Originally published: 12 April 2022

Author: Beth O’Leary

Published by: Quercus Books

Genre: Up-Lit

Length: 400 pages

Reading dates: 4-9 August 2022

Three women. Three dates. One missing man…

8.52 a.m. Siobhan is looking forward to her breakfast date with Joseph. She was surprised when he suggested it – she normally sees him late at night in her hotel room. Breakfast on Valentine’s Day surely means something … so where is he?

2.43 p.m. Miranda’s hoping that a Valentine’s Day lunch with Carter will be the perfect way to celebrate her new job. It’s a fresh start and a sign that her life is falling into place: she’s been dating Carter for five months now and things are getting serious. But why hasn’t he shown up?

6.30 p.m. Joseph Carter agreed to be Jane’s fake boyfriend at an engagement party. They’ve not known each other long but their friendship is fast becoming the brightest part of her new life in Winchester. Joseph promised to save Jane tonight. But he’s not here…

Meet Joseph Carter. That is, if you can find him.

I’m a huge Beth O’Leary fan and I have read all her previous books (The Flatshare, The Switch and The Road Trip) and rated them all 5 stars! I was lucky enough to be invited to Quercus to celebrate publication day of The No-Show and was gifted a copy of the book which I of course asked Beth to sign!

The No-Show is the book I took to Wales with me for my holiday read and I loved it. I won’t say much because I don’t want to give anything away but the story begins with 3 young women, all of whom are stood up by the same man on Valentines Day. Siobhan is a life coach who is feisty and successful and when Joseph Carter stands her up for Valentines Day breakfast, she swears not to see him again. Miranda is a tree surgeon who is stood up by Carter for lunch – she assumes he has a reasonable explanation and although is annoyed, knows she will forgive him. Jane is a troubled young woman who works part time in a charity shop. She is friends with Joseph but had asked him to be her fake boyfriend at an engagement party and when he doesn’t show, she isn’t really surprised, having little confidence in herself.

I loved all 3 women – they were all very different but all had insecurities. We hear from them all in turn as they live their lives and navigate their relationships with Joseph. Siobhan is still holding on to past trauma, Jane has run away from a situation in London and Miranda is struggling with romantic feelings for sexy tree surgeon AJ.

O’Leary is very talented at writing from the viewpoint of different characters and making them all engaging and at gradually threading the story together. I thought The No-Show was very clever. She also writes about amazing friendships – all the characters in the book are blessed with brilliant friends! The No-Show is romantic, sexy and both funny and sad in places and is a thoroughly enjoyable read. Another 5 star read for me!

About the author:

Beth O’Leary is a Sunday Times bestselling author whose books have been translated into more than 30 languages.
She wrote her debut novel, The Flatshare, on her train journey to and from her job at a children’s publisher.
She now lives in the Hampshire countryside and writes full time.

Website: https://www.betholearyauthor.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betholearyauthor/