#ATBR2019 Review: My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing @berkleypub @smariedowning @jessmapreviews
My Lovely Wife
by Samantha Downing
Thanks to Berkley for these copies - we loved this one!
HAPPY PUBLISHING DAY!
HAPPY PUBLISHING DAY!
Publisher: Berkley
Publish Date: March 26, 2019
Hardcover
359 Pages
Standalone
Genres: Psychological Thriller, Domestic Thriller
Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams, and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored.
We look like a normal couple. We're your neighbors, the parents of your kid's friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with.
We all have secrets to keeping a marriage alive.
Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.
My Review:
I absolutely love power couple serial killers. There's something about seeing the whole story through the eyes of the killers rather than a detective or victim that just tingles me in a different way. My Lovely Wife was an absolute fun ride.
One of the things I loved was that this was through the husband's eyes the entire time. It's fun to get inside a man's head. Imagine finding your soul mate, finding out that you both have a dark side and then exploring that side with him or her. Execution, checkmate and then... wait, what?! Hello surprises, what do you have for me today.... *eyebrow wiggle*. Honestly, I guessed the two major twists from the onset but dang if I didn't have fun watching it all play out.
I loved the family dynamics and how the actions that happened in the secretive lives bled into their personal ones. Actions upon actions upon actions! There was one tiny twist that I actually didn't see coming. Wasn't entirely surprised but was like all right, all right... got me! Absolutely agree with the Mr. and Mrs. Smith vibe in this dark story peppered with levity.
Lovers of the fast paced writing style of B.A. Paris and Claire Macintosh will enjoy this author as well. Fast paced, engaging and deviously delightful, I definitely highly recommend this book and look forward to a lot more from this author.
★★★★
Jessica's Review:
Prior to picking this one up, I had heard a lot of amazing things and had seen some glowing reviews. Well, I always try to go into those books with an open mind and not set expectations too high. I completely understand the hype. I can't believe that this is a debut novel. MY LOVELY WIFE by Samantha Downing was a 100% binge read for me and I read it in an evening.
We meet a happily married couple that have been married for 15 years and have two kids. They have steady jobs and live in a nice area - sounds like the picture perfect family. But, come on, we all know things aren't always as they seem. We see solely through the eyes of the husband and the author slowly feeds us little bits of information and background as the story progresses. When comparing this to Dexter meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith, they were spot on! I don't want to give away much more because it's best to go into this one knowing nothing more than the synopsis.
I loved the progression and the little reveals throughout, and make sure you read that epilogue! It was refreshing reading something from the perspective of the killers rather than the investigating detectives or police officers. I will always love getting into the minds of the killers and seeing what makes them tick. If you're looking for a fast-paced thriller, then I highly recommend picking this one up! Make sure you clear your schedule though because you won't want to stop. I can't wait to see what Downing comes out with next.
5 stars
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