Vanished Without a Trace

Kylie Gillingham, a woman with a complicated past, vanishes without a trace. Detective Constable Clements is assigned to the case, but there's no body, only a trail of circumstantial evidence. Kylie's disappearance is statistically ominous, and suspicion falls on her two husbands—Mark Fletcher and Daan Janssen—both of whom are left reeling by her absence. The investigation is complicated by the lack of physical evidence and the emotional volatility of those closest to Kylie. As the police dig deeper, they find signs of captivity and violence, but nothing conclusive. The case becomes a tangle of hope, dread, and ambiguity, with Clements determined to find the truth, even as the world is locked down by a pandemic.

The Bigamist's Double Life

Kylie's secret life is exposed: she is a bigamist, living as "Leigh" with Mark and his sons, and as "Kai" with Daan, a wealthy Dutch banker. Each husband believed he was her only one, and each is devastated by the revelation. Kylie's ability to compartmentalize her existence is both impressive and destructive, and her disappearance throws both families into turmoil. The police, and the reader, are left to wonder: was she running from her lies, or did someone silence her for good? The emotional fallout is immense, especially for Mark's sons, Oli and Seb, who struggle to process the loss of their stepmother and the betrayal of her double life.

Suspects and Secrets

As the investigation unfolds, suspicion shifts between the two husbands, Mark and Daan, but also lands on others: Fiona, Kylie's best friend; the boys; and even the building's concierge. Each has motive, opportunity, or secrets of their own. Fiona, in particular, is everywhere—living with Mark, sleeping with Daan, and always present in the background. The police are forced to consider not just the obvious suspects, but the possibility that the truth is more convoluted than anyone suspects. The web of relationships is dense, and the emotional stakes are high, as everyone tries to protect themselves or those they love.

Lockdown and Lies

The COVID-19 lockdown adds a surreal layer to the investigation. The world is closed, routines are shattered, and the police are forced to conduct interviews over video calls. The isolation and anxiety of the pandemic mirror the emotional isolation of the characters, especially as secrets come to light. The lockdown also provides both cover and constraint for those involved: it's easier to hide, but harder to run. The investigation is slowed, and the sense of claustrophobia grows, both in the world and in the hearts of those searching for Kylie.

The Best Friend's Motive

Fiona, Kylie's best friend, emerges as a central figure. She is both confidante and rival, having slept with Daan and moved in with Mark after Kylie's disappearance. Her motivations are complex: jealousy, loneliness, and a desire to be indispensable. As the police dig into her timeline, coincidences pile up—her access to the apartment where Kylie was held, her presence at key moments, and her willingness to step into Kylie's life. The possibility that Fiona is not just a bystander, but a perpetrator, becomes increasingly likely.

The Boys Go Missing

Mark's sons, Oli and Seb, disappear, echoing Kylie's vanishing act. Their flight is both a search for their mother and an escape from the suffocating atmosphere at home. They head to Fiona's holiday home in Dorset, a place filled with memories and secrets. Their journey is fraught with danger, as they are pursued by both the police and those who wish to keep the truth buried. The boys' bond is tested, and their innocence is threatened by the adult world's violence and duplicity.

The Woman With No Past

Parallel to the main investigation, a woman named Stacie wakes up on the Dorset coast with no memory of her past. She is cared for by an older man who claims to be her father, but her memories are fragmented and unreliable. As she tries to piece together her identity, she is haunted by flashes of another life—one filled with love, betrayal, and danger. Her struggle to remember becomes a race against time, as the truth about her connection to Kylie's disappearance slowly emerges.

False Memories, Real Dangers

Stacie's amnesia is not just a medical condition, but a tool of manipulation. The man caring for her is not who he claims to be, and her sense of self is constantly undermined by false memories and gaslighting. As she begins to recover fragments of her true identity, she realizes she is in grave danger. The lines between victim and survivor blur, and her fight to reclaim her past becomes a fight for her life.

The Dorset Discovery

The search converges on Fiona's holiday bungalow in Dorset. The police, the boys, and Stacie/Kylie all arrive at the same place, each seeking answers. Physical evidence—wine bottles, fingerprints, and missing photographs—points to Fiona's involvement in Kylie's disappearance. The tension escalates as secrets are revealed, alliances shift, and the true nature of the crime comes into focus. The holiday home, once a place of refuge, becomes a battleground for truth and justice.

The Cliffside Betrayal

The truth of Kylie's fate is finally revealed: Fiona, driven by jealousy and rage, pushed her off a cliff during a stormy confrontation. Believing Kylie to be dead, Fiona attempts to cover her tracks and frame Daan for the murder. However, Kylie survives the fall, rescued by a grieving man who mistakes her for his lost daughter. This act of violence is the culmination of years of envy, betrayal, and unresolved longing, and it sets in motion the final reckoning.

The Captive's Awakening

Kylie, having survived both Fiona's attack and months of captivity under a deluded rescuer, finally regains her memory. The realization of who she is—and what has been done to her—gives her the strength to escape. Her journey from victim to survivor is marked by pain, resilience, and a fierce determination to reclaim her life and protect her family. As she breaks free, she races to save her sons from Fiona's escalating madness.

The Mother Returns

Kylie's return is both miraculous and fraught with danger. She finds Oli bound and Seb missing, taken by Fiona in a last-ditch attempt to escape justice. The police, Daan, and Mark are all drawn into the final pursuit, as Kylie and her unlikely ally Kenneth race to save Seb. The emotional stakes are at their highest, as love, guilt, and forgiveness collide in a desperate bid for redemption.

The Final Pursuit

The climax unfolds on the open sea, as Fiona attempts to flee to France with Seb. Kylie and Kenneth give chase in a borrowed boat, while the police and Daan arrive by helicopter. The pursuit is tense and chaotic, culminating in a collision that throws Seb into the water. Kylie's maternal instincts and courage are put to the ultimate test as she dives in to save her son, risking everything for his life.

Sea Rescue and Reckoning

Seb is pulled from the water and revived, thanks to Kylie's quick thinking and the timely arrival of the authorities. Fiona is apprehended, her crimes exposed, and her reign of manipulation brought to an end. Kenneth, the man who both saved and imprisoned Kylie, sacrifices himself in the rescue, finding a measure of redemption. The families are reunited, but the scars of betrayal and loss remain.

Truths, Forgiveness, and Futures

In the aftermath, the characters grapple with the consequences of their actions. Kylie must face the legal and emotional fallout of her bigamy, while Mark and Daan come to terms with their own roles in the tragedy. The boys, traumatized but resilient, begin to heal. Forgiveness is hard-won, and the possibility of new beginnings emerges from the wreckage. The story ends with hope, as Kylie and Daan contemplate a future together, and the families look toward healing and redemption.

Characters

Kylie Gillingham (Leigh/Kai/Stacie)

Kylie is the enigmatic center of the story—a woman who lived a double life as Leigh (wife and stepmother to Mark and his sons) and as Kai (wife to Daan, living in luxury). Her psychological complexity is rooted in a childhood marked by abandonment and longing for love, which drives her to seek fulfillment in two separate families. Her ability to compartmentalize is both her strength and her undoing. After being betrayed and nearly killed by her best friend, she survives amnesia, captivity, and manipulation, ultimately reclaiming her identity and agency. Her journey is one of self-discovery, resilience, and the fierce love of a mother determined to protect her children.

Mark Fletcher

Mark is Kylie's first husband, a landscape gardener and widower raising two sons. He is solid, dependable, and emotionally reserved, shaped by loss and the demands of single parenthood. Mark's love for Kylie is genuine, but he is blindsided by her betrayal and struggles with feelings of inadequacy and anger. His journey is one of coming to terms with the limits of his own expectations and learning to forgive—not just Kylie, but himself. His relationship with his sons is central to his identity, and his ultimate priority is their well-being.

Daan Janssen

Daan is Kylie's second husband, a wealthy Dutch banker whose world is upended by her disappearance and the revelation of her bigamy. Outwardly confident and entitled, Daan is inwardly vulnerable, haunted by the possibility of being falsely accused and losing everything. His love for Kylie is intense and possessive, and his actions—both selfish and heroic—are driven by a need for control and justice. Daan's arc is one of humility, as he moves from self-interest to genuine concern for Kylie's children and ultimately risks everything to save them.

Fiona Phillipson

Fiona is the story's most complex antagonist—a woman whose lifelong friendship with Kylie curdles into envy and rage. Feeling perpetually sidelined and unlucky, Fiona's desire for love and belonging turns toxic, leading her to betray, abduct, and attempt to murder Kylie. Her psychological unraveling is both chilling and pitiable, as she justifies her actions through a warped sense of entitlement and grievance. Fiona's need to be central in others' lives drives her to ever more desperate acts, culminating in her downfall.

Oli Fletcher

Oli, Mark's teenage son, is caught between childhood and adulthood, struggling to process the loss of his stepmother and the chaos of his family. His anger masks deep vulnerability, and his protective instincts toward his younger brother, Seb, are both touching and fraught. Oli's journey is one of forced maturity, as he navigates danger, betrayal, and the need to distinguish truth from lies. His relationship with Kylie is complicated by love, resentment, and the pain of abandonment.

Seb Fletcher

Seb, the younger son, is the emotional heart of the story—a boy whose hope and longing for his mother's return drive much of the action. His innocence is both a source of strength and vulnerability, making him a target for manipulation and danger. Seb's resilience is tested to the limit, but his capacity for forgiveness and love offers a glimmer of hope for the future.

DC Clements

Detective Constable Clements is the moral compass of the novel—a seasoned investigator who balances logic with intuition. Her empathy for Kylie and her refusal to accept easy answers make her a formidable detective. Clements's psychological insight allows her to see through surface appearances and pursue the truth, even when it leads to uncomfortable places. Her role is both investigator and, at times, surrogate conscience for the other characters.

Kenneth Jones

Kenneth is a tragic figure—a man broken by the loss of his daughter, Stacie, who projects his longing onto Kylie when he finds her washed up after the cliff fall. His care for Kylie is both genuine and deeply misguided, as he manipulates her into believing she is his daughter. Kenneth's actions blur the line between savior and captor, and his ultimate sacrifice offers a measure of redemption.

Stacie Jones

Stacie is both a real person (Kenneth's lost daughter) and a constructed identity imposed on Kylie. Her absence haunts the narrative, serving as a symbol of lost potential and the dangers of unresolved grief. Stacie's story is a cautionary tale about the consequences of running from pain and the importance of facing the truth.

Tanner

Tanner is Clements's junior partner, representing the next generation of police—enthusiastic, sometimes rash, and eager for clear-cut answers. His journey is one of learning to appreciate nuance, ambiguity, and the complexities of human motivation. Tanner's growth mirrors the reader's own evolving understanding of the case.

Plot Devices

Dual Identity and Unreliable Memory

The novel's central device is the use of dual identity—Kylie as Leigh and Kai, and later as Stacie. Amnesia and false memories are used to create suspense and ambiguity, forcing both the character and the reader to question what is real. The manipulation of memory by others (Kenneth's gaslighting) and by trauma itself blurs the line between victim and survivor, and between truth and deception.

Multiple Perspectives and Nonlinear Narrative

The story is told through multiple narrators—Kylie, Mark, Daan, Fiona, the boys, and the detectives—each offering a different angle on the events. The narrative jumps between past and present, slowly revealing the truth through overlapping accounts. This structure allows for dramatic irony, foreshadowing, and the gradual unspooling of secrets.

Red Herrings and Misdirection

The investigation is marked by red herrings—evidence that points to Daan, Mark, or others, only to be undermined by new revelations. The reader is kept off-balance, never sure who to trust or what to believe. The use of physical evidence (wine bottles, fingerprints, missing photos) and psychological clues (motives, behaviors) creates a web of suspicion that is only untangled at the climax.

The Pandemic as Backdrop

The COVID-19 pandemic is more than a setting; it is a metaphor for the characters' emotional isolation and the constraints on their actions. Lockdown heightens the sense of claustrophobia, limits movement, and provides both cover and obstacle for those seeking the truth. It also serves as a reminder of the unpredictability and fragility of life.

Maternal Instinct and Sacrifice

Kylie's journey is driven by her love for her sons and her determination to protect them at all costs. The theme of maternal sacrifice is echoed in Kenneth's actions and in the choices made by other characters. The climax on the sea is a literal and symbolic test of a mother's willingness to risk everything for her child.

Analysis

Adele Parks's Two Dead Wives is a masterful psychological thriller that explores the complexities of identity, love, and betrayal in the context of modern family life. Through its intricate plot and deeply flawed characters, the novel interrogates the ways in which people construct and conceal their true selves, often at great cost to those around them. The use of amnesia and dual identity serves as both a narrative engine and a metaphor for the masks we all wear, while the backdrop of the pandemic amplifies the themes of isolation and uncertainty. Parks refuses to offer easy answers or neat resolutions; instead, she presents a world in which forgiveness is hard-won, justice is imperfect, and healing is a messy, ongoing process. The novel's ultimate message is one of resilience: even in the face of unimaginable loss and betrayal, it is possible to reclaim agency, seek redemption, and build a future from the wreckage of the past.

Last updated: May 26, 2025