unexpectedly low quality for Armstrong
Armstrong is a very good writer and excellent at building complex plots. You'd never know that reading this book. The voices of the two main characters are identical, no differentiation at all. The resolution relies on poor sleight of hand, reader manipulation and coincidence. Motivations are scant and too many threads are left dangling.
Armstrong is a very good writer and excellent at building complex plots. You'd never know that reading this book. The voices of the two main characters are identical, no differentiation at all. The resolution relies on poor sleight of hand, reader manipulation and coincidence. Motivations are scant and too many threads are left dangling.
January 26, 2024
Kelley Armstrong always writes fantastic books. I don't think that there's anything by her that I've read that I haven't liked.
This thriller was amazing! Loved every second of it, she kept me guessing, and I was hooked from the start. I liked the HEA ending. What more could you want from a book? :)
This thriller was amazing! Loved every second of it, she kept me guessing, and I was hooked from the start. I liked the HEA ending. What more could you want from a book? :)
July 22, 2022
This is maybe a.... 3.75? I read it in a day, but didn't enjoy it as much as a lot of Kelley Armstrong's other books (and specifically her most recent release before this, A Rip Through Time). I just didn't feel any particularly strong emotions. Nor did I feel that any of the reveals were particularly shocking. It was definitely engaging, I guess I was just hoping for a bit more. Also, the dual POV could have been a bit better. Both characters read very similar, and I often got them confused.
December 23, 2022
I really like this author! This book was full of mystery and plots twists. Simple, but still good!
April 27, 2022
The Life She Had by K. L. Armstrong was a bit of a letdown unfortunately. K. L. Armstrong is the pseudonym of a popular author and I have enjoyed their books, under both pen names. Celeste is a woman with secrets and she is already on edge when she notices that there is a woman living in the shed on her property. She tries to keep Daisy close, not realizing that Daisy has secrets of her own.
What I liked: There were so many knots in this story to untangle that I read through it quickly trying to figure everything out. Everyone has secrets and it was hard to know when you were finally reading the truth.
What could be better: As the twists and turns of the book got more complex and things were slowly unraveling, I imagined there would be a big reveal that would just blow my mind… and it didn’t. I didn’t ever feel like all of the loose ends were tied up and I was unsatisfied at the end.
Overall, I think I would give this book 2 out of 5 stars, which breaks my heart because I was really looking forward to this one. I think I was on the edge of my seat reading for so long that when the reveal finally happened, I was like, “Oh, that’s it?” It was a disappointing read for me.
*Please note that the ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*
What I liked: There were so many knots in this story to untangle that I read through it quickly trying to figure everything out. Everyone has secrets and it was hard to know when you were finally reading the truth.
What could be better: As the twists and turns of the book got more complex and things were slowly unraveling, I imagined there would be a big reveal that would just blow my mind… and it didn’t. I didn’t ever feel like all of the loose ends were tied up and I was unsatisfied at the end.
Overall, I think I would give this book 2 out of 5 stars, which breaks my heart because I was really looking forward to this one. I think I was on the edge of my seat reading for so long that when the reveal finally happened, I was like, “Oh, that’s it?” It was a disappointing read for me.
*Please note that the ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*
April 14, 2023
Mostly this book just frustrated me but I finished it as Kelly Armstrong is one of my ‘always read’ authors. This one is written under a pseudonym but I thought I would give it a shot.
There were a lot of secrets being kept by everyone in this book that just didn’t add to the thrill for me but instead made me question why I was still reading it. A few repetition on scenes to show different perspectives which got a bit annoying and I just didn’t like any of the characters or felt any particular affection for them with the exception of maybe Tom but that changed near the end too unfortunately. I did manage to finish it but even the ending was just a bit ‘meh’ to me sadly.
I am giving this ⭐️⭐️ because it wasn’t a DNF for me and I was interested enough to not put it down (questionable) 🤷♀️
There were a lot of secrets being kept by everyone in this book that just didn’t add to the thrill for me but instead made me question why I was still reading it. A few repetition on scenes to show different perspectives which got a bit annoying and I just didn’t like any of the characters or felt any particular affection for them with the exception of maybe Tom but that changed near the end too unfortunately. I did manage to finish it but even the ending was just a bit ‘meh’ to me sadly.
I am giving this ⭐️⭐️ because it wasn’t a DNF for me and I was interested enough to not put it down (questionable) 🤷♀️
January 4, 2023
Rounded up to 4.5 stars. This is Kelley Armstrong’s 3rd stand alone mystery type novel and I think it’s her best. The story was really engaging and kept you guessing long into the novel. The two main characters were both flawed but very likeable, so you couldn’t help but root for both of them. Even though they were on opposite sides at times. Exploring family issues, life choices and the consequences of such, this was a great read!
August 27, 2023
A bit confusing at first as I tried to figure out what was going on. Celeste inherits her Grandmas rundown house in Florida. Daisy is hiding in Celeste’s shed, next to a swamp area. When they finally meet it’s no surprise that they are both hiding secrets. It’s when the secrets start to emerge that the book gets very interesting and quite exciting.
December 24, 2022
I found it to be a quick enough read but wasn't very invested in the characters or the story and I felt the book had a lot more potential because the plot was great. Nice easy pick, perfect for the business of Christmas.
July 31, 2022
Quick easy read with lots of twists through it.
October 27, 2022
Well worth the read!
February 27, 2023
This is a fast reading thriller with way too many twists that lead to no where, and only meant to lead you to the wrong conclusion.
August 1, 2022
3.5 stars. This intriguing mystery kept me guessing. I was mostly satisfied with how it turned out.
December 21, 2022
Read this book very quickly… so it hooked me. But then she just kept giving everything away so fast…. And the end was so basic….
June 2, 2025
Read this as an audible book. I think the narrator kinda threw it for me...she wasn't great at different voices. I struggled getting into this one, a lot of unanswered questions in the end. Most of the book was predictable, had a couple plot twists but most would figure it out. It does start of strong but after awhile it fizzles out. K.L Armstrong usually writes way better stories
August 15, 2022
This was an entertaining read, although a bit slow at times. It’s an easy book to pick up, though I never felt glued to it in the way I have with other books of the same genre. The two main characters share the narrative and I didn’t find either particularly likeable. I wasn’t rooting for either one of them or rooting against them, it just felt like I was following them through this somewhat convoluted plot line so I could find a resolution.
May 30, 2022
I went into this book with extremely high hopes because as an avid Kelley Armstrong fan I have devoured all of her work and i enjoyed every last one of her stories. When I found out that she had written another thriller book I was so excited and knew that it would be well done. Even though I had extremely high hopes for this book it did not disappoint. The plot was amazing and the characters were very well written and multi dimensional. One of the things that I liked the most about this book was it started off with a bang right from the get go. There was no soft build up for what was going to happen it just threw the reader right into the mix and kept on piling. Now I'm not usually a big fan of duel perspectives however I really enjoyed how we got both womens' points of view on what was happening. It let the reader get two very different perspectives and it made the story that much more interesting. The book starts out with our main character Celeste coming home from a trip only to discover that there is a strange woman suddenly residing in her shed out back. Celeste is shocked and unsure who this woman is and why she is there. The book switches back and forth between our main character Celeste and our other main character Daisy. Daisy is the woman who is living in the shed, and hiding from her past. I found both characters very well written and the best part about this book was how the whole book focused on just these two women. There were a few secondary characters thrown in for plot development but I enjoyed how simplistic the rest of the story was. It was nice now to have to keep track of a million different characters. Amazing read and even though it was a thriller and I know how it ends now I cant wait to read this book again and again once it comes out.
July 29, 2022
‘The Life She Had’ is a standalone thriller from Kelley Armstrong who, as per the author’s note, publishes under the pseudonym K.L. Armstrong for this genre. I have been a long-time fan of Ms Armstrong so ‘The Life She Had’ was an automatic buy for me and I am glad I did. Whilst not of the same calibre as her ‘Rockton Series’, I enjoyed the twists and turns and found it an entertaining read. Within each chapter you get the alternating perspectives of Cecilia and Daisy and the juxtaposition of their viewpoints for the same scene heightens the readers understanding of each character. Don’t worry, not every scene is doubled up, just the key events that push the characters towards the conclusion.
Cecilia is living in rural Florida having inherited her deceased grandmother’s property and with nowhere else to go. Growing up, her mother was emotionally distant and unsupportive. When she was 16 years old, she had been blamed by everyone, including her family, for a tragedy that she wasn’t involved in. Furious at the world, she had been lured by a man online to run away and be with him.
‘ “Come stay with me. Start over. They don’t deserve you. They don’t understand you. I do.”
At twenty-one, I cringed at the girl who’d fallen for such obvious (redacted). At thirty-three, my anger is aimed where it belongs: at the (redacted) who’d targeted a desperate teenage girl. And at the mother who picked up the phone five years later.
“You can’t run away from yourself.”
She said that and then hung up. I never contacted her again. ’
Since escaping from her ex-boyfriend, Cecilia has been on the run trying to stay one step away from his promised retribution. Now that she has her own place, she feels she has a life worth fighting for and is trying to integrate into the area. However, she is still scarred from her past, so when she finds evidence of another person on her property her first instinct is to call the police. Soon realising that as she is viewed as an outsider, the police are unlikely to help her so decides to take a more direct approach.
Daisy had lived in Florida during her childhood, but a tragedy saw her Mum take her to live in Pennsylvania, leaving her father and the bad memories behind. Daisy has yearned to move back to Florida and swore she would the moment she turned eighteen. However, like all childish dreams, she had to put it aside as she got older and realised that things are not so simple. She developed a passion for carpentry at seventeen and turned it into a full-time career before deciding to travel to Florida.
Cecilia pretends to be stuck on the roof, calling for help to attract Daisy’s attention. After being rescued, they strike up a conversation and Daisy tells Cecilia that she had been told that the house was empty after the woman who owned it passed away and the granddaughter lived out of state. She was travelling through the area and only took shelter in a disused shed after pulling a calf muscle and needing a few days of rest, not realising that anyone lived their until she saw lights on during a severe rainstorm. Of course, they are both not what they are pretending to be and are looking for a mutual excuse to stay on the property. Daisy mentions she could look at the leaking roof and Cecilia accepts.
Daisy moves into the house and starts to help with some much-needed repairs. However, both women have a deeper game they are playing and secrets that they are desperately trying to keep hidden. As each makes their moves and countermoves, they realise that things are not what they seem, but it may be too late to save themselves and each other from the events set in motion.
There are only 2 background characters developed as the book focuses primarily on Celeste and Daisy and their hidden agendas. We have Liam who is Celeste’s controlling boyfriend and a lawyer, and Tom who is a local and owns a garage / convenience store. I think the book benefits from not having a huge cast of characters as it means we can focus on the mystery and not get distracted. The world-building is excellent and amazingly descriptive. I have never been to Florida but reading ‘The Life She Had’ I could vividly imagine I was there.
The reason this is a 4-star book and not a 5-star book is the ending. We are built up to this ambitious conclusion but then it just didn’t go anywhere. I wished Ms Armstrong had pushed a bit further and harder and made the landing stick, so to speak, but instead I felt a bit lost at the last-minute gear change. It just didn’t feel satisfying to me. I will also note that I struggled with Cecilia’s character, I just couldn’t connect to her motivations a lot of the time. She has had a traumatic past and that has influenced some of her actions, but I found it difficult to reconcile the differences between her actions, thoughts and history. She is still an interesting character, but I am Team Daisy.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading ‘The Life She Had’ by Kelley Armstrong and was engaged by the story from the first page to the last. The narrative style, switching from Cecilia’s POV to Daisy’s POV within the same chapter, is uniquely interesting and I found myself being pulled along the story as they each played their hands. The mystery unfolds in a rewarding manner, but it is the tension and suspense that really grips the reader. If you have liked Ms Armstrong’s other standalone thrillers, her Rockton series or just like a great suspense book then you will enjoy ‘The Life She Had’.
4 out of 5 stars!
Cecilia is living in rural Florida having inherited her deceased grandmother’s property and with nowhere else to go. Growing up, her mother was emotionally distant and unsupportive. When she was 16 years old, she had been blamed by everyone, including her family, for a tragedy that she wasn’t involved in. Furious at the world, she had been lured by a man online to run away and be with him.
‘ “Come stay with me. Start over. They don’t deserve you. They don’t understand you. I do.”
At twenty-one, I cringed at the girl who’d fallen for such obvious (redacted). At thirty-three, my anger is aimed where it belongs: at the (redacted) who’d targeted a desperate teenage girl. And at the mother who picked up the phone five years later.
“You can’t run away from yourself.”
She said that and then hung up. I never contacted her again. ’
Since escaping from her ex-boyfriend, Cecilia has been on the run trying to stay one step away from his promised retribution. Now that she has her own place, she feels she has a life worth fighting for and is trying to integrate into the area. However, she is still scarred from her past, so when she finds evidence of another person on her property her first instinct is to call the police. Soon realising that as she is viewed as an outsider, the police are unlikely to help her so decides to take a more direct approach.
Daisy had lived in Florida during her childhood, but a tragedy saw her Mum take her to live in Pennsylvania, leaving her father and the bad memories behind. Daisy has yearned to move back to Florida and swore she would the moment she turned eighteen. However, like all childish dreams, she had to put it aside as she got older and realised that things are not so simple. She developed a passion for carpentry at seventeen and turned it into a full-time career before deciding to travel to Florida.
Cecilia pretends to be stuck on the roof, calling for help to attract Daisy’s attention. After being rescued, they strike up a conversation and Daisy tells Cecilia that she had been told that the house was empty after the woman who owned it passed away and the granddaughter lived out of state. She was travelling through the area and only took shelter in a disused shed after pulling a calf muscle and needing a few days of rest, not realising that anyone lived their until she saw lights on during a severe rainstorm. Of course, they are both not what they are pretending to be and are looking for a mutual excuse to stay on the property. Daisy mentions she could look at the leaking roof and Cecilia accepts.
Daisy moves into the house and starts to help with some much-needed repairs. However, both women have a deeper game they are playing and secrets that they are desperately trying to keep hidden. As each makes their moves and countermoves, they realise that things are not what they seem, but it may be too late to save themselves and each other from the events set in motion.
There are only 2 background characters developed as the book focuses primarily on Celeste and Daisy and their hidden agendas. We have Liam who is Celeste’s controlling boyfriend and a lawyer, and Tom who is a local and owns a garage / convenience store. I think the book benefits from not having a huge cast of characters as it means we can focus on the mystery and not get distracted. The world-building is excellent and amazingly descriptive. I have never been to Florida but reading ‘The Life She Had’ I could vividly imagine I was there.
The reason this is a 4-star book and not a 5-star book is the ending. We are built up to this ambitious conclusion but then it just didn’t go anywhere. I wished Ms Armstrong had pushed a bit further and harder and made the landing stick, so to speak, but instead I felt a bit lost at the last-minute gear change. It just didn’t feel satisfying to me. I will also note that I struggled with Cecilia’s character, I just couldn’t connect to her motivations a lot of the time. She has had a traumatic past and that has influenced some of her actions, but I found it difficult to reconcile the differences between her actions, thoughts and history. She is still an interesting character, but I am Team Daisy.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading ‘The Life She Had’ by Kelley Armstrong and was engaged by the story from the first page to the last. The narrative style, switching from Cecilia’s POV to Daisy’s POV within the same chapter, is uniquely interesting and I found myself being pulled along the story as they each played their hands. The mystery unfolds in a rewarding manner, but it is the tension and suspense that really grips the reader. If you have liked Ms Armstrong’s other standalone thrillers, her Rockton series or just like a great suspense book then you will enjoy ‘The Life She Had’.
4 out of 5 stars!
June 15, 2022
K.L. Armstrong is one of those authors whose books I order without even reading the synopsis - her books are just that good. And The Life She Had does not disappoint.
Reading this thriller is like watching a time-lapse video of a flower opening. Layers upon layers of twists and turns are revealed slowly, making the reader mutter "Whoa" repeatedly as events unfold. Armstrong is a master of suspense, weaving together fascinating characters, rich settings, and unexpected events in such a way as to keep the reader fascinated from beginning to end.
You absolutely cannot go wrong with this book. Just stock up on coffee, because you are going to be up WAY past your bedtime with this one.
Reading this thriller is like watching a time-lapse video of a flower opening. Layers upon layers of twists and turns are revealed slowly, making the reader mutter "Whoa" repeatedly as events unfold. Armstrong is a master of suspense, weaving together fascinating characters, rich settings, and unexpected events in such a way as to keep the reader fascinated from beginning to end.
You absolutely cannot go wrong with this book. Just stock up on coffee, because you are going to be up WAY past your bedtime with this one.
March 1, 2023
Different
I don't know what to say about this story. It's like nothing I've ever read by this author. The "lead" heroin is not really likeable. It made it a really hard read for me.
I don't know what to say about this story. It's like nothing I've ever read by this author. The "lead" heroin is not really likeable. It made it a really hard read for me.
May 4, 2025
Ok, maybe I’m a snob, maybe I have higher expectations for Kelley (her Bitten and Cainvsville series 👌🏻) but her stand-alones have been big misses for me. This book was giving “Where the crawdads sing” but written by a Canadian. The first half was painfully slow, where I thought this might become a DNF because I’m reading a nothing salad. It wasn’t until halfway though the book that my eyebrows shot up an actual twist, but the end was a chaotic mess. It felt like the author had multiple ideas and got confused along the way. I felt nothing reading this. You have no opportunity to connect with any of the characters. Tres disappointed.
August 5, 2022
Not one of my favourite Armstrong novels. I’ve never rated an adult novel of hers less than 4 stars. It was still an enjoyable read but I found that characters were kept emotionally and intellectually isolated from each other, which took away opportunities for Armstrong to do one of the things she does best - using dynamic, strong character relationships to drive plot and suspense.
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