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The Single Father
Not yet published
Expected 22 Oct 26I came to look after his children. Now he says I’m his fiancée.
When I see the advert, I tell myself it’s the fresh start I need. Live-in nanny. A single father. Two young children. A remote farmhouse deep in the Peak District, far from everything I’ve lost.
My new employer Edward seems nice. He tries hard to be a good dad. The children warm to me. For the first time since my partner died, I begin to feel useful.
Then the snow comes. The roads close. The internet goes down. And I wake with an injured ankle, a bandage around my head . . . and no memory of what happened.
Edward says I fell while we were hiking. He says the concussion has damaged my memory. He says I haven’t just arrived at his house.
I’ve been living here for months. There’s an engagement ring on my finger. Photographs I don’t remember taking. And everyone in the house behaves as though Edward is telling the truth.
But I know who I am. So why does he think I belong to him?
A gripping, unputdownable psychological thriller perfect for fans of Freida McFadden, B.A. Paris, Shalini Boland and T.M. Logan.
When I see the advert, I tell myself it’s the fresh start I need. Live-in nanny. A single father. Two young children. A remote farmhouse deep in the Peak District, far from everything I’ve lost.
My new employer Edward seems nice. He tries hard to be a good dad. The children warm to me. For the first time since my partner died, I begin to feel useful.
Then the snow comes. The roads close. The internet goes down. And I wake with an injured ankle, a bandage around my head . . . and no memory of what happened.
Edward says I fell while we were hiking. He says the concussion has damaged my memory. He says I haven’t just arrived at his house.
I’ve been living here for months. There’s an engagement ring on my finger. Photographs I don’t remember taking. And everyone in the house behaves as though Edward is telling the truth.
But I know who I am. So why does he think I belong to him?
A gripping, unputdownable psychological thriller perfect for fans of Freida McFadden, B.A. Paris, Shalini Boland and T.M. Logan.
ebook
Expected publication October 22, 2026
About the author
Jade Lee Wright
13 books306 followersI’m Jade Lee Wright, psychological thriller author.
Although I first dipped my toe into the world of publishing with two self-published novels, I’ve spent the past few years fully immersing myself in the craft. I study English Literature and Creative Writing through the Open University and have since gone on to sign multiple publishing deals—including a two-book deal (and a brand-new follow-up two-book contract!) with Joffe Books.
My debut psychological thriller with them, The Baby Group, was released in July 2025, and my second, The Family Secret, is due out in January 2026. Both have been snapped up by Audible and will be coming to audio soon.
I was longlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize 2025 and shortlisted for the 2024 Marlowe & Christie Novel Prize.
When I’m not writing (or daydreaming about the next twist), you’ll usually find me with my nose in a book or looking after my two baby boys.
Although I first dipped my toe into the world of publishing with two self-published novels, I’ve spent the past few years fully immersing myself in the craft. I study English Literature and Creative Writing through the Open University and have since gone on to sign multiple publishing deals—including a two-book deal (and a brand-new follow-up two-book contract!) with Joffe Books.
My debut psychological thriller with them, The Baby Group, was released in July 2025, and my second, The Family Secret, is due out in January 2026. Both have been snapped up by Audible and will be coming to audio soon.
I was longlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize 2025 and shortlisted for the 2024 Marlowe & Christie Novel Prize.
When I’m not writing (or daydreaming about the next twist), you’ll usually find me with my nose in a book or looking after my two baby boys.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
An absolute page turner! I devoured this in one sitting. It's one of those popcorn thrillers where some of the decisions certain characters make are a little questionable, but if you suspend your disbelief, you're in for a wild, wild ride.
Tiily, a grieving young woman takes a live-in nanny job with a single father and his two children at a remote farmhouse in the Peak District, hoping for a fresh start. Then the snow arrives, the roads close and the internet goes down, and she wakes with an injury and no memory of what happened. Edward insists she has been living there for months, and everyone around her seems to agree, as does the evidence in the family photos, featuring her, but she knows who she is. The fast pace had me hooked straight away, and I couldn't stop reading until I found out what was really going on.
And then the twist at the end? Superb!
5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Jade Lee Wright and Joffe for an ARC of this book.
Tiily, a grieving young woman takes a live-in nanny job with a single father and his two children at a remote farmhouse in the Peak District, hoping for a fresh start. Then the snow arrives, the roads close and the internet goes down, and she wakes with an injury and no memory of what happened. Edward insists she has been living there for months, and everyone around her seems to agree, as does the evidence in the family photos, featuring her, but she knows who she is. The fast pace had me hooked straight away, and I couldn't stop reading until I found out what was really going on.
And then the twist at the end? Superb!
5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Jade Lee Wright and Joffe for an ARC of this book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Tilly, newly widowed and desperate for a fresh start, takes a job as a nanny for Edward’s two children. He’s recently separated, the household feels fragile, and Tilly is clinging to the hope that a new environment might help her rebuild her life.
But everything changes the night she suffers a mysterious, traumatic head injury. When she wakes, nothing matches the world she remembers. She’s no longer the nanny — she’s suddenly Edward’s fiancée, complete with photos of their “relationship.” The children barely recognise her. Her phone is dead. Her keys are missing. And every attempt to piece together the truth only deepens the unease.
Is she losing her grip on reality, or has someone carefully rewritten her place in this family?
A tense, unsettling psychological thriller that keeps you second‑guessing every character and every motive.
Huge thanks to the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
But everything changes the night she suffers a mysterious, traumatic head injury. When she wakes, nothing matches the world she remembers. She’s no longer the nanny — she’s suddenly Edward’s fiancée, complete with photos of their “relationship.” The children barely recognise her. Her phone is dead. Her keys are missing. And every attempt to piece together the truth only deepens the unease.
Is she losing her grip on reality, or has someone carefully rewritten her place in this family?
A tense, unsettling psychological thriller that keeps you second‑guessing every character and every motive.
Huge thanks to the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Wait... WHAT?
Tilly loses her fiancé to a heart attack in the first chapter. Absolutely devastating. In her grief-fueled, wine-soaked spiral, she tries to cancel their holiday… and somehow ends up applying for a nanny job instead. You know, as one does.
She ghosts the family for an entire week, only to wake up to a barrage of increasingly frantic emails from the dad begging her to take the job. Sir. Boundaries.
So she goes.
Edward is the definition of hot-and-cold. Charming one minute, unsettling the next. The children are painfully withdrawn, angry, and oddly detached. Everything about the house feels just a little… off. Tilly even assumes the woman she keeps running into must be the children's mother.
Then comes the twist.
After an accident, Tilly wakes up to Edward insisting an entire year has passed—and they're engaged. The walls are covered in photos to prove it. But the kids still barely know her. Her phone has vanished. Her car keys are gone. Her tablet is filled with books she'd never choose to read. The more she questions her reality, the faster everything starts to unravel.
This was such a fun psychological thriller. The writing itself is solid rather than spectacular, but the premise is genuinely unique and kept me glued to the pages. You know Edward is trouble almost immediately, so that isn't the mystery. The real intrigue is discovering how everything happened—and realizing there may be another villain quietly lurking in the background.
The ending left me with one question that honestly creeped me out the most:
They imply it's happened twice… but how many times has it really happened?
A quick, addictive read, I finished it in under two hours and had a great time.
Tilly loses her fiancé to a heart attack in the first chapter. Absolutely devastating. In her grief-fueled, wine-soaked spiral, she tries to cancel their holiday… and somehow ends up applying for a nanny job instead. You know, as one does.
She ghosts the family for an entire week, only to wake up to a barrage of increasingly frantic emails from the dad begging her to take the job. Sir. Boundaries.
So she goes.
Edward is the definition of hot-and-cold. Charming one minute, unsettling the next. The children are painfully withdrawn, angry, and oddly detached. Everything about the house feels just a little… off. Tilly even assumes the woman she keeps running into must be the children's mother.
Then comes the twist.
After an accident, Tilly wakes up to Edward insisting an entire year has passed—and they're engaged. The walls are covered in photos to prove it. But the kids still barely know her. Her phone has vanished. Her car keys are gone. Her tablet is filled with books she'd never choose to read. The more she questions her reality, the faster everything starts to unravel.
This was such a fun psychological thriller. The writing itself is solid rather than spectacular, but the premise is genuinely unique and kept me glued to the pages. You know Edward is trouble almost immediately, so that isn't the mystery. The real intrigue is discovering how everything happened—and realizing there may be another villain quietly lurking in the background.
The ending left me with one question that honestly creeped me out the most:
They imply it's happened twice… but how many times has it really happened?
A quick, addictive read, I finished it in under two hours and had a great time.
September 26, 2026
Captivating Setup, But Did It Live Up to the Hype? ❄️💍
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆ (3/5)
I jumped into The Single Father by Jade Lee Wright with high expectations—a remote Peak District farmhouse, an isolated snowstorm, a sudden case of amnesia, and a boss who insists you’re actually his fiancée? Sign me up for that level of psychological drama!
What I Loved:
❄️ The Atmosphere: The snowbound, isolated setting created an instant sense of paranoia and claustrophobia that kept me turning pages early on.
💍 The Hook: Waking up with a concussion, an engagement ring on your finger, and zero memory of how you got there is such a compelling mystery premise.
Where It Fell Short:
📉 Predictability: If you read a lot of domestic noir or tropes similar to Freida McFadden and B.A. Paris, you’ll likely spot the core twists long before the big reveal.
🤦♀️ Frustrating Choices: The main character made a few classic thriller choices that felt forced just to drag out the mystery, which made it hard to root for her at times.
Final Thoughts:
An atmospheric, fast-paced weekend read if you’re looking for a quick isolation thriller! Just temper your expectations if you’re a seasoned thriller detective looking for mind-bending twists.
QOTD: What’s your favorite trope in a psychological thriller—amnesia, snowbound isolation, or unreliable narrators? Drop your thoughts below! 👇
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆ (3/5)
I jumped into The Single Father by Jade Lee Wright with high expectations—a remote Peak District farmhouse, an isolated snowstorm, a sudden case of amnesia, and a boss who insists you’re actually his fiancée? Sign me up for that level of psychological drama!
What I Loved:
❄️ The Atmosphere: The snowbound, isolated setting created an instant sense of paranoia and claustrophobia that kept me turning pages early on.
💍 The Hook: Waking up with a concussion, an engagement ring on your finger, and zero memory of how you got there is such a compelling mystery premise.
Where It Fell Short:
📉 Predictability: If you read a lot of domestic noir or tropes similar to Freida McFadden and B.A. Paris, you’ll likely spot the core twists long before the big reveal.
🤦♀️ Frustrating Choices: The main character made a few classic thriller choices that felt forced just to drag out the mystery, which made it hard to root for her at times.
Final Thoughts:
An atmospheric, fast-paced weekend read if you’re looking for a quick isolation thriller! Just temper your expectations if you’re a seasoned thriller detective looking for mind-bending twists.
QOTD: What’s your favorite trope in a psychological thriller—amnesia, snowbound isolation, or unreliable narrators? Drop your thoughts below! 👇
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you Joffe Books and Net Galley for an early copy of The Single Father. OMGosh WHAT did I just read???? TWISTED, TWISTED, TWISTED. This novel was phenomenal, one of the Best books I’ve read this year. The PERFECT psychological to get lost in. Annoying when Tilly always leaves her phone dead but otherwise she is a great character. I don’t want to give too much away but Edward is wildly sick like WOW! The only unrealistic part is how they got out from the fire. The other character that is as crazy as Edward, I had no idea, what an ending! Seriously though when Tilly wakes up from her fall, thats when you need to buckle up for a roller caster of a ride!!! Soooo good, thank you again.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This was a genuine page-turner. I was desperate to know how it would all play out, though at times it felt like watching a horror film where you want to shout at the screen, "don't do that!" Tilly makes some choices I found frustrating, but then again, it's easy to judge from the outside. Who really knows how they'd react in her situation?
If you're a fan of psychological thrillers in the vein of Misery, this is one to add to your list. Just when I thought I had it figured out, the twists at the end caught me completely off guard. The author definitely got the last laugh
If you're a fan of psychological thrillers in the vein of Misery, this is one to add to your list. Just when I thought I had it figured out, the twists at the end caught me completely off guard. The author definitely got the last laugh
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Single Father is a solid thriller with an interesting premise. I was invested in the story and enjoyed seeing everything unfold, even if I did figure out some things along the way.
There was one reveal that I thought was really well done, and I really liked the ending. It was ominous and fun and definitely left me wanting to know more.
Overall, I enjoyed this one. It kept me entertained with a good mix of mystery and tension, and I liked where the story ultimately went. Thank you so much Joffe Book, Jade Lee Wright and NetGallery for the ARC, these thoughts are my own.
There was one reveal that I thought was really well done, and I really liked the ending. It was ominous and fun and definitely left me wanting to know more.
Overall, I enjoyed this one. It kept me entertained with a good mix of mystery and tension, and I liked where the story ultimately went. Thank you so much Joffe Book, Jade Lee Wright and NetGallery for the ARC, these thoughts are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 STAR READ! 📚
WOW! 😍 What an absolutely amazing read! The Single Father by Jade Lee Wright had me hooked with so many twists and turns that kept me guessing throughout. This book came along at just the right time and completely pulled me out of my reading slump! 🙌❤️
An addictive, gripping read that I thoroughly enjoyed. If you’re looking for a book to get you back into reading, this could be the one! 💕📖
WOW! 😍 What an absolutely amazing read! The Single Father by Jade Lee Wright had me hooked with so many twists and turns that kept me guessing throughout. This book came along at just the right time and completely pulled me out of my reading slump! 🙌❤️
An addictive, gripping read that I thoroughly enjoyed. If you’re looking for a book to get you back into reading, this could be the one! 💕📖
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Wow! Simply wow!
I'm almost lost for words. This book takes psychological thriller, coercive control and narcissism to a whole new level. I just couldn't bear to put it down.
There's a revelation or a twist in practically every chapter and they keep coming. Almost every one of the characters is not what they seem, except for the unsuspecting Tilly who is trying to deal with her grief from the sudden death of her fiance.
This is a brilliant read. I unreservedly recommended it.
I'm almost lost for words. This book takes psychological thriller, coercive control and narcissism to a whole new level. I just couldn't bear to put it down.
There's a revelation or a twist in practically every chapter and they keep coming. Almost every one of the characters is not what they seem, except for the unsuspecting Tilly who is trying to deal with her grief from the sudden death of her fiance.
This is a brilliant read. I unreservedly recommended it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The book was a bit of a slow burn but once things took off the pace remained. The twist I certainly didn’t see coming.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Review to follow...
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Claustrophobic, chilling, and completely nerve-wracking! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review:
If you love a psychological thriller that leans heavy on isolation, gaslighting, and trapped-in-a-snowstorm panic, this one hits every mark.
The premise hooked me immediately: a grieving nanny moves into a remote Peak District farmhouse to care for a single father’s two children, only to wake up after a bad bump to the head with a bandage on her brow, an engagement ring on her finger, and no memory of how she got there. Cut off from the outside world by a blizzard with zero internet or phone signal, she’s told she isn't just the new nanny—she's been living there for months and is engaged to Edward. The absolute horror of everyone in the house casually agreeing with him while you know in your gut something isn't right made my skin crawl in the best possible way!
The atmosphere in this book is incredibly tense. The snowy, remote Peak District setting creates a suffocating, claustrophobic feel that keeps the paranoia turned all the way up. You're constantly second-guessing what’s real, what's a lie, and how far Edward is willing to go to keep her in his world.
It’s a fast, addictive read with plenty of creepy twists that make you want to sprint through the chapters to see how on earth she's going to get out. A solid 4-star thriller that will make you think twice about answering any job ads for remote live-in nannies!
Rating: 4 / 5 stars
Review:
If you love a psychological thriller that leans heavy on isolation, gaslighting, and trapped-in-a-snowstorm panic, this one hits every mark.
The premise hooked me immediately: a grieving nanny moves into a remote Peak District farmhouse to care for a single father’s two children, only to wake up after a bad bump to the head with a bandage on her brow, an engagement ring on her finger, and no memory of how she got there. Cut off from the outside world by a blizzard with zero internet or phone signal, she’s told she isn't just the new nanny—she's been living there for months and is engaged to Edward. The absolute horror of everyone in the house casually agreeing with him while you know in your gut something isn't right made my skin crawl in the best possible way!
The atmosphere in this book is incredibly tense. The snowy, remote Peak District setting creates a suffocating, claustrophobic feel that keeps the paranoia turned all the way up. You're constantly second-guessing what’s real, what's a lie, and how far Edward is willing to go to keep her in his world.
It’s a fast, addictive read with plenty of creepy twists that make you want to sprint through the chapters to see how on earth she's going to get out. A solid 4-star thriller that will make you think twice about answering any job ads for remote live-in nannies!
Rating: 4 / 5 stars
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews