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Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Review: The Wife Stalker by Liv Constantine

The Wife Stalker 
by Liv Constantine

Thank you Harper Books for these advanced copies.


Publisher: Harper Books
Publish Date: May 19, 2020
Hardcover
320 Pages
Standalone
Genres: Domestic Thriller, Psychological Thriller

Breezing into the tony seaside paradise of Westport, Connecticut, gorgeous thirtysomething Piper Reynard sets down roots, opening a rehab and wellness space and joining a local yacht club. When she meets Leo Drakos, a handsome, successful lawyer, the wedding ring on his finger is the only thing she doesn’t like about him. Yet as Piper well knows, no marriage is permanent.

Meanwhile, Joanna has been waiting patiently for Leo, the charismatic man she fell in love with all those years ago, to re-emerge from the severe depression that has engulfed him. Though she’s thankful when Leo returns to his charming, energetic self, paying attention again to Evie and Stelli, the children they both love beyond measure, Joanna is shocked to discover that it’s not her loving support that’s sparked his renewed happiness—it’s something else.

Piper. Leo has fallen head over heels for the flaky, New Age-y newcomer, and unrepentant and resolute, he’s more than willing to leave Joanna behind, along with everything they’ve built. Of course, he assures her, she can still see the children.

Joanna is devastated—and determined to find something, anything, to use against this woman who has stolen her life and her true love. As she digs deeper into Piper’s past, Joanna begins to unearth disturbing secrets . . . but when she confides to her therapist that she fears for the lives of her ex-husband and children, her concerns are dismissed as paranoia. Can she find the proof she needs in time to save them?

My Review:


Grab those kernels and pop that corn because this is one popcorn thriller you're gonna need extra butter and salt for. Pop, poppoppop, POP!


I am legitimately torn and ping ponging star ratings in my head.  I flew through the first 100 pages and was loving the craziness of this domestic thriller.  I am one to suspend reality ALL DAY LONG but sometimes enough is enough and there were definitely a lot of eye rolling, ugh inducing "NUH UH" moments that I almost dislocated an eye ball.   HOWEVER, I appreciate the brilliance in why it seemed that way once the ending made the cloudiness a bit more clear.  TORN.


I did find that the middle did lull a bit before ramping up into a bit of an explosive ending.  There were also moments where some of the dialogue fell completely flat.  And did we ever get an answer on why.... shhh, no spoiling here... I feel like I'm leaving with more questions than answers but still reeling from the answers that I got.  Again, TORN.


Listen, for pure entertainment with a side of eye roll, this was an absolute fun read.  I think it just stepped a little TOO far over the line.  If you enjoy suspending belief, insane and unreliable narrators and a lot of popcorn, I would definitely recommend this as a solid quickie.  Don't let the rating fool you, I enjoyed the read but I had more issues with it than I did not.  I couldn't finish her last novel, The Last Time I Saw You, so this author just may not be the one for me.  However, 10/10 I will still read The Last Mrs. Parrish that I still have on my TBR.


★★

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